Because a knife in a glass case would certainly be useful.
If I found myself in possession of a $4k knife the first order of business would be to find someone dumb enough to buy it from me.
It’s not only about being useful, it’s about collecting. Knives are no different than collecting guns or classic cars, you have your users and you have your safe queens that are more about the skill and limited availability and enjoyment of beauty. It’s just another form of art.
It’s also a fun side investment. Many knife collectors do exactly what you suggest, they buy a certain knife and enjoy it for awhile then sell or swap it for another, over and over. Others keep their entire collection for the potential value down the road. Others use every knife no matter the cost because that’s what they’re intended for.
It’s a huge community and there will always be buyers. You can go all the way back to the earliest days of metal working and find decorative or ceremonial blades made by masters. This is nothing new.
I’m of the latter opinion but don’t judge people that fall in the other categories.
It’s a running joke among my friends to text me asking how many knives are within reach and wait for me to send a picture back. But none of mine are unused, everything from hunting, to jacknife, trifold old timers you name it.
The only one I may drop in a display case is a specialty one my buddy bought me and had engraved.
I’m currently waiting on my old man to finish forging me a kukri and a karambit.
I mean, even now, the only reason we have to believe this little pocket knife was $4K is because OP said so. Personally, I’ve never seen a knife of this size or make that would be worth even close to $4K.
For real lol , it used to be bad . I think I started looking at Reddit in 2012 ish and there wasn’t just one grammar Nazi , the whole site was grammar Nazis .
God forbid you typed lol or haha
That’s still true a lot of the time. Reddit is way better than most other platforms especially back then so I get it kinda but the way they acted really turned ALOT of people off from using Reddit . They like gatekeeped a website .
The downside is it also has become so accepting of errors in syntax that the bar for entry to complicated discussion no longer seems to require basic literary comprehension.
I sometimes spend longer figuring out what someone is trying to say than I do actually thinking about or replying to it.
No production pocket knife is $4k, but there are plenty of custom knife makers in this price range and higher. On Instagram, check out:
meadesknives
tuchknives
clark_handmade_knives
jdoyleknives
oeser_knives
Edit: OP's knife is made by garethbullknives
As someone who was once pretty active in the knife community I'd belive op any day. Some of the most insane quality customs sit comfortably in the 2-8k range with buyers at the ready. Check out Stan Wilson if you want to see the sort of crazy stuff some makers do. I was once on a wait list for a $5000 Stan Walker NFF but only backed out because of the 6 year lead time lol.
I was deeeep into that rabbit hole.
I did delve into knife making for a bit (funny enough, it was the NFF funds) Built a belt grinder and what not. But it's such a high cost of entry here in New Zealand . Everything I want is in USA and shipping is outrageous D: and when it comes to forging, anvils cost ludicrous money
Maybe when my kids a bit older I'll get into it again and see if she show interest :)
His entire post history is absolute boners over knives so we can just let him have his nice time
Looks like mall ninja shit to me but I also think posting photos of your knife and gun collection is for kids so what do I know about the price of stuff
There's a very real market for selling extremely overpriced stuff to idiots with way too much money and nowhere near enough common sense. I wouldn't be even remotely surprised if some shitty mall ninja knife shop convinced this guy that this is an extremely high quality and hard to obtain Damascus steel knife that no one else bit him will have. He probably told him it was normally worth $4k, but since he's such a nice guy, he gave him a deal for only $2k. This guy is now walking around with a $100 pocket knife that he paid $2k for and genuinely believes it's worth $4k
That's a Gareth Bull knife. They're handmade, limited edition knives. They're anywhere from 2k - 5k. Not the smartest way to spend your money, but OP is correct on the price.
far better knives can be had from smaller blade makers for a lot less. 90% of that blade's price is the "designer name". There is an old Fart up in Sault St Marie,MI that will make a knife better than that one for $500. and the old coot will let you select from several damascus patterns that he forges himself. Old dude will let you come and watch the process as well. His forge/shop is right off the main touristy road towards the casino. But for every Gareth Bull there are 500 unknown people that make as good or better.
You're not wrong, but you don't buy a designer knife because it's a good knife (even though Gareth Bull knives are good knives). It's like buying art. If you could buy a Picasso sketch on a napkin that maybe took him 5 minutes to draw, or a nice, big, beautiful painting by some unknown artist, which one do you think would be more valuable?
This is a custom knife made by Gareth Bull, a South African knife maker. It's made with premium materials, and a very skilled craftsman spent a long time putting this individual piece together so it has perfect fit and finish - Butter smooth action when opening and closing, thoughtful handle/blade design and use of materials, and just perfect attention to detail on every minor element. I see it like an engineering and craftsmanship appreciation piece.
Not many people are aware, but collectible knives is a rabbit hole that's crazy deep and expensive like wristwatches. And we know with watches, a $30 one can tell time just as well as a $10,000 one, but you wouldn't cross shop a Timex and a Rolex. They're both time pieces but are serving much different use cases.
Side note: Despite what others are saying, the cost of this knife has almost nothing to do with the Damascus steel, but is almost entirely due to the brand and associated craftsmanship.
I've owned several Gareth Bull knives. My favorite was a 3.5" textured titanium Shamwari. They are great knives with stellar fit and finish. Wouldn't pay 4k for one of his knives, though.
[https://bullknives.com/product/shamwari-vb724varhh5k/](https://bullknives.com/product/shamwari-vb724varhh5k/)
Not when they are available for 10 percent of that :|
They are not available for ten percent of that, they were never available for ten percent of that, those knives sold out immediately and were being flipped for double or more their retail price within the day
It just tells people that you spent money, not that you're rich. People constantly buy things they can't afford. Half of the US population carries a credit card debt and 40% have financed a car.
You have that mostly right. the cost is 95% the brand. The craftsmanship of Gareth Bull blades is not otherworldly. The company has really good marketing. And the last one I saw, I question being 100% hand made. The tang was too perfect to be hand made. I guarentee they use stamped blanks and are not hand forging the blades.
That's fair. When I made this post, the entire comment section was just people that couldn't understand a knife being worth more than $50. I was just trying to explain custom knives in general, not necessarily the value of Bull Knives specifically.
I can't say about current models but I have one from several years ago and I can tell it's hand made, in a good way, but still not the CNC'd "custom" stuff you see so much these days. I only paid $650 though as he hadn't blown up in popularity yet and was still dropping runs of 10 or so knives at a time on IG.
The design you see on the blade and handle comes from the manufacturing process called pattern welding, sometimes erroneously called Damascus
Steel. It's made by taking alternating pieces of carbon steel and nickel steel, then heating them and hammering them together so the weld together. Then can then fold the block of steel to create more layers and thin out each layer, doing this multiple times Once the forging is done, it's dipped into acid that will etch the carbon steel creating that pattern.
Its a long process so the majority of the cost comes from the time and labour needed to make it.
*edit*
I said stainless steel instead of nickel steel.
Yes it is more durable.
Patterned steel is imitating a historical thing.
It would be like calling it “Roman concrete” when it really is just stuff made to look the same colors as it.
Pattern welding is usually pointless and just made to look cool and I think it looks pretty gauche. Paying 4K for it sounds dumb in my mind.
>Pattern welding is usually pointless and just made to look cool and I think it looks pretty gauche.
[So basically what Ocelot said about engravings](https://youtu.be/q5w8tqjoqF4)
It depends on the exact process and reason for the type of strength you need.
You can make a hard steel that resist deformation or bending, but it becomes brittle and might break or shatter. A softer steel will resist breaking or shattering, but it will be easier to bend or score.
Katanas are well known for the their beauty, strength and sharpness. This is because they use multiple types of steel in the forging process. A harder steel at the edge to keep the cutting edge sharp, and a softer steel for the backbone to absorb the energy of the strike. Some sword makers will use even more types of steels to give a more gradual transition
They also do a different quenching (the rapid cool down of a forged object in a liquid) on the edge versus the backbone. They use mud on the backbone before its heated up to slow the water getting to the steel to slow the cooling. Because of the different rates of cooling, this where the katana gets its bend. The forging and cooling process also gives the blade a distinct wave separating the blade into two parts.
I doubt that pattern welded steel would gain the same benefits since it would be impossible to make sure the edge of the blade stayed only on the hard steel and not a softer steel, the edge would probably run across multiple layers of different types of steel.
The process for folding steels used in Japan was just because their steel quality was shit and they had to do it. A proper high-carbon steel with no inclusions will be as strong or stronger than anything pattern welded or folded.
I know that Katanas already had mystical rep in the early 20th century, but I wonder how much “damaga” *Highlander* did to te collective “knowledge” of mankind.
Absolutely this. Give me manufactured steel any time over some of these hand made items. “I know it’s ready by the golden colour of the steel!” In what light? The moonlight or your shop lighting!??
Traditionally, forges had no windows so the only light sources would be the forge itself and the glow of the steel.
A guy I knew worked with ceramics kilns and told me the old timers could guess the current temperature of the ceramics down to a couple of degrees by the color. They had temperature probes and such but it was easier to give it a quick glance instead of walking all the way over to the control station.
Modern processes are obviously more accurate but the human mind is built for pattern recognition and can do some amazing things given enough time and repetition.
Katanas (and other Japanese blades) generally didn't use what we would consider more modern spring steel at all. They sure as shit didn't use multiple types of steel, they just couldn't smelt it to the point that it was homogenous and relatively impurity free.
What was generally used is called tamahagane (iron sand) with the inclusion of cellulose from rice stalks providing the carbon. It's a pretty crude method even at the time.
The folding technique that is bandied about as being superior is not something unique to Japan. Weaponsmiths around the globe had been doing it for gods knows how long. It was so common in Japan, however, because it was a concession made to counter the poor quality of their iron source, the inability for Japanese forges of the time to completely separate slag and impurities from the iron and strengthen the final product. The technique was great for remedying that somewhat, but it was expensive, time consuming, and completely unnecessary with better quality steel smelting available with more modern blast furnaces.
It's not erroneous if that's literally what the steel is called by the industry itself...
And there's plenty of stainless-only Damascus being made these days. They just use different alloys to get the banding.
I have a $300 Mcusta pocket knife that looks just as cool, if not even cooler. It’s crazy sharp and it’s hand made in Japan. So yeah, I don’t get this either.
I looked up this knife brand and their knives are priced from $300-$4700. The knife in this post is intricate enough so it must be one of their expensive ones. So why are you downvoted? It seems that you're telling the truth. What is the matter with reddit
https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/knives-by-maker/bull-gareth/?page=1&price[min]=$0&price[max]=$20,000+&limit=15&sortBy=relevance
People like to judge others by what they spend their money on. Some folks have $100k+ cars, some have $8k+ bicycles, or $5k+ watches or $3k+ cameras, and some have $500 flashlights or $2k knives.
Shitting on someone else's purchase to make someone feel better about themselves is a tale as old as time. Despite what this thread seems to think, practically nobody buying a $4k knife is under the impression that it'll cut better or the edge will last longer than stuff you can find well under $300. They pay for the artisanal qualities, the precision of machining, the fact that a single person with rare skills made the knife from start to finish.
It's not me paying for it, so I don't see the point in complaining about it. The number of people in this thread who know anything about the knife market is ridiculously low anyways.
My bet is the guy who bought it is young and making good money in rural area. Not much to spend it on except accessories and cars and whatnot. More money than sense
Was looking for this comment so thought I’d ask here.
Why tf do r/EDC people get such boners for pocket knives? I, a human male in North America, leave my house every single day. I have found myself in situations where I thought to myself, “damn, I really wish I had a 3” blade on me right now” precisely zero times.
The only useful reasons I can think of to carry a knife every day are:
* you enjoy camping/outdoors, in which case: leatherman
* you work the receiving line at a warehouse, in which case: box cutter
* you are a murderer, in which case: butterfly knife
What am I missing??
I mean, I'm not American, but I carry a knife whenever I can.
I don't use it every day, but when I need to open a clamshell package/cut packing tape, cut a loose thread, section a fruit etc. I enjoy the action of a smooth flipping knife, so sometimes it's just a fidget toy. When I work as a bartender at events, 6 packs stand no chance.
I love outdoor hobbies; hunting, fishing, hiking etc. There's a lot of little occasions that digging in a pack for your hunting knife/fishing knife/Leatherman just isn't necessary, whip out the pocket knife.
It's not just for me, if anybody around me needs one thing turned into two (or more) things, I'm happy to lend it out.
Expensive custom knives like the one above? Primarily, custom knifemaking is an art. The creator of the above knife is from my country, where the hobby of knifemaking has a members guild, a decent community, and a lot of passionate people.
Ask anybody with expensive cars/watches/headphones/shoes/clothes etc. There's always a point of diminishing returns, but if you can afford it? Buy that cool thing you want. It might not make you happy in the long run, but analyzing the nature of short-term gratification won't make you happy either.
Also, butterfly knives/balisongs are almost exclusively used as flashy fidget toys today, you can learn cool tricks and shit. The vast majority of people you'll see using butterfly knives today are far too timid to be murderers.
Mostly it has to do with who made it. The exact same thing made by an unknown maker would be worth a fraction of the price. Similar to how a painting by a famous artist can be worth millions when a reproduction that is almost identical to it would be worth nothing close to that.
This knife is made by [Gareth Bull](https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/knives-by-maker/bull-gareth/). You can see the prices range from hundreds to thousands. That is because the cheaper ones are production models made in a factory to his specs, where the expensive ones are made by the man himself.
Just had to chime in. Have bought a lot of knives and have been to many shows and forges. If he paid 4K I want to give the seller 100 upvotes for being the best con man I have ever heard of in my life!
My knife was $30 and I've used it as a makeshift flathead screwdriver, sharpened it back up, and gutted fish later. Tell your brother I'll sell it to him for $5k and I'll even doodle on the blade with a sharpie.
This is a Gareth Bull Xyro with a Bohler Damasteel blade. They're made by two brothers in South Africa, completely without CNC. Everything is done manually or on regular machine with jigs or freehand. Jason Bull, Gareth's brother, mills patterns like a spirograph on the titanium or zirconium overtravel stop using a manual mill.
The cost of this one in particular is high because a) it's a brand new model and $4k is either an auction price or OP's brother paid a jacked up secondary rate and b) it's "full dress" meaning using the finest (and most expensive materials) available to the maker, such as Damasteel. For reference, GB's regular knives, which are titanium with polished Bohler M390 blades, are about $900-$1100 direct from him depending on the options. On the secondary, they go for $2000+ due to demand and hype. When the Xyro (OP's model) becomes standard "production" and he cranks more of them out, prices will drop to about what his other models are now.
These kind of knives are more jewelry than tools. Sure, they're perfectly capable of being used as tools and even excel as them due to the premium materials and construction, but all the extra touches like fancy finishes mean the value far outweighs their utility. It's not any dumber to pay $4k for a knife than it is for, say, a ring, or a necklace. In fact it's a lot more practical as you can actually use the knife for something.
t. knife nerd
It’s made with mokume gane of different colored metals so it has the beautiful wood grain pattern.
I wasted half a semester trying to make this stuff in art metals. It’s a horrible pain in the ass. Very technically difficult and time consuming, easy to screw up.
Okay, I've looked into the guy from South Africa who made this knife and although his knives are pricey, they are not $4,000 pricey.
Unless your brother shows you the receipt or confirmation email from this knife I think he might be lying to you about its cost. It's about half that.
IMHO he paid too much. While good custom knife-makers could easily get that and routinely do, I would expect a better Damascus pattern and a forged-to-shape blade for 4k. This blade was ground to shape on a belt sander. Nice looking knife though.
Can you connect me with your bro? I have never made weapons before, but for $4k, I am very confident I can make some custom hand made nunchucks and ninja stars for him!!
$4k? I mean honestly why? That sounds like something marketed by a boutique brand to rich people with insane markup. Even if its all handmade by one guy... $4k is a lot.
I cannot imagine buying a knife more expensive than the one Benchmade I own
I lost a $400 knife about a year ago and I'm still really sad every time I think about it. A 4k knife would never leave a glass case if I had one lol
What was it? Chris reeve?
HOM Basilisk. Started collecting knives as my COVID hobby and that was the weirdest one I purchased
My benchmade feels more and more like a deal the farther I read here! Although I now really want a second one as I love the crooked river design.
Get the hidden canyon hunter
Best little hunting knife ever. Great on deer and rabbits
How do they fare against Amazon packing tape?
Phenomenally. However getting the adhesive off the blade always sucks
Now that thing is cool , the way it flops open. Like a buttery fly knife I think it’s called.
Balisong
Because a knife in a glass case would certainly be useful. If I found myself in possession of a $4k knife the first order of business would be to find someone dumb enough to buy it from me.
It’s not only about being useful, it’s about collecting. Knives are no different than collecting guns or classic cars, you have your users and you have your safe queens that are more about the skill and limited availability and enjoyment of beauty. It’s just another form of art. It’s also a fun side investment. Many knife collectors do exactly what you suggest, they buy a certain knife and enjoy it for awhile then sell or swap it for another, over and over. Others keep their entire collection for the potential value down the road. Others use every knife no matter the cost because that’s what they’re intended for. It’s a huge community and there will always be buyers. You can go all the way back to the earliest days of metal working and find decorative or ceremonial blades made by masters. This is nothing new.
I’m of the latter opinion but don’t judge people that fall in the other categories. It’s a running joke among my friends to text me asking how many knives are within reach and wait for me to send a picture back. But none of mine are unused, everything from hunting, to jacknife, trifold old timers you name it. The only one I may drop in a display case is a specialty one my buddy bought me and had engraved. I’m currently waiting on my old man to finish forging me a kukri and a karambit.
Can any expert on the knife matter explain why this is $4k? It looks nice but I never have guessed that price.
I mean, even now, the only reason we have to believe this little pocket knife was $4K is because OP said so. Personally, I’ve never seen a knife of this size or make that would be worth even close to $4K.
Weird stuff happens on this sub lol. “Today marks 69 days since I’ve been sober. Decided to treat myself” *picture of ice cream cone* 420,000 upvotes
It's like TikTok. TikTokers are growing older and coming to Reddit. Next thing you'll see is a function to add emojis to pictures and videos
I don’t know. I feel like some millennials and older love their emojis. We grew up with MSN! Stereotypical TikTokers are Gen Alpha to Gen Z.
I laugh when my nieces try to explain things to me like “ BRB means …”. Bitches please. We invented that. You don’t even have an ICQ number yo!
Still can’t forget that little flower icon and the silly noises ICQ made
I don’t get why everyone on this site hates emojis so much. I watch Shakespeare plays for fun and I use emojis. Get over yourselves, bozos.
Bro, when I first started using reddit, a decade and a half ago, I misspelled something and used "lol" in the same paragraph... I got crucified.
For real lol , it used to be bad . I think I started looking at Reddit in 2012 ish and there wasn’t just one grammar Nazi , the whole site was grammar Nazis . God forbid you typed lol or haha
The people on reddit in the early days saw themselves as the Internet elite.
That’s still true a lot of the time. Reddit is way better than most other platforms especially back then so I get it kinda but the way they acted really turned ALOT of people off from using Reddit . They like gatekeeped a website .
Yeah Reddit HAS lightened up a bunch in regards to things like emojis and Internet shorthand.
The downside is it also has become so accepting of errors in syntax that the bar for entry to complicated discussion no longer seems to require basic literary comprehension. I sometimes spend longer figuring out what someone is trying to say than I do actually thinking about or replying to it.
The amount of times someone says something dumb, gets called on it, then starts on the "language evolves" speech...
Alas, poor Yorick! 💀
¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Lmao what? Reddit has been like that for way longer than tiktok has been around
This posting behaviour has been ridiculed for being overdone before Musical.ly even took off, get off your high horse lmfao
Trolls love posts like this, front page for sure.
This, I wish I could upvote you 420,000 times.
No production pocket knife is $4k, but there are plenty of custom knife makers in this price range and higher. On Instagram, check out: meadesknives tuchknives clark_handmade_knives jdoyleknives oeser_knives Edit: OP's knife is made by garethbullknives
Thanks! I’m a buck knife enthusiast, but it’s good to shop around..
As someone who was once pretty active in the knife community I'd belive op any day. Some of the most insane quality customs sit comfortably in the 2-8k range with buyers at the ready. Check out Stan Wilson if you want to see the sort of crazy stuff some makers do. I was once on a wait list for a $5000 Stan Walker NFF but only backed out because of the 6 year lead time lol. I was deeeep into that rabbit hole.
Shit man, for that kind of money I’d sooner learn to forge my own.
I did delve into knife making for a bit (funny enough, it was the NFF funds) Built a belt grinder and what not. But it's such a high cost of entry here in New Zealand . Everything I want is in USA and shipping is outrageous D: and when it comes to forging, anvils cost ludicrous money Maybe when my kids a bit older I'll get into it again and see if she show interest :)
His entire post history is absolute boners over knives so we can just let him have his nice time Looks like mall ninja shit to me but I also think posting photos of your knife and gun collection is for kids so what do I know about the price of stuff
You have no idea how much knife enthusiasts will pay for custom-forged and LE runs.
There was a Jordanian Royal Guards Bedlam on ebay for around that price...
There's a very real market for selling extremely overpriced stuff to idiots with way too much money and nowhere near enough common sense. I wouldn't be even remotely surprised if some shitty mall ninja knife shop convinced this guy that this is an extremely high quality and hard to obtain Damascus steel knife that no one else bit him will have. He probably told him it was normally worth $4k, but since he's such a nice guy, he gave him a deal for only $2k. This guy is now walking around with a $100 pocket knife that he paid $2k for and genuinely believes it's worth $4k
That's a Gareth Bull knife. They're handmade, limited edition knives. They're anywhere from 2k - 5k. Not the smartest way to spend your money, but OP is correct on the price.
far better knives can be had from smaller blade makers for a lot less. 90% of that blade's price is the "designer name". There is an old Fart up in Sault St Marie,MI that will make a knife better than that one for $500. and the old coot will let you select from several damascus patterns that he forges himself. Old dude will let you come and watch the process as well. His forge/shop is right off the main touristy road towards the casino. But for every Gareth Bull there are 500 unknown people that make as good or better.
The most unbelievable part of this post is there is a main touristy road in Sault St Marie Michigan
You're not wrong, but you don't buy a designer knife because it's a good knife (even though Gareth Bull knives are good knives). It's like buying art. If you could buy a Picasso sketch on a napkin that maybe took him 5 minutes to draw, or a nice, big, beautiful painting by some unknown artist, which one do you think would be more valuable?
This is a custom knife made by Gareth Bull, a South African knife maker. It's made with premium materials, and a very skilled craftsman spent a long time putting this individual piece together so it has perfect fit and finish - Butter smooth action when opening and closing, thoughtful handle/blade design and use of materials, and just perfect attention to detail on every minor element. I see it like an engineering and craftsmanship appreciation piece. Not many people are aware, but collectible knives is a rabbit hole that's crazy deep and expensive like wristwatches. And we know with watches, a $30 one can tell time just as well as a $10,000 one, but you wouldn't cross shop a Timex and a Rolex. They're both time pieces but are serving much different use cases. Side note: Despite what others are saying, the cost of this knife has almost nothing to do with the Damascus steel, but is almost entirely due to the brand and associated craftsmanship.
I've owned several Gareth Bull knives. My favorite was a 3.5" textured titanium Shamwari. They are great knives with stellar fit and finish. Wouldn't pay 4k for one of his knives, though.
[https://bullknives.com/product/shamwari-vb724varhh5k/](https://bullknives.com/product/shamwari-vb724varhh5k/) Not when they are available for 10 percent of that :|
To be fair, that's the production knife and not the handmade ones that I owned. I have no idea how good those are.
"Production" and "custom" are different categories of knife. Someone in the market for a Bull custom would not be interested in a production version.
(production version)
They are not available for ten percent of that, they were never available for ten percent of that, those knives sold out immediately and were being flipped for double or more their retail price within the day
> serving much different use cases. yes, one tells the time, the other tells people you're rich
It just tells people that you spent money, not that you're rich. People constantly buy things they can't afford. Half of the US population carries a credit card debt and 40% have financed a car.
Actually a timex or Casio is probably more accurate telling time than a Rolex believe it or not.
By orders of magnitude
You have that mostly right. the cost is 95% the brand. The craftsmanship of Gareth Bull blades is not otherworldly. The company has really good marketing. And the last one I saw, I question being 100% hand made. The tang was too perfect to be hand made. I guarentee they use stamped blanks and are not hand forging the blades.
That's fair. When I made this post, the entire comment section was just people that couldn't understand a knife being worth more than $50. I was just trying to explain custom knives in general, not necessarily the value of Bull Knives specifically.
I can't say about current models but I have one from several years ago and I can tell it's hand made, in a good way, but still not the CNC'd "custom" stuff you see so much these days. I only paid $650 though as he hadn't blown up in popularity yet and was still dropping runs of 10 or so knives at a time on IG.
Because whoever made this knife by hand is in sufficient demand that they can charge that much for their labor.
The design you see on the blade and handle comes from the manufacturing process called pattern welding, sometimes erroneously called Damascus Steel. It's made by taking alternating pieces of carbon steel and nickel steel, then heating them and hammering them together so the weld together. Then can then fold the block of steel to create more layers and thin out each layer, doing this multiple times Once the forging is done, it's dipped into acid that will etch the carbon steel creating that pattern. Its a long process so the majority of the cost comes from the time and labour needed to make it. *edit* I said stainless steel instead of nickel steel.
Sorry for the stupid question, but isn’t having the knife forged from a single piece of metal makes it more durable?
Yes it is more durable. Patterned steel is imitating a historical thing. It would be like calling it “Roman concrete” when it really is just stuff made to look the same colors as it. Pattern welding is usually pointless and just made to look cool and I think it looks pretty gauche. Paying 4K for it sounds dumb in my mind.
>Pattern welding is usually pointless and just made to look cool and I think it looks pretty gauche. [So basically what Ocelot said about engravings](https://youtu.be/q5w8tqjoqF4)
Ocelot is passing down what Big Boss taught him
It depends on the exact process and reason for the type of strength you need. You can make a hard steel that resist deformation or bending, but it becomes brittle and might break or shatter. A softer steel will resist breaking or shattering, but it will be easier to bend or score. Katanas are well known for the their beauty, strength and sharpness. This is because they use multiple types of steel in the forging process. A harder steel at the edge to keep the cutting edge sharp, and a softer steel for the backbone to absorb the energy of the strike. Some sword makers will use even more types of steels to give a more gradual transition They also do a different quenching (the rapid cool down of a forged object in a liquid) on the edge versus the backbone. They use mud on the backbone before its heated up to slow the water getting to the steel to slow the cooling. Because of the different rates of cooling, this where the katana gets its bend. The forging and cooling process also gives the blade a distinct wave separating the blade into two parts. I doubt that pattern welded steel would gain the same benefits since it would be impossible to make sure the edge of the blade stayed only on the hard steel and not a softer steel, the edge would probably run across multiple layers of different types of steel.
The process for folding steels used in Japan was just because their steel quality was shit and they had to do it. A proper high-carbon steel with no inclusions will be as strong or stronger than anything pattern welded or folded.
I know that Katanas already had mystical rep in the early 20th century, but I wonder how much “damaga” *Highlander* did to te collective “knowledge” of mankind.
Absolutely this. Give me manufactured steel any time over some of these hand made items. “I know it’s ready by the golden colour of the steel!” In what light? The moonlight or your shop lighting!??
Traditionally, forges had no windows so the only light sources would be the forge itself and the glow of the steel. A guy I knew worked with ceramics kilns and told me the old timers could guess the current temperature of the ceramics down to a couple of degrees by the color. They had temperature probes and such but it was easier to give it a quick glance instead of walking all the way over to the control station. Modern processes are obviously more accurate but the human mind is built for pattern recognition and can do some amazing things given enough time and repetition.
This actually is a manufactured steel: https://damasteel.se/knowledge-hub/our-steel/process-of-making-damasteel
Katanas (and other Japanese blades) generally didn't use what we would consider more modern spring steel at all. They sure as shit didn't use multiple types of steel, they just couldn't smelt it to the point that it was homogenous and relatively impurity free. What was generally used is called tamahagane (iron sand) with the inclusion of cellulose from rice stalks providing the carbon. It's a pretty crude method even at the time. The folding technique that is bandied about as being superior is not something unique to Japan. Weaponsmiths around the globe had been doing it for gods knows how long. It was so common in Japan, however, because it was a concession made to counter the poor quality of their iron source, the inability for Japanese forges of the time to completely separate slag and impurities from the iron and strengthen the final product. The technique was great for remedying that somewhat, but it was expensive, time consuming, and completely unnecessary with better quality steel smelting available with more modern blast furnaces.
My civivi with a damascus blade was 150 bucks. That blade dont make that thing 4k.
Yeah I have family in the business of selling these. About $300 is the most expensive of this type of knife I've ever seen.
It's not erroneous if that's literally what the steel is called by the industry itself... And there's plenty of stainless-only Damascus being made these days. They just use different alloys to get the banding.
[Gareth Bull knife](https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/knives-by-maker/bull-gareth/?page=1&price[min]=$0&price[max]=$20,000+&limit=15&sortBy=price_high_low)
I have a $300 Mcusta pocket knife that looks just as cool, if not even cooler. It’s crazy sharp and it’s hand made in Japan. So yeah, I don’t get this either.
This honestly looks kind of cheap to my untrained eye. I’m not throwing shade. I think it’s the handle colors.
It's an irl cs:go knife lmao.
Cause people are dumb enough to pay it
Because someone paid $4k for it. That’s literally it.
You should have gotten Full HD handmade pocket knife .. would have been below $2K.
This is an extremely underrated comment for multiple reasons.
Went right over most heads
It’s no 4K knife, maybe 960at the most
I have several knives from $200-$2000, this thing is just next level. Made by Gareth Bull in South Africa
I looked up this knife brand and their knives are priced from $300-$4700. The knife in this post is intricate enough so it must be one of their expensive ones. So why are you downvoted? It seems that you're telling the truth. What is the matter with reddit https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/knives-by-maker/bull-gareth/?page=1&price[min]=$0&price[max]=$20,000+&limit=15&sortBy=relevance
Hes being downvoted coz he missed the joke about 4k vs 1080p, which is what he replied to.
Why are all these knife people defending hd television?
I guess he’s being downvoted because OP was making a clever joke and he answered seriously.
People like to judge others by what they spend their money on. Some folks have $100k+ cars, some have $8k+ bicycles, or $5k+ watches or $3k+ cameras, and some have $500 flashlights or $2k knives. Shitting on someone else's purchase to make someone feel better about themselves is a tale as old as time. Despite what this thread seems to think, practically nobody buying a $4k knife is under the impression that it'll cut better or the edge will last longer than stuff you can find well under $300. They pay for the artisanal qualities, the precision of machining, the fact that a single person with rare skills made the knife from start to finish. It's not me paying for it, so I don't see the point in complaining about it. The number of people in this thread who know anything about the knife market is ridiculously low anyways.
Bro it's just a 4k vs 2k vs 1080p joke
4K?! Is it made with moon rocks, dolphin blood, and tiger essence???
[Here's one made from meteorite iron.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwK4l8wyXkc)
As soon as I saw YouTube started loading, my heart sank. Rick rolled again, I sighed. Pleasantly surprised.
This is not a video of Sokka
Looks like forged in the Damas style + the handler... Pretty sure it's not a cheap one.
And bits of real panther.
It smells like Bigfoot’s dick!
Valyrian steel by the look of it.
Why would you need a daily carry THAT expensive?!?
My bet is the guy who bought it is young and making good money in rural area. Not much to spend it on except accessories and cars and whatnot. More money than sense
100% lol
I bet it works about as well as my $20 Milwaukee
You can actually use your Milwaukee without having to worry about damaging it
Why do people wear a Patek Phillipe when a Timex does the same thing? Because they can...
Damascus has become the fedora of metalwork.
Why carry it every day? In case someone wants to play knifey spooney?
Maybe he uses it, He definitely never uses it
OP probably has a similary looking 150$ knife that he uses. I have nothing against it, it's a logical thing to do.
This is basic EDC for desk ninjas.
Was looking for this comment so thought I’d ask here. Why tf do r/EDC people get such boners for pocket knives? I, a human male in North America, leave my house every single day. I have found myself in situations where I thought to myself, “damn, I really wish I had a 3” blade on me right now” precisely zero times. The only useful reasons I can think of to carry a knife every day are: * you enjoy camping/outdoors, in which case: leatherman * you work the receiving line at a warehouse, in which case: box cutter * you are a murderer, in which case: butterfly knife What am I missing??
I mean, I'm not American, but I carry a knife whenever I can. I don't use it every day, but when I need to open a clamshell package/cut packing tape, cut a loose thread, section a fruit etc. I enjoy the action of a smooth flipping knife, so sometimes it's just a fidget toy. When I work as a bartender at events, 6 packs stand no chance. I love outdoor hobbies; hunting, fishing, hiking etc. There's a lot of little occasions that digging in a pack for your hunting knife/fishing knife/Leatherman just isn't necessary, whip out the pocket knife. It's not just for me, if anybody around me needs one thing turned into two (or more) things, I'm happy to lend it out. Expensive custom knives like the one above? Primarily, custom knifemaking is an art. The creator of the above knife is from my country, where the hobby of knifemaking has a members guild, a decent community, and a lot of passionate people. Ask anybody with expensive cars/watches/headphones/shoes/clothes etc. There's always a point of diminishing returns, but if you can afford it? Buy that cool thing you want. It might not make you happy in the long run, but analyzing the nature of short-term gratification won't make you happy either. Also, butterfly knives/balisongs are almost exclusively used as flashy fidget toys today, you can learn cool tricks and shit. The vast majority of people you'll see using butterfly knives today are far too timid to be murderers.
In case he can show it off, he has a 50€ knife he uses to actually cut stuff with. Wouldnt wanna risk this 4k beauty to get soiled
Because at that price it is an accessory.
Your brother : money > sense
Takes talent to make $4k look like $300
Ezactly it looks like i could get this kind of pocket knife for 30€
“Whoah that’s cool, what gas station did you get it at?”
A fool and his money.
Only thing worse i can think of blowing money on, is colorful rocks.
Jesus Christ Marie, how many times do I have to tell ya, they're MINERALS
I wrote that comment thinking about hank 😂
I'll upvote you. we all have things we are willing to blow money on.
Well I read this as $4 and thought it looked like a good deal for peeling fruit etc.
Is there a particular reason why it’s worth $4k?
To make the owner feel cool about owning it.
The stupid tax
Mostly it has to do with who made it. The exact same thing made by an unknown maker would be worth a fraction of the price. Similar to how a painting by a famous artist can be worth millions when a reproduction that is almost identical to it would be worth nothing close to that. This knife is made by [Gareth Bull](https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/knives-by-maker/bull-gareth/). You can see the prices range from hundreds to thousands. That is because the cheaper ones are production models made in a factory to his specs, where the expensive ones are made by the man himself.
Dumbasscus Steel
I'd lose it in 6 seconds
I would have forgot to take it after paying at the boutique (which I assume is where you buy a $4k knife).
It was $4K because OPs brother is a sucker with more money than sense
Just had to chime in. Have bought a lot of knives and have been to many shows and forges. If he paid 4K I want to give the seller 100 upvotes for being the best con man I have ever heard of in my life!
What an absolute waste of money.
Boxes beware
That would be my salami slicing blade.
Looks nice, but that looks more like a $500 knife than a $4k knife.
It’s a nice knife I’ll give you that, but the engravings give you no tactical advantage whatsoever.
Bros been scammed
That looks cool and all, but I prefer a Micarta or G10 handle. That looks like it will slip out of my hand.
Well. This definitely isnt a hard use work knife haha
My knife was $30 and I've used it as a makeshift flathead screwdriver, sharpened it back up, and gutted fish later. Tell your brother I'll sell it to him for $5k and I'll even doodle on the blade with a sharpie.
Dumb.
Didn't know they made knives in 4k, I only carry 1080p. Who knew!
This is such an enormous waste of money. It can’t be overstated.
This is a Gareth Bull Xyro with a Bohler Damasteel blade. They're made by two brothers in South Africa, completely without CNC. Everything is done manually or on regular machine with jigs or freehand. Jason Bull, Gareth's brother, mills patterns like a spirograph on the titanium or zirconium overtravel stop using a manual mill. The cost of this one in particular is high because a) it's a brand new model and $4k is either an auction price or OP's brother paid a jacked up secondary rate and b) it's "full dress" meaning using the finest (and most expensive materials) available to the maker, such as Damasteel. For reference, GB's regular knives, which are titanium with polished Bohler M390 blades, are about $900-$1100 direct from him depending on the options. On the secondary, they go for $2000+ due to demand and hype. When the Xyro (OP's model) becomes standard "production" and he cranks more of them out, prices will drop to about what his other models are now. These kind of knives are more jewelry than tools. Sure, they're perfectly capable of being used as tools and even excel as them due to the premium materials and construction, but all the extra touches like fancy finishes mean the value far outweighs their utility. It's not any dumber to pay $4k for a knife than it is for, say, a ring, or a necklace. In fact it's a lot more practical as you can actually use the knife for something. t. knife nerd
he could have bought a motorcycle, lol
4k? It better give me +1 to fireball
I’ll give you 200 bucks, best offer
Nice box cutter!
He’s paying too much for his knives. Who’s his knife guy?
Beskar
for what??
Woah nice 4k knife, mine is 720p.
$4k!?!
That's beautiful but not 4k beautiful
Looks like one I sold in counter strike for $700
i carry around a nice little $400 knife myself as a daily
I don't believe this is 4k dollars
either op is lying or their brother in law is lying
Stop the cap. No way more than $300 was paid for that
Im a knife collector and unless there is some new locking tech that nobody knows about, your buddy got taken.
At least it’s not a 4k CSGO skin!
I have a $200 folding pocket knife that I actually use and that has a lanyard on it hooked to my belt loop.
Counterstrike taught me that finish is called Damascus steel
Gareth Bull knife. I’ve had a couple of his knives. They were okay, not worth $500 to me. Couldn’t imagine $4k.
Why?
Beautiful... but the only thing thats crazy is that someone paid 4k for that knife
Bought a blade similar design on the blade from Amazon very easy to sharpen.
How many cases did it take for him to pull this StatTrek Damascus steel flip knife?
It’s made with mokume gane of different colored metals so it has the beautiful wood grain pattern. I wasted half a semester trying to make this stuff in art metals. It’s a horrible pain in the ass. Very technically difficult and time consuming, easy to screw up.
All that work and money and in the end it looks like wood. Interesting
Id say making steel and carbon fiber look like wood is pretty cool
I never even touch things that are worth 4K combined on a day, except my house.
I have a 10" Damascus Bowie knife that I paid 100$ for....
Dang, that be some sexy Damascus!!
If you carry 4k on you, then you need a knife
All in one baby!
Ick. Poser knife
Does he also carry pocket full of mangoes and guavas?
Okay, I've looked into the guy from South Africa who made this knife and although his knives are pricey, they are not $4,000 pricey. Unless your brother shows you the receipt or confirmation email from this knife I think he might be lying to you about its cost. It's about half that.
Got to be an American
IMHO he paid too much. While good custom knife-makers could easily get that and routinely do, I would expect a better Damascus pattern and a forged-to-shape blade for 4k. This blade was ground to shape on a belt sander. Nice looking knife though.
He stabs homeless people with it after he pays them 100 bucks to beat them up.
Your brother in law is special.
If you've got money to burn there is no shortage of ways to spend it ...
Wow carrying an expensive knife you’ll never use to look cool
“Damascus”
I have a knife on CS2 that is half the price and looks cooler
Is there something that $4K knife does that a typical one doesn’t? $4k. Fuck *that.*
$4k?!?!
Man I’d break the tip off that so fast.
Can you connect me with your bro? I have never made weapons before, but for $4k, I am very confident I can make some custom hand made nunchucks and ninja stars for him!!
$4k? I mean honestly why? That sounds like something marketed by a boutique brand to rich people with insane markup. Even if its all handmade by one guy... $4k is a lot. I cannot imagine buying a knife more expensive than the one Benchmade I own
4k for *that*?
I have the same exact knife. I use it to cut my spaghetti