All About Pocket Knives

I’m going to be a dealer as well as a collector of knives when I retire. Retirement is coming soon. My question for the group is: where do you get your knives? I’ve searched flea markets and pawn shops but that only gives me a couple. I can’t find quantities of quality knives hence my question.

I can only speak for myself Porky but most of my inventory came from my personal collection, duplicates from lot acquisitions and some consignment. Many scour pawn shops, flea markets, Craigslist and eBay with much greater success than I ever had. Tom

You are going to have a tough time finding enough quality knives at the sources you mention. People I know that have the most stock on hand of good stuff buy collections from estates. But as you can imagine, there can be lots of competition for that stock from competing dealers.

If you have never heard of Auction Zip look on Google and read about what it is. Then learn to use it and search for auctions within a reasonable driving distance of your location. I live in central Indiana and there are at least 2 -3 big knife auctions every year and several smaller ones. Then also put an ad on Craig's List in your area that you are wanting to buy knives and collections. This is free and you will get some responses. I run a small ad in the colder months and have came up with some knives using this method. Best of luck. Only my opinion, but with the addition of mandatory sales tax collection and increased postal rates Ebay is becoming less of a likely place to find knives. You don't pay sales tax at flea markets or when you buy on Craig's List and there is no S&H.

just bob wrote: ↑Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:44 pm If you have never heard of Auction Zip look on Google and read about what it is. Then learn to use it and search for auctions within a reasonable driving distance of your location. I live in central Indiana and there are at least 2 -3 big knife auctions every year and several smaller ones. Then also put an ad on Craig's List in your area that you are wanting to buy knives and collections. This is free and you will get some responses. I run a small ad in the colder months and have came up with some knives using this method. Best of luck. Only my opinion, but with the addition of mandatory sales tax collection and increased postal rates Ebay is becoming less of a likely place to find knives. You don't pay sales tax at flea markets or when you buy on Craig's List and there is no S&H.

sage advice Bob, that’s very kind of you to share that fine strategy. Do you find the same auction houses having knives in their auctions around the same time of the year and are they sold largely in lots?

What I really enjoy looking for is when a collector has passed away then they sell his knives at a public auction. Last fall I went to one in eastern Ohio and there were more than a thousand knives. Less desirable items were sold in lots and better knives were sold individually and described in a print out. I see lots of auctions with a handful of knives. Depending on how far away I may attend or not. The trend here is moving to on line auction during this pandemic. That has its disadvantages. You have to go to the preview to look at items if you aren't sure of the condition and then you have to make another trip back if you win any. I much prefer a live auction with an auctioneer.

just bob wrote: ↑Tue Jul 28, 2020 1:44 pmI much prefer a live auction with an auctioneer.

Ditto

Hi Porky, you don't say whether you are already an experienced collector or not. If you are you may have a chance, if not it is a dog eat dog knife world out there with tons of counterfeits and fake knives on the market. You also don't say what kind of knives you will be collecting and selling. Getting a good amount of antique knives at prices you can make money on is a tough trick. Every flea market, antique store, and pawn shop has others looking for knives, and a collector will pay more than a dealer so the competition is fierce. When I retired I began selling at knife shows only but I have accumulated a couple thousand knives in the last 60 years so I have old inventory. I also have a problem that patterns and brands go up and down in desirability and some are worth less now than I paid for them 10-20 years ago. Of course some have also gone up to offset them, but the market and values do change. Most "dealers" I know are guys who do it more for a hobby and not to make a lot of money. Those dealers I know who do it for a living have inventories in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and travel to 20-30 knife shows a year as well as selling on ebay and the internet. Like some stated above buying collections is great for inventory but finding big collections for sale is not so easy and often requires tens of thousands of dollar investment. You really have to know your knives and the market to invest in buying big collections. Do you have a good place to sell? That is also a consideration, since some knives sell well at fleas (lower end knives), and to get top dollar for rarer knives knife shows are good places to do so. Ebay can be good for selling but even there you will find some days you eat bear and some days the bear eats you. Good luck with your retirement, hope you get to do what you like and have fun.

Wow! Good luck indeed. Sounds like a Rx for atrophy of the gluteus maximi.

Welcome to AAPK Porky. I’m not a dealer and never have been so you can take my advice with a “grain of salt”. I do know a couple of dealers however. They are “regulars“ at local flea markets and trade days, always setting up in the same location. Folks see them there (even those who don’t collect knives) so they know where to find them. It takes time but they build a presence and reputation. They tell me that people sometimes come to them bringing knives they want to sell. They say the majority of the knives brought to them are junk but they do get some that are re-sellable - just part of doing business. You need to know how to tell what’s junk and what is counterfeit.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Ken

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I've collected off and on (more off than on) for 40 years but really got active the last couple of years.So many people go into retirement with nothing to do and a month later their obituary is in the paper. I have a hobby of knives and a little woodworking. Parkinson's disease has set me back a little. I'm not sure dealer is the right description that I used. More of a knife enthusiast, whatever that means. I'm new to the forum but so far this looks like a great website,
Thanks again and y'all can call me Dennis.

Porky1016 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:33 pm Thanks everyone for all the advice. I've collected off and on (more off than on) for 40 years but really got active the last couple of years.So many people go into retirement with nothing to do and a month later their obituary is in the paper. I have a hobby of knives and a little woodworking. Parkinson's disease has set me back a little. I'm not sure dealer is the right description that I used. More of a knife enthusiast, whatever that means. I'm new to the forum but so far this looks like a great website,
Thanks again and y'all can call me Dennis.

Hello Dennis, welcome to AAPK.
I've been a knife guy since I was about 6years old.
I've been retired for 2 years. I thought I would buy and sell pocket knives, but so far I pretty much just buy.

Welcome to AAPK, Dennis! I am glad that you are here.

Trying to make money by buying and selling knives is difficult for those who already know a great deal about knives and have connections to other sellers and collectors.
Most collectors only want knives that have never been used and are in near perfect condition. And they get maximum joy from buying below market value, i.e. most collectors are looking for a top example for a bargain price. This leaves little to no profit for the seller.
Furthermore the average age of a knife collector is 'old' and there are few younger people taking up this hobby. Hence the number of people interested in buying knives gets smaller every year.
Without a lot of knife experience you will end up buying many really nice but worthless fakes.
The only reason to become a knife dealer is because you love knives and you like chatting with other 'knifers' and you have plenty of time and not much to do. Then you would be having some fun and if you came out ahead by a few dollars you would be pleased and not bummed out if you ended up loosing some money. i.e. doing it for fun not money.
kj

Dennis Welcome to AAPK, you are smart to plan for retirement, When I retired I went from a 24/7 job to what now!
Without a plan It took a couple of years to adjust and find new interests. Congratulation and Good Luck with your retirement