At what point does Rick Hinderer become a full fledged production company?

jackman2

jackman2

Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Messages
590
... so we can all get one. I would love one, but $600 + seems unreasonable and I won't spend it. Seems like the transition is being made now. Is this common place for ridiculously popular makers? Would be a logical step in my opinion, as he could stand to make a a great deal of money. Was it like this with Chris Reeve when he was getting popular?
 
Good question. The knives are mid-tech and that quality will always remain I would guess. If there were a "production class", it might be tough to match the quality of the current offerings. Although the money is nice, I don't think he is in it for the money. I think Rick has a geniune passion for making superior qualitty cutting tools, and they are made at a rate which the quality can be controlled and kept high.
 
But Chris Reeve did it. I mentioned money, but I think he is really in it for people to own a really nice, hard use knife. It seems like he would want more people to own one. Especially the people who it was intended for (fire, police, military, ect.). I know a lot of guys like that. And they can't spend $700 on a knife. I know he bumps those orders and their cheap, but there has got be some serious back log. So maybe even they can't get one.

I don't know. Just seems like a natural progression. That and the working man buying a $1000 knife (Give it a year), is probably not what he had in mind when he started.
 
jackman2 said:
But Chris Reeve did it. I mentioned money, but I think he is really in it for people to own a really nice, hard use knife. It seems like he would want more people to own one. Especially the people who it was intended for (fire, police, military, ect.). I know a lot of guys like that. And they can't spend $700 on a knife. I know he bumps those orders and their cheap, but there has got be some serious back log. So maybe even they can't get one.

I don't know. Just seems like a natural progression. That and the working man buying a $1000 knife (Give it a year), is probably not what he had in mind when he started.
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You beat me too it. :D

Chris Reeve did it and kept the quality control high so it's possible.
 
What I'm saying is that it's all a matter of wanting. He might not want that at the moment, he is probably comfortable where he is (I really don't know and cannot speak to it). If they are going to be worth $1K in a year, I best start stocking up. I didn't spend anywherre near that on my XM-18s, not even half. ;)
 
the problem is the XM-18 is hand made and with things being made only by Mr. Hinderer and Joe helping there is production constraints on what they can do. The reason why they are not a production company with full fledge monkies and robots working for them is Mr. Hinderer wants to maintain his quality level and will not put his name on anything that is not worth putting his name on of lesser quality because he knows his knives are designed for police, first responders and fireman, military types.(Who do not pay 600 but 385) I can depend on my Xm-18's with my life and have going off road in my jeep. I won't depend on any other knife to get people the hell out of rigs that have flipped that can't get out themselves. I also carry a dedicated glass breaker just in case.
The after market does make the rules of supply and demand and they have no control over that.
 
Even if you can get it for $385, what if your a run of the mill guy who has a family and a lot of bills. Most firemen and police aren't living it up. How can you justify having that knife, when you could sell it for a $500 profit and buy a really nice super tough knife and have all that money for other things. I knows it is the lowest of the low around here to do somthing like that, but if your kids are hungry, or your wife needs surgery ...

Just saying.

I guess my point is that it has gone from a reasonably priced phenomonal tool for people in the toughest lines of work, to a high priced collectable.
 
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I think Rick just may be doing us a favor... if the xm18 were in the sebenza price point, all of us sebbie owners would also be hinderer owners...

Our bank accounts thank him for keeping it just out of our reach :D
 
Maybe I just really want one. Was going to spring for it earlier this year, but for less money I ordered a sweet Lambert custom. It is going to be awesome and I picked out everything I wanted on it. IKBS, lightning strike carbon fiber, drool on my computer ...
 
Maybe thats why he is doing the collaboration with Zero Tolerance for 2 models? In a round-a-bout way we can get a Hinderer designed knife for less money.

Personally I would like to see him go to a production shop so his goodies become more readily available to us crazies.
 
I think it's really hard to expand in a niche market even if it seems right now, that he would have many customers if he brought in capital and mass produced it. The problem is, it's still a small niche market for a $400 knife. Once the market is saturated it's going to be hard to recover more of that capital spent.

So really, if you want to go full production (as in buying machinery for an assembly line) you have to be making sub $100 knives that appeal to the masses and especially getting that product out the the masses. Out of all the knife Co.s we talk about on this forum, who is the largest in terms of sales?...Kernshaw, why?--you can their knives at Wal-Mart.
 
Maybe Rick could speak to Houge...they appear to be able to produce decent quantities of very high quality knives at a reasonable price, a very nice balance for a production company.
 
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jackman2 said:
Even if you can get it for $385, what if your a run of the mill guy who has a family and a lot of bills. Most firemen and police aren't living it up. How can you justify having that knife, when you could sell it for a $500 profit and buy a really nice super tough knife and have all that money for other things. I knows it is the lowest of the low around here to do somthing like that, but if your kids are hungry, or your wife needs surgery ...

Just saying.

I guess my point is that it has gone from a reasonably priced phenomonal tool for people in the toughest lines of work, to a high priced collectable.
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Capitalism, welcome to America. ;)
 
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