£300 plus knife ? ?

[richos36]

After months of watching forged in fire I'm really curious to see what people think ?
Are you using them in the field or just collecting them ?
Im just curious to know if anyone batons a £300 knife ?
I would be really nervous to use one but as they say you get what you pay for ?
thank you I am still learning about bushcraft so just asking Shaun

 

[TeeDee]

Im just curious to know if anyone batons a £300 knife ?

Probably.

But most definitely if its not theirs.

 

[0000]

After months of watching forged in fire I'm really curious to see what people think ?
Are you using them in the field or just collecting them ?
Im just curious to know if anyone batons a £300 knife ?
I would be really nervous to use one but as they say you get what you pay for ?
thank you I am still learning about bushcraft so just asking Shaun

That's quite a common price point for custom knives. As for batoning, it would depend on the knife I'd say. Also on whether you wanted to sell it on and so possibly maintain the original finish.

Sent from my SM-A705FN using Tapatalk

 

[punkrockcaveman]

There definitely not for me, but then again I can't afford to own one!

But if it's a really good quality tool and the maker gives you a big ol' warranty then that makes up for a lot of the money to be fair. Like most expensive tools.

I can't wrap my head around collecting things though

 

[C_Claycomb]

There are people who use knives costing that much, and more, most certainly. Whether they baton on one depends more on their view of batonning more than the cost of the knife. If they use the knife as a tool, and don't consider batonning to be abuse, they will do it on the knife.

I look at many of the knives that are sold by well known makers for up to £400, and I look at the knives I have made. In some cases there isn't much to choose if you look at materials, heat treatment, design, and I have certainly put a lot of time into them. I can't sell for that price, but if I have put 15 hours into it, what does that make it worth to me? Would I be comfortable batonning a knife I spent that sort of time on? Yeah absolutely.

 

[Great egret]

A Mora can do fine but as it is mass-produced will be more of a disposable tool for most people, whereas a custom knife will be something that you'd expect to enjoy using and owning for a very long time. If you think of it that way, that "expensive" custom knife is more that just another tool you use. A good custom knife will handle batonning fine even though you might be thinking of the price the first times you do that

 

[demographic]

Bit like a new pushbike when you were a kid.
When you first get it you faff on when it gets its first scratch, keep using it and before long you're letting it drop on the pavement outside the local shop and really using the bike.
I'm almost of the belief that tools should come from the maker pre-scabbled, just so the new owners isn't so precious about em.
Oh and Land Rovers should be pre-dented from the factory to stop tthe owners being a wuss with them. Although from what I heard they were coming equipped with factory rust on the chassis a while ago so possibly that was the idea?

Leave a new knife in a drawer too long and you'll never use it for fear of putting a scratch on it.

 

[TeeDee]

Leave a new knife in a drawer too long and you'll never use it for fear of putting a scratch on it.

“A ship in harbour is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.” — John A. Shedd.

 

[Robson Valley]

Same thing with shot guns for bird hunting. They all go bang.
I bought a couple quite fancy and quite expensive guns to shoot in the field.
Not as much of a thrill as I expected. I've kept just 2/12. Two of the cheaper guns,
well under $3,000.00. They point the best and I've got good aftermarket chokes.

If I ever lost the old Kershaw folder that my mother gave me, I think I'd look next at a custom bladesmith.
Your 400 is about $640 in my coin. I can see spending that on a good field knife.

 

[Nice65]

If you’ve wished for that knife, and it is custom made to your exact specifications, then yes, you use it.

There are a lot of ‘custom’ knives that aren’t at all, like limited runs, or handle material choices. That isn’t custom, any knife even in a run of ten isn’t a custom knife. A custom is yours, you’ve invested your research, personality, design wants, needs, and money. You’ve had conversations with the maker about pros and cons etc. After this lengthy learning process your knife is built with the advice and skill of an expert. Of course you whack it with a stick, it’s your new tool.

 

[Billy-o]

Like above, if it is a knife designed for the kitchen, then no. But, if it has the right geometry and is made out of the kind of stuff used for making chisels and so forth, then yes. The issue is less to do with the expense of thing and more to do with its fitness.

 

[Nice65]

Like above, if it is a knife designed for the kitchen, then no. But, if it has the right geometry and is made out of the kind of stuff used for making chisels and so forth, then yes. The issue is less to do with the expense of thing and more to do with its fitness.

That’s a nice pro batoning argument there for the anti batoning, would you hit a knife that is designed predominantly as a wood tool? Well, of course, it is a chisel.

 

[woodsorrel]

I think the hidden question is: If you own an expensive knife, would you use it in the field or keep it in a drawer to admire?

I have purchased several expensive custom knives. After each purchase, I spend the next week hyperventilating over what I paid.

But the reason I buy an expensive knife is to experience the joy of using it in the field. To experience the fun of using a well-crafted blade that expresses my personality. So I promise myself before I buy that I will use the knife and not just keep it in a drawer.

But as a practical matter, I am a serial monogamist. I use one knife so I can become accustomed to using it. Then I always carry it. Because I care for my knives, I end up using the same one for many years. And the others do spend most of their days in a drawer. Perhaps I will begin a rotation one day. But for now, I only switch-off knives when I travel. I carry a less expensive Fallkniven F1 because I know I can replace it if it goes missing from my luggage.

- Woodsorrel

 

[Terry.m.]

That’s funny, I am somewhat the same in the first instance, I have way too many knives for sure also some
Very expensive custom made ones, however I do rotate nearly all apart from one.!!
I bought the Woodlore about 3/4 years back after humming and aarrging for a long time finally bit the bullit paid a fortune for it but vowed
To use it,,,,,, however I made an excuse every time not to.. eventually I
Had Alan Wood make me a similar one which I used mainly along with Jackloreknive, but always anxious in case I leave them...
The trials of life.!!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Terry.m.]

I sometimes do baton with all my knives but really prefer to use an axe
It seems more appropriate, I will point out I’m no expert,


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Broch]

I agree with Chris - my most precious knives are the ones I have made; I can't replace all those hours working on them. They're no masterpieces, they're tools and I use them as such but I have never broken one yet. I treat the scales as replaceable - if they get damaged I drill out the rivets and put new ones on; I enjoy that, it's like getting a new knife

Personally, I would never spend £300 on a knife but I understand why people would (and more).

 

[C_Claycomb]

I have spent that sort of money on a knife...a folder or two and one fixed blade. The fixed was my one and last experiment with collecting.

If one makes, it is hard to buy hand made from someone else. There is a chap here selling an AEBL Ben Orford Parang, along with a bunch of other Orfords, and I would dearly love to have it. It is expensive. I would want it as a tool and it would get used and used hard on occassion...but, I also want to make my own parang, having made handles, sheaths and big cutters for other people. If I was to make a parang, even in O-1, it would probably get the use that would have gone on the Orford if I wasn't a maker. Then the Orford would end up at home for a lot of the time.

It is the nature of things that if you buy one, you will use it, but if you like having that new item, and using it, and you buy more, your usage is going to wind up divided. Eventually, some are going to see almost no use at all.

I don't think there is a single deep or hidden truth about the buying £300 knives or buyers being too nervous of using them hard. One person might confirm the hypothesis that they bought to collect and wouldn't dream of using the knife because that would ruin its resale...while another might have no objection to using it, but just has so many others in rotation that they don't get to use it, but like how it looks of feels too much to sell it. Someone with a lot of money might buy a £300 because that really isn't much money to them so they have no qualms about using it hard, while another might have little money, but has saved for the best tool they can get that they want to use hard and know they can trust.

 

[Broch]

A couple of years ago I bought a canoe off a guy that was a proud about its condition - not a scratch and beautifully polished woodwork; in the first year it did two whitewater treks fully loaded, the hull is scratched, there are two repaired cracks and the woodwork shows “paddle use” but I think the canoe is happier for it

 

[Duggie Bravo]

I won a S4 clone from Mark Hill in a raffle, which I think he sells for around £400.
My wife doesn’t understand why anyone would pay that for a knife, I don’t understand why she pays so much for handbags.
I use it, it might not be used to open cans like my Opinel, but I would be more upset if I broke it. I do use it for batonning.
I also own, temporarily mislaid, a Swiss Champ pen knife. I bought it to wind my dad up, but then started wearing it on my belt and used it all over the world.
In my view if you have a tool use it, I don’t pay a lot for tools as I don’t use them very often and I doubt I would have bought the S4 clone as it is out of my price range but it is a tool and I plan on using it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Erbswurst]

Would I buy it I would use it, but I don't see any reason to buy one.

Before one invests so much money in a knife, I usually would recommend to buy a Hilleberg Akto tent, a Carinthia PRG rain suit, a Snugpak Special Forces sleep system, a Savotta Jääkäri L rucksack with large Särmä side pouches and especially in individual measures custom made all leather hiking boots.

After those intelligent investments most people have spend most of their budget and go for a usual industrial 100 to 150€ high quality survival knive like Mora Garberg, Casström Lars Fält Knife or similar stuff.

But should somebody gift such an expensive knife to me, I would use it without any doubt, if it's designed and made in the right way. A knife is a tool, made to be used.