To buy or not to buy... that is the question.

[smiling-knife]

I would like some general advice from the Case collectors out there. There are lots of relatively new designs (e.g., black widow, checker, leaves etc) some of which are selling for as much or more than older traditional bone varieties. What I am asking is, will these new patterns have the staying power 30+years into the future like the traditional knives of the 60s-70s or are they relatively 'trendy'. I know there is no way of knowing forsure, but I would be interested in your opinions. While on the topic, I would like to hear what you think are the best buys in Case at the moment. Thanks.

[steve]

well, i collect mostly older case knives 70s and earlier when i find good deals in them and they are in good condition. i do like some of the new case knives such as the small toothpicks, baby butterbean canoes, etc. as far as my collection goes tho, im not a pattern collector. i just like the older cases that are in mint to near mint condition. i try to know what a knife is worth beforehand, although thats not always possible....if you are somewhere at a flea market or somewhere like that and someone else is standing there looking at the same knife....lol, but knowing what im getting and having an idea of what its worth gives me the piece of mind of knowing that i can get my investment back and profiting from it is never bad either.

anyway, as far as which way to go, thats hard to say....some collect old ones, some collect certain handled knives, some collect certain patterns and theres also the fact that different people have diffrent amounts of money that they want to or can put in the hobby. the best advice that i can give you is to take your time deciding which way you want your collection to go and once you decide its always a good idea to get some kind of reference and information such as a price guide book so you know as much as possible about it. there are alot of good sources out there.

anyway, just my opinion and i hope it helps.

steve