Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on February 12, 2011 at 15:37

Thanks for the comment Tom and you make a lot of good points. I do think the younger market is moving away from colorful handles and Damascus blades. I think they like Tactical knives, sleek design and quick deployment. My first knife was a yellow composition Imperial fish knife. I bought it at a Hardware store with my Dad and I think I was about 8 years old. I liked to fish so it served a purpose. Today a knife might be bought but without a purpose in mind.

The other thing is knife laws are becoming more strict. You are more limited in where you can take the knife and what type of knife it is. (Did you know you can't have a Bowie in Texas: see our other discussion currently featured on knife laws)

I will say too if you catch any of the "survival shows" on TV like Bear Grylls. They feature a knife and all its practical uses. That seems to have kind of put knives back on the radar for younger people.

Tom C said:

That are a lot of reasons younger people are not going towards traditional knives.

 

1. Knives in general are not a needed tool as they once were. Disposable cutlery, EZ-open packaging, tougher laws, etc. In reality you could go for days, or more, today without "requiring" a knife. Most kids I meet have never heard of mumblety peg or chicken and knives are banned at most schools and their functions.

 

2. Collectors and lack of interest by general consumers are driving the companies to higher end boutique, i.e. expensive offerings. When I bought my first knife it was a Schrade cost $5.00 and was available at the hardware store. Where are kids now going to pick up their first knife, especially a traditional. $90 GEC...nah. 

 

3. Collectors, manufacturers, clubs and pubs etc of traditional knives do not seem to have any interest in trying to capture the youth market at all. Kids don't want to here about the value and scarcity. They want the history and cool things you can do with it. Why not have whittling demos and contests for youths at show, hands on sharpening lessons, etc. The tactical market is winning big here, when has Case ever done spots on Spike TV like Cold Steel. Where is the product placement in TV and movies like tacticals on NCIS etc.

 

4. My nephew was reading the forums on my account one night with me. He said "They keep lecturing new guys. That's boring, not everyone is an idiot". I see his point. For kids it can be alienating and lose the fun factor, when the focus of the knife is the collect-ability and not the cool useful stuff you can do with it.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Tom C on February 12, 2011 at 17:06

Hog

I truly wish that low end traditionals would make a comeback in the US industry. It seems to be an uphill climb though. I grew up with them. If tacticals were around then maybe I would have gravitated towards them too.

I think manufacturers should focus on product placement...movies, TV (i.e. just think MacGyver), ads etc. If they can increase the youth market then low end introductory knives may become a profitable market for them to enter into against the imports.

Another is legislation. Traditional slipjoints, because of the lack of a lock, may be exempted from some of the current carry laws etc. if lobbied correctly.

Who knows ... would love to bring back the old days and the industry :)




Hog Hanner said:

Thanks for the comment Tom and you make a lot of good points. I do think the younger market is moving away from colorful handles and Damascus blades. I think they like Tactical knives, sleek design and quick deployment. My first knife was a yellow composition Imperial fish knife. I bought it at a Hardware store with my Dad and I think I was about 8 years old. I liked to fish so it served a purpose. Today a knife might be bought but without a purpose in mind.

The other thing is knife laws are becoming more strict. You are more limited in where you can take the knife and what type of knife it is. (Did you know you can't have a Bowie in Texas: see our other discussion currently featured on knife laws)

I will say too if you catch any of the "survival shows" on TV like Bear Grylls. They feature a knife and all its practical uses. That seems to have kind of put knives back on the radar for younger people.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on February 12, 2011 at 20:17

Well said Tom, I couldn't agree more!

Tom C said:

Hog

I truly wish that low end traditionals would make a comeback in the US industry. It seems to be an uphill climb though. I grew up with them. If tacticals were around then maybe I would have gravitated towards them too.

I think manufacturers should focus on product placement...movies, TV (i.e. just think MacGyver), ads etc. If they can increase the youth market then low end introductory knives may become a profitable market for them to enter into against the imports.

Another is legislation. Traditional slipjoints, because of the lack of a lock, may be exempted from some of the current carry laws etc. if lobbied correctly.

Who knows ... would love to bring back the old days and the industry :)




Hog Hanner said:

Thanks for the comment Tom and you make a lot of good points. I do think the younger market is moving away from colorful handles and Damascus blades. I think they like Tactical knives, sleek design and quick deployment. My first knife was a yellow composition Imperial fish knife. I bought it at a Hardware store with my Dad and I think I was about 8 years old. I liked to fish so it served a purpose. Today a knife might be bought but without a purpose in mind.

The other thing is knife laws are becoming more strict. You are more limited in where you can take the knife and what type of knife it is. (Did you know you can't have a Bowie in Texas: see our other discussion currently featured on knife laws)

I will say too if you catch any of the "survival shows" on TV like Bear Grylls. They feature a knife and all its practical uses. That seems to have kind of put knives back on the radar for younger people.

 

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on February 12, 2011 at 20:19

Thanks for bringing that up Don, I actually didn't know that. But think about a production knifemaker what else do they do but make a knife and another and another. Kind of like the shark, if its not moving its dying.

Don said:

I think all the knife makers mentioned here, make WAY too many types, case alone has over 1,000 at smokey mountain.talk about over populating the nitch they have.

 

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Permalink Reply by Trent Rock on February 13, 2011 at 1:20

I don't like the way Bear and Sons lists the steel as "High Carbon Stainless Steel Blade"

It leads me to believe it is the cheap 420C (or A?) stuff :(

That is just my perecption

I know I am a strange knife consumer ;)..lol

Hog Hanner said:

Chopper, I can recommend Bear &Sons knives if you go through the earlier posts here I posted a fair(not great) picture of one that I bought a few years ago.  Some of the file work design was done by Josh Basham and it was meant to simulate a bear trap. Pretty clever design and they have since I understand come out with more colors. But I can report sharp blades and good snap and actually a nice little knife. Thanks for the input on Emerson I did not know that. I'll have to see if I can find the date they brought knife operations back to US. I wonder about the reason for doing it and also wonder if the decision by Buck(see Trent's earlier post) influenced them.

hopper said:

Emerson vame out with some lower end models a few years back that were not USA Made but he has stoped doing that and those same knives are made here now, Emerson is 100% USA Made. Not all American made knives are expensive, look at Bear And Sons, i've been meaning to pick one up, i hear there pretty good for the money.

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Permalink Reply by John Otis Swatsell on February 14, 2011 at 7:16

I don't know what the outcome will be.  However, I took a "knife" that came from somewhere,  ( walmart import ) and cut the blade off......... with my BUCK Stockman that I got in High School.   Cut it right in two.  So,  I know from that, the steel in the import was really soft.   I guess they are okay for ........... ? ? ?

 

When I was a young man, and helping grandaddy in the black-smith shop,  I watched as old guys came by to visit and show off their new Case or JOhn Primble, or Kabar or some other work of art.   We built various blades for hay cutting and bush hogging.   It was a very different time.  I am not impressed with the "common off-the shelf" or rack knives.   There are very few hardware stores that carry "good" knives.  I think the future of Knife-Lovers is buying knives built by masters of the craft.  ( which I am not ) But, I like to mess around with them any way.   The knives I see that are made by the Master Blade Smiths impress me.   The one thing that I was never familiar with is the fine polishing.  I am still totally amazed by what I see here.   I also think the people that know knives will seek out the good knives.   There will always be a market for "cheap" stuff.  Knives, however,  don't really fall into that category for me.  I have a Kabar and a Buck that I have had since high school.  I seldom have to hit either with a stone.  These off the wall reproduction pieces of metal they call knives ................. the old guys would laugh at them.   Ha ha,  Grandaddy and the old guys that raised me would have never carried one.   A Gold Pocket Watch, a good pocket knife and a cup of black coffee made for  many a good conversation.  Still Does !

 

 

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