Arw you having a larf!!!???

[mikesknives]

Someone had to mention that brand didn't they

Rolex is not exactly a prestige brand nor "expensive" for that sake (note the quotation marks), it's just that it's the only brand that most people ever seem to have heard off. Won't dig any deeper into that as it's all off-topic, my apologises.

Is that the brand equivilant of mentioning Hitler???

Then again it just goes to show that to some a Rolex is mid to low end but ask a Casio wearer and you'll get a different perspective.

[sal]

Hi Ian,

I think it's a good question and you've received some very good information here. This seems to be an area that many have difficulty understanding, so you are not unique. I see this often on the other forums that I monitor. The question of "value" has no answer.

"It's not too much for the product, perhaps I just can't afford it?" "Just because I can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there, it just means I can't see it". Some people have more money than others. They usually spend the "More" on trying to get more. A Ferrari or Porsche instead of a Miata. Is it worth it? To them it is.

I looked very close at the Rockstead pieces in their booth at the IWA show this year. (they travel to many shows per year which is also very expensive) I just enjoy seeing their effort and skill in an area that I have the knowledge to be able to appreciate their skill. In the end, though I liked the product and I collect, I felt at this time my limited funds had other priorities (kids, grandkids,etc.). There will always be those that are able to simply make/have/inherit more money. They have often have expensive tastes. So there will always be a maker trying to create product at a high enough skill level to impress them.

sal

[bwildered]

I always entirely fail to see the point of these threads?

...........

Just because you can't afford it doesn't mean it shouldn't exist.

I thought the point of the thread is to offer varied opinions, and surely there's a point to that? If sharing opinions on knives isn't encouraged here, then I don't know what is...

For me, it's not the price that's the issue as to what you get for it. I can see that price being feasible for any number of knives. Just not Rocksteads. Same as with your car analogy - some prefer Ferraris, some BMW's, some Group B Rally cars. All can be bought for similar monies... And as soon as anyone spends the same amount on a perfectly well made Dacia, I'll have an opinion

[two_zero]

Is that the brand equivilant of mentioning Hitler???

Then again it just goes to show that to some a Rolex is mid to low end but ask a Casio wearer and you'll get a different perspective.

murderer! nazi! ...jaywalker!

My wife as a matter in fact wears a Casio and I a Mondaine, but I'd never even consider Rolex

ah well, agree to disagree?

[jameswood]

Aluminium is cheap. Stingray leather can be bought for a few dollars; probably even less in Asia.
Part of the hype surrounding Rockstead knives is to do with their cutting ability. Apparently they can cut through rope and bamboo and a couple of concrete blocks and still slice newspaper. If this is true, what is it about the blade that enables a Rockstead to do this and not, say, a Spyderco?

its the HT and the coating. see, us sad-asses preach about HT being more important than the steel for a reason

[Basjan]

My Stretch,my Gayle Bradley is your Rocksteads!My short and chubby wife is your 6' 3' blonde with big errs..,so love what you love and let me love...My gf's ring cost $400 and you buy your's a $100 RING!So what?Sal,you're a great man!Not many bussinesmen to praise other's "stuff"!Rockstead is ok but my Spydercos are better

Spannie

[Hatethatgiraffe]

Is that the brand equivilant of mentioning Hitler???

Then again it just goes to show that to some a Rolex is mid to low end but ask a Casio wearer and you'll get a different perspective.

Hitler? Aye he was one for not really allowing anyone to have an opinion of their own too lmao

Whether you agree or not Ian has opened up a discussion which is perfectly valid!

[mikesknives]

I'm not sure where I said he couldn't merely that I don't see the point of another why does this cost that thread.

[Hatethatgiraffe]

And why is this any different from a "is this legal" or "what's the best edc" thread?
Yeah the same things may come up now and again but that's life!
Aint any worse than Sky TV and Rupert Murdoch probably has a cupboard full of Rocksteads

[Toast]

There's a significant element of diminishing returns when it comes to tolerances. The comment that aluminium and stingray are both cheap - yes, but it's a complex shape milled from an inorganic material and then married with very tight tolerances to a tricky-to-work organic material. That's an unforgiving thing to perfect.
Getting things like that right will push up labour time, and the training of skilled employees, exponentially when compared to bolting a ground slab of carbon fibre to a ground slab of titanium. When you're reaching this level of engineering, the materials themselves are of negligible cost to the manufacturer when compared with the investment in top-end CNC machinery, and in training highly skilled operatives to work and to take the necessary time to acheive the standards expected of a prestige brand.

Then bear in mind that many retailers work on a 100% mark-up (I've experience of this as a producer and as an employee of a retailer at a range of price brackets in the jewellery industry, excuse me if I'm mistaken in applying it to other industries though).

Commence wild speculation:

So, take an £1800 Rockstead. Less 20% VAT -£1520. Landed in the UK at a cost of £760. Shipping costs & manufacturer's margin perhaps has it under £300 to cover a range of machinery and skilled workers...

It's a wonder we can afford a letter opener

For that matter, margins can be lower on a flagship model - look at a Bugatti Veyron, for instance. £800,000 to buy, yet they had to sell a fair old number before they were out of a significant patch of red on the R&D. Initial run was something like a 400k loss on each car, if memory serves.

As was said earlier - there's good publicity to be had for making the best in the world. Your second-, third-, fourth-best models and so-on are still "from the makers of the world's best". They don't need to make a profit on it, they don't even need to sell it, if it can justify itself through profit from incidental sales.

The Higo: from the makers of the Shin: From the makers of the Tei.

[sigman]

Just to throw my hat into the ring - is it better to spend £1800 on a factory-made knife ( made in their thousands, apparently ) or is it wiser to spend that money on a custom/hand made knife, made by some of the finest folder makers that the world has seen. For example, £1800 will get you a multi-blade slip joint by American maker Reese Bose on the secondary market ( even cheaper direct from Reese, if you don't mind waiting 4 years ) and yes, the fit/finish is beyond compare, as you would expect from one of the top three slipjoint makers in the world ! On this side of the pond, if fit/finish floats your boat, check out Geoff Hague's folders. Stunning work, totally unique and a lot less money. Looking to the future, how much is your Rockstead going to be worth when/if you come to sell it in 5 years time ? If that particular model is still being produced...... I wonder ?
It would be interesting to know that if BB members found themselves at the Atlanta Blade Show with £2000 spending money, how many would come back with a Rockstead and how many would come back with a Custom/Hand made knife ???????

I guess it's pretty obvious which side of the fence I'm on but when I'm spending around £2000 on a knife ( which at the risk of sounding "flash", I have on more than one occassion - but don't tell here indoors !!! ) I am looking for a return on my money in the future.

Having said all of that, it would be a pretty dull world if we all liked the same thing, so credit to "Mr. Rockstead" for making the trip from Japan to attend the Mike's Knife Show.

Sig.

[kawasemi]

Looking to the future, how much is your Rockstead going to be worth when/if you come to sell it in 5 years time ? If that particular model is still being produced...... I wonder ?

This is a really interesting point. Some people collect never to sell, some collect expressly to do so and to some, their fortunes or tastes change. The current economic climate would suggest that as you 'drive your Rockstead off the forecourt', so to speak, depreciation would cut in. Perhaps not so much with a one off custom...but then someone else has to like it to buy it.

David Battye (Antiques Roadshow) made an interesting point, at a talk I visited, when he was asked 'What are the best ceramics to invest in?'.

'None except the ones that give you pleasure' was the answer. Followed by, 'If you love it, you keep it, and if it has lost money you don't care. But if you buy to make a profit (which it doesn't) and you hate it, you will loath it even more'.

We all have different tastes (in knives on here of course). It is what makes the world fun...and our debate exhilarating.

kawasemi