Knight K10

[86rocco]

Hello everybody,

I am trying to do a little research on a piano and am having a difficult time in finding the information I am looking for.

There is a knight K10 for sale locally (Oklahoma City.) The Model Number is k10 812773. Is there any way to tell the year it was made from this? The owner believes it was around 1974. The outside of the piano is in good condition. I have not heard it nor seen the inside. I am interested in purchasing but they do not know the value either and have asked me to make an offer. I do not want to low ball the offer. I want it to be fair for them and a good deal for me if possible. So, my question is can we know when it was made with the info I have provided? and I know it is hard for any of you to say what its value is but any guesses might help me out.

Thank you,

John

[vernon]

doesn't look like the serial number me. Try to find one about 50000

[86rocco]

I will ask them if there are any other numbers that they can find.

Thank you,

John

[Otto]

I bought a new K10 in 1985 for what was then around $3500. It's a pretty well respected piano in the UK and if the date is correct, you've every chance of an excellent piano, providing it's been looked after. Obviously you will have to get a second opinion as to its condition and hence value. If it's had light domestic use (i.e. not a professional musician / teacher) then it'll probably be good for another 50-80 years. It is certainly good enough quality to satisfy a music professional, and probably stacks up well against a Yamaha U series.

If I were selling mine (I gave it to my daughter instead, so I suppose it's not mine any more ), I would want the same sort of figure I paid for it new ($2500-$3000). Mind the dollars are a bit different now, and I guess a new one would be in the $7000-$10000 region (??) if you could still get the good ones (pre-1986 or so).

Anyway, I expect I'll get shot down in flames by someone ...

[Peter Smith Pianos]

Better with a Knight which has had domestic use,ones from the fifties to 1983,after which Bentley took over and quality was never the same,and marked the end of an era in British piano making.

[joseph]

i had a 1984 Knight for 8 years between 95 and 03. I completely ran it into the ground by practising 5 hours a day on it on average. It was a fairly solid piano with a good sound and decent enough action. It wasn't the most inspiring piano to play to be honest but it did the job. I don't think it was as good as a Yamaha and I think we paid too much for it if I'm honest. In the end I sold it for £1500 and got a Bluthner grand for £2500 (which I still have).

But yeah, if you want a nice piano that sings well and has a smooth if not particularly fast action, then a Knight is a good option.

Perhaps my experience of Knight isn't typical of this piano and perhaps in general they are of higher quality than I am giving my old one credit for.....

[Peter Smith Pianos]

Like most things its personal choice,we have good expierence on the Knight pianos as we where agents for them for many years,again its my opinion the sixties and early seventies instruments are outstanding,my favourite modern piano both in sound and build quality,look at the frame,bridge thickness,galvinished hitch-pins soundboard action parts etc,the best british upright piano ever built,after 1983 junk.Its was the workhorse piano in every way and a pleasure to play.

[joseph]

I guess I'm too young to remember the 60s and 70s models, and I suppose the ones from that period that are around now are cracking on a bit.

[markymark]

In Northern Ireland, quite a few of the primary schools seem have a Knight piano in their assembly halls. We have one two - not sure of the model but it's the same recurring one I mentioned. It think its about 114cm tall - certainly not more than 116cm and has this unmistakable "wavy" curve going from the lid to the sides of the piano. I would love to hear more about this model if anyone can recognise it from my description. Anyway, it's a beautiful instrument to play and it's just a shame that Knight did disappear as a manufacturer.

[vernon]

I'm sure only the K10 had the wavy corner as you so poetically describe it.
I only tune one nowadays and a K20.
We put 5 K10s into Canterbury Cathedral Choir school about early 80s.
Super pianos.
No treble break ,extended dampers etc
on the K10.Alfie Knight would demonstrate that one could hear the 7th harmonic I don't think anybody else could!

[markymark]

I read your reply and actually decided to google it.

I came across this website that shows the one I'm talking about. Unfortunately, the website says nothing specifically about the model.

http://www.besbrodepianos.co.uk/piano-s ... iano-1.htm

[joe]

Knight K6 school conversion.

[vernon]

Wasn't that the same as the domestic K10?

[PianoGuy]

812773 was the British Patent Number for Alfie Knight's barless frame design, not the serial number which will be stamped on the soundboard in the bottom right-hand quarter. You'll need to take the bottom door off the piano.

[PianoGuy]

the best british upright piano ever built,after 1983 junk.

The Danemann HS2 beats it in every respect, and unlike a '70s Knight is a pleasure to tune.

[vernon]

tuf! tuf! pianoguy don't let us get too subjective-that's for the Piano Forum.
I've got a 70's Knight in a school that doesn't budge from year to year. It's very embarrassing to know what to do with it. It must having the finest tuning of any piano.
Indeed, apart from this joanna, I have a Yamaha U1 school piano and a 1909 Bluthner grand none of which in all honesty can be improved from year to year save a tidying up of unisons,cleaning the keys,and dusting.
I also had a Welmar that was the same for years then suddenly 2 years ago it went haywire.