This post is promted by a number of posts I have read recently that ask questions like: "Why was 'this-or-that' knife discontinued?"; "I wish they'd offer a model that had 'X'"; and "Why doesn't anyone make a ____ ?"
One poster said it best: "XX is a business. If there was money to be made, they'd still be making it." Once said, this becomes self evident to everyone here. What might not be plainly obviouse to everyone here is that we (the readers and contributers of bladeforums.com) account for just a neeny-tiny percentage of knife sales. We represent the most prolific, and well educated (on knife stuff, anyway) segment of the knife buying public.
As an excercise, put yourself in the shoes of an average joe who realizes he bought the wrong length shoe laces. He fishes around the kitchen, but all the steak knives are dirty, so he has to settle for a butter knife. He toils and saws and pulls, and eventually manages to trim/fray the laces down to the right length. As a result of the experience, he decides he could use a pocket knife. Now ask yourself: "Where is average-joe going to go to get a pocketknife?" The answer is not the local mom-and-pop knife shop. He's going to forget about it until the next time he's in the Wal-mart, and wanders by the knife case. The bulb floating over his head is going to blink, and he'll remember he need a pocket knife. He'll go to the case, something will catch his eye, he'll by it and be on his way.
Now, what criteria did average-joe use to by his knife? Next to none. He bought a knife that looked alright, and was likely one of the cheapest ones in the case. He might have asked the clerk a silly question or two like "Is that knife sharp?" but chances are that the clerk just shrugged and picked his nose.
Average-joe is who's buying 70-80 percent of the knives. Even companies like Benchmade are selling to a largely ignorant customer base. LE and Military people, on average, are only marginally smarter on knife stuff. The only difference between average-joe and a soldier is that the soldier wants something with a "tactical" look. This is evidenced by the fact that all the BM NSNed models are black coated, paritially serrated blades. Most of you, if given a choice, would chose a plain/bare blade. But the masses and the marketing department decide what sells.
Here in Iraq, I sharpen about 40 knives a week. Most of them are crap or worse. Often times, I don't have the heart to tell a troop his knife broke because it was made out of pot metal by a 12 year-old girl in a Chinese sweat shop. Sure it looked mean, but you can only buy so much "mean" for $9.99. I dole out advise on knives when asked. There are plenty of economical and reliable knives available. And most consumers want to make informed choices.
Meanwhile, the knife manufactures struggle to balance a quality product with wide appeal at a price that people will pay. People like us can have a huge impact on a companies reputation, and because people like us exist, many companies continue to stive for excellence in their product. Unfortunatly, there are companies that don't seem to give a wit about the quality of their product, and are simply trading on a reputation earned decades ago by people who have long since left the company.
So to all of you, my beloved and most vocal minority: Keep informed, and more importantly, strive to inform others. We may not be able to get the message to every farmer who buys a $3 knife down at the feed store, but we can help some folks understand why two seemingly identical knives have a $50 price difference (I'm anticipating the S30V Leek).
Thank you. I love you all. Now go ahead and disembowl me
One poster said it best: "XX is a business. If there was money to be made, they'd still be making it." Once said, this becomes self evident to everyone here. What might not be plainly obviouse to everyone here is that we (the readers and contributers of bladeforums.com) account for just a neeny-tiny percentage of knife sales. We represent the most prolific, and well educated (on knife stuff, anyway) segment of the knife buying public.
As an excercise, put yourself in the shoes of an average joe who realizes he bought the wrong length shoe laces. He fishes around the kitchen, but all the steak knives are dirty, so he has to settle for a butter knife. He toils and saws and pulls, and eventually manages to trim/fray the laces down to the right length. As a result of the experience, he decides he could use a pocket knife. Now ask yourself: "Where is average-joe going to go to get a pocketknife?" The answer is not the local mom-and-pop knife shop. He's going to forget about it until the next time he's in the Wal-mart, and wanders by the knife case. The bulb floating over his head is going to blink, and he'll remember he need a pocket knife. He'll go to the case, something will catch his eye, he'll by it and be on his way.
Now, what criteria did average-joe use to by his knife? Next to none. He bought a knife that looked alright, and was likely one of the cheapest ones in the case. He might have asked the clerk a silly question or two like "Is that knife sharp?" but chances are that the clerk just shrugged and picked his nose.
Average-joe is who's buying 70-80 percent of the knives. Even companies like Benchmade are selling to a largely ignorant customer base. LE and Military people, on average, are only marginally smarter on knife stuff. The only difference between average-joe and a soldier is that the soldier wants something with a "tactical" look. This is evidenced by the fact that all the BM NSNed models are black coated, paritially serrated blades. Most of you, if given a choice, would chose a plain/bare blade. But the masses and the marketing department decide what sells.
Here in Iraq, I sharpen about 40 knives a week. Most of them are crap or worse. Often times, I don't have the heart to tell a troop his knife broke because it was made out of pot metal by a 12 year-old girl in a Chinese sweat shop. Sure it looked mean, but you can only buy so much "mean" for $9.99. I dole out advise on knives when asked. There are plenty of economical and reliable knives available. And most consumers want to make informed choices.
Meanwhile, the knife manufactures struggle to balance a quality product with wide appeal at a price that people will pay. People like us can have a huge impact on a companies reputation, and because people like us exist, many companies continue to stive for excellence in their product. Unfortunatly, there are companies that don't seem to give a wit about the quality of their product, and are simply trading on a reputation earned decades ago by people who have long since left the company.
So to all of you, my beloved and most vocal minority: Keep informed, and more importantly, strive to inform others. We may not be able to get the message to every farmer who buys a $3 knife down at the feed store, but we can help some folks understand why two seemingly identical knives have a $50 price difference (I'm anticipating the S30V Leek).
Thank you. I love you all. Now go ahead and disembowl me
