I have through the years used a variety of production knives (benchmade, gerber, spyderco etc..) and have yet to see one fail or been dissatisfied with any of them. So my basic question is a custom knife worth the $300 dollar and up price tag is the performance that much better than a high quality production knife. I was just curious what the opinions on this in the group were. I know a lot of this comes down to just plain personal preference but I figured I would ask anyway<br><br>Brian

There is just nothing like a "Sebenza"<br><br>It is kind of like... how we were all happy with VHS tapes until we got DVD players. Now we could never go back.

This comes up all the time in the various knife forums. The answer is simple -- it depends.<br><br>There is a wide spectrum of knife making that runs from Factory Mass Production (i.e., Buck) to One-of-a-Kind Custom and everything in between.<br><br>The Sebenza is actually considered a Production knife because Chris Reeves does not personally make each knife. Don't take that as a slam, I have a decorated Sebenza and would not part with it.<br><br>I just recieved a Bob Dozier Stag Retro 1970’s Hunter (limited to 100 pieces) and *that* is not necessarly considered a *true* Custom by some, since Bob (a Custom Maker) didn't make it to my specifications. The arguments about what is or is not Custom get really tiring.<br><br>Are they worth it? In my opinion, yes. Could I get by with a Buck or Cold Steel or Kershaw? Absolutely! I proudly own Buck, Cold Steel, and Kershaw knives. I also love the Reeves, Dosier, Randall, and Busse knives that I own and use. I wish I could afford more.<br><br>Do I have more confidence in the performance of my "High End" knives than I do in my Mass Production knives? Well, yes. I think more care and attention goes into the knife and the overall fit finish and quality is higher. Is a $300 knife 3 times better than a $100 knife? Not usually, the curve is starting to flatten.<br><br> larry<br>