[countertop]

A buddy was given one (http://rjhandcraftedknives.com/knives3.htm)as a gift.

http://rjhandcraftedknives.com/IMAGES_DELUX/fulltangfancy1_92005.jpg

Anyone familiar with them?? Their web page says that its worth $850 - which just blew us away.

I use a Buck 110 - the idea of paying that much for a knife makes my head hurt. However, this thing fits the hand perfectly. I just love holding it. Even before I figured out how much they are selling it for.

Can someone explain why its worth SOOOO much money?

[maskedman504]

It looks like a full off custom with carbon fiber bolsters are ivory/bone scales.

$850 custom knives are not unheard of- that is actually a fairly common price point- some of the extreme examples, namely folders, can reach into the $3000 -$5000 range.

When a custom knifemaker reaches the intersection of great skill and popularity they often become backlogged with orders- this drives the prices of their work upwards. It is like artwork. It is not uncommon for a custom knifemaker to have a 2-3 year (or longer) wait list; sometimes they simply will stop taking new orders until they catchup with their current orders.

It has everything to do with your craftsmanship and how far you 'name' is out there in the community.

[Grizfire]

handles made of big horn sheep horn...yeah thats gonna be expensive. I wonder how the heck he is getting that stuff.

[Valkman]

I'd get about $400 for the same knife - it's how long you've been around and how many know about you. That's a beautiful knife!

[hso]

Can someone explain why its worth SOOOO much money?

That might be difficult to do if you're not familiar with the work that goes into hand craftsmanship, use of exotic materials, effort of the file work and the fact that the fame of the craftsman and his output impact the price of a thing.


On the other hand, $800 is 20% a reflection of who made the knife more than what went into making it. I wouldn't be surprised to see one like that at a show for $600 from a well known knife maker. A knife maker with a 12 month wait is obviously well known, but the fact is that the RJ knives can be had from other sources at a price I would consider more in line with what/who they are. Look around the net and you'll find pretty much the same knife going for $500 - $600.

[22-rimfire]

Being a knife novice in terms of what is out there in the custom knife world, I can understand your question. My brother in law is a knife collector and had one Moran blade. He has sold it for around $10K in the last year or so. I knew almost nothing about custom knives prior to meeting him when my sister was dating him. The idea of paying $300 or $400 for a Randall knife just made me cringe as it defied all the value sense I built up for 20 years. Then the movie "First Blood" comes out and the main character is using a fairly cool custom knife. You start noticing that there are actually magazines devoted to just knives. You look and think... expensive....

Time moves forward and ... what is the first "custom" I buy? A Randall around 1990. Randalls are really only semi-custom as I understand things. But they are nice blades. In those days, you could easily buy Randall knives at the normal price at gun/knife shows.

Then you start noticing custom knives at gunshows. Maybe buy one or two. Then you start reading Blade Magazine and perhaps going to knife shows. Time goes on and whatever sense of value is pretty much lost. You see fixed blades for a couple thousand and folders for up to a thousand. It starts becoming common place and if you have the money at some point you're going to get one or two of these.

It comes down to a custom bladesmith getting the most or nearly the most they can within the market. Pricing is another topic as even though they may sell some knives at high high prices, they'll loose the majority of their customer base in the process. So, they seek a median kind of pricing. Obviously, materials used affects the price as well as custom engraving or whatever such as along the top of the blade. Takes time. Times costs money. I love that engraving along the top of a blade. It says "money" and "custom knife" and is quite attractive to boot.

So, to answer your question, the price-value reference point is a moving target and subject to your whims and how much money you have in your pocket at the time. It takes a while, but eventually, you'll start looking at the custom knives and saying... I like that and I think I'll order one... It's a journey like many of life's journeys that some tred and others don't. Makes it fun.

But you can easily live your life and use a Buck 110, or a Case, Queen etc. and be perfectly satisfied. Enjoy and it's wonderful that such things are actually available from talented folks making blades.

[Black Toe Knives]

I think the saying is. "If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand."
A knife will only bring what a customer is willing to pay for it. RJ is a first class maker. You can see it in his work. I would not have a problem paying that amount for one of his knives.

Try a visit to http://knifeart.com

[mustang_steve]

It's all in the name and quality. It's like anything else....with higher degrees of quality, fit/finish and customer demand (mostly customer demand), the price goes up.

It's like would you buy a luxurious Honda, or an Acura for the same price? Probably an Acura, since no matter how your wrap it, paying $34k for a Honda just sounds bad when you can have the Acura for the same price (despite them being the same car). Sometimes a name is worth that much....usually for good reason too.