Hi Jim,
To me Investment grade knives can start at $100 (you buy one for $100 and sell it for $115... you just made a 15% ROI...most people on the forums don't feel this is a big enough dollar amount...the ROI is great but $15 would hardly be worth the effort).
For me it is simply a matter of knowing a maker's position in any given market.
It is a maker's position in a particular market that tells me if they are over priced, priced just right or under priced.
I believe in the short term as opposed to the long term. Yea everyone wants to find the next Loveless...they forget that he has been making knives 55 years.
That 24 years ago you could have picked up a Big Bear for $800 at the Blade Show. Ironically his knives didn't really go up in value until he stopped making them and brought in other makers to build his knives. Talk about odd?
Given the information available on the Internet today the "cycles" of custom knife trends has shortened...in some cases to 6 months. Which means a hot maker today may be "cooled" 6 months from now and you will be lucky to get your money back....let alone make money.
Any way, do your homework. Understand a makers position in the market and buy those who are under valued. In addition to my Maker Market Matrix, I developed 7 questions to ask makers to determine if they were going to be around long term or not.
At this point I can look at a maker's knives, talk to them for 10 minutes and decide if they are someone who's work will move forward in the future. If I feel that is the case I buy some knives from them....if not......
It is not just a makers skill that will make them successful in the future.
An example of a maker to buy...Get every Rick Hinderer XM-18 you can...directly from Rick.
Oh and Jim, thanks for asking...I know you weren't asking for yourself. You already know this stuff!