View Full Version : Ray Mears/Allan Wood Antler handled Instructors Knife Auction
Hi all,
Just a short heads up to all you knife collectors out there!
In conjunction with Jonny Crockett of Survival School and Roger Harrington of Wilderness Gathering/Bison Bushcraft we would like to announce the auction of the following item at Jonny's up and coming event in aid of survival international.org.
To be auctioned on EBay will be one Ray Mears antler handled instructor knife. This knife needs no introduction and is one of only seven ever made by world renowned knife smith Alan Wood. The knife was presented to Woody of Bushcraft Expeditions when working as an instructor and expedition co-ordinator for Ray. The knife is to be auctioned on EBay to raise as much as possible for Survival International to whom half the proceeds will be going and the remainder going to independent charitable causes nominated by Woody.
The date of the auction will be announced just prior to the main auction and the lucky winner will also get a free ticket donated by Roger Harrington to the Wilderness Gathering where the knife will be presented.
Regards
Woody
For more details of the auction please see:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20013=auction
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21726
1st link doesn't work, Woody...
I couldn't enter the first link either. Decided to have a look at the second (lower) link and found that I could enter the first link from there.
1st link doesn't work, Woody...
It does now:D
Cheers Leon!
Apologies for the duplicate post but we are trying to get as much exposure for jonnys's event to raise as much as possible for a very worthy cause.....I will try and get something up on British Blades as soon as possible (overseas at the mo and having difficulty getting on there) but if any one fancies putting something up on our behalf it would be greatly appreciated.
many thanks all,
Woody
ps..and feel free to post any where else you may think it will get read...max exposure-max return for survival International
Hi all,
Just a short note regarding the Knife auction. We are pleased to say that the interest has been huge and therefore are hoping to raise a healthy amount for Survival International. One thing that has been asked is whether it is possible to bid on the knife if you are not subscribed to/happy with using EBay, the answer in short is “yes” private bids can be made directly to us at Bushcraft Expeditions and once the funds have been secured we will raise the bidding with EBay on your behalf.
If any one has any other questions regarding the Auction please contact either Johnny Crockett for general questions or Bushcraft Expedition for questions about the knife.
The date for the EBay auction will be announced shortly
Regards
Woody
Just a quick bump, to find out if anything new is happening:).
Squidders
02-08-2007, 11:23
Didn't you get the memo?
It was given to me because i'm such a nice bloke.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! yeah - right!
Hi All,
This is a short notice to inform you that the Ray Mears Antler Handled instructors Knife is now available to bid on. Please see details above of the charity auction and the following link below to Bid:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ray-Mears-Antler-Handled-Instructors-Knife_W0QQitemZ220140298503QQi hZ012QQcategoryZ16042QQssPageN ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Bump
Only 3 and a half hours to go
Dougster
24-08-2007, 19:36
And, only a months salary for me already..........
Nightwalker
24-08-2007, 23:17
and the auction finished at £1,381 inc. postage :eek:
Its great that it was a charity auction.
Congratulations Woody, bet your well pleased with that......:You_Rock_
Tis a lovely knife, glad to see it got a good price. good on ya for auctioning it off.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Authentic-Ray-Mears-Alan-Woods-Antler-Bushcraft-Knife_W0QQitemZ150196313880QQi hZ005QQcategoryZ16042QQssPageN ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Back on the bay starting at 1500 quid!
Good gracious!
I'd be all for chipping something towards buying it back and giving it to its original owner!
I like this knife clip from the West Wing (1m 35s)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_LLNp4E1HI
Comic and touching :)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Authentic-Ray-Mears-Alan-Woods-Antler-Bushcraft-Knife_W0QQitemZ150196313880QQi hZ005QQcategoryZ16042QQssPageN ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Back on the bay starting at 1500 quid!
More than a bit out of order when you consider the original auction was for charity and now they are trying to make a profit on it.
More than a bit out of order when you consider the original auction was for charity and now they are trying to make a profit on it.
Yes, I agree. She says she bought it for a friend, but it's a long story.
Wait up then love, I'll get the kettle on and you can tell me the sordid details!
:D
Might be out of order but I just asked the seller via evil bay if she was selling it for a charity or her own gain?:bandit:
Bernie Garland
18-12-2007, 19:42
Might be out of order but I just asked the seller via evil bay if she was selling it for a charity or her own gain?:bandit:
personally and i don't want to get into an argument, i think you were perhaps out of order, the knife was purchased by her for just over £1300 which went to charity,would you or anyone else lay out that sort of money for that profit margin ?she may have brought the knife for her boyfriend or something and it went pear shaped so none of us can judge what we don't know,i know something though i'll be buying another aw woodlore and handleing it up in samba you'll all see one of the other seven for sale on there ;)
bernie
Fair do`s to her I say. If she`s prepared to fork out that much anyway on gift for someone, whether it`s for charity or not, then you can`t knock her for trying to sell it again. Like Bernie said, anything could have happened between her and the intended recipient and she has no obligation to tell anyone about it.
The fact is when she bought it originally, she only caused the price to increase through her part in the bidding and therefore raising more funds for Survival Int. It might upset a few people to see it go back up for sale straight away, but I for one wouldn`t dream of paying that kind of money for a tool so good luck to whoever gets it this time round.
It certainly is a rare piece of Bushcraft memorabilia and Woody knew that when he put it up for sale, it was intended to raise some good money for a worthy cause and it succeeded.
Rich
Paganwolf
18-12-2007, 20:05
OK So she buys it for 1300 quid, that goes to charity, ok great:) , now she puts it on evilbay, for more than she paid for it to make a profit ok great too:) ...... so HOW IS THAT OUT OF ORDER IF SOME NUMPTY BUYS IT:confused: ? good greif, she gave 1300 quid to charity now some are giving her grief in some kind of witch hunt! If that wasnt enough why didnt "you the ones moaning about it" out bid her? give me a break guys for goodness sake some of you need to come into the real world. So your telling me that you've never sold anything for a profit:confused: I dispair sometimes :tapedshut .............................. .
Matt Weir
18-12-2007, 20:57
The thing to remember is that the last owner paid over a grand to buy this and probably the reason it sold for over a grand was because of the charity aspect. Regardless, the owner is fully entitled to sell it on for profit if they wish at whatever the want to ask for it.
The thing that pricks my radar is the fact that sales of items that start off as charity sales and raising big money invariably get sold on with that price history. It then follows that it guarantees big money in future sales essentially embrionically inflating prices before the ball starts rolling.
I say unlucky to the bloke who was gonna get it, if he had waited till after christmas before getting amongst his girlfriends' best mate he'd have had a nice shiney knife to play with!
Nightwalker
18-12-2007, 21:02
yeah, what I thought too!.. but wasnt so fired up about it :p So what if someone sell's it on for profit, who cares, it dosent hurt anyone, it has only benefited the charity that got a massive amount in the first place and it will end up with someone who's willing to pay yet another huge amount but who will truly cherish it
i promise you - it will not sell, and purely because that starting price will put off everybody - the people who appreciate the history think it is overpriced, as do those who think it's just a knife. and listing it a week before crimbo won't help.
saying that, if £1500 was disposable income for me, i'd buy it. true collectors items such as this will always carry an inflated value - why this always seems to be a shock to people is beyond me. if you are a serious collector of anything, that 'one thing you don't have ' will be the thing you're prepared to shell out the big bucks for.
i have a 7 track metallica cd that i paid £400 for, because i collect metallica cds, and it is the rarest one out there.
anyone who is a collector of anything who says they haven't paid over the odds for one of their collection is a liar.
let's be honest - this knife is rarer then a vegetarian lion, and if money wasn't an issue, we'd all be thinking about it
Bernie Garland
18-12-2007, 21:08
I say unlucky to the bloke who was gonna get it, if he had waited till after christmas before getting amongst his girlfriends' best mate he'd have had a nice shiney knife to play with!
i like that one spam
bernie
You've got a point there Gorilla. Take Jim Davidson as an example. He collects ex-wifes and has spent a fortune on his collection thus far!
:D
I say unlucky to the bloke who was gonna get it, if he had waited till after christmas before getting amongst his girlfriends' best mate he'd have had a nice shiney knife to play with!
:lmao: :lmao:
Hey guys I did not want to start a heated debate, i just wanted to ask her if she was doing a charity thing.:o
she has replied and she was not aware that she bought it for charity purposes. her reply.
"Hi there, I bought this for my then partner directly from the original owner - I'm not aware what he did with the money or whether he sold it 'for his own gain.' As you can see, there is no charity being donated to via this auction."
So thats it for me on this one, I dont want any hard fealings to or from anyone.
P.S. Gorilla, do me a copy of that Metallica CD please! :D
ONLY JOKING!:11doh:
Just 3 hours remaining and still no bids.
Nobody interested then ???
Rich
Nightwalker
21-12-2007, 16:40
1hr 30mins, still not bought! I'd hate to pay the eBay & Paypal fees for that listing if it sold.
Really cant see it selling at that price - the blade can be bought new for £250 handled, antler scales I imagine dont cost that much, add abit for the RM connection (standard AW woodlores selling around the £400 ish mark on ebay) and that means you are paying around £1000 for rarity and provinence. Ok some people may - but it was not one of Rays personal knives and outside of this forum and a smallish community it is Ray that is known not his instructors.
I am really pleased it sold for as much as it did for charity and I know value is totally personal with people valuing different things - but I really cant see how its worth the money now asked for.
I will probably now be proved totally wrong in the next 30 mins when bidding ends and it sells :rolleyes:
Come on guys it's been reduced now to £1450 don't be shy.
4 mins, damn I didn`t notice the free postage :(
Got it...can't wait for the postman.
I really hope he likes it. At that price I can see him keeping it for a looooong time.
considering JK roling just sold a one of 7 hand written Book for £2million
and a copy of the magna carta just sold for £10million
its worth what people will pay
it seems she didnt know it was a charity auction and may not entierly know the value of these type of knives so may have thought that the £1300 she payed was normal ish
now stuck with it wants to sell it on and the inflation of the auction due to it being for charity has left her with an expensive paper weight she may not get her money back for
I'll start the bidding at £20 ins p+p.
reddeath
23-12-2007, 07:32
Go on i dare you! contact her and make that offer
Fifteen hundred quid ....for a bit of ground bar-stock and sambar!!!
The world has gone absolutely bonkers.
That's $3000 dollars. You can buy a truly spectacular, premium knife from a world class maker, made as a one off to your own specifications for that.
Look at what you can get for that kind of money...
http://www.knifeart.com/by-price-2000-up.html
You can even get yerself a genuine edo-period Japanese nihonto (albeit entry level).
Fifteen hundred quid. Good grief.
demographic
23-12-2007, 10:35
There's wars, famine, flooding, de-forestation, loss of wildlife habitat and general nastyness going on in the world, why should I give a toss about someone wanting to make a lousy 200 quid profit after forking out £1300 to charity?
That scores a grand total of 0.1 on my giveatossometer.
Just incease anyone was tempted but ran out of time the knife has been relisted at £1450! :rolleyes:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150198072429&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNARL:GB:112 3
There's wars, famine, flooding, de-forestation, loss of wildlife habitat and general nastyness going on in the world, why should I give a toss about someone wanting to make a lousy 200 quid profit after forking out £1300 to charity?
That scores a grand total of 0.1 on my giveatossometer.
Just a point to make, but what about family friendly forum don't you understand.
It is not just you, there has been a lot of it recently, but this is Christmas and a time for families.
I was the one that raised the subject of making a profit, because I thought it was immoral, but that is me and everyone has a right to their point of view. The lady has stated that she didn't know it was bought for a charitable cause (I don't know how, it was in the first line of Woody's description).
So she didn't know it was for charity and as such has not donated £1300 pounds to charity.
The person that donated the knife is the person donating money to charity and nobody else in this scenario.
OK So she buys it for 1300 quid, that goes to charity, ok great:) , now she puts it on evilbay, for more than she paid for it to make a profit ok great too:) ...... so HOW IS THAT OUT OF ORDER IF SOME NUMPTY BUYS IT:confused: ? good greif, she gave 1300 quid to charity now some are giving her grief in some kind of witch hunt! If that wasnt enough why didnt "you the ones moaning about it" out bid her? give me a break guys for goodness sake some of you need to come into the real world. So your telling me that you've never sold anything for a profit:confused: I dispair sometimes :tapedshut .............................. .
JP, you know me, If I had the funds to spend on it at the time I would have, not because it is a "Limited edition Woodlore". Because I don't like the knife, but because it was for a charitable cause that I know about. If that makes me a numpty then fair do's to the numpties of the world and I hope you never have to rely upon them.
As far as the woman giving money to charity, she has already stated that she didn't know or realise that it was going to a charity, so she isn't giving anything to anyone apart from her boyfriend and if you pay £1381 just for a Woodlore then as a personal opinion, you need your bumps read and have a good visit to the funny farm. You know what I mean "Nice white coat, shame about the buckles"
Fifteen hundred quid ....for a bit of ground bar-stock and sambar!!!
The world has gone absolutely bonkers.
Yes.
Bernie Garland
23-12-2007, 15:32
well i wish I'd kept the 4 aw woodlore's i purchased and sold on,as I'd have nocked the handles off,re handled in samba stag,and another 4 out of the 8 would have hit the market ;)
mick spain
23-12-2007, 16:15
I have been asked to rehandle quite a few Woodlores in Samber and I have done them, not much if any profit in doing them, done it really for the advert and customer service type of thing:)
Bernie Garland
23-12-2007, 16:22
I have been asked to rehandle quite a few Woodlores in Samber and I have done them, not much if any profit in doing them, done it really for the advert and customer service type of thing:)
hope you took some pics mick, as we might see one on ebay as one of the 8
bernie
mick spain
23-12-2007, 16:31
hope you took some pics mick, as we might see one on ebay as one of the 8
bernie
Hello Bernie I think I only took a Pic of one of the Samber ones:) and one that I did in Stabilized wood
Should have kept the original scales and sold em on ebay for a few hundred quid:D
Bernie Garland
23-12-2007, 16:34
Hello Bernie I think I only took a Pic of one of the Samber ones:) and one that I did in Stabilized wood
Should have kept the original scales and sold em on ebay for a few hundred quid:D
hi mick we all make mistakes:D
bernie
mick spain
23-12-2007, 16:38
hi mick we all make mistakes:D
bernie
You can say that again Bernie I have made a few in my time, especially when it comes to money things:) :p
Bernie Garland
23-12-2007, 16:45
You can say that again Bernie I have made a few in my time, especially when it comes to money things:) :p
mine also, and i don't think knifemaking was one of my brighest ideas :lmao:
mick spain
23-12-2007, 17:51
mine also, and i don't think knifemaking was one of my brighest ideas :lmao:
Your right there sure won't make you rich :o I can't think of a worse paid job:rolleyes:
demographic
23-12-2007, 20:53
So if I am reading this right the fact remains that she paid over £1300 for it in a charity auction, even though she didn't realise it was a charity auction and because of this may well have paid a premium price.
The charity got paid I take it? They got the cash? If they have then what she does with it after purchase is totally upto her.
Then she is wanting to get rid of it and trying to make a profit?
If her price is way too much (I think it is but then again I am a tightwad) then it won't sell, if someone with a surplus of cash wants it bad enough then it will sell.
So? The problem is:confused:
Exactly where does morality come into it? The charity got its cash and its only her who is out of pocket, she wasn't ripped off as the advert clearly stated the terms of the auction.
Baffled of Cumbria.
is she actually going to make a profit ???? if so its not much
bought for £1381 ( if below is correct)
Ebay fees are how much i recon £36.98
Pay pal fees are how much 4% ish so £49,50 (paypal calc)
so sell for £1450 -36.98 - 49.50 = £1363.52 a
Massive Profit of -£17.48
if it wnt for the original £1500 then obviously she would have been rolling in £32.53
WOW definatly profitering :eek:
oh and also take out posting costs not a lot but still a cost others are charging £10 for this
now this is profittering much better margins and no free post
Woody knife (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ray-Mears-Alan-Wood-WOODLORE-BUSHCRAFT-KNIFE-NEW_W0QQitemZ150198200033QQihZ 005QQcategoryZ16042QQtcZphotoQ QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZVi ewItem)
is she actually going to make a profit ???? if so its not much
bought for £1381 ( if below is correct)
Ebay fees are how much i recon £36.98
Pay pal fees are how much 4% ish so £49,50 (paypal calc)
so sell for £1450 -36.98 - 49.50 = £1363.52 a
Massive Profit of -£17.48
if it wnt for the original £1500 then obviously she would have been rolling in £32.53
WOW definatly profitering :eek:
oh and also take out posting costs not a lot but still a cost others are charging £10 for this
now this is profittering much better margins and no free post
Woody knife (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ray-Mears-Alan-Wood-WOODLORE-BUSHCRAFT-KNIFE-NEW_W0QQitemZ150198200033QQihZ 005QQcategoryZ16042QQtcZphotoQ QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZVi ewItem)
I wonder if she has done the maths? I bet she hasn't!
Nightwalker
24-12-2007, 15:39
Some poor sods arent even aware of the exact ebay & paypal fee's. It annoys me that both eBay & Paypal take what I consider to be too large a cut considering they're the same bloomin company! Then again I hear auction rooms can be harsh with fees aswell :( grrrr paypal, I hate it but use it all the time :(
Some poor sods arent even aware of the exact ebay & paypal fee's. It annoys me that both eBay & Paypal take what I consider to be too large a cut considering they're the same bloomin company! Then again I hear auction rooms can be harsh with fees aswell :( grrrr paypal, I hate it but use it all the time :(
That`s just the problem with Paypal, for those of us who use ebay and other online retailers regularly it`s become second nature despite the fees. We all know it`s daylight robbery but it`s "safe" and convenient. It makes me cringe everytime I see the fees come off payments especially when you think how many transactions go through there every day. I refused to use it for a couple of years just out of principle but I`ve slowly given in overtime.
Rich
Bernie Garland
24-12-2007, 20:51
That`s just the problem with Paypal, for those of us who use ebay and other online retailers regularly it`s become second nature despite the fees. We all know it`s daylight robbery but it`s "safe" and convenient. It makes me cringe everytime I see the fees come off payments especially when you think how many transactions go through there every day. I refused to use it for a couple of years just out of principle but I`ve slowly given in overtime.
Rich
i also am pi--ed of with the fee's but its all advertising your work, also and when you think about it, how much would it cost to get that sort of advertising ?
bernie
mr dazzler
24-12-2007, 21:21
Thats how I rationalise it, if you had to pay out for ad's in newspapers to get the same reach into your particular market, regional, national, international, then the ebay scenario doesnt seem quite so bad. But the ownwer is wellnear the top of the forbes 400 IIRC :rolleyes:
demographic
24-12-2007, 23:51
i also am pi--ed of with the fee's but its all advertising your work, also and when you think about it, how much would it cost to get that sort of advertising ?
bernie
On a related subject...
Roughtly how many man hours would it take you to make a comparable knife?
I am not buying by the way, just interested.
I could be a long way far of the mark but I get the idea that the amount of people who make these items as a hobby drives the prices down somewhat.
Well thats bearing in mind the fact that you would struggle to get a plumber working for less than £20 per hour is what people tell me is right.
bushscout1
05-01-2008, 02:12
Considering the amount of press this has already got, I thought I'd point out that it was finally auctioned with a 99p starting price that finished yesterday, at £720 + £8.50 p&p.
By my calculations (taking all the fees into accout) that means she's lost over £700 :yikes:
Regarding profiteering, Woodlore have brought out a limited edition version of the Woodlore Knife to commemorate their 25th Anniversary. Only 250 of these will be made throughout the year by Julius Pettersson, hand forged in a traditional Swedish manner. Woodlore sold the first batch for £295 + £10 p&p to the lucky few who managed to find out about them before they'd all been grabbed. The first to be auctioned on ebay closed on New Years Eve for a massive £875 + £9.50 p&p making the purchaser a tidy profit of over £500 (taking the fees into account). Not a bad way to celebrate New Year (for the seller). I guess we'll just have to wait & see how Woodlore respond in their pricing of the next batch to come up for sale.
Personally, I've got a bog standard Woodlore that's great - I use it regularly and it'll never be up for sale - I bought it to use it after saving for some 3 years to get it, nevermind being on the waiting list for another 18 months.
At the end of the day we all buy kit we can afford, if we're happy to pay the asking price - on occasion we may feel it's a bit on the steep side - other times we can enjoy the feeling that we've scooped a bargain. Market forces generally show that as demand exceeds availability prices go up (and that may be for a type of product / from a particular supplier / for a particular model). Similarly such a trend will attract more suppliers to provide the product redressing the balance & hence prices will drop as availability exceeds demand. So you could say it's all down to how long you can wait for your 'bargain', how much you can afford to spend, and how many opportunities you'll miss out on, not using it because you're waiting to save a few quid here or there.
That 25 woodlore was relisted with a buy it now of 850, I reckon the seller was probably messed about by the winning bidder. It is amazing that the 25th Woody went for a higher price than the much rarer Instructor Woodlore. It just goes to show how mad eBay really is. I feel slightly sorry for the girl losing that much money, it is a ridiculous amount to lose in such a short time. Saying that, she paid IMO a ridiculous sum for it so that's life.
Angus Og
05-01-2008, 03:00
By my calculations (taking all the fees into accout) that means she's lost over £700 :yikes:
She didn't lose £700 it was given to charity.
Whichever way you cut it, she wanted to recoup her losses and is 700 quid out of pocket! She said that she didn't know it was for charity.
Angus Og
05-01-2008, 03:07
Whichever way you cut it, she wanted to recoup her losses and is 700 quid out of pocket! She said that she didn't know it was for charity.
True but that's where it went?
Yeah I agree with that, but she sold it due to unforseen cash problems and took a hefty loss. Still, like I say, that's life!
She didn't lose £700 it was given to charity.
Not by her it wasnt. Once she has paid for the knife, what happens to the money has nothing to do with her.
She paid £1500 for something and then sold it for £700 taking an £800 personal loss.
Nightwalker
05-01-2008, 12:42
She's a pleb for re-listing it at 99p start and for not having an appropriate reserve on it.
I dunno, she listed the knife three times, apparently she got personal emails that weren't nice. Saying that, if it was me I'd have said stuff 'em, it's not as if she'll meet any of the people who emailed her! At first, I had my doubts about her sale, but now I feel slightly sorry for her.
rapidboy
05-01-2008, 17:52
I believe she bought it for her boyfriend and then split up with him so sold the knife.
If any of us had any sense we would be steaming in there, can't see my lass forking out £1500 on a new knife for me .:rolleyes:
She sounds like one in a million :D
No, it seems they are still together, just bad money problems. Join the club, love!
rapidboy
05-01-2008, 18:17
No wonder if she spends like that :rolleyes:
I usually consider a Woodlore to be a good buy.
A good clean knife at anything up to £350 maybe even £400 should be a safe buy.
You can use it and sell it on with loosing much if anything and maybe even making some money.
Your buying a lot more than a piece of 01 and some wood with a genuine woodlore but at the end of the day the RM / AW connection can only take you so far.
I appreciate the knife in question is very rare and that has a certain value but the original price was down to the charity auction and it was really asking too much to get that back when she sold it.
I think she did pretty well getting what she got for it in the end, at that sort of money you can buy come VERY nice cutlery.
It amazes me that the 25th Anniversary went for more though, considering the rarity and provenance of the Instructor knife.
British Red
05-01-2008, 18:40
I think she did pretty well getting what she got for it in the end, at that sort of money you can buy come VERY nice cutlery.
Now thats an interesting thought - a stu mitchel £1,000 knife - £20 a ticket and bonus ball numbers decide who gets it :D
I'll buy a few tickets:eek:
I'd love to see what he could make for that budget!
Red