Does "Buy only Mint knives" apply to vintage knives?

Collectors recognize toenails, like many early patterns, were made almost exclusively for hard manual labor, so it is difficult to find them in NM or MINT condition- yet there is a strong sense of satisfaction in adding another piece of the puzzle, that long sought after knife to your collection. I am a pattern collector and enjoy finding that toenail, even if it is in less than investment grade condition. I enjoy studying it because old toenails have real character, plus these knives will give me a better idea of what a genuine toenail of that brand is like.

Also, if you have been collecting very long you have probably heard the Old Timers say, “Buy MINT condition knives.” If you adopt this approach with an old knife pattern, like toenails, you won’t have many knives in your collection. Therefore, you must ask yourself why are you collecting this old knife pattern. Is it purely as an investment, like a Certificate of Deposit at the bank, or are you collecting because you enjoy it? Let’s go back to why we are collecting to begin with- isn’t it because we like the way the pattern looks and their historic significance as they relate to the history of American Cutlery?

Rethinking the Knife Industry’s Standard of ‘Collectible Condition’ for Vintage Knives.

What should be the basis of value for old knives?

Let me begin by asking you- “When was the last time you saw a Near Mint or Mint Case Brothers toenail stag or pearl ? Or how about a Near Mint or Mint W. R. Case & Sons Swell-center Toenail, or maybe even a Near Mint or Mint Platts, Andover, NY Toenail, or a Near Mint or Mint Marbles MSA toenail?” The list could go on and on.

The question wasn’t if you have seen any of these toenails, instead the emphasis of the question was on the in near mint or mint condition.

I have come to a realization that affects all collectors. The knife collecting establishment has created and embraced a standard that is flawed as it related to vintage knives.

While the old school says “Condition is the basis of value,” and from a purely academic and abstract perspective, I agree, however, when considering vintage knives, one must be a bit more practical. I contend- Brand is the basis of value. Brand is the "Who, What, When, Where and Why" of a knife or pattern. The history behind and the identity of the company that made or sold the knife is a more significant factor relating to value, not whether the tang stamp is super crisp or if the blade snaps like a new knife.

Hear me out on this one- My interest is not in lowering the standard, instead it is more to approach building a collection of vintage knives from a practical perspective.

I am also sure this problem is not just limited to Elephant Toenails either. This dilemma faces all vintage knives, particularly a pattern that was made for a specific use, discontinued, or was produced by a knife company no longer in operation.

We frown on “restored, reworked, or cleaned” knives, and yet, the establishment continues the mantra “Collect only NM to M knives,” yet the byproduct of the overemphasis placed on “ condition” is a trend of cleaning, buffing, and in some cases reworking a knife, all done for the sole purpose of producing knives in collectible condition.

Should not the standard of collectable condition for a newer knife be different than an old knife, like a Case Bros., particularly when dealing with a pattern that has been discontinued or when a toenail is 60 to 110 years old?

Don’t get me wrong, as a collector I want the best condition knife I can find, however, I believe, from the most practical viewpoint, the brand should be the basis for value, not condition, as it relates to vintage knives.