A Rare Pair

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sammy the blade
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Re: A Rare Pair

Post by sammy the blade »

whippersnapper wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:17 pm
shakes cane angrily at invisible adversaries* ....Impudent whippersnappers....!
Hey now! :wink:
It could be worse, but I'm not going there.
2024 candidate for president
Quaero
Posts: 77
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2020 12:44 am

Re: A Rare Pair

Post by Quaero »

button_man wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:58 pm jim ~ Do you have any idea WHY there are no longer "pages and pages of old and new switchblades for sale every day" ?

SharperDeals seems to be on life support. The few other sites that I visit usually have a very few knives available, followed by 38 pages of knife photos all marked "sold out". Is it hard to obtain new items from manufacturers? Are internet site managers cracking down on knives? Are people getting out of the business due to low sales? What exactly has changed? I hope to hear opinions on this from as many folks as possible....
I believe it's a simple supply and demand situation. The knife collecting community (including switchblades) has increased substantially over the past few years. Several other knife forums have talked about prices going up for most knives with more people looking and fewer quality examples available for sale. More persistence and patience are needed in finding good knives.
Quaero
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Re: A Rare Pair

Post by Quaero »

jim d, wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 3:13 am Quaero,

I was looking through The Art of the Switchblade and came across a "Swiss Army" version of your posted lever lock that has a bottle opener, screwdriver, corkscrew etc., but then you knew that :D

Jim
Jim, which page number?
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jim d,
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Re: A Rare Pair

Post by jim d, »

Quero,

page 71, unless I misidentified the knife.

Jim
button_man
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Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:08 pm

Re: A Rare Pair

Post by button_man »

whippersnapper wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:17 pm
shakes cane angrily at invisible adversaries* ....Impudent whippersnappers....!
Hey now! :wink:
oops.... I meant to say, um, "jackanapes" of course...... :shock:
button_man
Posts: 632
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:08 pm

Re: A Rare Pair

Post by button_man »

Quaero wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 11:23 pm
I believe it's a simple supply and demand situation. The knife collecting community (including switchblades) has increased substantially over the past few years. Several other knife forums have talked about prices going up for most knives with more people looking and fewer quality examples available for sale. More persistence and patience are needed in finding good knives.
So you believe that the collector base for auto knives is actually increasing....?
Hmmm..... usually supply increases to meet market demand; I wonder why the shops
in Italy (and elsewhere) aren't ramping up and adding production capacity to meet demand?
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jim d,
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Re: A Rare Pair

Post by jim d, »

button_man,

Regarding supply and demand, it is important to differentiate between vintage and current production. If you think of Quaero's comment in terms of vintage knives then it makes perfect sense as the number of vintage knives can not increase. In terms of current production knives, your comment makes perfect sense.

Jim
button_man
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Re: A Rare Pair

Post by button_man »

One other factor that I had not thought of is that of available craftsman talent. I was on the phone yesterday with somebody in the business, and he mentioned that he finds a huge percentage of the best-known German brand arriving (brand-new) on the market with significant defects -- not just minor cosmetic issues, but real defects. He told me that many of the older craftsmen have faded away; and the knives are now being produced by younger, inexperienced people who have not had the benefit of an apprenticeship program or anything like that. Their poorly-built knives are shipped regardless, in the knowledge that USA collectors are unlikely to get into the complicated and shadowy world of international returns.... so they just eat the loss. [ disclaimer: I am merely repeating information disclosed by another person; I have no personal knowledge regarding this issue. ]
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HLangston
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Re: A Rare Pair

Post by HLangston »

Those are gorgeous knives!
Herb
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