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Under Priced Knives and knives as an investment???
There have been ups and downs in antique knife prices. When recessions hit prices drop as fewer collectors have spare change. Even when financial times are good some brands prices drop down... its like the stock market.
I believe that well made knives-the best of the best-overall increase in value. Others that were really popular then drop down may come back.
Consider Weidmannsheil a German brand once available through Parkers' Knife Service. Many of these are as well made as you could get. Stag handles and well machined. They had good weight and are above average size. When buying antiques typically the larger an antique the higher a price for items of the same type,..as a small painting is worth less than a large painting by the same artist. Making this brand in other foreign countries with questionable quality has hurt the older quality Weidmannsheil.
Another under priced knife might be Cripple Creek especially the older types such as Old Fort rather than Effingham.
Some newer collectors are buying custom knives at premium prices. Overall I believe the antique market will come back for those knives in good shape. Competition will drive down custom prices somewhat.
Knives are a kind of investment but i do not bet my future on them as I do with the stock market.
Replies to This Discussion
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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Paul S on -
Thank you for the members who liked this.
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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on
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This year has been rather confusing to me. Those that normally sell well are slow and those that you dont see coming out of collections often are coming out in droves! This being the first year I have taken some out of the safe to sell has been an eye opener. I have listed beautiful stags with no takers :(
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Permalink Reply by Michael Squier on
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Some people blame election uears and not knowing whos next for slow sales in antique and collectable markets, now that all that is over it should change, hopefully for the better. i dont mean this as a political statement it just that when people are unsure they spend less, now we know what weve got so we can decide how to spend our extra money. I did enjoy a few good buys on antwue knives in the last year thru internet auction.
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Hibar on
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Thank goodness it is a hobby for me (albeit an expensive hobby!). I try to never look at it as an investment. From that perspective, I tend to smile if I decide to sell a knife in which I've lost interest and receive more than I paid for it. On the other hand, as a hobby, it doesn't bother me at all if I sell a knife for less (even much less) than I originally paid. My father-in-law lives for collecting coins. Neither his son nor daughter (heck, nor his grandkids) have an interest in coins. He is always telling me how much this coin or that is worth. I always respond with something like ... why don't you sell it (or them). His response is always the same ... they are an investment. Oh ... he is 90, by the way! I guess he plans to live forever. "Things" are only an investment if you have a plan for selling them. He doesn't quite agree with that statement! His coins are his and he has no plan to sell them, period .... however, he will never be caught calling this a hobby. It's an investment, of course!
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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Paul S on -
You learn the large amount of time required to sell knives to upgrade a collection or just get the cash. Its best to buy right but that takes experience. The appreciation of knife values to me does not rise as fast as an investment in a S&P 500 indexed fund. Later in life there are few purchases that give me the satisfaction of a knife for the collection. Some collectibles have gone way down in value -for instance Beanie Babies---Knives in some way will keep value as they are beautiful or exhibit something intellectually obvious without your knowing their historical background. Knives have different uses over time even in life saving and taking experiences.
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Paul, your right in that if you buy a knife right it will never lose value. Buying it right takes knowledge or at least it did for me. Being a history buff finally came in handy LOL
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