Experience working at a knife counter for a store?

[bubblewhip]

I was wondering if anyone had any experience working at the cutlery section for an outdoor store or any place that sells knives to more serious people that are into it. Like say for Cabelas or Campmore. Were they good or bad, ect. I'm thinking that's going to be my part time job as I imagine it would beat working as a cashier for a grocery store, or god forbid Best Buy. I've heard horror stories from other divisions especially when it comes to electronics and video games, but i haven't heard any bad horror story experiences working in these fields.

Doesn't seem bad. I know my stuff, people will listen to it, and I get to handle knives all day and get paid? *shrugs*

 

[phaserrifle]

unfortuneately, I'm willing to bet that working in any big name store is going to expose you to a lot of a lot of idiots, no matter what part of the store you work in.
I suppose if you where working in a specialist knife shop that's a bit off the beaten track you might be better off (factory stores, places like that, where most people are going to have to plan to go there for the knives, not just walk in during a regular shopping trip) but I can't imagine there are many of them around.

 

[WCB]

I currently work in the knives section of the Bass Pro Shop in NW Louisianna, and most customers are very easy to get along with. Maybe it's because I have all those sharp objects within easy reach. Of course there are always the one percenters that you will never be able to please, but just relax and enjoy the rest.

 

[gak]

Retail is retail, i.e.: it will make you want to gouge your eyes out. If they don't force you to do other stuff when there's no customers at least you get to play with the knives though.

Expect from customers:

1. "My Ka-Bar snapped in half and I want it replaced free. No I wasn't hammering it, I was just cutting a piece of leather."

2. "I am rich and I only buy Made in the USA knives, everything else is junk. How much are the Made in USA knives ? Well I'll get this Made in China one instead then, it's just as good and half the price."

3. "My dad bought his old knife for 50 cents and it skins 500 deer before you need to sharpen it. Why are these knives more than 50 cents ? Do you guarantee they'll skin 500 deer or I get my money back ?"

4. "I see your name tag says, 'Frank'. Well Frank let me tell you a little bit about knives. You see Frank all of this super-steel stuff is a myth. Your store is ripping off customers Frank. Cheap Made in China knives cut better than any of these Frank. Frank you should tell your manager that he's ripping people off. Frank, do you understand what I'm saying Frank ?"

5. "What do you mean I can't try the knife out for a few weeks and bring it back, I won't scratch it!"

6. "I have a bunch of $10,000 custom knives, but I like to come here just to see what the riff-raff have to settle for."

7. "Those are switchblades, they are illegal to sell."

8. "Those are daggers, they are illegal to sell."

9. "Aren't knives illegal ?"

10. "What do you mean you charge $2 to sharpen a knife ? I can get a new one for cheaper than that. You people are trying to rip me off."

 

[Ankerson]

Retail is retail, i.e.: it will make you want to gouge your eyes out. If they don't force you to do other stuff when there's no customers at least you get to play with the knives though.

Expect from customers:

1. "My Ka-Bar snapped in half and I want it replaced free. No I wasn't hammering it, I was just cutting a piece of leather."

2. "I am rich and I only buy Made in the USA knives, everything else is junk. How much are the Made in USA knives ? Well I'll get this Made in China one instead then, it's just as good and half the price."

3. "My dad bought his old knife for 50 cents and it skins 500 deer before you need to sharpen it. Why are these knives more than 50 cents ? Do you guarantee they'll skin 500 deer or I get my money back ?"

4. "I see your name tag says, 'Frank'. Well Frank let me tell you a little bit about knives. You see Frank all of this super-steel stuff is a myth. Your store is ripping off customers Frank. Cheap Made in China knives cut better than any of these Frank. Frank you should tell your manager that he's ripping people off. Frank, do you understand what I'm saying Frank ?"

5. "What do you mean I can't try the knife out for a few weeks and bring it back, I won't scratch it!"

6. "I have a bunch of $10,000 custom knives, but I like to come here just to see what the riff-raff have to settle for."

7. "Those are switchblades, they are illegal to sell."

8. "Those are daggers, they are illegal to sell."

9. "Aren't knives illegal ?"

10. "What do you mean you charge $2 to sharpen a knife ? I can get a new one for cheaper than that. You people are trying to rip me off."

That sounds about right... ROFL

 

[Moondrop]

Retail is retail, i.e.: it will make you want to gouge your eyes out. If they don't force you to do other stuff when there's no customers at least you get to play with the knives though.

Expect from customers:

1. "My Ka-Bar snapped in half and I want it replaced free. No I wasn't hammering it, I was just cutting a piece of leather."

2. "I am rich and I only buy Made in the USA knives, everything else is junk. How much are the Made in USA knives ? Well I'll get this Made in China one instead then, it's just as good and half the price."

3. "My dad bought his old knife for 50 cents and it skins 500 deer before you need to sharpen it. Why are these knives more than 50 cents ? Do you guarantee they'll skin 500 deer or I get my money back ?"

4. "I see your name tag says, 'Frank'. Well Frank let me tell you a little bit about knives. You see Frank all of this super-steel stuff is a myth. Your store is ripping off customers Frank. Cheap Made in China knives cut better than any of these Frank. Frank you should tell your manager that he's ripping people off. Frank, do you understand what I'm saying Frank ?"

5. "What do you mean I can't try the knife out for a few weeks and bring it back, I won't scratch it!"

6. "I have a bunch of $10,000 custom knives, but I like to come here just to see what the riff-raff have to settle for."

7. "Those are switchblades, they are illegal to sell."

8. "Those are daggers, they are illegal to sell."

9. "Aren't knives illegal ?"

10. "What do you mean you charge $2 to sharpen a knife ? I can get a new one for cheaper than that. You people are trying to rip me off."

I LOL'd.

 

[Hondo.3]

I've had lots of arguments with supposedly intelligent and educated people who claim that my knives are illegal. They even persist after I tell them that I have read the relevant sections of the Criminal Code, and even called town hall to check on local by-laws. The only thing that seems to work is when my fiancee tells them, "He really does know his stuff. Trust me."

I worked at a knife store for three days. The shop manager hired me, and was then told by her regional manager that she had to hire someone else instead. I believe it was a nephew or brother-in-law. I enjoyed the work. My only advice is to be careful how much information you divulge. Don't send away too much business, and don't give sermons on things like edge geometry or heat treatment. Good luck.

TC

 

[cziv]

Retail is retail, i.e.: it will make you want to gouge your eyes out. If they don't force you to do other stuff when there's no customers at least you get to play with the knives though.

Expect from customers:

1. "My Ka-Bar snapped in half and I want it replaced free. No I wasn't hammering it, I was just cutting a piece of leather."

2. "I am rich and I only buy Made in the USA knives, everything else is junk. How much are the Made in USA knives ? Well I'll get this Made in China one instead then, it's just as good and half the price."

3. "My dad bought his old knife for 50 cents and it skins 500 deer before you need to sharpen it. Why are these knives more than 50 cents ? Do you guarantee they'll skin 500 deer or I get my money back ?"

4. "I see your name tag says, 'Frank'. Well Frank let me tell you a little bit about knives. You see Frank all of this super-steel stuff is a myth. Your store is ripping off customers Frank. Cheap Made in China knives cut better than any of these Frank. Frank you should tell your manager that he's ripping people off. Frank, do you understand what I'm saying Frank ?"

5. "What do you mean I can't try the knife out for a few weeks and bring it back, I won't scratch it!"

6. "I have a bunch of $10,000 custom knives, but I like to come here just to see what the riff-raff have to settle for."

7. "Those are switchblades, they are illegal to sell."

8. "Those are daggers, they are illegal to sell."

9. "Aren't knives illegal ?"

10. "What do you mean you charge $2 to sharpen a knife ? I can get a new one for cheaper than that. You people are trying to rip me off."

+3 That's a riot!!

I liked this one: 3.

"My dad bought his old knife for 50 cents and it skins 500 deer before you need to sharpen it. Why are these knives more than 50 cents ? Do you guarantee they'll skin 500 deer or I get my money back ?"

 

[barrabas74]

Retail is retail, i.e.: it will make you want to gouge your eyes out. If they don't force you to do other stuff when there's no customers at least you get to play with the knives though.

Expect from customers:

1. "My Ka-Bar snapped in half and I want it replaced free. No I wasn't hammering it, I was just cutting a piece of leather."

2. "I am rich and I only buy Made in the USA knives, everything else is junk. How much are the Made in USA knives ? Well I'll get this Made in China one instead then, it's just as good and half the price."

3. "My dad bought his old knife for 50 cents and it skins 500 deer before you need to sharpen it. Why are these knives more than 50 cents ? Do you guarantee they'll skin 500 deer or I get my money back ?"

4. "I see your name tag says, 'Frank'. Well Frank let me tell you a little bit about knives. You see Frank all of this super-steel stuff is a myth. Your store is ripping off customers Frank. Cheap Made in China knives cut better than any of these Frank. Frank you should tell your manager that he's ripping people off. Frank, do you understand what I'm saying Frank ?"

5. "What do you mean I can't try the knife out for a few weeks and bring it back, I won't scratch it!"

6. "I have a bunch of $10,000 custom knives, but I like to come here just to see what the riff-raff have to settle for."

7. "Those are switchblades, they are illegal to sell."

8. "Those are daggers, they are illegal to sell."

9. "Aren't knives illegal ?"

10. "What do you mean you charge $2 to sharpen a knife ? I can get a new one for cheaper than that. You people are trying to rip me off."

I worked at a knife store that sold GOOD KNIVES and a few crappy ones for a while as a part time job while I was in College. I loved and HATED it all at the same time some days. First let me say what is posted above is %100 true and you will probably here/see all of it in some form or another. Between working at a knife shop and hanging at one cuz a friend of mine worked there I have heard some of the dumbest (even rivaling stuff here) things about knives.

I once had a guy tell me that the titanium coating on his S&W folder made it possible to shove through a quarter and the CRK Nkonka in A2 couldnt do it because it didnt have that coating. He bet me $300 that it couldnt. I said "you got the $?" and I said....I'll bet you $50 dollars that my benchmade auto stryker (btw he said that was illegal cuz it was an auto to even OWN) will not only go through a quarter but it will wont dent the tip as badly as your S&W. I pulled out a 2X4 and he laid the cash down. I used a glove and plowed the BM through the quarter and it had almost no damage (still have the knife...love it). He did it with his S&W (without a glove....cuz he didnt need it) and the liner collapsed it didnt make it through the quarter and he cut the ever loving shit out of his hand. He ran from the store to the bathroom leaving the $50 and a good trail of blood. Never did see him again hmmmm.

You learn to keep bandaids on hand at all times. People are always running there fingers up and down knives. You know nothing and everyone who walks in there seems to know more than you (well thats extreme but you get my point). The nice thing though is you get to see new knives, you get to handle a bunch of stuff you may never handle and learn about them. You get to have fun doing what you like to do if you dont take it too seriously. You also get discounts . Every once in a while a true knife knut walks in and will talk to you and you show good knives to educated customers who knows what they are talking about and that usually makes it much more fun. But for every one of those there are 100 people who dont know and 50 more who think/wish/want you to believe they know what they are talking about.


OH and what HONDO.3 said is very true also. Dont tell people too much, let them browse and dont fill there heads with edge geometry and stuff unless they want to hear it and you know they can handle the info. Otherwise your wasting your breath.

 

[mshambone]

I think it'd be a fun job. I know I wouldn't mind working at one--closest for me is about an hour away. I do like going there; just hate listening to the young kid behind the counter brag about this supersteel or why his knife is far superior to anything I want to look at...THe one time he bragged for so long about being able to sell so many of these custom production knives compared to other stores that I vowed never to go back. (I almost told him that the knives sell themselves, you're just a clerk behind a counter... I refrained and wrote it off to his "youthful arrogance") Someone once told me, "Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Oh well.

If you do take it..enjoy and be sure to tell about the experiences
Matt

 

[cziv]

I worked at a knife store that sold GOOD KNIVES and a few crappy ones for a while as a part time job while I was in College. I loved and HATED it all at the same time some days. First let me say what is posted above is %100 true and you will probably here/see all of it in some form or another. Between working at a knife shop and hanging at one cuz a friend of mine worked there I have heard some of the dumbest (even rivaling stuff here) things about knives.

I once had a guy tell me that the titanium coating on his S&W folder made it possible to shove through a quarter and the CRK knonka in A2 couldnt do it because it didnt have that coating. He bet me $300 that it couldnt. I said "you got the $?" and I said....I'll bet you $50 dollars that my benchmade auto stryker (btw he said that was illegal cuz it was an auto to even OWN) will not only go through a quarter but it will wont dent the tip as badly as your S&W. I pulled out a 2X4 and he laid the cash down. I used a glove and plowed the BM through the quarter and it had almost no damage (still have the knife...love it). He did it with his S&W (without a glove) and the liner collapsed it didnt make it through the quarter and he cut the ever loving shit out of his hand. He ran from the store to the bathroom leaving the $50 and a good trail of blood. Never did see him again hmmmm

Great story barrabas74!!

 

[CharlesIV]

Retail is retail, i.e.: it will make you want to gouge your eyes out. If they don't force you to do other stuff when there's no customers at least you get to play with the knives though.

Expect from customers:

1. "My Ka-Bar snapped in half and I want it replaced free. No I wasn't hammering it, I was just cutting a piece of leather."

2. "I am rich and I only buy Made in the USA knives, everything else is junk. How much are the Made in USA knives ? Well I'll get this Made in China one instead then, it's just as good and half the price."

3. "My dad bought his old knife for 50 cents and it skins 500 deer before you need to sharpen it. Why are these knives more than 50 cents ? Do you guarantee they'll skin 500 deer or I get my money back ?"

4. "I see your name tag says, 'Frank'. Well Frank let me tell you a little bit about knives. You see Frank all of this super-steel stuff is a myth. Your store is ripping off customers Frank. Cheap Made in China knives cut better than any of these Frank. Frank you should tell your manager that he's ripping people off. Frank, do you understand what I'm saying Frank ?"

5. "What do you mean I can't try the knife out for a few weeks and bring it back, I won't scratch it!"

6. "I have a bunch of $10,000 custom knives, but I like to come here just to see what the riff-raff have to settle for."

7. "Those are switchblades, they are illegal to sell."

8. "Those are daggers, they are illegal to sell."

9. "Aren't knives illegal ?"

10. "What do you mean you charge $2 to sharpen a knife ? I can get a new one for cheaper than that. You people are trying to rip me off."

I wanna hear more :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Slowstarter]

...I'll bet you $50 dollars that my benchmade auto stryker will not only go through a quarter but it will wont dent the tip as badly as your S&W.

Is this really true? Was it the big or small Nitrous Stryker? How much damage did the blade take?

 

[barrabas74]

I wanna hear more :thumbup::thumbup:

"That knife there (points at sebenza) aint worth $20 dollars, my knife has a picture of Dale Erhardt on it with flames and that thing is plain ole steel...no way it cost more" one of my favorites

"why should I spend $50 dollars on one knife when I can buy 40 knives for $50 dollars from that TV show that comes on at 1am, those knives shave paper too"

"Last time I brought my steak knives in you made them too sharp, I dont want them that sharp this time my wife wont use them"

"where can I get one of those handmade japanese swords like you see on the history channel....you guys carry those dont you?"

"No way you have that knife....its not even out yet" (owned the knife for 6 months already)

"If the blade is longer than the width of your hand its illegal to carry" (well everyones palms are different so I guess I get to carry a really big knife )

"That knife has a hole in it.....why should I pay THAT much for a knife thats got a big ole hole in it when that ones got all of its steel"

Customer asked what I was carrying...I had a DDR Gunhammer and a Small micarta sebbie on me. Asked "how much do those go for....$20, $30?" I said nah there a bit more". Customer was curious and asked "well really how much?". I said "this one (the ddr) was $675 at a show, this other one (the sebbie) was around $400". Customer says "NO WAY...no one pays THAT much for a piece of steel", I pulled out BLADE magazine and showed them what the DDR listed for in an add and pulled up Knifecenter's website and showed them the CRK......customer didnt say anything more.

 

[moonwilson]

Fortytwoblades works at a really nice knife shop in Maine. Hopefully he'll chime in at some point. I can say from the time I've spent in knife shops (as a customer myself) that the customers can be really, really, really annoying. But the same could be said about any type of retail job.

 

[barrabas74]

Is this really true? Was it the big or small Nitrous Stryker? How much damage did the blade take?

Absolutley true. We had 2/4's and other wood back there from left over shelving. It was an mini auto stryker (you know the illegal to own kind ). It really didnt damage the tip much at all. It blunted it a very little bit but its since been sharpend back out. the actual edge did blunt but no tearing or chips or anything.

 

[Apebrains]

I've never worked a knife counter, but allow me to say one thing. Be careful. I've turned things that I absolutely love into retail jobs before, and let me tell ya, it's a double edged sword. On the one hand, you'll probably get some discounts or ordering access you wouldn't have as an every day Joe. You'll also get the chance to handle a lot of knives without having to buy them, and you'll get to chat about knives all day, which is kinda what we do on here all day anyway. Additionally, these jobs are usually relatively low stress, especially as part time.
On the other hand, you'll have to deal with the subsidiary position in the workfield. I.E. you'll have some guy who may or may not have so much as a backbone ordering you to do this and that, and do it now, and do it better. Those people you'll get to chat knives with all day long? MANY, if not most of them will be complete or at least relative morons. You'll often give the same speeches so often you'll go blue in the face. You'll recommend quality knives and many, if not most people will generally say thanks, but I'd rather go with a cheap piece of crap. Finally, you run the biggest risk of all....getting tired of dealing with knives. It's true. There is the POSSIBILITY (not a certainty) of dealing with the same crap so much that you'll no longer want to come home and look at or buy new knives, or WORSE YET, you could not even want to come talk to the kickin' folks here on BF!!!!
Terrifying thoughts, I know, but assuming it's part time, you'll probably enjoy the experience, as you'll have breaks throughout the week from the "grind". The thing to remember is, you can quit anytime if it gets to be too much, so in reality, there's no worries!

 

[ChapmanPreferred]

Interesting thread.

 

[CharlesIV]

retail is retail, i.e.: It will make you want to gouge your eyes out. If they don't force you to do other stuff when there's no customers at least you get to play with the knives though.

Expect from customers:

1. "my ka-bar snapped in half and i want it replaced free. No i wasn't hammering it, i was just cutting a piece of leather."

2. "i am rich and i only buy made in the usa knives, everything else is junk. How much are the made in usa knives ? Well i'll get this made in china one instead then, it's just as good and half the price."

3. "my dad bought his old knife for 50 cents and it skins 500 deer before you need to sharpen it. Why are these knives more than 50 cents ? Do you guarantee they'll skin 500 deer or i get my money back ?"

4. "i see your name tag says, 'frank'. Well frank let me tell you a little bit about knives. You see frank all of this super-steel stuff is a myth. Your store is ripping off customers frank. Cheap made in china knives cut better than any of these frank. Frank you should tell your manager that he's ripping people off. Frank, do you understand what i'm saying frank ?"

5. "what do you mean i can't try the knife out for a few weeks and bring it back, i won't scratch it!"

6. "i have a bunch of $10,000 custom knives, but i like to come here just to see what the riff-raff have to settle for."

7. "those are switchblades, they are illegal to sell."

8. "those are daggers, they are illegal to sell."

9. "aren't knives illegal ?"

10. "what do you mean you charge $2 to sharpen a knife ? I can get a new one for cheaper than that. You people are trying to rip me off."

+

"that knife there (points at sebenza) aint worth $20 dollars, my knife has a picture of dale erhardt on it with flames and that thing is plain ole steel...no way it cost more" one of my favorites

"why should i spend $50 dollars on one knife when i can buy 40 knives for $50 dollars from that tv show that comes on at 1am, those knives shave paper too"

"last time i brought my steak knives in you made them too sharp, i dont want them that sharp this time my wife wont use them"

"where can i get one of those handmade japanese swords like you see on the history channel....you guys carry those dont you?"

"no way you have that knife....its not even out yet" (owned the knife for 6 months already)

"if the blade is longer than the width of your hand its illegal to carry" (well everyones palms are different so i guess i get to carry a really big knife :d )

"that knife has a hole in it.....why should i pay that much for a knife thats got a big ole hole in it when that ones got all of its steel"

customer asked what i was carrying...i had a ddr gunhammer and a small micarta sebbie on me. Asked "how much do those go for....$20, $30?" i said nah there a bit more". Customer was curious and asked "well really how much?". I said "this one (the ddr) was $675 at a show, this other one (the sebbie) was around $400". Customer says "no way...no one pays that much for a piece of steel", i pulled out blade magazine and showed them what the ddr listed for in an add and pulled up knifecenter's website and showed them the crk......customer didnt say anything more.

+

i've never worked a knife counter, but allow me to say one thing. Be careful. I've turned things that i absolutely love into retail jobs before, and let me tell ya, it's a double edged sword. On the one hand, you'll probably get some discounts or ordering access you wouldn't have as an every day joe. You'll also get the chance to handle a lot of knives without having to buy them, and you'll get to chat about knives all day, which is kinda what we do on here all day anyway. Additionally, these jobs are usually relatively low stress, especially as part time.
On the other hand, you'll have to deal with the subsidiary position in the workfield. I.e. You'll have some guy who may or may not have so much as a backbone ordering you to do this and that, and do it now, and do it better. Those people you'll get to chat knives with all day long? Many, if not most of them will be complete or at least relative morons. You'll often give the same speeches so often you'll go blue in the face. You'll recommend quality knives and many, if not most people will generally say thanks, but i'd rather go with a cheap piece of crap. Finally, you run the biggest risk of all....getting tired of dealing with knives. It's true. There is the possibility (not a certainty) of dealing with the same crap so much that you'll no longer want to come home and look at or buy new knives, or worse yet, you could not even want to come talk to the kickin' folks here on bf!!!!
Terrifying thoughts, i know, but assuming it's part time, you'll probably enjoy the experience, as you'll have breaks throughout the week from the "grind". The thing to remember is, you can quit anytime if it gets to be too much, so in reality, there's no worries!

=

true!!!!

 

[swamp]

+



+



=

true!!!!

Exactly. I can't tell you how many times people have told me,

1. "Your switchblade is illegal."

2. "Anything longer than the width of your hand is illegal." (Which is how a lot of airlines actually measured your blades before 9/11.)

3. "That knife is not legal, 4" is the max. (When I carried a Vaquero Grande)

Just as a USER, it gets old even trying to convince FLORIDIANS of the knife laws. We can carry any knife unconcealed (except I think ballistic knives)

And, to the guy who wanted his History Channel Katana.......Uh, no we don't carry them, but you can have one made. I think they start around 20-30k

I would love to see that reaction. Then throw in the "they can go for over 100k depending on age and maker." Lol