# Are bob kramers worth the money?



## chef rondone (Jan 29, 2012)

Just wondering if anyone out there can tell me if the Bob Kramer knives live up to the hype. Ive been on the waiting list for some time. But am thinking about getting one at auction.... What the vertic?


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## chefhow (Oct 16, 2008)

Depending upon which you are looking for you may be able to get one at Sur La Table.

Personally I think they are.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Depends what you mean by "worth." 

Since you identified yourself as being on the waiting list, I know you know, but for the benefit of others...

There are essentially three different kinds of Kramers.  Those made under license by Shun, those made under license by Henckels, and those actually made by Kramer himself.  Those made by Kramer in his own studio come in a few different flavors as well. 

The "Kramers" sold at SLT are Shun Kramers and Kramers by Henckels, but not actual Bob Kramers. 

The Shuns are pretty good for san-mai knives; but they're just san-mai knives.  Don't kid yourself about their Damascus cladding over an SG2 core being equivalent to the "true Damascus" Kramer uses for his his own knives.  

The "real" Kramers are both excellent knives and works of art.  From the few minutes I've had to play with all of them, the Kramers by Henckels carbon knives (52100) have more in common with "real" Kramers than with Shun Kramers.  I expected to like the two real Kramers I tried and I did; and was surpised at how much I liked the Henckels version.  But neither are my type of knife.  The Shun, I didn't care for; but I never like san-mai knives, so there you go.

It's fair to say some of the the same things about all of them, or for just about any other very expensive knife.  They're not worth the money as purely practical knives as you can get knives which do the same things just as well for significantly less more. 

They're also probably not worth the money as "collector's" objects; the Shuns being worth least of all, then the Kramers by Henckels, with the actual Kramers likely to at least hold more of their price than the licensed versions.  Depending on a lot of things, it's not inconceivable that a real Kramer might increase in value if held unused.  As to the Shun or Henckels versions, that would be far less likely.   And, if you're actually going to use one -- even once -- it's going to lose a lot of value right off the bat, and probably continue to lose it even if you hold it as a drawer queen.

In terms of the value of owning and using a work of art to cut onions... only you can say.  You'll never get your money back; and I'm not about to put a monetary on the the pleasure you'll derive using them.  I've got a couple of very expensive knives, use them as my go-tos, and enjoy the hell out of them.

BDL


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## phaedrus (Dec 23, 2004)

Not that many years ago Bob Kramer knives sold for $100 per inch...last I checked it's $300 per inch with a 2 year + wait.  In all likelihood the price will continue to rise.  He's blowing up lately, having received a ton of national media attention and several news appearances.  Probably a very safe investment.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Phaedrus* 


> Probably a very safe investment.


Not if the knife gets used it isn't.

BDL


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