At what point does brand loyalty become an illness?

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I think that brand loyalty is also an illness if you become reluctant to to buy knives from manufacturers other than your favorite, even if you know that the other maker's knife is just as good or possibly even better for your purposes.
 
It's really kind of sad when people have so much wrapped up in their possessions that they treat a brand they like as if it were a family member. They stand up for them and attempt to put down any detractors.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my knives and a have a "favorite" but you could call them a pile of scrap metal and I couldn't care less.

Pathetic fanboys throw a hissyfit when you badmouth their brand. Their loyalty to an entity like a for-profit company whose purpose is to separate you from your money is puzzling and pathetic to say the least.
 
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I love the ones that are somewhat along the lines of:

Poster a: I'm having trouble deciding between X and Y...

Poster b: Get Y: everyone knows they're the best.

Poster a: Ahhh... so you have them both. What do you like about Y?

Poster b: No, I don't have either of them, but everyone knows that Y is the best, and you're an idiot if you don't know that.

Sigh. That's just as informative as heck. We've all seen it though.
 
It seems there are brands — one in particular — that have become cults. If you don't want to bow down at their alter, they attack. Doesn't make any sense to me but, even if I would have considered one of their knives before, I sure wouldn't now. That is way beyond fanboyism, it's deranged (to me).
 
dawsonbob said:
It seems there are brands — one in particular — that have become cults. If you don't want to bow down at their alter, they attack. Doesn't make any sense to me but, even if I would have considered one of their knives before, I sure wouldn't now. That is way beyond fanboyism, it's deranged (to me).
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Gee, I have no idea who you could possibly be referring to . . . and I won't buy any of his knives either. :)
 
I suspect that some individuals who spend a fortune on a knife are compelled to tear down a cheaper knife, that in fact would serve their purposes just as well, to justify the outrageous amount they've spent.
It also seems that a lot of people confuse an individual with the products he offers. The most obvious case of this syndrome has to be the visceral hatred of Lynn Thompson which is then transferred to the myriad products Cold Steel makes.
Personally, I detest Emerson's politics but that hasn't stopped me from buying ,to date, 6 of his knives because I like them so much.
 
All I know is I refuse to buy from someone that puts a scar on the knife community with vidoes of a knife attached to a pole hurled through the air by some fat guy. Someone forgot to tell him that animals run when they hear 250lbs bouncing through the woods at a moderate rate of speed. (( save the jerkit for whine & cheese )) spear chucker.

Other than that brand, I refuse to buy from any company that solely produces junk from overseas. Note I'm describing junk, not all overseas knives. Heck if I couldn't buy blades from Seki, or even my new found hush hush love the spyderco persistence, I don't know what I would do.
 
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Dagon said:
What bores me is, when someone asks for advice of a knife to buy, there are some fans who will always suggest their fave knife - no matter what the question was. Things like - I'm exaggerating just a little bit:
- "Q: I'm looking for a sub $100 hunting folder. A: Why don't you save up a little and buy a Sebenza"
- "Q: elegant gentlemen folder advice wanted. A: Military of course, plenty elegant enough".
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This a perfect analysis.
 
Larry Turko said:
...It also seems that a lot of people confuse an individual with the products he offers. The most obvious case of this syndrome has to be the visceral hatred of Lynn Thompson which is then transferred to the myriad products Cold Steel makes.
Personally, I detest Emerson's politics but that hasn't stopped me from buying ,to date, 6 of his knives because I like them so much.
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I don't even know what Emerson's politics are, but I do like his knives, along with Kershaw, Buck, Spyderco, Cold Steel, Opinel, Victorinox, et al. The reality is that we all like knives. As to which knives we like, well, that is part of the joy of discovery.
 
dawsonbob said:
It seems there are brands — one in particular — that have become cults. If you don't want to bow down at their alter, they attack. Doesn't make any sense to me but, even if I would have considered one of their knives before, I sure wouldn't now. That is way beyond fanboyism, it's deranged (to me).
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The truth of the matter is that there are at least two and maybe as many as six companies (depending on how fine a line you want to draw) that fit your description to a tee.
 
GronK said:
The truth of the matter is that there are at least two and maybe as many as six companies (depending on how fine a line you want to draw) that fit your description to a tee.
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Unfortunately, that's true, although the one I have in mind carries it to extremes. We all have knives/brands that we like — that we're fans of (I have several that I like) — but there's a difference between simply being a fan, and becoming a fanatic. Some extremes are indefensible to rational people.
 
I have knives being shipped in from three companies right now, lurk around a lot of the manufacturer forums for new product updates and to analyze possible buys. I have to admit, some do take it a bit far. When a company moderator admits the limitation of a knife or says he's fond of another company's design, that shows real class and chivalry. No single company can perfectly pull off every niche a customer can have. RAT is not a gentleman's knife company, Spyderco is focusing on slipjoints and smaller folders instead of my beloved fixed blades, Victorinox is a traditional bunch that comes out with a new model every election year, and they're all doing great in their niche markets. I give Spyderco the nod for their contributions, enjoy the no-nonsense style of the RATS, carry a Vic for a classy slipjoint, but can't associate myself with a company where I'm just a customer. They get free advertising from me when friends ask for something that their product would fit, but they have the same odds as their competitors.
 
Goes too far when uncritical brand worship takes over your every thought like some kind of religious crankery:D and you refuse to admit any other point of view,then take it as a personal attack if others have had different experiences. They must be lying.

Those types who believe that their whole destiny is linked to carrying this or that knife and then there's the type who somehow believe that they are personal friends with the owner of a knife company...SO WHAT??
 
I haven't heard the opposite case of the OP. Sometimes there are fan boys and sometimes there are slam boys. Slam boys seem to go out of their way to run down a company and post their hatred towards them no matter what a given knife is being compared to. I guess the mentions of Cold Steel fit in this case. Personally, I tend to be a bit choosy on who I patronage with my purchases but I don't go out of my way to slam the ones that I decide for one reason or another. The exception might be a little joke here and there at Lynn's expense. Lets face it, he deserves it but I don't often knock Cold Steel knives unless the model in question poses a trait I do not like.

I tend to endorse RatCutlery often. I own several of their knives but I find I rarely offer them up to the exclusion of the other manufacturers I also like. I do get defensive when people slam my favorite product based on non-sense logic. For example, a common argument for the inferiority of TOPs or RC blades is the fact that they are 1095 and then the person says something to the effect that everyone knows 1095 is a cheap steel an thus providing the insinuation that the above products are somehow overpriced. Those kinds of things piss me off because they are just plain wrong.
 
I was that way for a while. Back in the mid 90's I purchased three Randall knives and refused to consider anything else. I now realize I was wrong and enjoy many other brands. Some even more now.

Bill
 
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