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Are vintage knife collectors a dying breed?

Knife collecting has come a long way since it began. It seems few makers produce a "traditional" folder any more. And we know the old knives are rare and highly sought after today. Plus, among all collectors- of all ages- it seems the more modern knives take the prize.

Sure different strokes for different folks, but......what is your forecast about the future of antique American made traditional knives? Are they simply a niche' that will always be highly collectible or is this collectible going to fade as the collectors who prefer them pass on to the Big Knife Show in the sky?

If high-quality original condition old knives get harder to find and more expensive as the years go by, isn't that going to make it harder for collectors to enter this niche'? (Take for example: What to buy an old toenail? Get ready to shell out several hundred to several thousand dollars for a single knife).

What about say- 20- 40 years from now, when the next generation collector who is more into the ultra-modern/tactical knives today moves into their high-income earning years- are they going to graduate into old American knives? Or are they going to want their own "vintage knives," which may be all the tactical and modern knives being made today (those knives will be at least 20 to 40 years old at that point)?

What say you?

Tags: collecting, future, niche', trends

2 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Waggoner, Alan on July 18, 2014 at 13:07

Obviously trends exist, but desire and resources available to feed the desire of a person's interests when it comes to collecting, affect the supply and demand and is driven by the same for everything that is out there to buy! Personally I like the older knives best.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on July 18, 2014 at 21:30

Well the market is changing for sure and while Tactical, is still strong, there has been a great return to traditional patterns as well as Vintage stock. Fixed blades are hanging in there and have a following, mostly in the custom market.

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on July 18, 2014 at 22:06

I do see the customs coming on stronger than ever. Both in fixed and folders. Finding a good maker these does doesn't mean 1000 + for your knife. 200-300 range will get you quality in steel and materials.

Tacticals as they were originally produced did not catch on as well as expected

Next came the first of the cross overs. Sort of Tactical but with more appeal to traditional material collectors and users

Then some of the companies learned to do them with style and quality

What seems to amaze me is watching the evolution of them

The traditional is still going strong. There will always be traditionalists among us.

First considered the only "right" knife. Then they once were considered the knives you buy after tacticals. These days I see many folks, men and women, that appreciate both styles and have a good mix in their collections.

I dont see any of the options available in any of these styles going anywhere. I just see the traditional makers reaching out to capture both sides of the field. Even some of the traditionally tactical companies are doing it. CRKT had a line of traditional now. Just makes business sense.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on July 19, 2014 at 15:35

Well said Jan and I agree with what you said "What seems to amaze me is watching the evolution of them " That truly is the exciting part for some of us we have witnessed changes in the industry over great time periods and it is still evolving and changing and in my opinion more exciting than ever!

Permalink Reply by Michael Squier on September 9, 2016 at 18:08

I love old knives, the older the better. I have found turn of the last century knives are affordable to me and ive been adding to my collection. Im not young but Im not old either. Colecting antique anything will never go away, it may change a bit but someone will always keep the old stuff around.