Icarus was also instructed to not fly too low, for if he did the ocean water would weigh down his wings. I believe that side of the story fits your analogy too.
I was just about to say the same thing.like an anti icarus point where you just know anything under this point and it just wont provide the satisfaction you expected
Excellent point I didn't consider that. I feel like everyone can find a happy medium. I unfortunately am the type who will dive into a new piece of gear and find myself tempted by the higher priced items.
I'm an outdoorsman. Im into fixed blades primarily, and a couple years back I found a custom maker in Mississippi. He built me a knife to my exact specs, including steel type, blade shape, blade length, grind hight, tapered tang, sharpening choil size, scale material, pin material, matching fero rod, and hand made leather dangler sheath, all for $280 total. The craftsmanship is amazing! My personal grail knife and a family heirloom. Really puts things into perspective when I see these basicly production pocket knives going for twice the price.
I hit a weird point a few months ago, when I realized (for me) that buying countless items (knives) of the same function for no other reason than to “have it” and scratch that strange, needless itch, is not something I need in my life. Buying materialistic items for the sake of consumerism is counter to what I “believe” in and I had gotten caught up in it for some unknown reason. It was a strange “click” moment and I just don’t seem to care anymore. But, to each, their own. (Also strange, is that I still wind up watching your videos even though I don’t have a lot of interest in the individual items anymore)
I'd agree but would also say the difference with gear is that it is real. Whereas, say, most art ~ music, film, literature, photography, etc. ~ is nebulous, ethereal. It gives you joy but it is not tangible. But knives, flashlights, pens, watches, even titanium chopsticks are externally substantial things that have real purpose. It's the difference between a high-end guitar and a well-written song: the music only exists as sonic vibrations but the guitar is physical and not imagined.
I mean you could always just cycle through stuff and sell the stuff you don't use anymore. This is what I am trying to do at the moment with the hopes that I eventually find the perfect knives, watches, and flashlights for my life. I use plural because a knife that is prioritizing being light is not going to do the job of a knife that puts being strong first and foremost. A light that is meant to have long long battery life, great throw, and great flood capabilities is not going to fit in your pocket. Not sure if explained my point but I think what should be avoided is buying so many items that you don't know why you still own some of them because then you are hoarding. I love Frankie and Bird but I have to say they have an insane number of knives at this point and I envy them slightly but at the same time I hope I don't find myself in such an overwhelming situation.
@@Osprey1994 Yep, I agree completely. Though I love all gear my main interest is knives, so just three pocketable flashlights, three pens and a couple watches is more than enough for me. And yeah, F&B have gone off the deep-end when it comes to knives.
david marshall, for me though, the imagined part is more attractive. I want to be at a point where I spend my hard earned money on things that will lead to a mental growth rather than a growth of physical items. (Obviously these are my personal views and am in no way knocking anyone else’s choices of how to spend their dollars.. (just don’t want to come of as a preachy prick))
The worst is getting all pumped up for an Icarus Knife, being underwhelmed when it arrives and going on to YT to watch videos that help me justify the purchase in the first place. And yes, first world problems.
You're definitely right. I recently heard "don't spend your life buying things you don't need to impress people who don't care". It was in an audio book so they were not talking to me but it resounded loudly for sure.
now that material is not an excuse for making high prices seem justified, 80$ M390, Titanium and s35vn becoming the norm for 150$ knives, I question any knife over 200$. This is a good thing for us average and below average income buyers. Best time time to buy a knife? 400$-500$ knife, the thing better be cooking me breakfast.
I have a titanium BOSS 70 and I think the price of the BOSS is very easily justified. The craftsmanship is second to none. Tom and Dan have thought of and tested everything. The head is sealed separately from the body so you could change the batteries underwater and I think that's a great analogy to your helium releases in watches, something you'll never need, but is kind of cool. Just the double layer of protection is nice piece of mind. The bounce function prevents burning a hole in your pocket. There are other pin code combinations that will blink the remaining battery percentage and serial number so you can look up the exact specs of your board on Lux RCs website (if you're a flashlight nerd). Being able to swap bodies to an 18650 and have separate programming for 2x 18350s built in is amazing. The warranty is amazing. I messed up the pins on the board by swapping optics haphazardly and Dan split the cost of a new board with me because "they didn't warn us/instruct us on the proper way to swap optics yet". My BOSS 70 is one of my most favorite EDC pieces of gear that I own and I'm happy to bring it with me in my travels. I highly recommend spending some more time with it and really getting to know it. I'd much rather spend $400 on something I can rely on to banish darkness and light my way than $6,000 on something that tells time on my wrist (that I then have to pay money to service).
I want a Rolex submariner. But I know what it is and what it isn’t. It’s not a tool. It’s a luxury. It might have once been a tool, but now a g-shock and plastic handle delica are far more durable, beatable, dependable and functional than the pocket jewelry we all covet.
Michael Sigman - If the sub is in your budget, get it it’s a watch you can live with the rest of your life. Have three more expensive Rolex but the best is the sub.
This was extremely helpful in solving something for myself. I've hit this weird point to where this is all I want and nothing past this so I believe I've hit my stopping point and made a permanent budget. Thanks Nick!
People should learn how to ‘downsize’. I appreciate people chasing that 1%. But sometimes that 1% cost too much. Hobby is still hobby. It is just part of the life. I am so glad I find your channel even I am a 100% noob for the knife world. You provide not only so much knife knowledge but a lot of wisdoms that other hobby reviewer don’t have. You sound like a rational person rather than a hobby maniac. Really nice work!
I got a boss 35 in brass. I love it but that is the absolute most i would ever spend on any piece of edc gear. I sold all my cheaper lights aside from a HDS after buying it Great video and very interesting topic
I mean it's kind of a simple concept. For around 100 bucks I was able to put together a full EDC pouch. I have a pen, knife, mini multitool, prybar, and flashlight. That works for me, but someone with need for a full size multitool, better knife steel than D2, and brighter flashlight, will probably spend more. Maybe get up to the 300 for everything range. Still, that's all you really need to spend to have a working quality EDC. If you're going higher than that, you're doing so for extra features, fancy designs and materials, well known brand names, etc... Nothing wrong with that, we like to spoil ourselves. Just saying... At a certain point, functionality and quality of materials is maxed out, and all you're getting is a design and a name. If you think its worth it, whatever, ain't my money...
I’ve found the 3-400 dollar price range to be the sweet spot for me for watches, knives and even firearms. It’s enough that I have to save up and make educated choices but also there’s some serious quality there. Any more than that the temptation to baby it or sell it when times are tough is there.
Mine is simple really. Tissot powermatic , small sebenza , pilot g2 05 , maglite solitaire, seecamp 32. Tested , proven and worthwhile. Any of them can be bettered, but they bring me pleasure.
Icarus points for me. Handgun $1000 Pocket knife $650 Flashlight $220 Pen $30 I always loose them at work Watch $500 . If my wife knew my icarus point I'll be thrown into the sun anyways and fall back to earth a smouldering char stick. so shhhh...... dont tell her. As long as I save and am frugal I treat myself every so often. But I do get anxiety when I buy something in this range. Until I get the item and I feel it's worth it then I feel happy when I use it. If its crap i feel horrible. Nick Shabazz has helped me avoid the latter so thank you!
Most expensive knife I've bought is the Spydiechef and I can say that was as close to the sun as I'm going to get, especially when the pivot screw keeps backing off even with lock tite, and the pocket clip snapped off. What suprised me is that I didn't feel like I should go higher to get better quality, I felt like I could've gotten 99% of what that knife is for WAY LESS. I think the sweet spot for knives these days is 100-150$. Looking back now, any knife I spent more then that on I vaguely felt like I was ripped off, now I understand why. Thanks Nick.
My Icarus point on a watch is $0 since I stopped wearing one once a smart phone was my constant companion. For pens it’s about a buck since I lose way too many of them to shop anywhere but the dollar store. For flashlights it has not been achieved but the most I’ve spent is about forty bucks. For pocket knives it’s roughly four hundred bucks though I’ve got some more costly. Beyond that threshold they don’t really get used and seldom get carried. We’re all different as the premise of your video points out. Good topic.
Absolutely great video Nick! I haven't really reached any Icarus point, so I can only imagine what that would do. But as of lately, I've decided to just but some key items for my EDC rotation. Sometimes It's more expensive buying 9 or 10 semi cheap things like knives, or lights than one grail item. - I think I'm more into flashlight then most other EDC items, so the $460 for the B.O.S.S. wasn't that horrible for me, still a huge leap since I'm a college student working a part time job, but I enjoy it. But I'm not sure I would go any higher than this. The B.O.S.S for me is the pinnacle. - Watches are a dangerous area and I haven't really experimented with anything over $300 so I'm not sure were my limit is there, and I'm scared to find out. But $3000 seems like a safe bet. I hope.... - I have one pen (Prometheus Alpha) that hits that $200, and a couple sub $100 Karas Kustoms pens and I enjoy them as well. Probably wouldn't pay $200 for a pen again, unless is a fountain pen, maybe, hopefully not. - I've messed around with pry bars, and EDC tools, and I think the $100 is my absolute max, and that was for the Vero Fulcrum. But I've tried $50 prybars and they work absolutely fine. - Knives are a weird one for me. I used to EDC a Spyderco Smock, which is the most I've spent on a knife. Loved it. And I used to dream about Sabenzas, Hinderers, and Microtechs but weirdly just stop looking into knives and now I EDC a Civivi Mandate and haven't used any other knives since I got it a while back. This might change one day, but I can't imagine paying more than $150-$200 for knife. Not because they are not worth it, but because that price range can probably get me everything I desire at the moment. Everyone has their comfort limit. I absolutely love flashlights and watches so those are probably the only two I'm willing to shell out a big sum for. Everything else I'm fine watching reviews on and enjoying it from afar. Thank you for your thoughts man, always exited for you non reviews videos as well.
My Icarus point for any knife is around $400. I don't own any $400 knives but I do think that would be my upper limit. I own a couple of $300 knives (bark river) but the range of offerings in the $250 range is enough to keep me busy for awhile. Thanks for this video, Nick- it's very thought provoking!
As far as knives, $300. $130ish is a great cap for some really great knives, $300 opens up a whole new ballpark especially if you're ok with shopping used, while still being just sort of "better" in most characteristics; for me it's important to have a knife I'm not afraid to use every day and so $300 will get me some of the best EDC knives there are. Above that it will be a special occasion knife and so the simple "better" for most aspects of the knife just doesn't cut it since I won't be using it everyday anyway. It needs to have something special such as an otherworldly beautiful appearance in something like a Millit Torrent, otherwise you just end up with something like a Shirogorov (which is a great knife company) but doesn't really get you much that you can't find for less.
I definitely have an Icarus Scale. Knives $450 (The Sebenza is the standard), Flashlights $200 (Surefire), Pens $100 (TiScribe-Bolt or a solid fountain pen), Watches $600 (Citizen Eco-Drive & a lot of great budget Automatics can be had at or below that price) and guns $1200 (That get's you a Glock all the way to a base AR). I've definitely flown above this before Lol.
900 clams! Dude, my Icarus is 200 for knives, 500 for watches, and 65 for flashlights. The thought of having an item on my person everyday more expensive then my smartphone alongside my phone is terrifying. Youre a brave man, Nick Shabazz
Great video Nick, this one came at a good time for me. I've dove into the knife world pretty hard, but I have been thinking about this recently and this really hit home with me. I need to think on it and figure out where my point is because I may have hit it with a couple knives recently.
I have just bought my most expensive knife yet, the Fox Knives Suru (Heinnie Haynes edition, around $200). Having gotten it in hand, I do love the size, feel and the design in general, but I do not imagine paying more for a knife. Moreover, I think it's time to sell a few off that aren't getting carried, and it's time to appreciate what I have.
It’s funny a few months ago I got back into the knife scene after taking about a 5 year break. Shortly after getting back into knives, I thought about picking up a Norseman and I was BLOWN away by the fact that the price for them has damn near doubled! I also remember a few years ago going to a get together with fellow knife collectors who had WAY more discretionary funds than I did who had multiple customs. I was extremely underwhelmed when most of them didn’t feel and better than my Spyderco Southard. Some even felt worse. I’ll never justify more than Sebenza money for a knife.
Speaking specifically to flashlights I have a couple of $50 range ones but, wanted to see what the high price lights were all about so I jumped in head first and scored a barrel flashlight at the recent drop. Will soon find out what my icarus point is for lights.
You’re right on point here Nick. My squeal point for a knife 550. A firearm 3,000, a pen 200, a watch DO NOT get into watch’s, 😂 that said, we all have that grail item we’ll go ahead and fly too close to the sun for.
James Hite Sooo true. As far as watch’s... two very good g-shock for edc, and just one dress watch does me fine, but I certainly understand our allure to a great timepiece 🤛
I catch myself saving my receipt when flying high and returning something after thinking, do I need this and is it that much better than what I have. Fun to hold but don't count it sold.
Absolutely stellar video Nick, thank you for this, makes me stop and think about what's too much and what's too little to spend on a knife. $40 seems to be my minimum I want to spend on a knife because beyond that, in most cases, the fit and finish just isn't good to put a smile on my face when I whip out the knife. And although I haven't gone close to my high point, I think about $600 would be my icarus point, I've been tossing around the idea of a Holt Bladeworks, Olamic Cutlery, or Millet Knives knife and I just can't think of going past that point for a knife. (Although I would love a Grimsmo Norseman)
Mythology is a great framework to consider these ideas. Cronus who consumed all of his children is not unlike the collector who NEEDS to GET EVERYTHING because they are afraid to getting left behind...OK the metaphor needs some work but it portrays another part of the spectrum. Current Icarus in my collection is the TAD Hinderer Compact Dauntless. Fun video! Cheers, Andrew
Yea my knife point has been settling in the $500-600 range (Full Track, Tricked out XM18s, Arius, CKF stuff, sebenzas and Zaans, MT Stitches). But there are a few $2k knives I plan to purchase someday. Borka and rassenti customs. They will not be edc items though like the rest.
The most I have spent on a pocket knife is $1000 but then I just could not bring myself to carry it. I sold it and bought a $600 and $400 knives with the money. I don’t carry the $600 as well but I could. I think that is my limit on knives. On pens the most I have spent is $445 and I do carry that pen sometimes. I think my limit on them is also around $600, but my budget does not currently allow for knives or pens that expensive without selling some of what I have to buy them. One nice thing about higher end pens and knives you can sell them later if you need to. It’s not worth the trouble to sell items that ran $20-$50 new. Those make gifts to friends that share interests or people you want to get into it.
I once walked into a room with a pair $250,000 Wilson Audio speakers and a equal amount of amplifier and source gear. That is the point where you rebuild Icarus’s wings with steel and still melt them by flying too close to the sun.
The first few minutes, I thought you were trippin'! But within a few minutes, I felt your story. My limits are much lower than yours though--roughly 150 tortillas for a knife; 125 light; and 250 for the sun dial. Usually it's less but I could go more, depending.
Agree completely with this. I'm not sure where my particular points fall. With knives, being in the UK I'm not only restricted to sub-3 inches & non-locking for legal carry, but also suffer from much higher prices compared with the US. So my Spyderco Roadie cost the equivalent of about $60 and the UKPK would be around the $70--80 mark. Quite honestly, the Roadie does pretty much everything I need so I'm probably not going to spend much more than that. For watches, I'm undecided. Some days a Heritage Black Bay seems to fit the bill; other days it's a Seamaster Diver 300. Then I start to covet a Milgauss, or start looking at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris or Geophysic, or the IWC Ingenieur or Aquatimer. So I really haven't decided where my limit is going to be. The Geophysic probably represents it, though realistically I'm unlikely to push that far.
The flashlight under the Norseman looks like a screaming Martian. I've been to the Iccarus point several (more) times. Knives, wood working tools, jewellers tools, gems and minerals and the general upgrading of the arsenal. This vid hits a strong personal chord with me. Lot's to chew on here. I think I'm King GearMonger. Thanks for the epiphany. Great observations as usual Nick.
I’ve reached the point where I have bought an expensive item and I am so pleased with it that I don’t need to buy anything else and all my similar expensive items are redundant. This item has been owned for over a year and I am still very much in the honeymoon period. I can’t see it changing.
Thank you Nick. I needed to see this. Been into Knives and they get pricey. I agree $900 is about my limit. Just got a Grimsmo which I love and got direct from the maker. Secondary market seems to price them at $1200. I would love another but again price point I can get a few very nice, cheaper ones for that point. Seeing this helps to keep me grounded. So thank you once again. Much appreciated.
My grail is to get benchmade anthem. My current icarus is the m4 shaman. I currently have no way to sharpen it. If I lose it I can't afford to replace it( even if it wasn't a sprint). So it kinda just sits in drawer until I can get a sharpener. I mean it's a nice knife but I'd rather beat on my griptilian or pm2 because at least with some planning I can replace them and I currently can sharpen them.
I have recently given this topic a lot of thought. I am downsizing at this time. I realized that my Icarus point for any knife is now just $500. a watch, $5000, a flashlight down to $100, sound is still expensive but $5000 seems low to me now but it is my limit. a TV? $2000 and no more. a pen $100, and firearms top out at $1000. I have even rethought the price of an SUV.. $30K that might not happen but it is a goal.
For me most items, excluding watches is 2 hours gross pay. Thus depending on ones income can determine what is affortable. Someone making $15, $25, $40, $60, $75 etc an purchase different items of the same type of EDC gear. What the CEO of ATT, a doctor, a construction worker and a retail employee can feel comfortable spending will vary, but there are gems at every budget. Note, i have several items under the $50 budget group but purchasing the Spyderco Chaparral FRN at twice normal means can move up to better quality not buying the Civivi and other budget items. The R2D2 is still fav under $50 with Chaparral FRN under $100. My gentleman gear for dressier moments spend a little more. Watches, have 4, is more than a days pay... Prefer quartz with sapphire crystal. Solar becoming a bigger desire to escape battery replacements.
I like that you mentioned the "Icarus point" isn't fixed and it shifts depending on the person. There are people who make billions of dollars who probably wouldn't mind dropping $400 on a flashlight or a knife and heck $50,000 on a watch is probably something that doesn't keep them up at night. While there are also people who wouldn't spend more than $50 on any piece of small gear like an EDC flashlight, a knife, a pen etc. Then there are people like myself who should be more budget minded as a college student but I'm willing to save and buy more expensive knives (up to about $250) but I top out at about $100 for flashlights. Key point is that you should stay away from your "Icarus point" because the feeling of getting burned isn't fun.
I think im in a similar boat. To be honest I have that same light and i really like it. I dont however have a knife that expensive (yet). Im realizing that for alot of us diminishing returns is a long ways in our rear view and this video could easily be titled the curve of self justification. I think if something makes you happy and you can afford it go nuts, but functional practicality can be had for pretty cheap. Cool video, its an interesting concept and definitely is sliding scale that gets worse over time.
Greay video Nick. My current EDC Icarus points... Watch - $2000 Knife - $1000 Light - $200 Pen - $100 Quick question... What's that leather pocket slip in the bottom right corner? I've been getting into slips and like the pen loop on that one. Thanks!
I don't know about the flashlight, but I'm certain that who ever bought to he flashlight went shopping entirely to high. You got to be careful, especially here in California, you think oh they sale a whole pack of gummy bears at the pot store, but no one tells you, only eat the leg. Don't eat the whole gummy bear. You'll be in PB talking to the dolphins and buying $400 flashlights...
I'd say my price point for knives is about $700. I'll make exceptions on occasion, like the Norseman (post price hike) or a one-off Ferrum Forge, but mostly I stay at about $700 or less.
I completely agree with what you're saying here. I found my Icarus point on knives when I ordered a $950 custom from a respected maker and its quality was lower than many of my sub-$300 productions. Pretty much killed my interest in customs entirely.
My Icarus points: Folding knife: $200/ Watch: $300 / Pen: $20 / Flashlight: $15 I have several knives priced around $100-$150, four watches priced around $250-350, three pens around $8-$20, two flashlights around $10-$15, eight earphone/headphone sets around $35-$350. The only category in which I’m actively buying is folding knives. I can rationalize this as a collection, not about collecting bling.
Ya for me pens at $100, knives around $500, and watches at $2000, ( my wife got my a Tag Professional 2000). To much for a Tag but don't tell her! Nick makes strong points here.
Sounds like your Icarus point is determined by specific gear pieces in some categories (Norseman, Explorer?) so it may be subject to change with new revolutionary pieces. Which I guess it's fair enough.
I personally set a hard limit of $300 on knives. I already have a sizeable collection (like 24-31 pieces) and adding more isn't helping my problem. I'll only break that limit when it comes to an extremely rare/unique or discontinued blade I just HAVE to have in my collection. Also Nick, I'd love to see you do some audio reviews. I know it may not exactly be your thing but if you don't have an EDC video review to pump out, I don't see the harm.
Another thought I think of is what did it cost to produce. A custom knife like the Protec has hours of hand labor going into it. It’s for the most point a one-off piece. A flashlight has the initial development cost but modern manufacturing can and should bring the price way down. That how I look at it
I know this isn't technically concerning the topic of the video but I'll say it anyway; I've noticed that in my edc is all the permanent items in said edc where ones that I paid close to two hundred bucks for. My intention was never that it would be that why that's just where things naturally ended up.
For myself, the only two things I have a massive passion for where I will fly very close to the sun is handmade swords or katana, specifically from Japan, the older the better and as long as they are in stellar condition. The other is music; not vinyl, just music itself. I spend a stupid amount of most days searching for musicians, bands, and genres/sub-genres I've never heard before. So it's not like 'collect all the albums from my favorite bands' type of collecting, it's the obsession with discovering new (to me) music. While I do love my folding knives a great deal and have a decent number, swords is my extreme passion. Watches, pens, and other EDC gear has just never grabbed my attention that much, or at all.
As far as my everyday carry gear goes, $ 120 for knives, $25 for a flashlight, $50 for a watch, and $2 for a Sharpie. All my gear is going to probably see heavy use, and potentially be dropped down a toilet or some other inaccessible place oh, so I just cannot afford to spend that much on it. I do have a few nicer knives, but I don't carry them when I am working, so I don't really consider them part of my EDC but more special occasion gear.
It sounds funny, but I agree with buddy prince on this one. I have bought a lot of knives with a specific purpose in mind. If that knife is on the higher end, I keep the box in pristine condition and handle it with care and always keep the receipt. I have to admit that a lot of those higher end knives have gone back from whence they came. If I buy a knife that I’m apprehensive about using because I’m always thinking about the cost, then it passed my threshold price.
This is something most people overlook.. I agree 100 percent... I am currently at the 300 dollar knife range and scared to see where I'll end up... Maybe 5-6 hundred.? But yes as most of us, I love well made high end things. But there are times where I wonder... What the hell did I do!!
Knives $600 to $800; Flashlights $500; Pens $700 (Mont Blanc); Watches (hard to say I'll probably never earn enough but if I did🤔) $100,000 theres some Pateks, MB&F, Langes etc that are absolute works of art. If I was a billionaire I would be spending a lot of money on watches, I've been in love with them since I was 3.
Great video. I always get satisfaction from a good value purchase. Not sure if my point would change much if I was filthy rich, exception being pieces that were truly one of a kind artworks.
I love this concept. I have recognized that in wine I can't perceive the difference in taste after 25 USD. It's literally wasting money going any higher.
Pen: $60 Knife: $100 Watch: $300 Flashlight: $70 Mechanical keyboard: $400 Yeah... I'm not a very expensive person. But those are the prices at which I bought something and when I got it I said to myself "Why... Why did I buy this?"
Great video Nick thank you. This is something I've spent alot of time thinking about myself, funniest thing I recieved a email from John Grismo this morning saying I was chosen in the makers choice lottery. I clicked to see the knife and it's very much like your old Norseman. Plain blue ano scales and I believe a stonewashed blade with a price tag of $925. I talked to my girl and have decided to get it knowing I wont lose any $ if I sell it right away but still its alot for a pocket knife. I just dont believe another chance to handle one will come up any time soon.
Olamic really set the bar for me in terms of my Icarus point. Olamic literally lets you build every single possible aspect of your knife from scratch, with quality materials. It ends up running you somewhere between $600-$850, but my point is that if Olamic is literally allowing me to make my dream knife in almost infinite configurations for that much, how could I ever really justify spending more than that on something else? What, spend $2k on a knife from a custom maker because... he's.... a custom maker? And he makes them by-hand in his garage? Except I have way less customization than Olamic at that point? I'm not saying I don't get why someone would do that, but that's why my line is where it is.
What about the inverse icarus where one becomes obsessed with getting a deal and the new hotness? You end up with a drawer full of Chinese homage watches, 20 8cr13mov flippers with great detents, chase the best refills for your budget pen. You would have been ahead to buy a middle of the road spyderco, non entry seiko and nice pen; but you flew to close to the deal sun.
I have a low Icarus level: knives about $150; flashlights about $70; pens about$40; watches about...well I have a Samsung gear 3 so we won't count this group. I guess I have low expectations.
The little front flipper traditional.....I kinda love.....but that's too much.....is there anything in that form factor at a more reasonable price? ....as to watches, my grail is the Tag Monaco Calibre 11, there's a special edition Ti w/ orange on the hands that just makes me lose my mind......but I can buy a short block for a race engine for what that watch costs.....so I don't have one.
I think my point for knives is around $500. Everything I've tried over that point I've basically made a safe queen and eventually sold because I couldn't justify keeping them around if I didn't actually use them.
I'm about to pickup some icarus gear on knives for me I think, which is to say knives breaking the $100 mark(you get a whole lot of knife at $100) past that and eh I feel like the returns are limited but we'll see, I've spent about $60 each on pens and felt okay with it I feel like more than that would start to pinch for me because even at that point I don't really feel like I'm getting much more out of a $60 pen in terms of function than I got out of a $10 one, 30-60 on small lights feels okay in terms of quality vs cost but when I look at $100+ flashlights I don't think I'd get enough use out of it to warrant the price, the most expensive headlamp I've bought was in the $60s and that felt like a good deal of quality for the price so I don't think I've hit it there.
For pocket knives my limit is 200 above that I am not comfortable using them and then there is no point too me kitchen knives are a bit higher. For pens the line is like 40 and for watches I really don't know but my grail is about 2500
I had the same realization when it comes for guitars. I was looking to buy a new guitar and tried a $1,000 guitar versus a $5,000. No one will argue with you that the $5,000 guitar sounds better but is it five times better? this was my icarus moment.
As a full time carpenter a good pocket knife gets ruined. I've had a lot of luck with sub 100 dollar knives. Like your kizer vanguards and real steels. Too much more and I don't want to give them pocket time because they are not easily replaceable.
I think like 500-600 dollars is my limit for knives really depends on how much I like the knife, but I feel like 200-300 dollars can get you supersteel, ti, cf and bearings just have to look at the right companies, and u could pay double that for a midtech or custom and get worse materials but instead pay for the makers name which I feel is silly
That being said my most expensive knife is a viper Fortis that I bought for roughly 1600 kr (240 dollars) and i has m390 steel, milled Ti clip, cf show, ti lock, steel insert, ti spacer, bearings, made in italy, and if you can get that for such small amount then I don't really see a need to go higher, you don't even see that in some customs and it's high end materials
My „Icarus“-line is at around 200$ (for knives and watches) and about 30$ for ball-point pens and torches and 70$ for fountain pens. Anything more expensive I just don‘t need and would not give me much more bliss. ;)
Icarus was also instructed to not fly too low, for if he did the ocean water would weigh down his wings. I believe that side of the story fits your analogy too.
I was just about to say the same thing.like an anti icarus point where you just know anything under this point and it just wont provide the satisfaction you expected
Z-Hunter == Ocean
*Z-Hunter == Mariana trench
Funny point
Excellent point I didn't consider that. I feel like everyone can find a happy medium. I unfortunately am the type who will dive into a new piece of gear and find myself tempted by the higher priced items.
I'm an outdoorsman. Im into fixed blades primarily, and a couple years back I found a custom maker in Mississippi. He built me a knife to my exact specs, including steel type, blade shape, blade length, grind hight, tapered tang, sharpening choil size, scale material, pin material, matching fero rod, and hand made leather dangler sheath, all for $280 total. The craftsmanship is amazing! My personal grail knife and a family heirloom. Really puts things into perspective when I see these basicly production pocket knives going for twice the price.
I hit a weird point a few months ago, when I realized (for me) that buying countless items (knives) of the same function for no other reason than to “have it” and scratch that strange, needless itch, is not something I need in my life. Buying materialistic items for the sake of consumerism is counter to what I “believe” in and I had gotten caught up in it for some unknown reason.
It was a strange “click” moment and I just don’t seem to care anymore.
But, to each, their own.
(Also strange, is that I still wind up watching your videos even though I don’t have a lot of interest in the individual items anymore)
I'd agree but would also say the difference with gear is that it is real. Whereas, say, most art ~ music, film, literature, photography, etc. ~ is nebulous, ethereal. It gives you joy but it is not tangible. But knives, flashlights, pens, watches, even titanium chopsticks are externally substantial things that have real purpose. It's the difference between a high-end guitar and a well-written song: the music only exists as sonic vibrations but the guitar is physical and not imagined.
I mean you could always just cycle through stuff and sell the stuff you don't use anymore. This is what I am trying to do at the moment with the hopes that I eventually find the perfect knives, watches, and flashlights for my life. I use plural because a knife that is prioritizing being light is not going to do the job of a knife that puts being strong first and foremost. A light that is meant to have long long battery life, great throw, and great flood capabilities is not going to fit in your pocket. Not sure if explained my point but I think what should be avoided is buying so many items that you don't know why you still own some of them because then you are hoarding. I love Frankie and Bird but I have to say they have an insane number of knives at this point and I envy them slightly but at the same time I hope I don't find myself in such an overwhelming situation.
Picking jewelry for your wife without asking her opinion of it is your next challenge.
@@Osprey1994 Yep, I agree completely. Though I love all gear my main interest is knives, so just three pocketable flashlights, three pens and a couple watches is more than enough for me. And yeah, F&B have gone off the deep-end when it comes to knives.
david marshall, for me though, the imagined part is more attractive. I want to be at a point where I spend my hard earned money on things that will lead to a mental growth rather than a growth of physical items.
(Obviously these are my personal views and am in no way knocking anyone else’s choices of how to spend their dollars.. (just don’t want to come of as a preachy prick))
The worst is getting all pumped up for an Icarus Knife, being underwhelmed when it arrives and going on to YT to watch videos that help me justify the purchase in the first place. And yes, first world problems.
You're definitely right. I recently heard "don't spend your life buying things you don't need to impress people who don't care".
It was in an audio book so they were not talking to me but it resounded loudly for sure.
now that material is not an excuse for making high prices seem justified, 80$ M390, Titanium and s35vn becoming the norm for 150$ knives, I question any knife over 200$. This is a good thing for us average and below average income buyers. Best time time to buy a knife? 400$-500$ knife, the thing better be cooking me breakfast.
$400 flashlight?!?!?! I can buy robot eyes with night vision and a fleshlight for $400.
Fleshlight..Hahaha!! We've all got one.. ;) ;)
Am I the only one with the stu version?
I just bought a $700 microtech troodon 138-16 TI. Most wouldn’t spend that much, but I love the double edge Damascus blade. My wings are singed.
$3000 on a sound system ? Nick, you barely scratched the surface in that category.
PizzaPimp812 - Soooo true!
I work in hifi, $3k might buy you some decent speaker cables.... It gets expensive fast in that hobby.
Weekend Overlanding - Yeah, that hobby makes my head spin! It’s also one of those hobbies easy to get upgrade fever. Always something new and better.
@@jameshite4820 we have our big show AXPONA (audio expo North American) coming up real soon. It causes lots of upgradeitis
I have a titanium BOSS 70 and I think the price of the BOSS is very easily justified. The craftsmanship is second to none. Tom and Dan have thought of and tested everything. The head is sealed separately from the body so you could change the batteries underwater and I think that's a great analogy to your helium releases in watches, something you'll never need, but is kind of cool. Just the double layer of protection is nice piece of mind. The bounce function prevents burning a hole in your pocket. There are other pin code combinations that will blink the remaining battery percentage and serial number so you can look up the exact specs of your board on Lux RCs website (if you're a flashlight nerd). Being able to swap bodies to an 18650 and have separate programming for 2x 18350s built in is amazing. The warranty is amazing. I messed up the pins on the board by swapping optics haphazardly and Dan split the cost of a new board with me because "they didn't warn us/instruct us on the proper way to swap optics yet". My BOSS 70 is one of my most favorite EDC pieces of gear that I own and I'm happy to bring it with me in my travels. I highly recommend spending some more time with it and really getting to know it. I'd much rather spend $400 on something I can rely on to banish darkness and light my way than $6,000 on something that tells time on my wrist (that I then have to pay money to service).
I want a Rolex submariner. But I know what it is and what it isn’t. It’s not a tool. It’s a luxury. It might have once been a tool, but now a g-shock and plastic handle delica are far more durable, beatable, dependable and functional than the pocket jewelry we all covet.
Michael Sigman - If the sub is in your budget, get it it’s a watch you can live with the rest of your life. Have three more expensive Rolex but the best is the sub.
This was extremely helpful in solving something for myself. I've hit this weird point to where this is all I want and nothing past this so I believe I've hit my stopping point and made a permanent budget. Thanks Nick!
People should learn how to ‘downsize’. I appreciate people chasing that 1%. But sometimes that 1% cost too much. Hobby is still hobby. It is just part of the life. I am so glad I find your channel even I am a 100% noob for the knife world. You provide not only so much knife knowledge but a lot of wisdoms that other hobby reviewer don’t have. You sound like a rational person rather than a hobby maniac. Really nice work!
What about the moku-ti tip kit for the Ti scribe pen for $160
I got a boss 35 in brass. I love it but that is the absolute most i would ever spend on any piece of edc gear. I sold all my cheaper lights aside from a HDS after buying it
Great video and very interesting topic
I mean it's kind of a simple concept. For around 100 bucks I was able to put together a full EDC pouch. I have a pen, knife, mini multitool, prybar, and flashlight.
That works for me, but someone with need for a full size multitool, better knife steel than D2, and brighter flashlight, will probably spend more. Maybe get up to the 300 for everything range.
Still, that's all you really need to spend to have a working quality EDC. If you're going higher than that, you're doing so for extra features, fancy designs and materials, well known brand names, etc...
Nothing wrong with that, we like to spoil ourselves. Just saying... At a certain point, functionality and quality of materials is maxed out, and all you're getting is a design and a name.
If you think its worth it, whatever, ain't my money...
My Icarus point with knives is the CRK/Hinderer $550-ish range. I don’t think I can justify going beyond that (even as a blade geek).
I’ve found the 3-400 dollar price range to be the sweet spot for me for watches, knives and even firearms. It’s enough that I have to save up and make educated choices but also there’s some serious quality there. Any more than that the temptation to baby it or sell it when times are tough is there.
Mine is simple really. Tissot powermatic , small sebenza , pilot g2 05 , maglite solitaire, seecamp 32.
Tested , proven and worthwhile. Any of them can be bettered, but they bring me pleasure.
Icarus points for me.
Handgun $1000
Pocket knife $650
Flashlight $220
Pen $30 I always loose them at work
Watch $500 .
If my wife knew my icarus point I'll be thrown into the sun anyways and fall back to earth a smouldering char stick. so shhhh...... dont tell her. As long as I save and am frugal I treat myself every so often. But I do get anxiety when I buy something in this range. Until I get the item and I feel it's worth it then I feel happy when I use it. If its crap i feel horrible. Nick Shabazz has helped me avoid the latter so thank you!
Most expensive knife I've bought is the Spydiechef and I can say that was as close to the sun as I'm going to get, especially when the pivot screw keeps backing off even with lock tite, and the pocket clip snapped off. What suprised me is that I didn't feel like I should go higher to get better quality, I felt like I could've gotten 99% of what that knife is for WAY LESS. I think the sweet spot for knives these days is 100-150$. Looking back now, any knife I spent more then that on I vaguely felt like I was ripped off, now I understand why. Thanks Nick.
My Icarus point on a watch is $0 since I stopped wearing one once a smart phone was my constant companion. For pens it’s about a buck since I lose way too many of them to shop anywhere but the dollar store.
For flashlights it has not been achieved but the most I’ve spent is about forty bucks.
For pocket knives it’s roughly four hundred bucks though I’ve got some more costly. Beyond that threshold they don’t really get used and seldom get carried.
We’re all different as the premise of your video points out. Good topic.
Absolutely great video Nick!
I haven't really reached any Icarus point, so I can only imagine what that would do. But as of lately, I've decided to just but some key items for my EDC rotation. Sometimes It's more expensive buying 9 or 10 semi cheap things like knives, or lights than one grail item.
- I think I'm more into flashlight then most other EDC items, so the $460 for the B.O.S.S. wasn't that horrible for me, still a huge leap since I'm a college student working a part time job, but I enjoy it. But I'm not sure I would go any higher than this. The B.O.S.S for me is the pinnacle.
- Watches are a dangerous area and I haven't really experimented with anything over $300 so I'm not sure were my limit is there, and I'm scared to find out. But $3000 seems like a safe bet. I hope....
- I have one pen (Prometheus Alpha) that hits that $200, and a couple sub $100 Karas Kustoms pens and I enjoy them as well. Probably wouldn't pay $200 for a pen again, unless is a fountain pen, maybe, hopefully not.
- I've messed around with pry bars, and EDC tools, and I think the $100 is my absolute max, and that was for the Vero Fulcrum. But I've tried $50 prybars and they work absolutely fine.
- Knives are a weird one for me. I used to EDC a Spyderco Smock, which is the most I've spent on a knife. Loved it. And I used to dream about Sabenzas, Hinderers, and Microtechs but weirdly just stop looking into knives and now I EDC a Civivi Mandate and haven't used any other knives since I got it a while back. This might change one day, but I can't imagine paying more than $150-$200 for knife. Not because they are not worth it, but because that price range can probably get me everything I desire at the moment.
Everyone has their comfort limit. I absolutely love flashlights and watches so those are probably the only two I'm willing to shell out a big sum for. Everything else I'm fine watching reviews on and enjoying it from afar. Thank you for your thoughts man, always exited for you non reviews videos as well.
My Icarus point for any knife is around $400. I don't own any $400 knives but I do think that would be my upper limit. I own a couple of $300 knives (bark river) but the range of offerings in the $250 range is enough to keep me busy for awhile. Thanks for this video, Nick- it's very thought provoking!
As far as knives, $300. $130ish is a great cap for some really great knives, $300 opens up a whole new ballpark especially if you're ok with shopping used, while still being just sort of "better" in most characteristics; for me it's important to have a knife I'm not afraid to use every day and so $300 will get me some of the best EDC knives there are. Above that it will be a special occasion knife and so the simple "better" for most aspects of the knife just doesn't cut it since I won't be using it everyday anyway. It needs to have something special such as an otherworldly beautiful appearance in something like a Millit Torrent, otherwise you just end up with something like a Shirogorov (which is a great knife company) but doesn't really get you much that you can't find for less.
I definitely have an Icarus Scale. Knives $450 (The Sebenza is the standard), Flashlights $200 (Surefire), Pens $100 (TiScribe-Bolt or a solid fountain pen), Watches $600 (Citizen Eco-Drive & a lot of great budget Automatics can be had at or below that price) and guns $1200 (That get's you a Glock all the way to a base AR). I've definitely flown above this before Lol.
900 clams! Dude, my Icarus is 200 for knives, 500 for watches, and 65 for flashlights. The thought of having an item on my person everyday more expensive then my smartphone alongside my phone is terrifying. Youre a brave man, Nick Shabazz
Great video Nick, this one came at a good time for me. I've dove into the knife world pretty hard, but I have been thinking about this recently and this really hit home with me. I need to think on it and figure out where my point is because I may have hit it with a couple knives recently.
I have just bought my most expensive knife yet, the Fox Knives Suru (Heinnie Haynes edition, around $200). Having gotten it in hand, I do love the size, feel and the design in general, but I do not imagine paying more for a knife. Moreover, I think it's time to sell a few off that aren't getting carried, and it's time to appreciate what I have.
It’s funny a few months ago I got back into the knife scene after taking about a 5 year break. Shortly after getting back into knives, I thought about picking up a Norseman and I was BLOWN away by the fact that the price for them has damn near doubled! I also remember a few years ago going to a get together with fellow knife collectors who had WAY more discretionary funds than I did who had multiple customs. I was extremely underwhelmed when most of them didn’t feel and better than my Spyderco Southard. Some even felt worse. I’ll never justify more than Sebenza money for a knife.
Were you able to buy AdvancedKnifeBro a decent beer? Poor guy is drinking PBR for Christ sake!
John Bowers we’ve got him on the Coopers now so things are looking up 🍻
He had some nice boulevard before his zima and cheap beer phase.
What's wrong with pbr? Damned commie.
Speaking specifically to flashlights I have a couple of $50 range ones but, wanted to see what the high price lights were all about so I jumped in head first and scored a barrel flashlight at the recent drop. Will soon find out what my icarus point is for lights.
You’re right on point here Nick. My squeal point for a knife 550. A firearm 3,000, a pen 200, a watch DO NOT get into watch’s, 😂 that said, we all have that grail item we’ll go ahead and fly too close to the sun for.
True dat. Watches get really f***in' ridiculous really f***in' fast.
It all depends on ones expendable income. A Rolex Day Date may be another’s Patek Philippe Ref. 1518. It’s all relative.
James Hite Sooo true. As far as watch’s... two very good g-shock for edc, and just one dress watch does me fine, but I certainly understand our allure to a great timepiece 🤛
I catch myself saving my receipt when flying high and returning something after thinking, do I need this and is it that much better than what I have. Fun to hold but don't count it sold.
Absolutely stellar video Nick, thank you for this, makes me stop and think about what's too much and what's too little to spend on a knife. $40 seems to be my minimum I want to spend on a knife because beyond that, in most cases, the fit and finish just isn't good to put a smile on my face when I whip out the knife. And although I haven't gone close to my high point, I think about $600 would be my icarus point, I've been tossing around the idea of a Holt Bladeworks, Olamic Cutlery, or Millet Knives knife and I just can't think of going past that point for a knife. (Although I would love a Grimsmo Norseman)
Mythology is a great framework to consider these ideas. Cronus who consumed all of his children is not unlike the collector who NEEDS to GET EVERYTHING because they are afraid to getting left behind...OK the metaphor needs some work but it portrays another part of the spectrum. Current Icarus in my collection is the TAD Hinderer Compact Dauntless. Fun video! Cheers, Andrew
Yea my knife point has been settling in the $500-600 range (Full Track, Tricked out XM18s, Arius, CKF stuff, sebenzas and Zaans, MT Stitches). But there are a few $2k knives I plan to purchase someday. Borka and rassenti customs. They will not be edc items though like the rest.
The most I have spent on a pocket knife is $1000 but then I just could not bring myself to carry it. I sold it and bought a $600 and $400 knives with the money. I don’t carry the $600 as well but I could. I think that is my limit on knives. On pens the most I have spent is $445 and I do carry that pen sometimes. I think my limit on them is also around $600, but my budget does not currently allow for knives or pens that expensive without selling some of what I have to buy them. One nice thing about higher end pens and knives you can sell them later if you need to. It’s not worth the trouble to sell items that ran $20-$50 new. Those make gifts to friends that share interests or people you want to get into it.
I once walked into a room with a pair $250,000 Wilson Audio speakers and a equal amount of amplifier and source gear. That is the point where you rebuild Icarus’s wings with steel and still melt them by flying too close to the sun.
The first few minutes, I thought you were trippin'! But within a few minutes, I felt your story. My limits are much lower than yours though--roughly 150 tortillas for a knife; 125 light; and 250 for the sun dial. Usually it's less but I could go more, depending.
Agree completely with this. I'm not sure where my particular points fall. With knives, being in the UK I'm not only restricted to sub-3 inches & non-locking for legal carry, but also suffer from much higher prices compared with the US. So my Spyderco Roadie cost the equivalent of about $60 and the UKPK would be around the $70--80 mark. Quite honestly, the Roadie does pretty much everything I need so I'm probably not going to spend much more than that. For watches, I'm undecided. Some days a Heritage Black Bay seems to fit the bill; other days it's a Seamaster Diver 300. Then I start to covet a Milgauss, or start looking at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris or Geophysic, or the IWC Ingenieur or Aquatimer. So I really haven't decided where my limit is going to be. The Geophysic probably represents it, though realistically I'm unlikely to push that far.
The flashlight under the Norseman looks like a screaming Martian. I've been to the Iccarus point several (more) times. Knives, wood working tools, jewellers tools, gems and minerals and the general upgrading of the arsenal. This vid hits a strong personal chord with me. Lot's to chew on here. I think I'm King GearMonger. Thanks for the epiphany. Great observations as usual Nick.
I’ve reached the point where I have bought an expensive item and I am so pleased with it that I don’t need to buy anything else and all my similar expensive items are redundant. This item has been owned for over a year and I am still very much in the honeymoon period. I can’t see it changing.
Very wise words Nick!!! Great video, thanks for sharing.
Thank you Nick. I needed to see this. Been into Knives and they get pricey. I agree $900 is about my limit. Just got a Grimsmo which I love and got direct from the maker. Secondary market seems to price them at $1200. I would love another but again price point I can get a few very nice, cheaper ones for that point. Seeing this helps to keep me grounded. So thank you once again. Much appreciated.
I bought the Future Boss 35. I love it. No regrets. I use it a lot more than I use my pocket knives and I definitely spent more on my Shirogorov.
My grail is to get benchmade anthem. My current icarus is the m4 shaman. I currently have no way to sharpen it. If I lose it I can't afford to replace it( even if it wasn't a sprint). So it kinda just sits in drawer until I can get a sharpener. I mean it's a nice knife but I'd rather beat on my griptilian or pm2 because at least with some planning I can replace them and I currently can sharpen them.
Awesome video. Completely agree. I just bought a shirogorov Pero and it’s amazing but it might be an Icarus piece.
Did i miss where you mentioned the icarus point for flashlights?
I have recently given this topic a lot of thought. I am downsizing at this time. I realized that my Icarus point for any knife is now just $500. a watch, $5000, a flashlight down to $100, sound is still expensive but $5000 seems low to me now but it is my limit. a TV? $2000 and no more. a pen $100, and firearms top out at $1000. I have even rethought the price of an SUV.. $30K that might not happen but it is a goal.
I am frightened that 8k is your top end for a watch.
Very good video and discussion of the theory.
I also consider how many hours I have to work to purchase gear...and is that worth it.
For me most items, excluding watches is 2 hours gross pay. Thus depending on ones income can determine what is affortable. Someone making $15, $25, $40, $60, $75 etc an purchase different items of the same type of EDC gear.
What the CEO of ATT, a doctor, a construction worker and a retail employee can feel comfortable spending will vary, but there are gems at every budget.
Note, i have several items under the $50 budget group but purchasing the Spyderco Chaparral FRN at twice normal means can move up to better quality not buying the Civivi and other budget items. The R2D2 is still fav under $50 with Chaparral FRN under $100.
My gentleman gear for dressier moments spend a little more. Watches, have 4, is more than a days pay... Prefer quartz with sapphire crystal. Solar becoming a bigger desire to escape battery replacements.
I like that you mentioned the "Icarus point" isn't fixed and it shifts depending on the person. There are people who make billions of dollars who probably wouldn't mind dropping $400 on a flashlight or a knife and heck $50,000 on a watch is probably something that doesn't keep them up at night. While there are also people who wouldn't spend more than $50 on any piece of small gear like an EDC flashlight, a knife, a pen etc. Then there are people like myself who should be more budget minded as a college student but I'm willing to save and buy more expensive knives (up to about $250) but I top out at about $100 for flashlights.
Key point is that you should stay away from your "Icarus point" because the feeling of getting burned isn't fun.
I think im in a similar boat. To be honest I have that same light and i really like it. I dont however have a knife that expensive (yet). Im realizing that for alot of us diminishing returns is a long ways in our rear view and this video could easily be titled the curve of self justification. I think if something makes you happy and you can afford it go nuts, but functional practicality can be had for pretty cheap. Cool video, its an interesting concept and definitely is sliding scale that gets worse over time.
Greay video Nick. My current EDC Icarus points...
Watch - $2000
Knife - $1000
Light - $200
Pen - $100
Quick question... What's that leather pocket slip in the bottom right corner? I've been getting into slips and like the pen loop on that one.
Thanks!
I don't know about the flashlight, but I'm certain that who ever bought to he flashlight went shopping entirely to high. You got to be careful, especially here in California, you think oh they sale a whole pack of gummy bears at the pot store, but no one tells you, only eat the leg. Don't eat the whole gummy bear. You'll be in PB talking to the dolphins and buying $400 flashlights...
Light weight
I'd say my price point for knives is about $700. I'll make exceptions on occasion, like the Norseman (post price hike) or a one-off Ferrum Forge, but mostly I stay at about $700 or less.
I completely agree with what you're saying here. I found my Icarus point on knives when I ordered a $950 custom from a respected maker and its quality was lower than many of my sub-$300 productions. Pretty much killed my interest in customs entirely.
I for one, would love to see a review of that sound bar that you are “making due with”.
My Icarus points:
Folding knife: $200/ Watch: $300 / Pen: $20 / Flashlight: $15
I have several knives priced around $100-$150, four watches priced around $250-350, three pens around $8-$20, two flashlights around $10-$15, eight earphone/headphone sets around $35-$350. The only category in which I’m actively buying is folding knives. I can rationalize this as a collection, not about collecting bling.
my favorite flashlight is a $15 Coast HP5. my expensive flashlights are really seldom used
Ya for me pens at $100, knives around $500, and watches at $2000, ( my wife got my a Tag Professional 2000). To much for a Tag but don't tell her! Nick makes strong points here.
Sorry this is off topic, what is that beautiful knife under the expensive flashlight and Protech Sprint?
Sounds like your Icarus point is determined by specific gear pieces in some categories (Norseman, Explorer?) so it may be subject to change with new revolutionary pieces. Which I guess it's fair enough.
I personally set a hard limit of $300 on knives. I already have a sizeable collection (like 24-31 pieces) and adding more isn't helping my problem.
I'll only break that limit when it comes to an extremely rare/unique or discontinued blade I just HAVE to have in my collection.
Also Nick, I'd love to see you do some audio reviews. I know it may not exactly be your thing but if you don't have an EDC video review to pump out, I don't see the harm.
Nick (or anybody who knows), what is that traditional looking knife near the centre of the shot?
Another thought I think of is what did it cost to produce. A custom knife like the Protec has hours of hand labor going into it. It’s for the most point a one-off piece. A flashlight has the initial development cost but modern manufacturing can and should bring the price way down. That how I look at it
Exactly. And in the case of the ProTech, the time is well reflected in the final product
I know this isn't technically concerning the topic of the video but I'll say it anyway; I've noticed that in my edc is all the permanent items in said edc where ones that I paid close to two hundred bucks for.
My intention was never that it would be that why that's just where things naturally ended up.
Totally agree with your points here.
For myself, the only two things I have a massive passion for where I will fly very close to the sun is handmade swords or katana, specifically from Japan, the older the better and as long as they are in stellar condition.
The other is music; not vinyl, just music itself. I spend a stupid amount of most days searching for musicians, bands, and genres/sub-genres I've never heard before. So it's not like 'collect all the albums from my favorite bands' type of collecting, it's the obsession with discovering new (to me) music.
While I do love my folding knives a great deal and have a decent number, swords is my extreme passion. Watches, pens, and other EDC gear has just never grabbed my attention that much, or at all.
As far as my everyday carry gear goes, $ 120 for knives, $25 for a flashlight, $50 for a watch, and $2 for a Sharpie. All my gear is going to probably see heavy use, and potentially be dropped down a toilet or some other inaccessible place oh, so I just cannot afford to spend that much on it. I do have a few nicer knives, but I don't carry them when I am working, so I don't really consider them part of my EDC but more special occasion gear.
It sounds funny, but I agree with buddy prince on this one. I have bought a lot of knives with a specific purpose in mind. If that knife is on the higher end, I keep the box in pristine condition and handle it with care and always keep the receipt. I have to admit that a lot of those higher end knives have gone back from whence they came. If I buy a knife that I’m apprehensive about using because I’m always thinking about the cost, then it passed my threshold price.
This is something most people overlook.. I agree 100 percent... I am currently at the 300 dollar knife range and scared to see where I'll end up... Maybe 5-6 hundred.? But yes as most of us, I love well made high end things. But there are times where I wonder... What the hell did I do!!
Knives $600 to $800; Flashlights $500; Pens $700 (Mont Blanc); Watches (hard to say I'll probably never earn enough but if I did🤔) $100,000 theres some Pateks, MB&F, Langes etc that are absolute works of art. If I was a billionaire I would be spending a lot of money on watches, I've been in love with them since I was 3.
Great video. I always get satisfaction from a good value purchase. Not sure if my point would change much if I was filthy rich, exception being pieces that were truly one of a kind artworks.
I love this concept. I have recognized that in wine I can't perceive the difference in taste after 25 USD. It's literally wasting money going any higher.
Pen: $60
Knife: $100
Watch: $300
Flashlight: $70
Mechanical keyboard: $400
Yeah... I'm not a very expensive person. But those are the prices at which I bought something and when I got it I said to myself "Why... Why did I buy this?"
Great video Nick thank you. This is something I've spent alot of time thinking about myself, funniest thing I recieved a email from John Grismo this morning saying I was chosen in the makers choice lottery. I clicked to see the knife and it's very much like your old Norseman. Plain blue ano scales and I believe a stonewashed blade with a price tag of $925. I talked to my girl and have decided to get it knowing I wont lose any $ if I sell it right away but still its alot for a pocket knife. I just dont believe another chance to handle one will come up any time soon.
Olamic really set the bar for me in terms of my Icarus point. Olamic literally lets you build every single possible aspect of your knife from scratch, with quality materials. It ends up running you somewhere between $600-$850, but my point is that if Olamic is literally allowing me to make my dream knife in almost infinite configurations for that much, how could I ever really justify spending more than that on something else?
What, spend $2k on a knife from a custom maker because... he's.... a custom maker? And he makes them by-hand in his garage? Except I have way less customization than Olamic at that point?
I'm not saying I don't get why someone would do that, but that's why my line is where it is.
What about the inverse icarus where one becomes obsessed with getting a deal and the new hotness? You end up with a drawer full of Chinese homage watches, 20 8cr13mov flippers with great detents, chase the best refills for your budget pen. You would have been ahead to buy a middle of the road spyderco, non entry seiko and nice pen; but you flew to close to the deal sun.
For pocket knives, my point is around $200, maybe reaching as high as $250. For my purposes I can’t justify spending more than that.
My Icarus point would be a Chris Reeves Sebenza... just close enough for me. Saving for one now.
I have a low Icarus level: knives about $150; flashlights about $70; pens about$40; watches about...well I have a Samsung gear 3 so we won't count this group. I guess I have low expectations.
Great video and I have been the Audiophile , Watch,Gun,Golf,Knife , Steel Flame collector..... I have been singed a few times.
The little front flipper traditional.....I kinda love.....but that's too much.....is there anything in that form factor at a more reasonable price?
....as to watches, my grail is the Tag Monaco Calibre 11, there's a special edition Ti w/ orange on the hands that just makes me lose my mind......but I can buy a short block for a race engine for what that watch costs.....so I don't have one.
I think my point for knives is around $500. Everything I've tried over that point I've basically made a safe queen and eventually sold because I couldn't justify keeping them around if I didn't actually use them.
I'm from Idaho and really want a G&G Hawk Deadlock. The $1000 or so price tag is beyond my Icarus point I think. We’ll see.
I'm about to pickup some icarus gear on knives for me I think, which is to say knives breaking the $100 mark(you get a whole lot of knife at $100) past that and eh I feel like the returns are limited but we'll see, I've spent about $60 each on pens and felt okay with it I feel like more than that would start to pinch for me because even at that point I don't really feel like I'm getting much more out of a $60 pen in terms of function than I got out of a $10 one, 30-60 on small lights feels okay in terms of quality vs cost but when I look at $100+ flashlights I don't think I'd get enough use out of it to warrant the price, the most expensive headlamp I've bought was in the $60s and that felt like a good deal of quality for the price so I don't think I've hit it there.
In South Carolina Minotaurs are considered a nuisance, so we can hunt them year round without a permit.
Which is nice.
For pocket knives my limit is 200 above that I am not comfortable using them and then there is no point too me kitchen knives are a bit higher. For pens the line is like 40 and for watches I really don't know but my grail is about 2500
I had the same realization when it comes for guitars. I was looking to buy a new guitar and tried a $1,000 guitar versus a $5,000. No one will argue with you that the $5,000 guitar sounds better but is it five times better? this was my icarus moment.
I’ll say this, I can more easy use a sub $200 knife as a knife than a $2000 custom which makes me wonder why I buy these expensive knives?!
As a full time carpenter a good pocket knife gets ruined. I've had a lot of luck with sub 100 dollar knives. Like your kizer vanguards and real steels. Too much more and I don't want to give them pocket time because they are not easily replaceable.
Hello namesake - Looking to buy a new Omega Speed/Seamaster. Where should i be buying it from? Thanks!
I use Lewis Jewelers in Ann Arbor MI, tell them Nick sent you and they’ll cut you a deal.
Thanks! Love the channel. Keep up the good work! @@NickShabazz
What does the King of gems do for his trade? He seems decently well off/wealthy.
Hes an audio scientist and has apparently taught in the past
imjustlookingformy dog damnnnn
I think like 500-600 dollars is my limit for knives really depends on how much I like the knife, but I feel like 200-300 dollars can get you supersteel, ti, cf and bearings just have to look at the right companies, and u could pay double that for a midtech or custom and get worse materials but instead pay for the makers name which I feel is silly
That being said my most expensive knife is a viper Fortis that I bought for roughly 1600 kr (240 dollars) and i has m390 steel, milled Ti clip, cf show, ti lock, steel insert, ti spacer, bearings, made in italy, and if you can get that for such small amount then I don't really see a need to go higher, you don't even see that in some customs and it's high end materials
My „Icarus“-line is at around 200$ (for knives and watches) and about 30$ for ball-point pens and torches and 70$ for fountain pens. Anything more expensive I just don‘t need and would not give me much more bliss. ;)
You know you hit that point when you spend it and you never go that high again.
Knife-$1,000. Flashlight-$150. Watch-$500, but because I was told to not get into watches.
Any piece of gear that cost so much money that you're afraid to use it is too expensive
A brilliant gear theory from "not a brilliant man" 💎