not2sharp
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 20,444
I have been a collector for a long time, and realized at a very young age that I was the type of person who derived great joy from chasing, accumulating, cataloging and selling things. It is all a form of entertainment, and knives are one of the areas that I collect.
One of important things that happens to a collector over time is that you develop a broad level of comfort within your field of interest. You encounter common items and whether or not you find it interesting, you are at a point where you instantly Recognize what it is and can make an educated guess at what it should be selling for. It may be a “sprint run” or a clone, there may be additional detail that you would need to appreciate; but, it’s all familiar territory.
But, every so often, and very frequently when you first start in the hobby, you are going to run into things that simply shock you. Usually, it’s the price, although it is not really about the money. It is about your familiarity with the item. So that first encounter with a Randall Made knife, a custom knife or a 19 century Bowie, a vintage katana that is selling for the price of a car; you almost feel a level of physical discomfort.
The last time that I encountered that feeling was a couple of years ago, when I met with a guy who was trying to sell a Malaysian house sword for over a $250,000. A family heirloom perhaps, but that must be quite a neighborhood if everyone is displaying quarter million dollar swords in their entry foyer.
I recall that when I was first starting out, the price of the standard fixed bladeS produced by Buck Knives seem extravagant. Most outdoors men at the time were carrying imports like the G.C.C. Edgebrand line from Solingen, and by comparison the Bucks were at least twice as expensive.
So tell us about the last time that you were shocked by a knife; and for our purposes, it doesn’t matter whether that knife was multimillion art knife at a show or the first time that you gazed upon a Benchmade knife at the local sporting goods.
n2s
One of important things that happens to a collector over time is that you develop a broad level of comfort within your field of interest. You encounter common items and whether or not you find it interesting, you are at a point where you instantly Recognize what it is and can make an educated guess at what it should be selling for. It may be a “sprint run” or a clone, there may be additional detail that you would need to appreciate; but, it’s all familiar territory.
But, every so often, and very frequently when you first start in the hobby, you are going to run into things that simply shock you. Usually, it’s the price, although it is not really about the money. It is about your familiarity with the item. So that first encounter with a Randall Made knife, a custom knife or a 19 century Bowie, a vintage katana that is selling for the price of a car; you almost feel a level of physical discomfort.
The last time that I encountered that feeling was a couple of years ago, when I met with a guy who was trying to sell a Malaysian house sword for over a $250,000. A family heirloom perhaps, but that must be quite a neighborhood if everyone is displaying quarter million dollar swords in their entry foyer.
I recall that when I was first starting out, the price of the standard fixed bladeS produced by Buck Knives seem extravagant. Most outdoors men at the time were carrying imports like the G.C.C. Edgebrand line from Solingen, and by comparison the Bucks were at least twice as expensive.
So tell us about the last time that you were shocked by a knife; and for our purposes, it doesn’t matter whether that knife was multimillion art knife at a show or the first time that you gazed upon a Benchmade knife at the local sporting goods.
n2s
$130 for a little Buck 305 clipper ?