I couldn’t agree more. It’s funny, I was thinking about the state of knife industry just the other day. In the fifties and sixties we bought things, e.g. guns, hiking equipment, motorcycles, bicycles, cars, etc. and used them until they needed replacement - function was what mattered. We didn’t buy new models every year because a marketing department claimed it as the latest greatest, got to have because everything we have been using just won’t do anymore. Then some time in the seventies through mass marketing, e.g. T.V. and magazines, and now the Internet the “designer” whatever became popular, designer guns, designer motorcycles, designer bicycles, and so on. Now the same thing is happening to knives. Some designs are stylized to the point of being ridiculous when the original purpose of a knife is taken into account.
There is a finite number of practical knife designs. So what to do to get you and me to buy more? Manufacturing has become so automated, and mass production can crank out a parade of different designs every year so have the marketing departments work overtime to convince us we need more knives even if we don’t. Collecting has now become as popular (if not more) than actually using a knife. Marketing and commercialization (both outward and subtle), that is the name of the game and the internet has become their primary weapon.
Yes, no one is forcing me or anybody else to buy a new knife… just blowing off some steam at how crazy some hobbies become.
I agree knives have become
highly automated in a sense that a machine is tooling handles, cutting blades, cutting liners, pressing clips and other parts, applying coating, etc. It has it's pros and cons. I would agree a con is that we often see designs that try to sell based on things other than practicality.
I think seeing variability and new designs is great. But in regards to the 757, I have to ask myself what Benchmade is smoking. Given the obvious nightmare that sharpening will be, the limited practicality of the blade, the presumed short service life of the blade as it deforms with usage, likely disappointing cutting/slicing performance, the massive carry profile, a steel far less exotic than what is seen on most folders anywhere near that price, and an absolutely outrageous price that uses a liner lock instead of a frame lock or AXIS, I find it really disappointing that a
fantastic design like the Adamas 275 (quite possibly one of the best knives Benchmade has ever made) is followed up with something ridiculous as such. I'll check one out in person to verify my impression, but just the images, specs, and price already speak for themselves. While I like folders with nice cosmetics, the top questions I still consider is how well it is going to perform and how well/long it's going to hold up...
Kershaw makes a Blur in ELMAX for under $100. Spyderco makes a CPM-S110V folder for a little over $100. Emerson makes a line of affordable designs using classic Emerson traits partnering with KAI. And Benchmade makes this...for the cost of an ELMAX Blur, a CPM-S110V Manix, two Emerson-Kershaw models, and a 6-pack. Really guys?
A Mini 375, a LE 375 in ELMAX or S35VN, a Mini Rift, or a production G10 Grip with standoffs and M390 would have me super excited. Guess it's gonna be a boring summer
