@ Cabfrank : i know and agree, i only wacth destruction test for three reasons : first, they’re funny. Second, they’re very funny. Third: sometimes you can actually find structural problems in the knives. A knife is a tool, so they shouldn’t break when used for their intended purposes. Do anything else with them, but then don’t complaint about the results. I never owned a expensive knife and i have no personal experience about how they honour their warranty, but I do have very negative experiences with other prestige brands in other fields. Anyway I wasn’t talking about companies (there’s no discussion about chinese ones being far behind there), just about the product itself (if your knife breaks in the field, probably you won’t give a @#$% for the warranty at that moment). About ergonomics, well, i don’t think there are diferences depending on being SRM or BM, but depending on the model and, most important, your hand. Steel type for general purposes is not so relevant (so much fuzz about it for some people). Blade play… we all know it may happen in any brand… Resale value… well, here in Europe that’s not so popular, one reason being crazy prices here. Just an example: while you can get a Spyderco Delica 4 for 64 bucks in the States, you have to pay around 130 in Europe. Leatherman Wingman? 25 USD vs. 50 USD in Europe…. maybe that’s why srm, enlan, bee… are so popular here.
@Speedsix & trooplewis: the OP here = 270 USD :cry: :cry:
@gcbryan : selling one srm for 20 bucks is even better: 300% benefit!!!
i didn’t realize knives were that much more expensive in europe. i completely agree with you on the fact that sometime prestige brands are not as great as their prices suggest, and your point about a warranty being useless if your knife breaks while using it in the field is 100% correct. why is there such a large price difference? is it customs? regarding your example, i love spydercos, and you can actually get a delica even cheaper than that if you shop around. i haven’t owned that particular model, but i have owned an endura, which is basically the same knife, but larger. they are great, but, wow, i don’t know if i’d spend $130 on one. if the price is becasue of customs i guess there is not much you can do about it, but otherwise, couldn’t you save some money by buying one from an individual as opposed to a retailer, or maybe buying pre-owned? even with shipping from the us it would be a lot cheaper.
i’d like to know the reasons too… as you, i considered the same factors (customs, etc…) but i’m not sure, unless customs for products coming from the States are much higher than those applied to products coming from China. Transportation can’t make that difference either, since even shipping single units could account only for 10/15 bucks. I lived in the Bay area for some time but i didn’t take the chance to get some nice knives. Shipping from USA is an alternative but customs taxes almost end up eating the difference. Something ever weirder, check this post by Kreisler: OT: Victorinox Spirit X *NEW* for 45$ shipped (amazon promotion)
It’s an european product (around 100 USD here), shipped to the States (so price+transport+taxes+…), sold for …. 45 USD!!! Please, someone tell me WTF is going on.
Someone is just trying to build market share here in the U.S. so they are offering it at a lower price for a limited time.
In general however the differences in price between different countries is just customs or tax. Customs would usually just be that country trying to protect local industry. Taxes are well … just taxes Some countries are much higher than others.
Some of it comes down to market size. The US market is by far the largest and most competitive for consumer goods. Somewhat fixed costs like office/personnel are amortized over the lot.
I love my Delicas, but the way the prices have gone up since I got them means if they do eventually go boom, I won’t be replacing them. Not new anyways. I have both a combo and plain edged version with the Wave opener, and I got them for @$45 new in the box. Since then, depending on where you look, it’s been a $20-30 price increase for the exact same knife.
Spending more than $50 on a working knife seems like a waste to me, as I would be very leery of actually using it (or taking it out of my storage locker). I EDC my Delica, and use it just about every day for some task or another. No way in heck would I do that with a $350 Emerson. All it would take would be my clumsy behind to snag it on something and I’m out grocery money for the month.
Some countries are much higher than others.
Then I guess I have to stick to my ganzos, srm’s and other cheap stuff….