Changes in the Knife World over the last 10 Yrs.

Locutus D'Borg

Locutus D'Borg

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So, after close to a 10 year break, I've been back for a couple months and have noticed a couple of obvious changes:

1) Flippers have become huge, to the extent that some makers only make flippers. I'm not a fidgeter (I'm a boomer) so flippers leave me cold. Although I would like to try a front flipper so my wife can put on my tombstone that I checked that block.

2) The rise of boutique knife makers/companies. I mean Holt, Herman, Koenig, etc. Where the primary knife from each runs circa $900 and up. Mainly Ti framelock flippers. I guess these makers discovered the CNC machine. Anyway, people rave about these knives as if they are Shiro's. But for that price I could buy a nice full custom by a South African maker. So I'm reluctant to buy one of these without trying one, and I haven't had the chance yet.

3) Knife buying/collecting. continues to accelerate as far as I can tell, and SOME people seem willing to spend $1K or more on knives without blinking. With watches, the experts declared they were dead as a result of the phone having a clock and young people were seen not wearing them. BUT experts were wrong, and the demand for expensive mechanical watches has skyrocketed. IDK if the same people who buy watches are buying knives (well, I'm one).

4) The acceptance of SOME Chinese manufacturers like Reate and We. I think we are seeing a real globalization of knife making, where an American maker might collaborate with an Italian designer and they use Reate to manufacture their knives. To me this is a positive. Hopefully, Chinese companies will crack down on knock-offs.

Sorry for the rantish post. Any thoughts?
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
4) The acceptance of SOME Chinese manufacturers like Reate and We. I think we are seeing a real globalization of knife making, where an American maker might collaborate with an Italian designer and they use Reate to manufacture their knives. To me this is a positive. Hopefully, Chinese companies will crack down on knock-offs.

Sorry for the rantish post. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I got my popcorn ready for when the Chinese knife companies start getting passed at Chinese cloners for copying their knives instead of stealing IP from the rest of the world.
 
The rise of the bearing pivot in even pretty budget oriented knives has been interesting. I'm honestly very happy to see the recent proliferation of button locks in particular, but cross bar Axis-style locks as well.

It seems like the VERY heavy 'tactical' trend has died down some and we're getting a lot more knives that aren't black, dog poo brown, or OD green which I'm very grateful for as I find that color palette pretty unattractive.

This may just be a result of my interests shifting that I notice news about autos more, but it seems like interest in autos has really piqued in the last few years.

Knives really mixing modern and traditional sensibilities and blurring the lines between the two seem to be one of the hottest recent trends, which I think is really pretty darn cool. Companies like Lionsteel and Viper making traditional patterns (and new slipjoints as well) in extremely high end materials, Pena making front flipper bolster locks with pocket clips that are based on traditional patterns, modern knives like the Finch series that pay homage to traditional knives and embrace materials like jigged bone scales and delrin.

Honestly, I feel fairly lucky as I think a lot of the industry trends are going in directions I quite enjoy, but it's definitely a far different world in the knife industry than when I first joined the forum.
 
If you like boutique non-flipper high end USA made knives check out the Oz Machine Company Roosevelt… a little expensive at retail but a phenomenal knife and they’re going for over double on the secondary market… With the country headed towards a recession, talks of food shortages, and the ever rising rates of gasoline, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens in the knife market. My guess is nothing.
 
Maybe it’s just me, or maybe I didn’t look hard enough, but it seems like fixed blades have also become a bigger thing. I’m from the south, born in West Virginia, lived in Virginia until 6 years ago, now in South Carolina. All three of these states are fairly relaxed with what can be open carried and concealed. In my youth I remember seeing lots of fixed blades and of course Buck 110/112, or similar, on peoples belts all of the time, and usually a slip joint in the pocket. Then it seemed to just kind of go away and everyone carried slipjoints or modern folders. Now, it seems to me, there has been a resurgence in fixed blade carry. Like I said, this is just something I’ve noticed more, but it may have always been this way. Regardless, I like it, because it’s what I carry.
 
1. Flippers. I don't hate them, I just don't need/want them. I'd prefer a spydie hole or thumb stud and lose the flipper tab.

2. Like you said, more folks discovered the CNC and more brands and knives are out there. That is a good thing. Although many are out of my personal price range, more choices are usually a good thing.

3. Other than interacting with folks in this site, hard for me to gauge the state of knife collecting. Things seem just fine although supply chain issues are causing current problems that we didn't have 5 or 10 years ago.

4. Good point and I will leave it at that.

5. I'd also mention the rise of carbon fiber as a handle material. For those that strive for reducing ounces on a knife, a nice way to go. I'm not a CF fan. I found the earlier versions slick to the feel. I admittedly haven't tried a CF handle in years. It is also the same reason I don't like Ti or metal handles, slick feeling. I'm content with G10 and micarta.

6. "Lifestyle" brand. James Brand Co comes to mind. Lovingly referred to as "hipster" in some circles. Bleh for me. I also have to mention the monthly subscription "gear box" that exploded several years ago. Battlebox, Crate Club, Going Gear (RIP Marshall), etc. I admittedly watched utube vids of people opening them but never subscribed. They contain too much gear I wouldn't use.
 
Fidget friendly is a must for me. I was born at the very end of gen-x, the generation known for anxiety, depression, adhd, etc. I suffer/suffered from all three throughout my life. I no longer have depression. However, fidgeting with a knife helps with both ADHD and anxiety, to the point I'm no longer on meds except emergencies.

Flippers, front flippers, spydieholes, love em. Fads that went quickly for me--Tactical and overbuilt knives.
 
I would say that overall, over the last few years I agree with what has been posted about design and materials. New materials, new steels, new designs, that's just part of product development for just about any consumer items.

But attitudes about knives and their purpose has changed a lot over the last few years, never more apparent than here. I know I am showing my age here, but when I was a youngster, knives were tools. Something to be proud of, something that gave me a lot of pleasure to own nice examples of them. I have always loved a great knife. There were no knives to play with while watching TV. I hiked, camped, hunted, fished, and generally spent as much time outside as possible. Then I went into the construction trades at 16, and as a carpenter's helper a good knife was a must for me. There has literally never been a time in my life including most of grade school when I didn't have a knife in my pocket.

I judged a knife on how well it worked, how long it held an edge during the day, how well it held up as the only work knife I had to carry. A knife had to earn its place in my pocket, and the only acceptable brands for me were CASE, BUCK, and Boker. Couldn't afford PUMA, but sure did drool a lot at the sporting goods store at their display

But I have moved on with the times, too. I carry knives (Cold Steel, Spyderco, ZT, etc.) as large work knives that really on inspection are no more than a pile of pieces screwed together. The are designed to be assembled, then all surfaces ground flush to give the appearance of great fit. If you take 5 examples of those knives mentioned out of their boxes and put them next to each other, you couldn't tell the difference between knives because there is almost no hand fitting or polishing. Back a million years ago when I bought CASE folder, or a Boker, I had to look at the grinds (done by hand), the shaping and color of the bone/stag/phenolic materials, the walk and talk, and the guy at the sporting goods store had to tolerate me unboxing 3-4 of them to make sure I got a "good one". I made the knife I purchased my own by taking it to the stones after I wore out the factory edge, and it could take a day to re-bevel the blades where I wanted them.

Now when I buy a knife I flick it open a couple of times to see if it binds or grinds, make sure nothing is loose, and that the fit of the pieces is good and the grind isn't way off. My benchmarks aren't how rapid it deploys (NEVER been in a knife fight and have no training for one), don't care if it is a millimeter off center since I might bend it or it could wear back to perfect center, I was warned about pivot bearings here on BF on a work knife carried in a sweaty/dirty pocket (and they were right, caught the damage on my ZT right when it started to rust and foul - so no bearings). All of those things seem to be at the fore front of any knife buyer here on BF these days.

I would say that they last few years has brought about a knife designs that are made for collectibility rather than utility and there certainly isn't anything wrong with that. Knives to me now are where watches have been for some time; my buddy that collects and sells watches always says "if you want a reliable timepiece get a Casio. If you want a piece of jewelry that tells time, get a Rolex". PLENTY of Rolexes in the knife market these days.
 
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We're living in a real renaissance of knives and knife-making, and i'm loving it!

But i'm also very old-school and thrifty, I appreciate a good solid blade at a cheap price, so on a daily basis I think the most expensive knife I carry cost me 35 bucks, some as cheap as 8 bucks, and they work, they really do.
 
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