I don't know anything about the knife making business. I do wonder why good USA made knives cost so much. Let's use Benchmade as an example. Is it the cost of materials? Are labor costs out of sight? Maybe these knives are a bargain, for what you get. I honestly don't know.
It is easy to see why some guns cost so much. Steel has to withstand pressures, machining, labor cost, huge marketing, legal costs, and so on. I just don't see the cost, to charge $200 bucks for a knife. Are they really that hard to produce. I certainly can't make a folding pocketknife. Is it just a matter of -people will pay it- so we charge it. Ill be glad to hear peoples viewpoints and share their knowledge. Thanks Mikey!

I think the expression "whatever the market will bear" is is the appropriate answer. I know people will say that there are the development costs but seriously your point is well made. I have been carrying Kershaw Leeks for years. Cost approx $40 and they keep a sharp edge and just work. You know what they say...."It cost's to be a show-off". All those collectors who own the ultra-expensive knives may end up regretting their purchase when they go to sell. I know, Randall's are still going strong but what about all the other custom knives that don't sell for squat. JMO

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All good points. But the cost of labor is still a big part of it. Making knives still requires a lot of skilled hand labor, and skilled labor isn't cheap.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

In Benchmade's case that is the biggest part of the answer. You pay for brand's prestige when all you really need is to be able to trust that a company uses the steel they claim they are and doing the expected heat treating.

Probably the second biggest part of the cost is how automated the company's production is. It is rumored that the Chinese factory that turns out Rough Ryder and many other brands is the most automated in the world. It does not hurt that they also have one of the least expensive labor forces. The second most automated factory is probably Victorinox. That's how their knives can retail for $25 after being shipped to the other side of the planet.

Another thing that keeps Victorinox's cost down is choosing a steel and heat treatment that results in blades that are soft enough to be affordable to polish and doing the polishing by tumbling. Buck keeps their cost down the opposite way. They make harder blades but do not polish them bright. Case splits the difference in hardness and polishes most blades bright. That makes their polishing cost more.

Man. That is like saying “Why does a meal in one restaurant cost more than a meal in another? Hey, it’s only food!”

And it is so much more than made in USA vs made in China. There are relatively expensive European production knives, say Puma or Laguiole, and great value knives like Opinel and Victorinox, and etcetera, etcetera.

Then you’ve got custom craftsmen, semi custom, a whole buncha steels, and on and on and on. I only know a little bit. We have members here who know much more.

But, I like knives.

But it is a huge subject, with much depth, history, metallurgy, and on and on. And on.

It’s fun. For guys who like knives, a whole bunch more fun than say, collecting stamps. Though guys who like stamps, philatelists, would disagree. Or guys who like insects, entomologists, are more into bugs. It’s just another fun thing to get into, if so inclined.

Hey, it’s all good!

The biggest factor that adds to the cost is premium steel. There isn’t anything made in China that can rival US designed steel.

The other factor is that many of the premium steels are not made by knife companies themselves. They are made by a third party. Anytime you have more than one company involved, prices will be higher.

Cheap knives are just that. I’ll stick with Benchmade.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Most Buck knives are still made in the U.S.

They did have to offshore some production to meet the price points demanded by the big box stores, but IIRC, more than 80% still come from Idaho.

Like Richard, I'm very fond of my Kershaw Leek, though I feel a bit guilty when I look at my collection of Buck's & Kai-built Kershaws (1030 is my favorite hunting knife). But the clip and assisted opening are just so damned handy.

That said, my Leek did need it's screws tightened down recently, something that certainly never happened with one of my Buck 500s or Kershaw 3120.

I don't know much about Bench Made. They're more than I'd pay for a knife.

I do not accept the OP’s premise, that US made knives necessarily cost a lot. Buck US-made knives are a case in point. You can get their most popular knife, the 110, for $37. My Benchmades all cost less than my most expensive knife, the Paul Laconico Keen, made by WE Knife Co., a higher-end Chinese maker. Ontario Old Hickory knives and Dexter-Russell Green River knives typically sell for less than $20 and deliver excellent performance.

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Not in jail.

Because they're worth it!

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I think it might be how we view the knife and what it "says" to us. Personally, I view a knife as a tool and little more. Certainly, I'm impressed with high end cutlery but it's over the top for what I want. Firearms are differnent for me. I see them as more than mere tools. The craftsmanship of a finely made firearm takes my breath away. For some people, the reverse is true - firearms are mere tools. Another example would be wine and Scotch. For me, a decent under $10 bottle of Cabernet is all I'm looking for. I've paid stupid amounts for high end Scotch, though.

How Victorinox knives are made.

I think they're among the best values of any product category. And I have them in models from the tiny Classic to the thick SwissChamp.

Listen to the video to learn how to pronounce the names of Ibach and Schwyz. (SP?) Ibach-Schwyz is relatively near Zurich, as major cities go.

Tonight, I have a Vic. Spartan in my pocket and a Benchmade in a belt pouch.

Ditto; lots of "custom" makers ask a pretty penny ( and IMO, most are pretty darn good.) The Buck 110 is the best example of fair price and outstanding quality. Mine is 38 years old, and mechanically as good as new.

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John

While I don’t use any knives hard- I’ve found CRKT and Kershaw to be excellent knives at a sub-$50 price point.

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Some Might Say.

I'll pay more for good steel and personally avoid Chinese steel. I like Bark River and Benchmade blades. They do cost more but the performance speaks for itself.

I have a Benchmade Infidel that I carry daily. I was long of the opinion I never wanted a pricier knife. over the last 30 years I had multiple Spydercos, Cold Steel, CKRT and Buck knives in various law enforcement, fire service and military applications. A few failed, most ended up lost.

After owning the D2 tool blade for a few years, I now understand the hype. There is a value to having an almost no maintenance blade that has been absolutely reliable and sharp. “Because it is worth it” is a subjective value, but big boy tools generally cost big boy money.

I probably overpaid for a Benchmade auto but I don't really have regrets about doing so.

It’s the same as guns. Some are intrinsically better than others, some are rarer than others, some are just more popular.
Case in point... the registered magnum. Is it really better than its offspring? I don’t think so. It’s just rarer and a higher price is attached.
Prices have already been somewhat established and they’ll probably remain pretty fixed unless quality declines.
Also like guns, knives have a personal preference with most people. Some blade types or materials are more in demand.
I think the price differences come mainly from that and how they’re put together. Costs in the US can be higher due to labor costs is all.

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“Look life in its iron face”

Correct....what he said

Love my Michigan made Marbles, Rapid Rivers, and Bark Rivers along with a pretty substantial number of Benchmades. And while I once said that I’d never own a Randall, I now own 5 of them. I use most of them and admire ALL for their beauty and quality.

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Pass it on.
Mark

I want to let everyone know about Buck's best kept secret; the 402 akonua.

The akonua will cost you around $120, and what you will receive is a full tang, fixed sweeping blade, made out of impressive s30v stainless steel. You have to pay twice the money for fixed blade s30v steel from any other knife maker.

I know this may cut deep for some of you, pun intended, but in comparison knife makers like Randal are a complete joke. An $800+ blade made from 440B?! Please... 440B can't hold a candle to s30v, neither can o1 tool steel for that matter, and Randal wants eight times the amount of money for their substandard product?! Not for this guy, no thanks. Randal knifes have turned into status symbols. Are you trying to keep up with the Jones'? Buy a Randal. Are you wanting a working man's knife? Buy a Buck.

Sorry for the crummy picture, I don't have good light right know.

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Ban this man,
'89

Wow, that brought back memories. We were actually there last October, visiting both the factory outlet store in Ibach and the Swiss Knife Valley Museum and store in Brunnen. As expected, you can find Swiss Army knives (Victorinox) practically everywhere in Switzerland, and also as expected, no factory tours. However, the "seconds" bins at the factory outlet store offered up some nice bargains from a constantly changing inventory. We ended up with four small various kitchen style knives for $26. Sharp buggers too. The only difference between the "seconds" and the standard retail offerings appeared to be the logo on the blades was stamped off-center, upside down, or some similar cosmetic defect. I had to stop my wife from shopping there, or we'd have needed another piece of luggage to get it all home.

Agree with comments above. Labor costs, steel used, and construction. Have read Buck does a good job with 420 H.C. as far as heat treatment. My Sogs with Aus-8 are quite decent and sharpen easily.

With the diverse selection and the price to quality ratio Buck has. I don’t know why anyone would buy a foreign made knife.

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I carry a Case pocket knife most of the time.
Got a bug a couple of years ago while the Wife and i were in Maine at Kittery Trading Post, and ended up buying 2 Randalls, and a Boker Magnum, which is made in China. I also have a Buck 110 that the Police Dept. issued to us, and I carried it on my duty belt until I retired. It sits in a drawer now, but it's still in very good condition.

In pricing - don't forget about the extent of their advertising!!! Labor costs, the steel quality, amount of automation are all valid points as well.

To each their own. You don't have to denigrate those of us who happen to like Randall knives or any other knife for that matter. I buy what I like and don't think of any of them as a "status symbol", just like I buy guns that I like.


I do in fact have a Buck 402 Akonua and I like it too. But I'm not a snob about owning it over my Randalls. Like I said, "to each their own".


I'm not trying to start a war here, just stating my opinion., which isn't worth much at all.

There are a lot of factors to consider.

Type of knife is only part of the picture.

For me, steel quality in the blade is the highest consideration. I don't use my knives hard but I use them a LOT. I need my blade to be able to take a good edge and keep that edge for a very long time. Otherwise the knife is useless to me.

Thread makes me wish I would have invested in the Puma brand back in the 60s. Unfortunately not a rich kid but did score a Puma Skinner back in 67. Ran me around $25-30 back then. Guess that older carbon Pumaster steel used makes em quite collectible and valuable. That White Hunter was a dream of mine too back then.

Thankfully, the Buck’s 110mis still American made, and only around $40.

While cleaning out my wife’s late uncles things, most of which ended up in a dumpster, I came across this old USA made colonial knife. It was rusted and gummed up shut but, I did manage to get it back to working shape. These used to sell for just a few dollars back in the day.


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OP: there is your answer. D2 is quite a bit more expensive than the 420C stainless steel typically used.

Not only is the blade stock more expensive, I'll wager it's harder to work. After all that trouble, it's doubtful they'd put together a shoddily-built knife.

I certainly was not trying to start a war either. I'm sorry you feel denigrated for owning a randal as that was not my intention either. I simply issued a factual comparison of the quality steel used by Buck that isn't used by Randal, and at a much better price point. I'm sorry you didn't care for my semantics, but don't worry, I'm sure I'll be banned sooner than later for having an opinion on knives, in a knife forum, where the OP was asking speficically about quality and pricing of American steel, and for my attitude about being censored for using language that other members are allowed to use. My opinion isn't worth much either, but that opinion is that s30v beats the snot out of 440b...

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Ban this man,
'89

Believe me I don't feel bad at all about owning Randalls.
Don't want you to get banned either. We all have likes and dislikes when it comes to our "collections".


Oh, and with the moniker "The Model of 1989" you can't be all bad.

The old school US made pocketknives were quality.
Here’s one from a Parachute Survival Kit.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I love TOPS knives, give 'em a try, I'm sure you'll like 'em!

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Jorge

Reminds me of the preacher man with the dowdy wife railing against those fools who spend their time chasing after young, beautiful, hip slinging daughters of Satan. Then we find out that actually, um, turns out that the preacher...)

So, if some day, Model of 1989, you choose to buy a Randall, we won’t hold it against you. (Hey, there’s a country music song in there somewhere!)

(I like Bucks, too. I am promiscuous in my affections when it comes to knives!)

It was time to get my wife a nice kitchen knife set. I wanted American made of course.
We have some older Chicago Cutlery and the rustic style goes with our country kitchen. Turns out most CC is made in China now.
Enter Case knives. Made in USA and still affordable. The walnut handles are unfinished and looked rather plain. Some Johnson's paste wax and a hair dryer fixed that. They look great now and came with a decent working edge.

My clever handle doesn't make me immune to being human and coming off unpleasant though; I understand that. I appreciate the vote of confidence.

I knew it would cut deep lol

I'm not trying to knock Randal specifically so much as I was trying to think of a very popular and expensive knife manufacturer that doesn't use the quality of steel that other less expensive manufacturers use. Randal comes to mind first and foremost when thinking about an expensive knife that uses inexpensive steel that most would not consider premium, especially for the price. They look pretty, but I, and many others, are not trying to put an $800 blade through its paces in the field; that's why I said they aren't working man's knife. Long story short is, if y'all like yalls randals, then I love them, and please don't let my personal opinion on knives have any bearing on what you want regardless of its quality. I'd love to have the funds to buy Randal, with that kind of expendable income I may have a few, or maybe I'd buy another akunoa and a few s&w revolvers instead.

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Ban this man,
'89

About 1981 to 1982 I bought three new Randals. Through that time and probably on to today Randal never advertised spectacular edge retention. They mostly promoted their knive's role as military and survival knives. There are numerous pictures of WW II U.S. Army brass and a few USN officers carrying Randal knives. Randal's famous #1 has been fairly called a sharpened pry bar. Using D2 or S30V hardened for best edge retention would have made Randal's knives inferior for their role. Today's stainless cutlery steels that are sold with claims of stupendous edge retention have to be very hard. Some of them are as hard as high speed steel milling machine cutters. It has long been known that knives could be made that hard but when that is done the blade looses its strength and flexibility. There is no magic steel. Randal did not use steel that would snap for good reason.

The thing Randal does do that most other knife makers do not do is forge their blades. That arranges the grain structure for a stronger steel part. you will never get a forged blade from Buck, Case, Kershaw, or any other American mass producer and I doubt you'll ever get one from Bench Made. Most knives are stamped out of belts of steel that the knife manufacturer buys in rolls. The stamping is given bevels by grinding. Knives that are so large that stamping is not cost effective are ground from flat stock. Only a tiny fraction of American blades are forged. If you want a survival knife that in a pinch can be used for things other than cutting forged steel that is not super hard is the way to go.

The bigger part of the Randal story is that they are pieces of art. It is expected that the edges of their grinds are perfectly straight and location of the edges mirror each other from side to side. That is not so easy when it's done by hand. Where the tang enters the hand guard the joint is soldered to close any gap. I do not know how to describe it except to say the soldering job looks good. That takes too long to do on mass produced knives. While buying both Bench Made and Randal knives you are paying for the brand's prestige but making Randals takes more skilled hand work.

When I bought my three Randals the cutlery store in the shopping mall had plenty of them on the shelf. Mine cost $125 to $165. On my budget the amount they would have been devalued by use was too much so I only used one of them. Later during the 1980s I sold the two I did not use back to the store I bought them from for about $25 more than I paid for them. I wish I kept the user. I do not intend to critisize those who buy Randals but I'll never spend what Randals cost today for a knife.

Back around 2003, one of my Kosovo friends ordered Benchmade 5000 autos at a discount for those of us that wanted one. I carried mine in K'vo and then later in Afghanistan. I have carried it ever since.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I love Bucks and Ka-Bars but my favorite users are Randall’s. They get the job done and make me happy. That is worth the money to me. The small one I bought as a present when I got my plumbing license the larger when I got my masters license.

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Very good eveled.the best don't come cheap.as with any tool ya don't want to cheap-out especially as a tradesman.

While I do have and have really worked on my knife collection in past few years. Stuck and an addict to classic knifes lately. I do have Sogs , Gerber, and other plastic assisted , Kershaw and others. My interest has Ben Case both slip and lockbladed. In fact have a new lockbladed to be delivered this week. My price point has always been staying at Max $100.00 or less. I did ponder at on point to maybe step up to and spend a bit more into a lower end Benchmade. My biggest issue is there is no eye candy with any of those. Lol. Being for now a Case addict

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Spin The Wheel

As I have mentioned before here, my late hubby was a knife collector. He had literally thousands of knives. For many years he collected antique/vintage pocket knives with his focus on knives made in the congress whittler pattern. That is a knife with a master blade on one backspring and 2 blades on a double backspring with the master blade falling between the 2 blades when closed and done in a slightly curved style. He had amassed a collection of about 150 of these knives and often displayed his collection at knife shows around the country.
Pictured below are 2 examples, the first is a Terrier Cutlery made between 1910-1916. The second was made by Frary in Bridgeport, CT between 1879-1881 as determined by the blade stamping.
These are fine examples of early New England knife manufacturing.

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Super Snooper

I will gladly pay more to ensure I support American companies. China has killed small business and American way of life for years by undercutting with cheap junk. I go out of my way to buy American. But I don't mind a good swiss watch or knife from time to time.

In the 1990's his interest changed to beautiful handmade custom knives. All of these are American makers. These have all been sold for me by Arizona Custom Knives so I have swiped their pictures which are much better than mine were. The makers of these are John Hoskins, Stan Wilson, Andy Shinosky, W.D. Pease, and C.Gray Taylor. All of these sold in the 4 figures.

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Super Snooper

I currently have about 25-30 knives and none are very expensive except for one Benchmade. I sold several high dollar knives when I saw the prices they were bringing versus the modern cheap knives that are darn near as good. Yeah, Benchmade will hold an edge longer than my other knives but it still needs to be sharpened eventually. When I can get Kershaw OSO Sweet for 25 bucks or an OKC 7" military issue knife for under $40 and abuse the heck out of them I see no need to spend more money.

The knife "thing" must have been contagious because it seems I have even added a few for myself, all have been autos. The first is one of his custom knives that I'm keeping. Made by Matthew Lerch in the late 1990's. I rest of these I have purchased myself. The 2nd is by an Italian company, Italians have long been know for their quality autos. This one is a lever lock. Next is a Pro-Tech USA Limited Edition Auto Runt, note the Damascus blade. Then a little Benchmade Impel, Last is my favorite and my carry, Benchmade Phaeton. I really like the double action spine fire. I also have import autos and the difference is easily seem and felt.
If another American company makes a spine fire auto I would be interested.

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Super Snooper

My EDC are SAK's either a tinkerer or huntsman. Prefer the Tinkerer because is is a bit smaller.
My go to knife for cleaning ducks is a pair of kitchen shears that I paid $10 for years ago.
For fish it's Dexter/Russel.
For heavy duty watersports like sailing,etc, I use a folder by Myerchin. I have a Myerchin dive knife on my safety harness and that's about it.
Not really a knife snob. The benchmade's, spydercos etc are nice but they can't do anything that the above can't.
Oh and I also use an electric knife for cleaning a mess o fish

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Forum consigliere

Back to some misc knife ramblings. Hubby always said that the best using knives for the money were the 110 Buck in a folder and the 119 Buck in a fixed blade and that any fool can do a decent job of sharpening them.
He said Case knives were good but he was more interested in the collectible values of knives and said Case made too many knives to become collectibles. He was wrong on that! Many of the older Case are selling at a premium now.

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Super Snooper