The selling prices on e-Bay make me think I should add an insurance rider for my knives. How does one go about establishing a value on old Tony Bose knives...like an ivory handled teardrop made nearly 20 years ago when Tony was a carpenter and part-time knifemaker?

Hello Gerald The Best insurance you could have is to promptly box those knives and ship them to me for safe keepin!

...ahem but seriously... collectors insurance is a wise move
replacement costs are difficult to estimate as even though there is a monetary value range for such knives..they would be next to impossible to replace ..
my advice would be to keep track of prices traded over the internet from various dealers and ebay..
I believe that the little gents knife in bone that sold on ebay a month back went for 1500 bux..ivory and numbered pieces increase the value..
Congrats on your collection! Post some pics if you could, that is a knife many of us would enjoy looking at,and again that is wise thinking on your behalf!

Thanks for the offer, but think I'll contact State Farm instead.

I have no desire to sell my knives--I love the workmanship and they will hopefully be a part of my estate. But as such, I wanted a good inventory and, if appropriate, adequate insurance. I know very little about the handmade knife market and was searching the web for information when I found this site. I have no idea if older Bose knives are worth more or less than newer ones. Mine are all 15-20 years old and I think the one I carry in my pocket daily has been there since 1990.

Would love to send pictures, but I'm very low-tech. Don't even own a digital camera, except the one in my cell phone which I don't know how to use. I love the pictures I've seen on this site. Beautiful knives. Maybe I can find a rich relative with a camera...

Thanks again, Gerald

Good cheap insurance for knife collectors, knife makers and knife dealers. http://www.collectinsure.com/