Brick and mortar knife store opinions

Dergyll said:
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)
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Dergyll Dergyll raises a really good point.

If you open a B&M business, you're likely to get a lot of people coming in just to touch/fondle your knives and, if they like what what see/feel, then order it online for less.

Selling knives, like a lot of other businesses, is price driven and people will almost always go where they can buy what they want for the lowest price and online dealers (other than EB anbd AMZN) not only discount the price but can also sell out of state w/o sales tax and also often offer free shipping.

Hard to beat that in a storefront.

Heck, even AMZN has decided to close its storefront stores, except for Whole Foods which (of course) is a special case but they are still trying the total self service (employee free) convenience/food stores too, which would put all of the "bodegas" in NYC (otherwise known as the corner grocery store) out of business.

AMZN is evil 👺 but (as we all know) they have a heck of a profitable business model and it's NOT based on opening storefronts. ;)
 
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Dergyll said:
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)
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Holy Quaker’s Oats I didn’t even know….I may have to take a horse and buggy ride to thee in the morrow
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
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.
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That’s the rub though. Websites don’t drive business to physical stores.

My favorite knife store is Knives Plus in Amarillo. A lot of people who went in there would go to check out the knives in person, then order off the web. The prices on their own website are cheaper than in the store.
 
for anyone about to go into business
it would be rather important to do
a preliminary market survey
on ownership and the buying habits of the population residing
within a set area and its nearby surroundings.
when it comes to finances
business decisions should
be factual.
risk taking is definately higher
with guessing or hoping...
just start by asking friends
and strangers about knives
and personal preferences;
and you can be certain
its not sizable when it comes
to the type of knives a seasoned knifenut would clamor for.
business is tough if one
fails to understand the market.
they don't all eat cake... ;-)
 
I'm in a rural area , with lots of hunting and fishing etc lake recreational activity .

Only place with even medium decent knives , also sells guns , archery and other sporting goods .

He's also a gunsmith , has indoor archery range , gives lessons , repairs stuff etc .

Most places , I think you'd have to sell more than just knives to generate enough traffic to survive .
 
I live in central Texas, and you’d think there’d be a decent knife store in Texas of all places…

But no such luck. Our only LKS for the Austin area is overpriced, carries mostly swords, cheap bowies, and machetes, and is run by a guy whose service really doesn’t make me want to support them.

HOWEVER, I recently had a very good BnM experience with a store in Anchorage, Alaska by the name of Northern Knives. They had a very large selection of everything from cheap production, to autos, to rare BM prototypes, to full customs, and even their own in house custom line.

Some really neat stuff (imagine a dozen William Henry customs in a case next to a Damasteel and gold protech malibu.)

They also did cerakoting, custom ano jobs, released limited runs of amazing special ano’d knives and had amazing service.

If the only thing I was interested in hadn’t been a $1050 Tuff Knives Prospect, I’m 100% sure I would’ve walked out of there with SOMETHING.

But even though my experience was really good (and the fact that Northern Knives had more than five employees said something), I have to agree with the crowd that a BnM is probably a terrible business idea and model in general. Expenses are too high, and upsides for buyers are too few.
 
I don't think I've ever seen a knife store that only sells the sort of knives most of us are interested in. I've seen stores that sell kitchen cutlery but not EDC type knives. The closest I can think of is the knife department at Cabela's. 1 LGS is a Benchmade dealer, but not a single knife from any other brand.

If you're pricing isn't almost the same as the internet, what you'd end up with is a place people could handle knives before they bought them from the internet.
 
Big risk. Much as I like and often frequent the three B&M knife stores in Calgary, they rarely carry what I'm looking for. So I more often order on-line.
 
There are a few brick and mortar knife stores here. Some have continued to operate as normally as possible the last couple years and the biggest one is pretty much all online and a location for picking up orders. All of them have a strong online store front. Even if you have a physical store front, you'll want to have an online store too and have to maintain an online presence on social media, because it's expected. Then it's a matter of deciding if you want to also be a kitchen, outdoorsman, or sporting goods shop to give you some diversification of your products.
 
Dergyll said:
I'm from your neck of the woods, in CT. @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
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I’m from CT as well, SAK factory is less than a half hour from me.
 
Everywhere I live that sells knives is either a big chain like Dicks and Cabelas, and/or sells knives as a small tertiary part of their business, like gun shops. All of these places sell at MSRP or higher.

In addition, they generally don't stock knives that interest me. For example, my local gun store only carries Benchmade and Microtech. I asked them once about possibly stocking other brands, he said they only sell one or two knives per month, and it isn't worth it as those are what their clients are look8ng for. I don't care for BM, and I'm happy with the OTF's I have.

There is one gun store that stock a bunch of brands, but like their guns, it's about 15% over msrp.

I think the only way to run a successful business selling enthusiast knives would be to either sell high end outdoor equipment as the main focus, or to supply a full cutlery line that targets chefs and restaurants etc in addition to edc type knives.

I live outside of Chicago, generally not a good market for "weapony" stuff. However, bring close to the Wisconsin border, there is a large market for outdoorsy stuff, from the dedicated outdoorsman to the weekend hiker/ camper. Because of this, smaller specialty outdoor shops have done well, including selling knives. This is especially so in the "yuppie" suburbs where people with money are looking for North Face and Mountain Hardwear priced stuff. I bought my first modern folder from one of those shops, back in 96, a Sog pentagon elite liner lock.

With the right market and a broad product line, it could work.

However, with the rise in gas prices and massive inflation, people these days are less inclined to go to physical stores. Compound that with how many people became accustomed to ordering online during the plandemic as well as those still terrified to leave their homes, the days of in person shopping could be numbered. A strong online presence, competitive pricing, and enough capital to keep a healthy stock in a warehouse would be absolutely necessary.

My family has owned an independent insurance agency since 1952. Since the advent of internet direct companies, it has become increasingly difficult to attract customers. Most of our new business is word of mouth and people who specifically want a physical person to talk to, not an 800 number or chat window.

I wish you good luck in your endeavor, but be prepared for a difficult road. Subtracting taxes, rent, licensing, and general operating expenses, we net about 1/3 of our gross income, if that. Tax in Illinois is ridiculous.
 
I live near two very small towns in rural Florida. Almost every man in these parts carries a knife or three. Ballistic knives are illegal. Any other type of blade you can open carry or, if you have a permit, carry concealed. Laws in other counties vary.

I do not know of any stores in the area that sell only knives. One of the farm stores stocks a few hundred knives, mostly folders and hunting knives of fair to high quality. The prices are competitive with Internet stores. They also sell guns and archery stuff as well as farm equipment and supplies. One hardware store also stocks a few hundred knives, mostly cheap folders but also some good Bucks and Kershaws. Their prices are about 10% higher than Internet sellers because they do not buy direct from the manufacturers. Their wholesale supplier is Blue Ridge, whose catalog you can look at online. Blue Ridge seems to have stopped handling autos and Benchmades. And there is a jewelry store that sells knives but only Benchmades--very popular as gifts for men in the wedding party. Prices depend on how many you buy. I have happily bought knives from all three of these stores with never a problem.

Then there are big box stores, but I try to avoid them. Gun stores and pawn shops around here do not have knives.
 
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As someone who lives just south of Boston I would wholeheartedly welcome ANY knife store even remotely close by.
That being said there is a reason there aren't any B&M stores in the area. The population simply doesn't have any desire for them anymore.
There used to be quite a few back in the 90's. Most malls had a store (hence the term "mall ninja"). Heck, there was actually even a store in Quincy Market in Boston that sold some pretty high end stuff.

The market changed, the state got bluer, and purveyors of "dangerous goods" were driven out.
 
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.
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This. The op is doing his polling in the wrong place as well. People here would love to go to a birch and mortar store, but there are not enough of us in Massachusetts to keep the doors open. If Plaza cutlery couldn't make it there's a good reason.
 
You might lease some counter space at a local sporting goods/gun store. You'd be splitting the B&M overhead, while selling complementary, rather than competitive, products. A win-win arrangement for you both.
 
I have not ordered thousands of dollars of knives because i cant imagine their feel or profile. Often I will hit up a ME,VT or NH sporting goods store while on vacation so I can feel the knives in my hand and see them actual size. I usually buy something while I'm there. A friend of mine owns a new england RC car shop. He did over a million in sales last year. Im sure you can find everything in his store cheaper on the internet. He does so well because he will stop his day and have a 2 hour conversation about RC cars with ANYONE who will listen. He runs a GREAT repair shop. He built an indoor and out door track where you can race your car after he repairs it. He isnt selling cheap RC cars, he sells something you cant get on a computer screen.
 
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Today's clientele is quite a different beast than it was 15-20 years ago.
Even with products that require lots of consulting, like motorcycles or cars, the trend goes to online shopping.

In order to succeed, with a stationary retail shop you need to offer something unique that will draw people physically into your shop on a regular basis.

Maybe get a place with a nice long backyard and offer knife/axe throwing or "Bushcraft" or Knife fighting courses.
Step up your social media and have "influencers" drool over your knives and services. That will bring people into your shop.

The old dusty B&M shop model won't afford you a living.
 
if ya own the building without a mortgage, it's a whole lot easier.......if you are renting.....thats a whole lot of sales to cover just the rent before any other costs including paying yourself. yeah tax deductions for rent costs but only if ya make money and owe it........

I own buildings outright and I wouldn't get into the knife business......
 
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