Highest Switchblade Price

[button_man]

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We keep talking about the rising cost of knives (and everything else)..... so, what's the most expensive switchblade that you've ever seen or heard of?

Until now, I would have pointed to an "art knife" that was basically a show-piece for the craftsman -- tons of exquisite engraving, and if I remember correctly (this was years ago) some gold and semi-precious gemstones... the price was $11,000.

This one has that beat on a nominal level -- of course, if you adjust the $11K for inflation, they might be pretty close. But sticking with just the raw figures, this Latama takes the cake.
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[JulesVane]

It would take quite a bit of alcohol for me to spend such money on ANY knife! Then, when I sobered up, I’d try to find a way to get out of the purchase. I’m just not that caliber of a collector.

[sammy the blade]

Me either, seems like I paid $240 for my Godfather and it's just the basic black scaled model. Most money I've spent on a knife and I've had it for awhile.

[Bill DeShivs]

Should some foo..... um, someone wish to spend 20 grand on a knife, I would be happy to accomodate him.

[Tom19176]

First I know Bob for about 30 years. If you want to see a high price on a knife or old fishing lure then check Bob's listings.....He will haggle with you and I have over the years got some good stuff from him at fair prices. I am having a hard time on understanding prices these days. Things are crazy high and they seem to sell......

[portlandmike]

It would take quite a bit of alcohol for me to spend such money on ANY knife! Then, when I sobered up, I’d try to find a way to get out of the purchase. I’m just not that caliber of a collector.

[JulesVane]

There's a group of collectors that believe any repair to a knife degrades its value, which I am personally not part of. I'm part of the mindset to keep vintage knives in tip-top working condition. If something breaks, it requires repair to function as intended. Kick springs, button return springs, sear pins and sear holes, etc..If a switchblade doesn't function, it's no longer a switchblade. I've seen guys spend thousands of dollars on a single vintage Italian switchblade that subscribe to the mindset that a fixed or repaired switchblade has magically become undesirable. Point being: Can you imagine, with that way of thinking, that spending thousands of dollars on a single knife, in this case $13K, and the kick spring breaks? A part wears out, which is common, and needs repairs? Whether you spent $2K or $13K, and to argue the fact that the knife is now worth a third of what you paid? What would you do with a $13K knife, how would you even handle it? Use white gloves? Never-ever deploy the blade? There's got to be a point where a "valuable" knife becomes "worthless". Whether a common need for repair, or you spent so much on it, that you can't even touch it.

[Bill DeShivs]

It's funny. Most of those guys that disdain repairs can't even tell if a proper repair is done.
One even chides me publicly because I have a business that repairs knives! It's a "hobby" and I shouldn't make money at it.
Same guy used to send me all his repairs and ask me not to mark them.

[JulesVane]

I'd wager the folks that cry, kick and scream about a vintage switchblade being repaired, saying it loses so much value, won't spend $1,500 on one, have the kick spring break and replaced & working perfectly, and sell me that $1,500 knife plus repair price for $500! But, that's what they'd say it was worth when they're the buyer. So, when we are talking about a $13K knife, that could be just one click away from a broken spring (as they all are). Spending crazy amounts of money like that, is exactly that, just plain crazy. But, this is one reason I don't sell my knives. I'm not willing to argue about what the previous 10 owners over the course of the past 75 years may or may not of had done to the knife and bicker about price/value because of it. And, to "warranty" a sale?? Someone buys your working 75 year old knife, plays the click therapy while watching TV, the spring breaks and now they want their money back?? Ha! Nope! Selling knives isn't my game! And, here we are talking about $13K involved? Holy cow!

[Panzerfaust]

The asking prices these days are disappointing and this is the most extreme example I have seen. While I have seen many knives sell for top dollar on some of the websites I lurk, I also see knives that have been listed for a long time and have not sold. If you can't sell something you have posted after a few months, the price is probably too high. I bought a mint 13-inch Latama about 12 years ago during the Sharper Deals days for $1,600. It's still the most expensive switchblade I have ever bought and the asking price today probably would be $3,500 or more. Between already having so many knives and today's prices, I'm out for collecting very many more unless I find a good deal which I have from time to time.

[Valkyrie]

Microtech Masterpiece. New production. $35,000 for abalone and $25,000 for carbon fiber. These were at the Mystic, CT show.

IMG_3268.jpeg (330.52 KiB) Viewed 1809 times

[sammy the blade]

Get a nice car or truck for that kind of money. I guess if you have it you may as well spend it.

[button_man]

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And Val zooms into the lead with a $35,000 Microtech!
I don't even know what to say about that kind of valuation.
I mean, what is the ACTUAL cost of materials + labor?
At the very most, MAYBE $3,500...?

It's one thing to factor in a reasonable profit. It's quite another to assign an astronomical price to an object with no underlying foundation for 90% of that price.

Some time ago, Kevin O'Leary ("Shark Tank") and some business partners purchased the (allegedly) World's Most Valuable Sports Card for $12,932,000.oo -- "a one-of-one Triple Logoman card, featuring game patches worn by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James".
Mr O'Leary has made public appearances wearing the card set into a "Tiffany & Co. case, with 2.2 pounds of white gold embedded with diamonds and rubies". He claims the card has a current value of $25 to $30 million.

I do not know if that estimate includes the Tiffany case.

(A few days ago Mr O'Leary appeared on a televised business program where he stated that sports cards have been his most profitable business during the past year! That's quite a claim!)

At some point, arbitrary values plucked from the stratosphere are so ludicrous that they seem entirely based in the Greater Fool theory.

If his singular sports card is worth $25 million, why isn't
the legendary Marca Oro worth $25 million?! Huh? Huh?

I wonder if I could convince Mr O'Leary to start collecting vintage switchblades.....
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[Tom19176]

I saw those knives at Mystic. Didn't ask the price......

[boots]

.
And Val zooms into the lead with a $35,000 Microtech!
I don't even know what to say about that kind of valuation.
I mean, what is the ACTUAL cost of materials + labor?
At the very most, MAYBE $3,500...?

It's one thing to factor in a reasonable profit. It's quite another to assign an astronomical price to an object with no underlying foundation for 90% of that price.

Some time ago, Kevin O'Leary ("Shark Tank") and some business partners purchased the (allegedly) World's Most Valuable Sports Card for $12,932,000.oo -- "a one-of-one Triple Logoman card, featuring game patches worn by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James".
Mr O'Leary has made public appearances wearing the card set into a "Tiffany & Co. case, with 2.2 pounds of white gold embedded with diamonds and rubies". He claims the card has a current value of $25 to $30 million.

I do not know if that estimate includes the Tiffany case.

(A few days ago Mr O'Leary appeared on a televised business program where he stated that sports cards have been his most profitable business during the past year! That's quite a claim!)

At some point, arbitrary values plucked from the stratosphere are so ludicrous that they seem entirely based in the Greater Fool theory.

If his singular sports card is worth $25 million, why isn't
the legendary Marca Oro worth $25 million?! Huh? Huh?

I wonder if I could convince Mr O'Leary to start collecting vintage switchblades.....
.

I've found, it's worth what you can get for it, case closed.