Oh, I agree about some of the price inflation. Not as much on the new knives (though I'd love to see them cheaper), but moreso on the older knives. I remember being able to find SHBMs for $500 to $600, and people thought that was crazy high. Now, try finding one under a grand. Some folks have single-handedly hyped a particular model and have had an effect on the market. I saw this happen with original Satin Jacks. I've seen it more recently with SFNOs. Some of this defies logic, and I am not willing to pay these prices. Some of them, I think, will come back to earth. We've seen some such tendencies recently with the economic crunch coming into play.

I think the higher prices on the newer knives has to do with a number of factors. One is just inflation in general. Metal and steel prices have continually risen over the past few years. Another factor is the Busse market. When Jerry sees how the secondary market behaves with regard to his knives, it's only natural that he's going to test prices in the market. Simple supply and demand. Jerry has very shrewdly maintained a business model of limited production, which helps to keep demand high. Also, it seems to me that more people are working for Busse, and Jerry now has a daughter to think about. Any wonder that prices on the knives have gone up a bit from 5 or 6 years ago?

Still, for what you get, they are worth it TO ME and to a lot of other folks as well: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=634727 What impressed me about the linked BFC thread was the number of folks who are NOT regulars in the Busse subforum who had good things to say about the value of Busse knives.