i have not been buying much lately but, rather holding back due to age. getting older puts the brakes on some habits. i view ebay watching some items as to the outcome of the bidding. now this western is in a minty shape for its age and watched day by day till the result was shown. it sold for 413.00 and have to think it was the condition that took it that high. surprising but, as i have said in the past ITS A BUYERS MARKET.

It is a nice one but I was out at $250. A garbage Finn bayonet sold a little earlier today for $235.

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8 minutes ago, Costa said:

i have not been buying much lately but, rather holding back due to age. getting older puts the brakes on some habits. i view ebay watching some items as to the outcome of the bidding. now this western is in a minty shape for its age and watched day by day till the result was shown. it sold for 413.00 and have to think it was the condition that took it that high. surprising but, as i have said in the past ITS A BUYERS MARKET.

i forgot to include in my thread----------- i guess condition does play a big part in the price. i would say if you are a true collector you go for the best you can find and pay for it.

I really like the Western G46-8" but I never paid near that much for one. I have noticed the really good knives have been going for a premium lately.

It seems to me that there is an enormous amount of material on the market.

 

As for the price, there are two guys who got it that high and only they know.

 

It will be interesting to see where this all goes.

I'm glad that most of my knife collecting is done.  I no longer look for general manufacturers knives such as Mark 2s, Marine Corps Fighting Knives, Western and the like, I have more than enough as I'm a one of everything and not everything of one.  I'm now looking for things that interest me and projects that can consume a considerable amount of time.  It looks like I'm acquiring a new knife (one of a type that is not in the collection) about every other month, mostly off ebay these days.  I just picked up a DIX knife and it was me and one other person bidding.  He didn't want the knife as much as I did and I got it for a reasonable price; still researching that one.

It just seems that the knife prices today are so high that I'm thinking about going back to M1911s again.

14 minutes ago, thorin6 said:

I'm glad that most of my knife collecting is done.  I no longer look for general manufacturers knives such as Mark 2s, Marine Corps Fighting Knives, Western and the like, I have more than enough as I'm a one of everything and not everything of one.  I'm now looking for things that interest me and projects that can consume a considerable amount of time.  It looks like I'm acquiring a new knife (one of a type that is not in the collection) about every other month, mostly off ebay these days.  I just picked up a DIX knife and it was me and one other person bidding.  He didn't want the knife as much as I did and I got it for a reasonable price; still researching that one.

It just seems that the knife prices today are so high that I'm thinking about going back to M1911s again.

1911's are'nt cheap either

I thought it was just me. I've also slowed down lately. Mostly the items I want are the higher end items, ie V42s, Robeson USMC MK2s, etc.  I still buy when it suits me but the prices these days are in most cases  just insane.  Like thorin6, I haven't thrown in the towel yet. SKIP

I really like the Western G46-8" but I never paid near that much for one. I have noticed the really good knives have been going for a premium lately.

Those I would say would sell for a premium. If you want to get rid of one for not such a premium I would be happy to buy one.

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Gentlemen:

 

That is indeed a beautiful Western blade that sold.  The price does not surprise me.  Only the guys who were chasing it could tell us why they were willing to pay that much.

 

We can only speculate as to the reasons for the recent uptick in prices for high condition blades.  I suspect that it has something to do with:  

 

1.  We are still in the midst of the pandemic.  There are a lot of people working from home or finding that they have extra time on their hands and are indulging areas of interest, like USGI blade collecting, that they could not do before because of work/time constraints.

 

2.  Interest rates remain at historic lows.  The stock market has seen some wild gyrations and many people suspect that investing in the market is a pure gamble.  Investing in hard assets including high quality collectibles is seen by some as a much safer bet.  I think we are seeing some newer collectors in the market who are buying purely for the anticipation of a gain in value.  (Personally, I have never bought a blade or other collectible for investment purposes.  For me, that would take the fun out of it. I buy a nice blade just because I like it, appreciate the craftsmanship and enjoy the history.)

 

3.  I think that foreign buyers are now also a factor.  It is much easier for foreign buyers to purchase nice examples.  Places like Ebay make it very easy to assemble a collection for someone with Euros to spend.

 

4.  Information on blades is now more widely known than ever.  It once took years of study to get a handle on this subject.  Now, a good working knowledge can be assembled very quickly with access to excellent forums like ours and the publication of so many quality collector books.  (Bill Walters books, the M1918 Trench Knife book and others have advanced the body of knowledge and made it known to many others through the Internet and the books.)

 

5.  Baby boomers with considerable assets are retiring at a very fast clip.  They now have the time and the money to get into new hobbies.  18 holes of golf can't compare to the beauty and history of a knife like the Western mentioned above, in my opinion.

 

Again, when people ask why this is happening these are the factors that come to my mind.  There are probably others, too.

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

 

42 minutes ago, Charlie Flick said:

(Personally, I have never bought a blade or other collectible for investment purposes.  For me, that would take the fun out of it. I buy a nice blade just because I like it, appreciate the craftsmanship and enjoy the history.)

 

I'm in total agreement with you Charlie on this.  I either like the knife the way it's crafted, it's appearance, or the history behind it, or I don't.  If it gains in value without respect to this then it's all good.  If not, no big deal.

Charlie forgot the most important factor. Too much free Government money. Watch how fast prices plummet now the extra $300 a week is ending and Christmas is approaching. It will be a race to the bottom as people realize they need presents and food more than Milsurps.

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The good knives will hold theyre value . Thats a $450 knife around here all day long . 

I agree with everyone, and like Charlie's analysis. Hopefully prices will drop some with the holidays coming, and folks shifting funds to gifts.  We'll see how it goes. SKIP

The good knives will hold theyre value . Thats a $450 knife around here all day long . 

I don't think any of us would pay $450. I know I wouldn't and I was in on the auction til $250. It is not a rare knife.

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On 10/6/2020 at 9:14 PM, thorin6 said:

I'm glad that most of my knife collecting is done. 

 

Well, if you're done farting around with those fingernail picks, you can start acquiring real steel...

 

 

 

Well if you guys thought that was high how about a Robeson MkII Navy for $577. That's about $625 shipped with tax. USMC I could understand.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284030942102

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Is the sheath even original?

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A nice example of that early red spacer Robeson Mark 2 is pretty hard to find.

A nice example of that early red spacer Robeson Mark 2 is pretty hard to find.

I just don't see that one on eBay being worth $625 and my guess is that sheath isn't real, but I'm not up on the boyt sheaths. The USN just doesn't look right.

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I could be wrong but I think the sheath is OK.

I could be wrong but I think the sheath is OK.

Or maybe it is real. Lol. USN doesn't look like by of the others. I did say I wasnt up to speed on them.

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9 hours ago, Spathologist said:

 

Well, if you're done farting around with those fingernail picks, you can start acquiring real steel...

 

 

 

Already there.

 

🤘

i sold that knife and it was mint i though it would go for more,hard to find them that nice.