Josh Donald and Kelly, co‑founders of Bernal Cutlery in San Francisco, recount how Bay Area flea markets treated culinary blades a decade ago. In 2005‑08 vendors lumped chef knives with junk, pricing them at a dollar or two. A single online sale of a Sabatier for $100 sparked a rapid reassessment, inflating the perceived worth of most kitchen knives.

Morning hunters arrived at 5 a.m., racing to snatch the freshest finds before casual shoppers filtered in. Donald describes scanning booths in seconds, noting rival collectors—watch enthusiasts, camera buffs, and the occasional hostile art dealer. He learned to abandon low‑grade Forgecraft or Old Hickory pieces, using them as a signal to leave the market.

By 2018, customers began bringing re‑handled Forgecraft chef knives to Bernal’s sharpening shop, a sign that even modest kitchen tools now command attention. The shift suggests a broader reevaluation of utilitarian cutlery, potentially expanding the niche market for restoration services and online resale platforms that once dismissed such blades as trash.