Brick and mortar knife store opinions

M

Mcss1986

Feedback: +1 / =0 / -0
Joined
Nov 19, 2021
Messages
9
Me and a buddy of mine are considering opening and actual knife/edc store. We are from northeast Massachusetts and to our knowledge there aren't any good places to physically handle top brand knives in the area. Just wanted some input from people if they think that knive stores are places you would want to go to, or if the internet has squashed it all. I personal would like to go handle a knife and try it out before spending my hard earned money. I also like to meet and talk to other knife nuts. Please give me some thoughts
 
Well I'm on the other side of the world from you here in Bugtussle but I would always visit the brick and mortar store in any big city I would travel to.

I vote yes.
 
I love brick and mortar places, I try and support them when I can. My local place is getting ready to close down and it sucks.
 
I would definitely travel an hour or two to a knife store if it carried at least a couple of the major prod brands (Spydie, Benchmade, Hinderer, CRK, for example) and some mids and customs.

Since you are in a multi-state area with stricter than normal knife laws, make sure to stock at least some slipjoints and locking folders with 3" or smaller blades, just to cater to your local population.

Also, and I'm not in retail, but I would think about having a really professional website (pay for a good one) both to sell from AND to drive business to your store.
 
I'd be surprised if there are many B&M knife stores anymore, and for good reason- the internet.

A few dedicated knife enthusiasts might be willing to travel across town to see a particular knife in person, and a few of them might be willing to actually buy a knife from you to help keep you open, but will enough of them come through the door EVERY MONTH, month in, and month out, and buy enough knives to pay the lease, the electric bills, the business license, insurance, salaries, and all of the other expenses associated with running a physical store? If people can buy the knife for $100, $50, or even $20 cheaper online, they might very well go home and buy online.

Depending on what type of knives you sell, you could be competing with Amazon, and all the other established online knife vendors, and they already have both the infrastructure, and name recognition.

To me it sounds like a losing proposition. If my best friend came to me asking me to invest in a B&M knife store, not only would I say no, but I would try and talk him out
of it.

There were three B&M knife stores here in San Diego that I used to visit and buy knives from, none of them exist anymore. And San Diego is a very "outdoorsy" city, great all-year weather with lots of hiking/camping/fishing/etc, and with very permissive knife laws.
 
Last edited:
killgar said:
I'd be surprised if there are many B&M knife stores anymore, and for good reason- the internet.

A few dedicated knife enthusiasts might be willing to travel across town to see a particular knife in person, and a few of them might be willing to actually buy a knife from you to help keep you open, but will enough of them come through the door EVERY MONTH, month in, and month out, and buy enough knives to pay the lease, the electric bills, the business license, insurance, salaries, and all of the other expenses associated with running a physical store? If people can buy the knife for $100, $50, or even $20 cheaper online, they might very well go home and buy online.

Depending on what type of knives you sell, you could be competing with Amazon, and all the other established online knife vendors, and they already have both the infrastructure, and name recognition.

To me it sounds like a losing proposition. If my best friend came to me asking me to invest in a B&M knife store, not only would I say no, but I would try and talk him out
of it.

There were three B&M knife stores here in San Diego that I used to visit and buy knives from, none of them exist anymore. And San Diego is a very "outdoorsy" city, great all-year weather with lots of hiking/camping/fishing/etc, and with very permissive knife laws.
Click to expand...
I also live in San Diego, and I miss knife stores. There are a few remaining B&M stores in Cali but I called all of them for specific knives and they were sold out (CRKs).
 
Tough business given all of the competition that you will be facing. Just look at all the knife sites online.

There's a "brick & mortar" knife only store not far from me but, after visiting the store a couple of times and buying 1 knife (a balisong) at full retail, I haven't been there since, except to send a Benchmade auto in for a "spa treatment" because Benchmade will only receive/send the knives they work on from/to a dealer.

Frankly, I don't even know if they're still in business because I haven't been there since before the start of the pandemic a couple of yrs ago.

------------------------------------

I'm no expert but I did own a brick/motar storefront business for awhile and the fixed monthly expenses (rent, utilities and insurance) will eat you up unless you have the monthly cash flow from sales (or a deep pocketbook) to carry them.

And this doesn't include the renovation/equipment/furnishing costs to open/maintain the store premises, permit/licensing fees (if any), advertising, inventory, supplies, tax and accounting services, legal fees associated w/formation of the business (eg., LLC), banking/credit card payment and financial services as well as other business expenses. And that doesn't include salaries (plus Workman's Comp, Social Security and employee related payments) that you'd have to pay if you eventually have any employees.

So, why anyone would contemplate opening a "brick & mortar" store in this day and age is beyond me but, if you think that you can really make a go of it, just make sure you have a lot of cash on hand because (as the SBA will tell you) most businesses fail because they are undercapitalized.

------------------------------------

Actually, the best advice that I can suggest is that you contact the SBA to speak with a member of their SCORE Business Mentoring Program. You can find more informtion about this program HERE.

A SCORE Mentor should be able to provide you with a realistic assessment of your chances for success (or failure). Good luck!
 
Last edited:
My opinion is that I would only do this if I already had my own business or if a friend or family member had their own business and would allow me to come alongside them. That way the dependence on sales to pay for a location may be less. If it were my own business and I really wanted to get into EDC gear, well I'd set up shop and not care about the naysayers. If I were partnering with an established business, I would want it to complement whatever business I was set up in. Something like a thrift store, gun shop, cigar shop, coffee shop, handmade furniture/antiques or even the basement or upper floor of the right restaurant might be spots that would get a lot of traffic but wouldn't seem out of place.
 
I think you'll need a hybrid model. Spark has a really nice well stocked shop, but obviously he makes a good chunk selling through his site.

We have a BnM here and he tends to be geared toward high end stuff. I think the lowest dollar product he carries is Spyderco. That said, it's where I go to buy my Microtechs simply because I like to handle a knife that is going to cost 600 bones. Also, being able to see how the action of a knife works helps me make a decision. I was not really on team Axis lock until I handled a couple of Benchmades. The Mini version of the Adamas hasn't left my pocket since I bought it just because I couldn't believe how smooth and secure it felt.

So it's going to be a tough gig to break into, but if you find the right niche, it may work out for you.
 
Are you willing to sell other products besides knives? They may be used to draw more customers to the store.
 
B&M knife stores have gone the way of video rental stores. Any that are left can only survive if they are also concurrently doing online sales.
Back in the 80s I used to go hang out during lunch break at the Hoffritz store downstairs at Rockefeller center in NYC. Long gone,
The only people who would actively go to a dedicated "Knife Store"today are knife enthusiasts (nuts) like all of us here. Most people would either buy online, or
pick up something offered at at Dept store or an Outdoor goods store, usually based on most attractive price, because a knife is just a fringe accessory to whatever activity they are into.

As already mentioned, I would not in 2022 go into a B&M knife store venture, unless that is part of an online venture. And that is already climbing Mt Everst in terms of competition and market saturation.
 
I’m from Louisiana, (I’m not going to your B&M in Massachusetts. I may visit your online site.) X10 million. Now you will have a few thousand people come through a B&M but will it be enough to keep the lights on? Who knows. An online presence is pretty much necessary at this point in time.

There is a company, KnifeWorks in Columbia, Louisiana, about 2 hours from me. I’ve been twice and bought one knife in person and 2 others on line from them.
I’d be willing to bet they have sold 100X more knives to forum members here online than they have sold to forum members through their B&M. They don’t have a tremendous online presence but I’d think they are in the top 10 online knife retailers in the country. I’d also wager their online sales are 50:1 over their face to face sales.
 
I'm from your neck of the woods, in CT. EngrSorenson EngrSorenson is also around too, as well as a few fellow knifebros here.

The only knife-knife store I know of is Casco Bay Cutlery in Maine. Even they are a hybrid store that sells kitchen stuff in order to survive. I dont think a knife-knife store is viable unless rent/overhead is cheap.

Nearby, there are a few dicks, cabela, etc that stock knives, but they're overpriced. Walmart is actually a surprisingly cheap and good place to buy budget stuff.

Anyway, think of other services/goods you can bundle. Maybe lemonade?

Good luck, if it pans out let us know...I'll hike up and fondle your knives and grab a beer.

Edit: forgot to mention. SAK has a factory here in CT. Casco Bay Cutlery actually stocks a ton of SAK, I'm sure they have a good relationship. Food for thought
 
awjones said:
For how redneck Pennsylvania is you’d think there’d be a decent knife shop around, but nope… BassPro and a $200 plastic griptilian is the best best we can get 🤷
Click to expand...
Dont you guys have that overpriced place in Intercourse? Lol, country knife or something? I visited there once, very pricy especially the knives you ACTUALLY WANT haha. Cool place to fondle (for free)
 
I think an internet store would be a must if I did venture down this road. I live in a part of MA with very high expendable income so high end would be fairly easy to sell. Also a bunch of loaded "outdoors man" that will buy the best of the best just to say they have one. But I know for a fact that I could easily sell crk hinderer or medfords as quick as I got shipments online. The space I was looking at is in the same building as one of the few gun ships around. Lamborghini and mclearen in the parking lot ordering high end rifles to hold down there safes. (Yeah thats jealousy from my end lol)One positive for me is Amazon doesn't ship knives to ma so that's at least a plus
 
Ron Sabbagh said:
I wish you well

2 suggestions that might bring success:

1: Become a dealer for GEC (Great Eastern Cutlery). You’ll draw foot traffic and sell out every order

2: Get your FFL and sell firearms too
Click to expand...
GEC do not accept dealers applications since couple of years
so ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top