Comparing Mini SOCOM & Wegner Jr......

Joined
Sep 5, 1999
Messages
439
They're both great knives - but where's the
$30-40 difference? I'm sorry, but I just
can't see it! And why would Spyderco discontinue one of their best models? Any
comments?

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Tom Pilotti
 
It's being derailed for lack of sales. Spyderco has a huge lineup and from time to time they need to cull the slower specimen's from the herd to make room for newer and hopefully better things.
Stick around.
If there is one thing Spyderco does right, it is finding newer and better products to throw at us that sucks the money from our wallets and purses and plants big smilies on our faces!
biggrin.gif

As for why is the MT mini more expensive than the Wegner Jr.?
Because people are willing to pay more for it, of course!
smile.gif

Really, I think it has to do with more attention to detail, closer tolerances, semi-custom manufacture process and so on. But don't quote me on that as I really don't know, I'm going by what I've read in the past.
The Spydie is just as good IMHO, and for less $$ to boot!
biggrin.gif


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My new bumper sticker:

Let me tell you about my SIFU!
 
Originally posted by shivey:
And why would Spyderco discontinue one of their best models?

One of those Marketing things we will never understand. I never saw any sales figures, but it is a shame to see it go.



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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
And why would Spyderco discontinue one of their best models?
It obviously isn't one of their best models. For a company, good models are the ones they make money on. It can be a very good knife to use, but perhaps it's not easy to get people to pay enough for it to make it a profitable model.



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Urban Fredriksson
www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
Latest udates WM1 neck sheath, Moki Blossom and Fällkniven S1

I hear the South Park movie is R-17 in the USA. Due to the language used. Here it's got a 7 year old limit, and wouldn't have even that if it wasn't for the violence.
 
I think the profit margins and sales were low. Also, there are so many Spyderco models that its hard for dealers to stock the whole line.

The fit and finish of both knives are excellent. Probably the Microtech has the edge here. Both have great blades. Microtechs blade is coated which adds to the cost. Design wise only the Wegner Jr has a great handle. The Mini Socom's handle sucks. Cost wise Microtechs Aluminum / Kraton probably costs more to manufacture.

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Roger Blake
 
I read on a thread that Bladetech had advertised discounted Wegner jrs. so heavily that many store owners were complaining they could not sell them. Check the Spyderco Forum for that info.

As for the Mini Socom vs. the Wegner, I see them as completely different. The Wegner is a great utility knife/small skinner. The Mini Socom is a little tactical knife that can be used for utility. There are some construction differences that account for price. The Mini is all aluminum and its liner is titanium. The Wegner is G-10 and steel. The rest of the price difference is due to name and Microtech being a smaller company IMO.
 
cut finger is as close to the truth as anyone. It was a marketing/distribution mess-up that led to a lack of retail orders, not retail sales.

Blade Tech still has a good supply of the little Wegners, in both plain and p/s.

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AKTI Member #A000832

"That which does not kill me just postpones the inevitable."
 
Great replies, gentlemen. Thank you all!
I believe Cut Finger also nailed the issue
of cost difference....thanks again.
 
The Wegner Jr. may be an example of the sort of thing that can happen when price competition among dealers takes reduces profit margins.

When I'm the customer, I love low profit margins!

When I'm the dealer, the lower the margin, the more volume it takes to make money by stocking any given product, and so lower margins will mean I can afford to stock fewer SKU's. Having a distributor one or two days away by UPS can compensate to some degree, but not completely.

Life is full of compromises. In law we temper justice with mercy. In steel we temper hardness with resilience. So it is in the marketplace with choice and value.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
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