Grading Standards for New & Used Knives

New Knives:

Our new knives come in three different grades.

New Boxed: Knives in their original box. If current or recently retired, they usually were purchased direct from the manufacturer or distributor, so they are unblemished. Older boxes often have "shop wear" on the packaging. There sometimes may be minor scratching on the knife.
New in Package: Knives in their original packaging (usually sealed plastic). If current or recently retired, they usually were purchased direct from the manufacturer or distributor, so they are unblemished. Vintage packaging often has fading, yellowing or "shop wear".
New Other & Mint: This includes new knives without packaging, or in distressed packaging. It also includes slightly used knives in "mint" condition. In either case, the tools, blades and handles are still shiny and very close to new. There may be very slight signs of handling. It might be "shop wear" from customers, or fondling by a previous owner. The NKCA would call this mint condition. Click for specific info about New/Mint Swiss Army knives and New/Mint Leatherman tools.

Used Knives:

Our used knives come in four different letter grades. We grade each item based on a combination of tool functionality and perfection of appearance. Our grade lettering is less tough than most letter grade systems developed by collectors, but it's tougher than the official grade system used by the National Knife Collectors Assocation (NKCA).

A Condition: Used knives in excellent condition. Most or all of the blades still have their original finish. None of the blades have been sharpened. There may be rub marks, slight scratching, staining or wear on one or two of the blades or tools. There is "pocket wear" on the exterior but no cracks, gaps or deep gouges. The NKCA would call this near mint condition. Click for specific info about Grade A Swiss Army knives and Grade A Leatherman tools.
A Minus Condition: A bit lower quality than A grade, but still a very good tool. There may be minor scratches, staining, twisting or wear on a couple of the blades and tools. There may be minor exterior damage, or slight stiffness in the blade action. The NKCA would call these knives excellent condition. Click for specific info about Grade A- Swiss Army knives and Grade A- Leatherman tools.
B Condition: Good quality used tools that show some wear, but that are still completely functional. They may have a few of the following problems: scratches or stains, small nicks, slightly broken or bent blade tips, twisted screwdriver tips, sharpened blades, reduced "snap" when opening and closing blades, small gouges or gaps in the exterior. The NKCA would call this very good condition. Click for specific info about Grade B Swiss Army knives and Grade B Leatherman tools.
C Condition: Knives in fair condition. They have serious cosmetic problems, but are still functional. They may have broken tips, or blades that are bent, nicked, or heavily sharpened. The exterior may have gaps or gouges. Some tools may be sticky, though all tools can be opened by hand. The NKCA would call this good condition. Click for specific info about Grade C Swiss Army knives and Grade C Leatherman tools.
Lower Grades: We rarely sell anything lower than Grade C on the shopping cart. It's just not worth the effort to clean and grade them. Depending on their condition, we use these knives for parts, trash them, or sell them in bulk lots on eBay. The exception would be extremely vintage or rare models, which will get an individual, detailed description anyhow. The NKCA would call these knives poor or junk condition.

All New and Used Knives:

All new and used knives include toothpicks and tweezers (if the model has slots for them). They also include any smaller tools that are on that model (straight pin, bits, etc). Any pens are tested to write OK, and any flashlights have good shine. If it is weak we will include a spare battery. For older knives in plastic blister packs, we are not able to inspect flashlights and other items that require batteries, so it is possible they will need replacing if you plan to open and use the tool.

Blade Edges:

We assess blade condition based on a quick visual check. Generally the A and A+ knives will still have their original factory edges, while grades A- and down may have been used and/or resharpened.

Blade sharpening is a very personal thing: some people prefer a very fine edge that cuts extremely well (but wears poorly). Others prefer a coarser edge that wears better. Because we don't know what kind of edge buyers may want, we do not sharpen blades before sale. You may want to refine the edge of your new or used knife before you use it.

If you have never sharpened a blade, there are a gazillion videos on YouTube explaining how to do it. People often have strong opinions about the "right" way to do it! You may want to try a few appraches and see which best suits your needs.

For beginners, a sharpening steel is probably the best tool to use, to maintain a good cutting edge. Hold it at a 20° angle to the blade edge, and run it gently along the full length of the knife, back and forth a few times on each side. With a bit of experience, you will be able to get just the right amount of sharpness for the task at hand! On knives with more than one blade, it often helps to put a different edge on each blade, so each is optimized for different types of cutting.

Leatherman vs Swiss Army Grading:

Typical wear and damage is very different between Swiss Army knives and Leatherman tools. Leatherman uses harder steels that are less likely to scratch and wear, but more likely to show spots of corrosion. They also have larger pliers (or sometimes scissors) that receive a bigger percentage of overall wear. We adjust our grading standards somewhat to account for the differences in wear.

Function vs Appearance Grading:

NOTE: For most Leatherman knives and tools, and the larger Swiss Army knives, we grade primarily for function. That means that the usablity of the blades and tools carries more weight than the appearance, when we assign a grade.

We grade the keychain-sized Swiss Army knives and the aluminum body Leatherman tools (Juice and Squirt) primarily for appearance. For those models, we consider cosmetic body wear as a larger part of the grading, and focus less on tool condition.