A
AlienPuppets
Guest
Love the members here: This is a very friendly site.
I'm 37, in Washington State and have been collecting for 20 years. Of the 20 years collecting, the first 15 were bias more toward gun collecting and that last 5 have turned more toward knives. I used to do gun shows and have owned and traded hundreds of quality blades.
Earlier on, I frankly had a better job and more money to spend - thus my likings were more toward custom knives. These day's, I've evolved, partly for budget reasons, more toward the production end. I have no particular style I collect, I buy what ever I like and can afford.
Having been on both ends of the spectrum, I will say that the for myself the best value and gratification comes from the higher end of production knives such as Benchmade, Spyderco, Sog, Cold Steel, ZT, Kershaw, Emerson, etc. Truth be told, especially with so many custom collaborations coming from these companies, it's very hard to beat some of these knives either in terms of overall quality, or value for the dollar. Based on my own likes, I'll tell you all that i've felt let down far more often from spending a thousand dollars on a custom then I ever have spending 150 on a Benchmade Blue Class or Spyderco sprint run. It's hard to spend 4 digits on a knife and feel gratified unless you're buying it strictly as an artwork piece and investment. The high class of the above mentioned production knives have QC that often rivals the best knife makers, top shelf materials are used, and they're at a price point where you can use these tools for EDC without worrying about scratching the handle or blade. BTW - Quality productions are an investment as well - Many top shelf productions realize large jumps in value as they go out of production.
Just my 2 cents.
I'm 37, in Washington State and have been collecting for 20 years. Of the 20 years collecting, the first 15 were bias more toward gun collecting and that last 5 have turned more toward knives. I used to do gun shows and have owned and traded hundreds of quality blades.
Earlier on, I frankly had a better job and more money to spend - thus my likings were more toward custom knives. These day's, I've evolved, partly for budget reasons, more toward the production end. I have no particular style I collect, I buy what ever I like and can afford.
Having been on both ends of the spectrum, I will say that the for myself the best value and gratification comes from the higher end of production knives such as Benchmade, Spyderco, Sog, Cold Steel, ZT, Kershaw, Emerson, etc. Truth be told, especially with so many custom collaborations coming from these companies, it's very hard to beat some of these knives either in terms of overall quality, or value for the dollar. Based on my own likes, I'll tell you all that i've felt let down far more often from spending a thousand dollars on a custom then I ever have spending 150 on a Benchmade Blue Class or Spyderco sprint run. It's hard to spend 4 digits on a knife and feel gratified unless you're buying it strictly as an artwork piece and investment. The high class of the above mentioned production knives have QC that often rivals the best knife makers, top shelf materials are used, and they're at a price point where you can use these tools for EDC without worrying about scratching the handle or blade. BTW - Quality productions are an investment as well - Many top shelf productions realize large jumps in value as they go out of production.
Just my 2 cents.
