Brand loyalty?

BD_01 said:
I’m curious if your Spyderco-LockTite issues are recent? I was under the impression they quit using the stuff on pivots. In the last 18-ish months I’ve purchased several Japanese Spydercos and none have had LockTite. My Spyopera didn’t have any either.
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It's older Spydercos that need cleaning after a few years of use and dirt getting into the pivot and washers.
 
I don't have any real brand loyalty but there are a few that I like better than others. In alphabetical order; Buck, CRK and Great Eastern Cutlery are knives that I tend to want to buy more of. Benchmade and Spyderco make great knives and I have some from both companies but they generally don't appeal to me like the others I mentioned.
 
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I bought my first Opinel about 45 years ago. I still buy one from time to time, and always carry one. You could call that brand loyalty, I suppose. Anza is another brand I have been buying since 1980, and bought my latest this year. Lately, I have been buying fixed blades, and gravitate toward the ones with the best handles. Becker, Carothers, SYKCO and Mora stand out.
 
Though I have been accused of being a collector (denial word for hoarder) of knives - just about all of mine are users and I gravitate towards function and value when selecting a knife. I also give consideration to the company and its customer service as well as, the person or people behind the knife like Ethan Becker, Sal Glesser and others.

In that context - and in no particular order.

Fixed
Becker Knives; The knives are great users - they perform and hold up. Ethan is great and Ka-Bar absolutely stands behind their products.
Ka-Bar; the company is run well by very knice people. Their knives provide very good value and they stand behind their products.
Buck; Long affiliation - since my youth. Knice deigns and a company that stands behind their products.
Cold Steel; I have certainly gotten my money's worth out of the Master Hunter, SRK and others. Not as ergonomic as the Beckers, but still good.

Folder
Cold Steel; Triad Lock - Boom! (Clips are too tight.) Unknown if the new owners stand behind CS products from the LT era ... or even the current era.
Buck; If you don't have and love a Buck 110, I question if you have a knife soul.
Spyderco
ZT

Honorable mentions that require footnotes
Busse. Tough knives. Interesting business model.

Microtech; I like many of their knives but the CS seems to be all but non-existent.

Benchmade; really not bad knives at all and the company ain't that bad but the Axis lock just doesn't fit my mission profile - too easy to get gunked up/debris contaminated and the whole affair relies on those dainty little Omega springs that are prone to failure.

Emerson; I have a bunch of their knives; too many in fact. Was a fan boy. I appreciate EE, his passion, views, conviction, patriotism ... but as for the knives - especially at their price point, I got to where when the bright lights, loud music and smoke machines are turned off I feel as though there's more sizzle than steak.

Kershaw; Again, from a value perspective - travel knife that if you forget it's in your pocket TSA keeps it ... they serve a purpose and some of them have done me well and continue to do me well for their price point. That there are reports of QC slipping of late does give me pause - but the ones that I own have provided value.

No knife conversation is complete without reference to CRK. Their knives are great - every one I have ever had does what it's supposed to do and very well I might add. The company is wonderful with really knice folks. Though I've had many, I'm down to but a few but use them less as losing a less expensive knife wouldn't bother me as much as losing a CRK. That I can buy two or three similarly functioning though not as prestigious knives to field dress critters, clean fish, split wood, make tinder/kindling and what not does not in the least take away from the quality, precision and performance of their knives. I guess you could say that while I am still loyal to CRK, I just find myself buying and using less of them. If cost were no object, I'd have every one they make along with a back-up.
 
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Lately, it’s been CRK. I have just two, but my Sebenza has been in my pocket nearly every day for close to 3 years now. That being said, I have more Spydercos than I know what to do with.
 
CRK for me. For the money you pay for them you get an outstanding lifetime knife that is covered for life with their lifetime warranty. They absolutely take care of their customers, Tim, the future owner of the company has called me one two separate occasions to chat about my knife and how he planned to fix a lock stick issue on one of my knives. Months later the issue hasn't really gone away and CRK told me to send my knife in so they can replace the blade for me. That is the type of warranty and customer service you get when purchasing CRK's and that is why I will happily buy more of them and pass them down to my kids one day knowing full well should anything go wrong they will take care of it.
 
Loyalty has to be reciprocal to work and to make sense. No manufacturer is "loyal" to anyone. They must survive financially, and that is the source of all decisions made, not loyalty. Adam Smith had it right. So long as markets make quality product the key to longer term survival, we should be okay. If not, like in non-competitive markets, we lose.
 
My only 'brand-loyalty' is around quality for the price-point. How does it perform in real-world scenarios? Is there a reasonable expectation, that the manufacturer will stand-behind the product?
 
I can't think of any for-profit company that deserves loyalty. If they make good stuff, buy from them. When they stop making good stuff, stop buying from them.

I buy a lot of Spyderco knives, but the instant they stop making incredible stuff is when I no longer buy from them.
 
Busse (and Jerry's two sub-brands)
ESEE

Nothing I deal with in the world that can't be met by something from either.
 
Not sure I would call it brand loyalty so much as sticking to brands that haven't disappointed me. I've tried a lot that really let me down. SOG for one. But rarely if at all have I been disappointed with:
Benchmade
Spyderco
ZT
Emerson

Those I know I will get quality. If I'm disappointed with what I buy of them then it's most likely not a quality thing but a personal design issue.
 
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