I bought this Tapio Wirkkala 'Puukko' knife back in the early '80's for $40 out of a catalog.
I've read that they are pretty rare these days. Last one I saw for sale about 2 years ago went for $350 on eBay.
I used to carry it when camping until a fellow camper noticed it and informed me it was a rare knife and worth lots more than what I paid, so I put it away.
EDIT: After taking the pic and posting, I looked at Google and found the little bro of this knife on ebay for $200. Mine is the larger model. I don't know which is more desirable to collectors.
I remember those. Haven't seen one for awhile.
Which knife replaced it as your "user"? Just curious.
Seems that almost every pretty good knife becomes collectible in a few decades, if only for nostalgia.
I've mostly quit worrying about it and just use the knives that I like, but take care of them.
I think I paid $12 for a Puma Hunter's Pal in a discount store about 1970. Retail "list" was about $18. In box with sheath, that model is now being offered for as much or more than $350.
There was a time when men actually carried and used knives by Loveless and by Dietmar Kressler. Kressler told me that his customers who hunt preferred his 154CM blades to Damascus, as the edges sharpened more uniformly and didn't rust. But who hunts with a Kressler knife on his belt today? He was already pretty famous when the German edition of, "Playboy" ran a major article on him, with superb photos. After that, I think the knives were so desirable that anyone there who carried one put it in a safe and started carrying a Puma or a Randall, etc.
Loveless got similar publicity, if never in such a major magazine, and prices for his and other famous "handmades" shot up so much in price that few would carry and use one.
I've even seen Buck knives only 15 or so years old selling at shows for much more than you could buy a new one for! I did pay more than "list" for a couple of Model 120's, but only because that model was largely discontinued. I think they now make it only in occasional special runs for major distributors.