I'm about $1K short right now

[TGS]

I'm kind of missing something.

What is the attraction to paying obscene prices for what is literally the knife equivalent of carbon-fiber car decals?

[Pup town]

I'm kind of missing something.

What is the attraction to paying obscene prices for what is literally the knife equivalent of carbon-fiber car decals?

I am missing it too. I guess the high prices have something to do with the fact that it's usually reserved for makers' presentation grade pieces. Hence a lot of people -like the poster earlier - think that it costs a lot and drives prices up.

There's a lot of voodoo and myths with knives. One example is people declaring they are willing to pay a lot more for a knife with s30v steel (or some other super steel) compared to the boring 154cm. In a delica size knife, your talking about a buck or two more for the super steel. But spyderco will mark it up much more than that.


But I disagree with the analogy (esp when you throw the word literally in there.) Damascus is more of a work of art. When you buy a Damascus blade from an ABS master smith, you know he stood over a hot forge and banged on the steel until fused different metals to create some that looks nice (and at one time was cutting edge.). But it still shouldn't result in such an exorbitant markup.

[Drang]

Last time I was seriously interested in knives the rule of thumb was that Damascus steel would cost $100/inch, +/- depending on width of blade.

Damascus, referred to by the real aficionados as Wootz, has a serious mystique about it.

As for me, I lost interest as anything other than a piece of artwork when it occurred to me that I lose too many knives for it to be practical to spend that kind of money on one
Not that I told my wife to take this one back:

[Byron]

There's a lot of voodoo and myths with knives. One example is people declaring they are willing to pay a lot more for a knife with s30v steel (or some other super steel) compared to the boring 154cm. In a delica size knife, your talking about a buck or two more for the super steel. But spyderco will mark it up much more than that.

The extra cost of the raw material is only slightly responsible for the final cost. Super steels, for many of the same reasons people find them appealing, wear out machines faster.

I'm not saying that companies don't have markups but it's misleading to imply that steel differences should only have a tiny impact on the final price. When machines need a tighter maintenance schedule because "wear resistant" steels are inevitably wearing out parts faster, those costs add up quickly.

[Pup town]

The extra cost of the raw material is only slightly responsible for the final cost. Super steels, for many of the same reasons people find them appealing, wear out machines faster.

I'm not saying that companies don't have markups but it's misleading to imply that steel differences should only have a tiny impact on the final price. When machines need a tighter maintenance schedule because "wear resistant" steels are inevitably wearing out parts faster, those costs add up quickly.

Meh. I wager it's less than you think. I grind knives in my backyard. 1084 grinds easier than S30v, but it's not going to cost that much more in belts or time. And the difference between 154cm and s30v is less. Water jet cutting the blanks is the same. Heat treat cost me the same. Damascus requires acid etching, but that doesn't seem like a big deal. (I've only etched carbon steel.)

[theJanitor]

I buy pistols and knives because they incite pride and excitement of ownership. The "passion of the gun" theory applies here too. I want that Les George pictured above, because it's beautiful, and having handles Les' customs, I know the build quality is outstanding. Plus, I'm now a custom Wilson owner. Exclusive or exotic materials does add to the final cost, most certainly.

I just paid $900 to get this rather boring Terzuola this week. It's awesome, and worth every penny to me. Most would think I'm retarded, and that's ok with me.

[SecondsCount]

While I am fine with turning this into a "Is it worth it?" thread, something to consider before you do-

The average income of the members on this forum is easily north of $50K a year. Most of us could probably afford to do about anything we really want to do.

After the overhead of a place to live, transportation, clothing, and groceries, we all have a bunch of expendable money. Do you spend it on cable TV, Starbucks, expensive dinners, ammo, a nice pistol or two, or a custom made knife? Are $500 training classes a frivolous expense as well?

Spend your money where you see fit. I thought the Wilson/Elishewitz knife was too spendy for my taste but if you can afford it, then go for it, as I already spent that money on a nice Les Baer.

[TGS]

FWIW, I think actual Damascus steel is really cool, and can definitely appreciate it's value....if even for collecting.

That's not what we have here. "Stainless Damascus" is not Damascus steel, nor is "Damascus" something you put in the steel to make it look cool....it's a reference to where a lot of Wootz, Crucible, ect steel was traded. Stainless Damascus is just a fancy look alike. It's like SIGs diamond plate finish....it just looks a certain way, but isn't actually diamond plate.

That, I don't get. It even looks fake, and only has vague resemblance to real Damascus steel, which I can only imagine would cost AT LEAST $100 per inch.