Online picture vs knife-in-hand appreciation

[ferider]

So, I've been building up a small Busse collection over the last two months (I'm done now, in case you wonder ). This one really surprised me: it was sold in the exchange (multiple times over the last couple of years, I should add), and I passed over it several times, because it felt so ugly in the sales pictures. But then, I like clip points, "needed" a larger blade (8" is as far as I go), I like the Busse satin finish, etc, and - for what it is - it had a really good price. So I bought it.

And having the knife in hand, I think it's absolutely gorgeous ! Very surprised, ugly duckling kind of thing. Anyways, I don't sell knives, so it found its forever home, and I'm glad I pulled the trigger:

Anybody else have a similar experience, or the reverse ?

Roland.

 

[Mr.sig239]

I think it looks great! Haven't had that experience myself.

 

[deadzonepatrol]

So, I've been building up a small Busse collection over the last two months (I'm done now, in case you wonder ). This one really surprised me: it was sold in the exchange (multiple times over the last couple of years, I should add), and I passed over it several times, because it felt so ugly in the sales pictures. But then, I like clip points, "needed" a larger blade (8" is as far as I go), I like the Busse satin finish, etc, and - for what it is - it had a really good price. So I bought it.

And having the knife in hand, I think it's absolutely gorgeous ! Very surprised, ugly duckling kind of thing. Anyways, I don't sell knives, so it found its forever home, and I'm glad I pulled the trigger:

Anybody else have a similar experience, or the reverse ?

Roland.

Nice pickup, congratulations!

Buying knives online really is a crap shoot, sort of like the draft picks in team sports. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you get exactly what you thought you were getting.

I've had many experiences like this. The most recent, I got a Cold Steel Facon. Which is a very large gaucho style bowie knife. I was kind of on the fence about getting it, seeing that it wasn't really what I was looking for to add to my bowie collection. But when I got it, I really liked it a lot and was glad that I pulled the trigger on it.

 

[Rich S]

Have had enough similar experiences with 'bay. Stopped even looking at Japanese swords or tsuba - the differences between online pics and in person are often staggering.

 

[sonofwilfred]

I expected the Tops Backpacker Bowie to be a bit ordinary but once I had it in hand I loved it. I'm glad I bought it

 

[Billy The Hungry]

So, I've been building up a small Busse collection over the last two months (I'm done now, in case you wonder ). This one really surprised me: it was sold in the exchange (multiple times over the last couple of years, I should add), and I passed over it several times, because it felt so ugly in the sales pictures. But then, I like clip points, "needed" a larger blade (8" is as far as I go), I like the Busse satin finish, etc, and - for what it is - it had a really good price. So I bought it.

And having the knife in hand, I think it's absolutely gorgeous ! Very surprised, ugly duckling kind of thing. Anyways, I don't sell knives, so it found its forever home, and I'm glad I pulled the trigger:

Anybody else have a similar experience, or the reverse ?

Roland.

It's beautiful, Mr. Roland. Congrats

 

[ferider]

It's beautiful, Mr. Roland. Congrats

Thank you Mr. Billy

 

[deadzonepatrol]

Have had enough similar experiences with 'bay. Stopped even looking at Japanese swords or tsuba - the differences between online pics and in person are often staggering.

I have often marveled at how much of a difference there is b/w pics and the real thing in hand. There often seems to be a very large amount of distortion in the photos. Not created intentionally using any kind of photo touchup software, of course. But whether intentionally or not, through the use of angles and point of view and variations in distances, the photographer can make the knife look very different in the pic from what it actually looks like in person. For instance, there are often small knives that are photographed from an angle that makes it look like the blade is much longer than it really is. The proportions can get manipulated almost like in "Alice In Wonderland" and nothing is as it seems to be.

So that's why I appreciate photos for sale with rulers or something that gives you some perspective. And the more pics, the better. When you look at a knife photo for sale, you have to consider the stats they give you and think about how that knife would actually look in your hand.

 

[mwhich50]

So, I've been building up a small Busse collection over the last two months (I'm done now, in case you wonder ). This one really surprised me: it was sold in the exchange (multiple times over the last couple of years, I should add), and I passed over it several times, because it felt so ugly in the sales pictures. But then, I like clip points, "needed" a larger blade (8" is as far as I go), I like the Busse satin finish, etc, and - for what it is - it had a really good price. So I bought it.

And having the knife in hand, I think it's absolutely gorgeous ! Very surprised, ugly duckling kind of thing. Anyways, I don't sell knives, so it found its forever home, and I'm glad I pulled the trigger:

Anybody else have a similar experience, or the reverse ?

Roland.

I don't have nice knives like this one, so couldnt say. That's a beauty though.

 

[Garrett Ferrell]

So, I've been building up a small Busse collection over the last two months (I'm done now, in case you wonder ). This one really surprised me: it was sold in the exchange (multiple times over the last couple of years, I should add), and I passed over it several times, because it felt so ugly in the sales pictures. But then, I like clip points, "needed" a larger blade (8" is as far as I go), I like the Busse satin finish, etc, and - for what it is - it had a really good price. So I bought it.

And having the knife in hand, I think it's absolutely gorgeous ! Very surprised, ugly duckling kind of thing. Anyways, I don't sell knives, so it found its forever home, and I'm glad I pulled the trigger:

Anybody else have a similar experience, or the reverse ?

Roland.

I think it’s a beautiful knife,great buy

 

[evilgreg]

An example for me would be this knife, the full size Begg Steelcraft Bodega (though the same goes for the small one):

I feel weird about disliking the appearance of something well made and heavily ornamented in a variety of ways, but the total overall effect is off putting to me.

The knives are great, though. Probably the best made knives I own, really. Yes, they're silly looking and many will find them ridiculous, but they are actually great users.

 

[NG VI]

There have been so many knives like that for me, some that have outright blown me away beyond any expectation I had for them, some obscure models that I bought out of idle curiosity during sales that turned out to be incredible examples of the manufacturer's work, and then there are the ones like the QSP Puffin, Pelican, and Hawk, which punch way above their weight but mostly because they're just really well done, they still feel like the production knives they are.

I got a bizarre Defcon knife because the price was nice and I am a sucker for milled and anodized titanium, and while a bit ugly in profile because of their signature egg cracker it turns out the thing is unsellable. The external milling was neat in pictures, but felt incredibly well done in hand, the CF overlay was pretty and had no fit issues, and it turns out the internals had lots of milling pockets as well. And the grind was really nice, much better than average for a sub-$200 knife. And the clip had an excellent design and was perfectly springy. The ergos were nicer than I expected because it had kind of a swoopy paddle feeling in hand, so it gave that flat feeling in pocket and plenty to wrap your fingers around.

But the best thing about it was the detent. It felt most similar to my Skaha II, like a big fat nearly flat-topped ceramic ball was decoupling from a big fat perfectly placed detent hole and the broad lockbar was exerting exactly the right amount of pressure during the transaction to let it all fly freely. I got the thing just to see how their work was and now I have to keep it.

Poor me *_^