All About Pocket Knives

I have many knives 80'sand 90's of various brands that I would like to establish a value for. These are all new mint condition purchased and placed in a storage felt folder. Kissing Crane, Buck, Remington, Boker, Shrade, etc.
Is there a book or catalogue that will help. I have a Jim Sargent 6th Edition KNIVES and RAZORS and a Houston Price COLLECTOR KNIVES and they are great references but they tend to deal with mostly pre-80's.
Thanks!
Randy Staples
[email protected]

Hi Randy.

I'd expect some others to step in here sooner or later (hopefully sooner), but I'll give you my opinion. Be advised it may be worth what you're paying for it.

I believe that eBay has become the new way to judge the value of a brand and pattern of a knife (as well as other objects), at least for the general public. I might use a combination of books to get an idea of where to start pricing on a knife, but ultimately it is only worth what someone who wants it, will pay for the knife. Tracking auctions of like knives will give you the most current estimate of value, in my opinion.
I've seen common Schrades sell for much more than the old MSRP since they closed in 2004. I've seen customs of reasonably nice work go for far below what I'll bet they were intended. It's that supply and demand thing, I guess.

Certain specialized collectors, might adhere to a book covering the brand/pattern they collect (Case, Bulldog, Fight'n Rooster...to name a few), but probably only for prototypes, or very limited run knives. They know what they paid for the knife, and what they feel they must get to let it go.

There is also some great information here on this site.....from the Research and Price sections at the top of the page, as well as the folks who visit and share their knowledge.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

Bill

P. S.
I'm not actually sure that was of much help, after rereading it.

Hello Randy
I have a number of Schrade knives that I got off E Bay. If you want to look them up my name is dfold52 on E Bay. This might help you get the most recent prices or you can laugh at what I paid for them too. One Duck Schrade knife I paid way to much for but I was DRUNK at the time. Just a WARNING don’t play E Bay and Drink at the same time.

I hope this helps YOU

I pay too much a lot of times on ebay. Maybe I'll tell my wife I was drunk next time she complains about how much I've been spending on ebay.

Howdy rpstaples,

What your asking has not been written as of yet in any knife guide for book values (that I know of anyway), market values are very different than book values & checking EBay knife auctions for the same Cutlery names & patterns you have in your collection as Bill suggested is one way to go with this but keep in mind that these closing prices vary with the different times of year these auctions are held as Summer months are usually lower with the Fall & Winter months close higher! ....If your knives have natural handles would be another factor to consider also as most knives with these handles are worth more than knives handled in cell, if you have the original box's & paper work with your knives is yet another factor to consider as if they do it would add to the value also! ....Schrade (before the doors closed) knives are just starting to show growth in values, so if you have any of these just sit on em for a few years (ten years or so) & keep your ear to the ground to see if they climb in value ....Hope this helps you in some way rpstaples?


"Texas collector", Roger - 50/2050

VERY well said "Texas collector", Roger

Let me give one small example to this big question.

I recently sold a hard to find pearl handled Terrier pen knife that was pushing 100 years old. Terrier was made by Robeson for only 7 years 1910-1916. This knife was in incredible shape and when I purchased it I had lot's of competition and the bidding closed at about $100.00.

I recently sold this knife twice, the first guy never paid so I relisted it again a few weeks later and the knife close at $42.00. My entire point of this is that even though it is a very rare knife in great shape most folks on Ebay had no idea the rarity of the knife. And unless you happen to run into other knowledgable buyers in that venue I have learned that there is a pretty good chance your knife value can become a crap shoot at best (At least with Vintage knives). This is one of my reasons for getting out of the vintage and going to modern era collecting.

One of the most appealing things I would think to being a Case collector (which I am not) is that a very large percentage of the knife hobbiest out there collect Case knives and have a certain amount of knowledge on what they are purchasing. Compare this to the Terrier where even though it is super rare, not many folks have even heard of them.

Here is another example; last night a 2005 Schatt & Morgan mountain man lockblade went for $122.00 on auction. You can buy these for $75.00 from internet stores and a few weeks ago I watched several go for $50.00.

Ebay seems to be the deciding factor these days for knife values but it is also terribly variable at best and sometimes not in the same reality of real knife values...

Sunburst

Your point is well taken Sunburst. EBay can be a very strange thing, kind of like the stock market. A lot of people get good deals and a lot of people make money, but the ones who are consistently successful really know what they're buying.

EBay has allowed a lot of people to make a living selling things from their home. I think I have put a couple of them into higher tax brackets from my purchases alone. I don't sell, I just buy knives to collect. Eventually I suppose I will have to start selling some of them just so I can afford to buy more.

I think in many cases eBay has lowered the price many sellers can get for a particular knife. When two buyers get into a bidding war the seller is certainly the winner. But I have picked up several knives at far below what I know I can sell them for.

Dale