Any thoughts on the Police models engraved by V. Petak?

[Rob]

Hi Everybody!

I've been browsing the homepage of a German distributor (boker.de) for Spyderco knives and found the one attached in their catalog. The catalog says that the knives were engraved by the Czech artist Vlastik Petak and that they are limited to 100 pieces. Besides the rattlesnake ones there are also Police models done by the same artist but with a scorpin on it. The retail price for these is ~ EUR 400,--(~ USD 520,--) :eek:

Now my question: Obviously the engraving is an aftermarket modification, they are limited and the price is rather high. Do these factors qualify the knives as collectors knives and if yes - are they interesting for Spyderco collectors?

I ask because they are definitely advertised as collectors knives. I didn't find anything on the web regarding the artist (just some links to Czech pages), the knives are only available through Boker Germany and now I wonder what others might think about offers like this.

Personally, as a fan of Spyderco, I would neither consider them as desirable nor extremly rare (don't take that as a judgement of the artistic value).

What are your opinions?

Cheers, Rob

[Senate]

the engraving is gorgeous but not my cup of tea :)

[Chris_H]

I agree that the embellishment is quite beautiful, but the sticker shock -- WOOH! -- that would take me some serious rationalization. :D

[Stevie Ray]

I'd love to have one :) , but not at that price. Based on today's exchange rates that's ... about $520 USD? :eek: :eek: :eek:

[The Deacon]

Well Rob, while the motif does not really appeal to me, the engraving is beautifully done. I am assuming it is confined to the left handle, with none on the clip side. If that is the case, and assuming it is hand cut, then in my opinion the price does not seem excessive. If there is any additional coverage at all on the clip side, it becomes, again in my opinion, a bargain. Considering Boker's 139 Euro pricetag for a stock Police, we're talking 260 Euro for the engraving. If there is VAT charged on both the knife and the engraving the price might be even more attractive to a US buyer if such a sale would be exempt from the VAT. I have heard of custom makers being able to do this, not sure if/how it would apply to a dealer.

As for the "collector" factor, that's harder to say. An indiviual's attitude towards "aftermarket" mods, engraving in general, and specific motifs will all enter into it. At the very least I would say the resale market would be considerably more limited than for a Blanchard Police.

To put things in a bit of perspective, I've had several knives engraved by Marcus Hunt, a master engraver in Great Britain. Figuring the actual engraving price of the Petak Police as I did above, the engraving on my Kiwi ran a bit more, and the work on my Delica considerably more. When I commissioned them, I had no illusions of being able to recoup my money, but I was not buying them as investments or collectables, I was buying them "for me".

[CKE]

Not my bag either. Very nice work but I like a bit more functional mods/embellishments. Take Care!!!

[Jurphaas]

Hi Rob - When we're talking collectability of Spyderco knives and appreciation of them because of limited numbers and such, you can only expect real appreciation and collectability from original Spyderco issues. After market customwork will not affect the collectability or appreciation as much as the original will.
I have seen the Boker models and they are very nice. I don't believe however that they will appreciate very fast. If they appeal to you, go for them they are pretty and limited but as a whole, I don't value them as an investment.
Jurphaas.

[vampyrewolf]

*drool*

... sweet...

*changes keyboard*

[LONE WOLF]

Beauty. cool rattler!

[DutchBlades]

Hi Everybody!

I've been browsing the homepage of a German distributor (boker.de) for Spyderco knives and found the one attached in their catalog. The catalog says that the knives were engraved by the Czech artist Vlastik Petak and that they are limited to 100 pieces. Besides the rattlesnake ones there are also Police models done by the same artist but with a scorpin on it. The retail price for these is ~ EUR 400,--(~ USD 520,--) :eek:

Now my question: Obviously the engraving is an aftermarket modification, they are limited and the price is rather high. Do these factors qualify the knives as collectors knives and if yes - are they interesting for Spyderco collectors?

I ask because they are definitely advertised as collectors knives. I didn't find anything on the web regarding the artist (just some links to Czech pages), the knives are only available through Boker Germany and now I wonder what others might think about offers like this.

Personally, as a fan of Spyderco, I would neither consider them as desirable nor extremly rare (don't take that as a judgement of the artistic value).

What are your opinions?

Cheers, Rob

Today seems like a good day to practice some necromancy and raise this thread from the dead! :p
Got mine in today and was just browsing around to find some info on other engraved Police designs by the same artist.
There's not too much info to be found, but I absolutely love mine!

[kodai78]

Beautiful work. Not my cup of tea, but I think the price is fair. I don’t value knives as investments but I would carry one of these happily.