overpriced blades

TotinCh1p said:
The price I've paid for my Sebenzas is crazy for Titanium and S30V or S35VN. That being said, I bought them, love them, and given the shortages, everyone else does too.
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I'm one of those people who think Sebenzas are overpriced. Paying as much for a knife as a good revolver just doesn't make sense. But...to each his own!

As inflation becomes worse, you're going to see the prices of knives and steel guns increase in price. In fact, it's already happening. Cold Steel was making their Voyagers with VG-1 stainless, then reverted to AUS-8. I'd rather have the old lock-back locking systems with VG-1 blades than the Tri-Ad lock and AUS8 blades, but after all the money Lynn Thompson spent hyping VG-1, he had to back pedal.

That said, I've always been happy with CS's AUS8. They've always come from the factory murderously sharp and they manage to keep their edges (of course I don't cut through plastic zip ties and such). A few swipes on my ceramic knife sharpener and they're good to go again.

A few years ago, I bought some CRKT S-2s (large). Titanium frames and ATS-34 blades. They were discontinued and on sale. I bought a whole bunch for twenty-five bucks apiece, including shipping. Best knife deal I ever found. But all that's in the past. Our economy has had so much printed money pumped into it that inflation is unavoidable. Knife prices are already reflecting it and polymers are the only thing that will keep prices down. I cringe at paying some of the prices, but it seems a lot of companies are cutting corners and raising prices.

Lemmuhj said it looks like he'll be paying for some overpriced blades. I fear we all will. Everyone wants the economy to move again, but the problem with that is that once it does, all that worthless money the government has printed will start circulating...and when that happens, we'll all be paying more for everything.
 
IMO:
- TOPS (seems to be double the price for the same materials compared to ESEE's)
- Emerson (I have one I bought LNIB for $70 less than retail, which is about the most I'd pay for one ($150))
- Al Mar
- Cold Steel (AUS-8, for the same price or more as a 154cm Manix 2, or triple the price if its in VG-1 or san mai)
- Benchmade (if bought at MAAP, but for the discount found at many retailers I think they're pretty good (810 contego for example)
- ZTs are getting up there (just thinking of the $50 price bump on the 30X series this year)
 
ThirdTooth said:
what are the most overpriced blades on the market in your opinion?

for me Al Mar is pretty high up there. I love their designs but $100 and up for a blade with so little materials and in AUS-8? seems.... steep

Edit: just to quell the rhetoric on the definition of "overpriced" that seems to be going on, overpriced IN YOUR OPINION (this is key) means anything that seems like what they are offering does not match the price they are asking. not necessarily just expensive knives as a whole, just any blade that makes you think "you want that much money for THAT??". maybe you bought it but are now thinking you didn't quite get your moneys worth or you want it but just can't justify the purchase at the asking price. does that help?
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CRKT, United Cutlery, Gerber... They charge way too much for products that cost pennies a peice to make.
 
Czechmate said:
Busse.

I don't get why people jump at paying the (sometimes) crazy secondary market prices.... Prices for ones I've seen listed Evilbay have been nuttier than squirrel shit. Huge mark-ups compared to what folks on BF are selling for...

Maybe I'm just missing something... :confused:
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Secondary market prices cool down drastically recently.


I'm willing buy a 500$ Busse over any folder, any day of the week 24/7.
 
A Mini grip can be had for $60. I don't see how that is over priced given the quality, longevity & sales it has. A SOG Flash I at $40 might be pushing the over priced envelope. It's the one review from Nutnfancy that leads me to believe there was lead in their water growing up.
 
Bastid said:
Not sure how any knife that is quickly scarfed up can be call overpriced.

If they sell quickly by definition they are not overpriced.
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They sell quickly because all the cool kids are buying one. Literally just that. There's no way that so many people find a Strider, Chris Reeve, or what have you to be flawless and exactly what they're looking for. I'm sure they're worth the money...maybe even what they ask for them. However the majority of purchases are based on what everyone else is buying. Same applies to any sort of goods. Apple products, Glock, BMW, Harley...people buy what other people convince them to buy.
 
TOPS. I don't own the few I like because they seem overpriced. That being said I'm still likely to buy one to try out sometime down the road.

Brian
 
calvinw said:
+1 :thumbup:
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+2

I'm another that bought the Flash 1 thanks to nutnfancy's vids. Love him or hate him, nutnfancy does sometimes give some valuable input on new buys. The Flash 1 would be OK for a $10 cheapo. $30-40? Not so much. I wasn't impressed with it in any way, to say the least.
 
Disregarding the semantics of the term "overpriced", I'd say the Sebenza is a little overpriced -- and I say that as someone who recently bought his first. Yes, you're paying for a great design executed to perfection, but you're also paying for the name.
 
RemyKaze... In a way I agree.
In another way... I completely disagree.
I have never bought a knife just because everyone else is.
I think that logic is more common in clothing and video games.

Mostly in the knife world people buy a knife that they like the design of and think would fit well in their uses.
Not to say that some people don't buy knives because others do. Because they do infact do that. I see it a lot with Chris Reeve knives. People have lots of knives and then decide they HAVE to have a Sebenza because so many people on here have and love them.
I want a Sebenza or Umnumzaan... because I handled one of each and fell in love.
The fact is, you do NOT need to compete to see how high up you can get in knives. I've gotten up there and then cut down and now I'm up there again. I'm simply searching for what I want/need for my uses.
A lot of people are searching to see how many knives they can get.. or how high priced they can get... I see that they love knives and they're excited.
But I say get what you want and what you can use. You can't take them with you when you die.
 
RemyKaze said:
They sell quickly because all the cool kids are buying one. Literally just that. There's no way that so many people find a Strider, Chris Reeve, or what have you to be flawless and exactly what they're looking for. I'm sure they're worth the money...maybe even what they ask for them. However the majority of purchases are based on what everyone else is buying. Same applies to any sort of goods. Apple products, Glock, BMW, Harley...people buy what other people convince them to buy.
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Flawed generalities, analogies & assumptions. Chris Reeve has been making knives for decades. They sell not because of "As seen on TV" or "Blue light specials" but because they are damn good knives that not only hold up but hold their value indefinitely. Actually Glocks, Beemers and Hogs just the same. Try again.
 
Longtrang said:
Retail on Hinderer knives is not to bad. Aftermarket.... $1100-$1400 for a $450-$550 knife is just crazy.
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Well that's the problem though--and Hinderer created the problem with their business model that only sells to certain people (qualified LEOs, first responders, etc.). They also say that if you want a knife check with their listed retail distributors--but the retail distributors, who presumably are paying the Hinderer direct price--promptly mark up the knife 200+%.

It's really a crappy business model, in my opinion, one that is lining the pockets of a lot of middle men. The Hinderer folks are getting the same amount for the knife; it's the end user that is getting screwed. I also wonder how many of the knives that are purchased direct by "qualified" customers promply turn around and flip the knife for double what they paid then just order another from the company, etc., etc.

But the Hinderer folks don't seem to care.

It's too bad. They are nice knives a lot of decent folks would probably like a chance to own. But it has really soured me on their brand.
 
I would say something is overpriced when something less expensive will clearly outperform it. That would include all Emersons. Had one, not impressed, would be a pretty good deal at a third the price.

I've owned at least 50 Busses and never once felt like I overpaid. I paid a lot more at first on the secondary market, but if you get a user secondary or a new one direct, you can use it, decide if its for you or not for you, and sell it easily for the same price. To me that is priceless.

I think the best value in folders is Spyderco, and fixed blades Scrapyard, no contest.
 
darkaether said:
I would say something is overpriced when something less expensive will clearly outperform it. That would include all Emersons.
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I hear where you are coming from, but you are focusing only on materials and perceived build quality. You are giving no monetary value to innovation. Ernie Emerson's blades may seem a bit crude compared to much of the 'tactical folders' you see these days, but it's easy to forget that he pioneered many of these ideas and designs, at a financial and artistic risk to his career. It's hard to put a price on that and I respect that.
 
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