Club knives, sets, etc...

[brookzee]

Question. Is a club knife ( ex. Collectors club regular member knife canoe burnt oat) more valuable than it's 1st cousin just like it that's not a club knife?
Are sets like junior, regular, and lifetime member companions worth more sold together, or does it not matter if you separate them?
Trying to figure out how to display and sort and dang, my head is swimming

[Quick Steel]

Club knives do not float my boat. I find the club identifications distracting. Such knives only make sense to me if one is a member of that specific club. I suppose it is possible to find someone who makes it a point to collect club knives. I have not encountered or heard of anyone doing that. This is only my view. Perhaps others will come along with a different take.

[edge213]

I agree with Quicksteel.

[philco]

My observation is that in general, club knives on the broad secondary market do not bring prices equal to their non club knife counterpart. It's simple supply and demand. Most folks would prefer a non club version of a particular knife if given a choice between a club knife and a non club knife, hence the demand for the non club knife tends to be greater.

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

I think this is one of those somewhat counter-intuitive collector things. Club knives are produced and sold because they are supposed to be more exclusive. The club markings and relatively low production numbers are supposed to make these knives more valuable - or at least that is what the marketing departments want you to think. However, as others have pointed out here, that doesn't always seem to be the case - at least not in the shorter term of within the lifetime of the same generation that could have bought the club knife when it was new. Speaking for myself, I've always been a bit disdainful of "manufactured rarity" - trying to purposefully make a collectible by creating limited editions and special colors or markings on what is otherwise the same products you can buy in a retail store. True rarity, either because it is a very small production run of a unique pattern or handle material, or because it was unpopular or constructed such that it wore-out or broke and not many pristine examples remain is true rarity. With all that said, what the next generation thinks about value could be a completely different story.

[XX Case XX]

Such knives only make sense to me if one is a member of that specific club.

Exactly.

__________
Mike

[Mumbleypeg]

Such knives only make sense to me if one is a member of that specific club.

Exactly.

__________
Mike

Agree. Most buyers couldn't care less so getting a premium price is largely dependent on finding a buyer that is a member, or perhaps was a member when the knife was issued. If you can get two or more bidding against each other you may get a bonanza but I wouldn't count on that.

Ken

[Old Hunter]

Club knives have great appeal to the club members - I have bought the annual AAPK knife each year since I joined here and I used to buy the Blade Forum traditional club knife each each year. That said I steer away from knives that are marked with clubs or organizations I haven't been a member of. I'd proudly carry a US ARMY marked knife in a heartbeat, but would be uncomfortable carrying a USAF, USCG, USMC, or USN marked knife because I was never a member of those great services. As to the Case Collectors Club knives, I would buy one if it was the only way to get a pattern/handle/steel that I wanted for my collection and for display purposes I would group them all together as a theme. OH