Brand Loyalty

I do not really like all that fuss about the brand... Spyderco, Kershaw, Benchmade - how wanderful are some compared to sucking others...
I do not buy brands, I buy knives. I can compare Kershaw Boa to Spyderco Chinese Folder and to Benchmade 805 - great knives by the way, all of them. Comparing the companies - is just a talk. It has no meaning when it comes to my buying decision. And I do like to keep it this way. I belive that not being brand loyal is smart. It gives you more freedom and more veriety - just from my personal point of view.
If you want to collect knives from one company - I can respect that. It is like collecting stamps with floral theme. Sort of a way to limit your collection and your expence to some reasonable framework. You may like this theme and believe that post stamps with flowers on them have more color and look really nice... But what would be less reasonable is to say that you collect the stamps with these theme because they are of overall better design and higher quality than all the other. That may offend a guy collecting stamps with architectural theme, the guy who collects stamps of 1940 - 1950 period, and the guy collecting Italian stamps. Why to do that - they are essentially doing the same, have just made very slightly different choice for some reason. :D :D :D
 
I wouldn't say I'm brand loyal, but I do have preferences when it comes to style/feel of the knives. Spyderco is by far my favorite, their knives are so plain but there is just something really appealing about them.
 
When I find a brand like Victorinox or Kabar / Becker that does what it is supposed to do (and then some) for a reasonable price, I'm naturally inclined to buy more. When I start interacting with some of the people that make those brands happen (Ethan, Toooj, etc.) and find them to be wonderful people, that loyalty becomes pretty fierce.

Why would I not be loyal?

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Beckerhead #42
 
I've been extremely fortunate and haven't had to send any of my knives back to the manufacturer. I'm not overly picky. As with any consumer product, I tend to tolerate any issues that have no impact on performance (although I do expect more from a higher cost item.) That said, if/when I do have to send a product back, I expect the company to take care of me. If I don't get some kind of satisfaction, that company will lose my respect and my business.
 
I buy what I like and it goes in waves.

Some months I am in a tactical mood, sometimes it's big folders, and other times I am into lighter, slimmer slicers.

You guys and gals also convince me all too regularly to try other things (ie. Cold Steel).

The only true loyalty you could say I have is to Victorinox - I have owned almost exclusively Vic SAK's since childhood.
 
Loyalty to any company you don't work for, or have money invested in seems somewhat foolish.

I trust that some companies will make good products and stand behind them--but that is nothing more than mere belief.
 
slight said:
I wouldnt say I am brand loyal, i enjoy all quality knives. But lately spyderco has been earning my money. The last 3 knives Ive bought for myself (4 if you count bought for other ppl) have been from spyderco. My first love was benchmade, and yet i only own one, a 530 that gets edc every now and then. (actually my first love was case but i have everyone i ever bought plus a slew that where given or inherited.)

I am not biased I will buy from any company that has good business practices and quality products but spyderco just keeps winning my Benjamins.

Last couple of knives bought: se stretch (gifted to uncle bc he lost his Endura 2 that he had carried since the 90's), ffg Delica, ffg endura (really like this one), ce ss endura, Gayle Bradley (my favorite knife atm. never owned a custom knife but i cant imagine they do much better than this. Especially for the money.), Massad Ayoob sprint.

I think it all stated with a "s" or maybe q.. model that was finally sacrificed to the knife gods after being carried for years. (was given to me by the uncle that ws given a stretch) Im on a spyderco kick. But to be honest with there value, materials, and craftsmanship in folders its hard to beat.

The hinder flipper zt has the best chance of breaking the cycle but there is still plenty of time for me to buy more spydies untill then.;)

Spyderco,
I know you have a presence here on the forum you guys keep it up! I use every one I own.
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No military? Best pocket knife I've bought.
 
I'm loyal to a brand as long as they keep producing reasonably priced, quality products, that appeal to me. When or if they stop doing that, my loyalty moves on..
 
ono724 said:
I'm loyal to a brand as long as they keep producing reasonably priced, quality products, that appeal to me. When or if they stop doing that, my loyalty moves on..
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Loyalty is when you go along through thick and thin... What you are talking about is not the loyalty at all - it is called common sense. Which is IMHO better at all times. ;)
 
Meh, I'm all over the place with my knife purchases - my last three or four were all from totally different brands IIRC. I'm not really loyal to any particular brand. Still, If I have good experiences with a particular brand, I'll be much more likely to buy another knife from them in the future.
 
Poez said:
Loyalty is when you go along through thick and thin... What you are talking about is not the loyalty at all - it is called common sense. Which is IMHO better at all times. ;)
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I stand corrected! :D
 
i want to get a paramillitary2 b4 i get a military but demand on them is so high they are usually sold out. When i think of becnhmades while they are functional and i will carry my benchmades for different reasons than i do a spyderco or kershaw or case, i usually just think "they couldve done more with this..." They are a very able knife maker but i havnt really been interested since they killed the red class. no i mostly bought blue when i did. Also i will not buy a wegner swiss army knife. Victorinox all the way. I think they look better than the wegner and with functionality being at least equal that tips the scale
 
slight said:
i want to get a paramillitary2 b4 i get a military but demand on them is so high they are usually sold out. When i think of becnhmades while they are functional and i will carry my benchmades for different reasons than i do a spyderco or kershaw or case, i usually just think "they couldve done more with this..." They are a very able knife maker but i havnt really been interested since they killed the red class. no i mostly bought blue when i did. Also i will not buy a wegner swiss army knife. Victorinox all the way. I think they look better than the wegner and with functionality being at least equal that tips the scale
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Doesn't Victorinox own Wenger now?
 
I don't have much brand loyalty. I buy based on the design and concept of the knife.....as well as the price point. Some companies have offerings that fit my style and price range more than others.
 
I don't have much brand loyalty either per se, BUT if I could only ever buy knives from one company....It would be Spyderco.
 
The very majority of my knives are made by Spyderco. However, now and then an outsider comes to join the gang (so far from Kershaw, Boker and Benchmade and even a couple intriguing knives from SanRenMu). But if I were to choose a knife to depend on, it would still be a Spyderco.
 
For fixed blades, I bounce all over the place, pending my intended uses for the knife. For defensive pieces, I tend to go for a Japanese style from custom makers, like Hartsfield, Piorek, and Pohan Leu.
Folders, pretty much 90% of my collection and users are Benchmades. Some Spydercos, ZT, and custom Emersons. I've been a diehard Benchmade fan since the 1980's, and it's hard to find a better knife for me than the AFCK series when it comes to folders.
 
What Ono724 said in #29 - "I'm loyal to a brand as long as they keep producing reasonably priced, quality products, that appeal to me. When or if they stop doing that, my loyalty moves on.."

That pretty much says it all for me. I'm not particularly brand loyal as i am 'quality' loyal - i won't buy junk from any company if i can avoid it. My last 2 purchases are ESEE Izula's (1 each for my kids). Before that my treasured Cold Steel American Lawman, then Buck Paklite Skinner, and just before that a Cold Steel SK-5 Trail Master.

I haven't used the Izula's yet (i'm gifting 'em to the kids sometime soon), but i "hear" they're good (they *seem* good) and my CS American Lawman is all i could ever ask for in a folder (EDC or not).
 
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