2021 Prices Are Out

soc_monki said:
Saw the price on the 4 max and almost fainted. I figured it would be a mid priced 4 max, like ad10/15 price bracket. $500? Nope. I won't bite on that. The ad15 lite seems a bit steep as well, will be interesting to see what the street price ends up being. I'll be watching.
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The Italian made 4 Max retailed for $569 and sold for under $300.
 
hermit dave said:
The Italian made 4 Max retailed for $569 and sold for under $300.
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I know, but I doubt GSM are going to allow it to be sold at that low a price. That's over 50% off. MAP is not going to be that low. Maybe I'll be wrong. Still wanting an ad15 lite. If the price is right I'll jump. I got 2 4 max scouts for right around $80 a piece brand new. If I can get a 15 for a bit more I'll bite. We'll see what happens.
 
BladeHQ has the AD15 Lite at $136 (coming soon), which is 85% of MSRP ($160). That's right around what I paid for my regular AD15s. Was thinking I might get one and sell one of mine, but if I can't get it for less than that, really no point.
 
jlauffer said:
BladeHQ has the AD15 Lite at $136 (coming soon), which is 85% of MSRP ($160). That's right around what I paid for my regular AD15s. Was thinking I might get one and sell one of mine, but if I can't get it for less than that, really no point.
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I agree, there’s really no point when you can get the “elite” version for $20 more in some places, unless people care about the 0.3oz of weight saving with the plastic handle scale of the lite version.
 
Traditionally Cold Steel has offered exceptional value for the money. That has always been one of their things. It is also a big part of why I have enjoyed collecting and using them. With a few rare exceptions I carry the knives I buy.

These new prices have kind of killed it for me. I can perhaps justify buying a hundred dollar folder that I don't actually need, but it needs to be really good, really special. The more it costs the harder it becomes to justify it to myself.

I spent $130 on an Espada, but it's a freaking Espada. I found my AD10 for $120 on what I believe was a very brief price screw up at BladeHQ. But mostly the knives in my silly hobby don't set me back that much. The higher the price the fewer I can afford, and the less likely I am to actually carry them. Raising the prices while reducing the quality? Count me out.
 
insta9ves said:
I agree, there’s really no point when you can get the “elite” version for $20 more in some places, unless people care about the 0.3oz of weight saving with the plastic handle scale of the lite version.
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I agree, that's a silly price for that knife. Aus10 with plastic scales belongs at about 80 out the door.
 
Amen. Just won a AD-15 black for $145 on eberbay.
 
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Knife Center has the new range up for preorder at essentially the same prices at Blade HQ. The new drop point Voyagers are significantly more expensive than the existing Voyagers with the obvious exception of the Kris and even there the difference is under $5. Same specs for an extra $35 for the XL ? Maybe time to stock up on the others just in case they have a similar increase in the near future.
 
I’m so glad I grabbed the CS knives I wanted when news of this sale went live. There’s nothing they offer that makes any sense right now. Stupid high prices for mediocre materials and quality. GSM has blown CS out of the water.
 
TBH with the 2021 pricing, people should just save more and get the Demko knives instead. From John Demko’s latest instagram post, they are planning on making a more affordable D2 blade AD20. There’s also plan for FRN handled version.

Im hoping Demko will increase their manufacturing scale and start producing more of their designs in house. Hopefully they can expand like Hinderer did and become a production knife company on their own. If Demko does this, there’s no reason for me to buy more Cold Steel knives.
 
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I agree these prices look high. Even besides the sale to GSM, I'm seeing a lot of inflation due to covid and the Fed's money printing, so the discounts might not be as large as we've seen in the past.
There are still some deals out there. A couple of weeks ago I found a Magnum Tanto 3V from SMKW for only $169 so I grabbed it. I've no idea what they were thinking, Knifecenter is asking $288 for it.
I also grabbed an Espada large AUS10 for $134. When this batch is gone I'm betting the price will be way higher. $134 seems very fair to me for that knife, given the build quality we see on the higher end Taiwan products. My Aluminum Espada is practically custom quality.
 
Mancipia Mariae said:
They already produce their designs in house?
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Demko has been producing mid-tech priced knives in-house starting with their MG AD-15 at $600+. Since last year they have been producing MG AD-20 at Hinderer price of $425. Based on their recent instagram posts, it looks like they are ramping up their in-house production rapidly to make their AD-20 models more available. They'll start producing other blade shapes i.e. drop point & sheepfoot. Demko also mentioned that they'll produce smaller AD-20 models and another slimmer model down the line, not to mention a more affordable D2 version.

So I would say that while they are not going to be like Cold Steel/Spyderco/Benchmade in terms of price point and the range of models, they are certainly ramping to be more like Hinderer, Strider or perhaps Chris Reeve. It's great to see more American company producing knives at decent price.

While $425 is still expensive and probably out of reach for many people, they present serious option for people who would spend $350 for a Reate or $320 for a ZT knives. They are also a great alternative to the traditional "holy trinity" options i.e. Strider, CRK or Hinderer.

Lastly, which is my main point about the new Cold Steel's pricing: The new Taiwan-made 4 MAX "elite" in S35VN is listed at $425 on both BladeHQ and Knife Center. Unless people really want a 10" folder and really love the 4 MAX design, wouldn't it make more sense to spend the same money and buy an AD-20 from Demko directly and support his business? AD-20 is mid-tech, made in America, and uses a big chunk of 0.189" CPM-20CV/3V steel, which almost makes the new 4 MAX price seem even more ridiculous.
 
I would love to buy an AD20 through Demko direct or through any of his dealers but the problem is they are simply not available. The good news is it looks like he is ramping up production and offering more options. It will be great to see that happen!
 
I was told by an ammunition dealer in Canada that fees for a shipping container of goods coming into country went from $5 000 to $18 000 in 2020. That'd jack up prices of goods.
 
tomsch said:
I would love to buy an AD20 through Demko direct or through any of his dealers but the problem is they are simply not available. The good news is it looks like he is ramping up production and offering more options. It will be great to see that happen!
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Give it a few months, Demko is planning on making them widely available this year. I saw a huge batch of at least 100 blades on one of their IG post. It's a growing pain, and for popular model the first year is always hard on the availability. Hinderer was like this too, getting the XM18 used to be almost impossible without looking at secondary market.
 
insta9ves said:
Give it a few months, Demko is planning on making them widely available this year. I saw a huge batch of at least 100 blades on one of their IG post. It's a growing pain, and for popular model the first year is always hard on the availability. Hinderer was like this too, getting the XM18 used to be almost impossible without looking at secondary market.
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I wonder if they'll ever expand. It's been a 2 man team for a while, Andrew and his brother. The Demko brand is probably going to be like Strider in terms of availability for quite a while. I don't see them expanding like Hinderer and CRK though I'd be happy if they did.
 
Mancipia Mariae said:
I wonder if they'll ever expand. It's been a 2 man team for a while, Andrew and his brother. The Demko brand is probably going to be like Strider in terms of availability for quite a while. I don't see them expanding like Hinderer and CRK though I'd be happy if they did.
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Only time will tell. Given that their new knives are flying off the shelf it probably makes sense to increase the scale a bit. They send their knives out for grinding and heat treatment, so they can focus on the rest.
They hit a sweet spot with AD20 because it’s much easier to produce than ad10 or 15. The design is also very modular. This is an advantage over other framelock makers, since the sharklock can probably be produced more easily and consistently. There no hassles of setting the titanium framelock, grinding the locking surfaces, making sure lockup is consistent and early etc.
 
Yawn ! :rolleyes:

Wake me up for the less than $150 AD type knives that aren't clones . Those are $45 or less . ;)
 
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