Forgecraft Prices now officially crazy

Find deals on amazon
Miura knives
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
G

gic

KKF Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2013
Messages
1,510
Reaction score
8
well we can blame ourselves, I think it is fair to say the prices have gone at least a little bit crazy, the last one I was bidding on (a 10" in good but not great shape) sold for something close to $60 as a delivered price and one is routinely seeing them in the $70 range.

I like my forgies a lot but considering they often involve thinning-especially the later ones which aren't ground as well, occasionally involve rehandling and always involve a major sharpening session, buying a Fujiwara or Masahiro carbon for around $80 would seem a much better deal, no?
 
depends on your goal.

there's more to life than raw performance.
 
I am sure you have some good swap meets whatever you call them there in the Bay area. I have found best deals on old carbons. Some guys have a bunch of old knives some are crap but others definitely worth restoring.
 
It's nuts. I had a small one I used as a boner when I first started cooking and it was a good and very useful knife. But I paid twelve dollars for it at the flea market. I occasionally get the urge to buy another but every time I do the prices deter me.
 
I was surfing ebay for Forgies and I've came to the conclusion that not only is there very little available compared to the past but the prices are whacked now. I also believe that everyone bidding is a KKF member. :D
 
Well I took that 10 inch Chef that sold today all the way up to $26 if anyone is wondering. :) Mostly out of curiosity. Frankly, I don't see any difference between these knives and Ontario Old Hickory's. At one time every major cutlery company had their own version for their low end consumer line. And many more hardware distributors had one or another cutlery company making knives under their own private label.
 
i don't get the obsession with old carbons, i think they are crap. just because its carbon doesn't make it good, it's still low end steel. i would rather use a brand new kiwi for bargain prices.
 
panda said:
i don't get the obsession with old carbons, i think they are crap. just because its carbon doesn't make it good, it's still low end steel. i would rather use a brand new kiwi for bargain prices.
Click to expand...

Agreed!
 
I'm not a forgecraft guy myself as I've tried twice and just wasn't feeling it both times. But I do love my vintage sabs. The ones I have at least have the sickest taper which I like a lot, gets super sharp, holds it for a good amount of time definitely can be used as beaters and not crazy reactive. Don't really see what's not to like. I got one a few months ago for $60 and feel it's hands down better than anything in that price range.
 
Actually forgies aren't necessarily crappy steel, when the nice folks at Bloodroot rehandled mine and tuned it they also found the HRC was about 61, that's pretty darn good and I can testify that that one at least sharpens pretty easily and stays sharp for a long time. So maybe it depends on the forgie one is looking at?
 
panda said:
i don't get the obsession with old carbons, i think they are crap. just because its carbon doesn't make it good, it's still low end steel. i would rather use a brand new kiwi for bargain prices.
Click to expand...

Not true in many respects. The three forges I've owned had stellar profiles, and pretty decent steel. Performed better than knives many times the price.
 
Restored a few vintage carving sets Forged carbon steel, thin flexible blades 1890's that steel is not crap. One I've kept says double shear steel, gets razor sharp on the stones & breaks down birds quite well.
 
I got forgies for $30 and $40 shipped in the past month off ebay. Got to find the "make an offer" ones. Bidding goes nuts.
 
Yeah, I was watching 2 in recent weeks. One sold this week around $55 shipped, the other last week was a little patina-ed for $28 + shipping. I bought mine for like $37 shipped. You can get them around $40 now if your lucky. And for $40 or less I consider it a good buy. I was bidding on the one last week that sold for $28+shipping. I tried to make it $29, but my computer was too slow. I was wanting a backup for mine because I love the flat profile of Forgecraft Chef.
 
panda said:
i don't get the obsession with old carbons, i think they are crap. just because its carbon doesn't make it good, it's still low end steel. i would rather use a brand new kiwi for bargain prices.
Click to expand...

i agree! you dont get it. :D
 
I like the forgies but recognize that part of of the reason is because they represent the last American made production cutlery (that's worth a damn). I don't think they are great knives but like them as good knives.

The 10" Chef commands the highest price on the bay and I've seen them north of $100. I've bought three, considerably cheaper, and usually in "sets" with another knife. It's not unusual to see a 10" for $50ish, and on the same day see a 10" and a slicer together for $20ish. The two forgies I acutally use regularly are the Bullnose butcher ($16) and the boning knife ($12). Both of these are uniquely "western" knives and do quite well at the tasks they are designed for. And the cleaver is a fun little chopper that I can whack the hell out of on the BBQ table.

I've got everything I need to thin out and fine tune my set except for knowledge, skill and courage. Some day.
 
I think it's as simple as this: If there was an American production knife we were going to call "a classic" it would be Forgecraft Hi-Carbons. They looked like gyutos before they were cool. They are wide-beveled and beautiful. They can still take a breathtaking edge. Like it or not, they are being bought by collectors and kitchen hipsters for the same reasons you'd buy a vintage mustang over a Hyundai. I wouldn't be surprised if the pricing continued to go up, I'm glad I have a few in storage.
 
Because of this thread started looking at vintage carbon chef knives on E-Bay. Many seem a little overpriced to me. Noticed one guy specializes in older carbon blades his prices are up there.

Even some blades without the full heel bolsters have high heels on them from poor sharpening tech. over the years. It is a common mistake not paying enough attention to the heel area of the knife. If it is not too bad it is fixable.
 
i believe they are either carbon steel with various levels of grinds from awesome to meh, but all can be tuned to be "awesome" and a rather horrid soft stainless steel that nobody in their right mind would ever buy :).
 
keithsaltydog said:
Because of this thread started looking at vintage carbon chef knives on E-Bay. Many seem a little overpriced to me. Noticed one guy specializes in older carbon blades his prices are up there.

Even some blades without the full heel bolsters have high heels on them from poor sharpening tech. over the years. It is a common mistake not paying enough attention to the heel area of the knife. If it is not too bad it is fixable.
Click to expand...

I know exactly who you are talking about, and I agree there's no bargains, but he does seem to find interesting knives. He has a weird old gyuto on there that I've been eyeing for months. I do wish that he would stop sharpening and buffing his knives. That said, all the purchases I've made from him have gone smoothly.
 
menzaremba said:
I know exactly who you are talking about, and I agree there's no bargains, but he does seem to find interesting knives. He has a weird old gyuto on there that I've been eyeing for months. I do wish that he would stop sharpening and buffing his knives. That said, all the purchases I've made from him have gone smoothly.
Click to expand...

I know who you are talking about too. Every old carbon blade seems to be pure gold to him. I "won" a group of three Forgecraft knives today just out of curiosity of what the big deal is. Paid more than I really think they are worth. They are also three patterns I don't normally use much, 6-inch stiff boning, 7-inch butcher and 8-inch slicer. But I know those were the three most common patterns in years past.
 
ecchef said:
yeah..."Razor Sharp" Ralph.

menzaremba, which one were you looking at?
Click to expand...

It was a LION GENERAL 270mm "proto-gyuto" that was supposed to be from the early 50s/60s. Sold now. Seemed like one of the "missing links" from the Japanese knife industry post WWII. Basically a quality copy of a French chef knife, just the like the Forgecrafts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top