One of the biggest drawbacks for me in buying new knives was the inability to hold and test them out in my hand before I purchased them online. I kinda would just have to roll the dice and go for it a lot of times depending on reviews and such I had read. Well anyway I finally found 2 somewhat local shops that has the quality and selection I am looking for but they are an hour and an hour and a half away. Not the worst drive in the world but I was wondering what kind of experience regarding pricing you guys have had in comparison to local stores and online? I dont mind paying a little extra to support the shop but I dont want to waste my time driving there if there's a 50% markup from what I could find on Amazon or what have you. Of course every store is different and knowing for sure isnt likely but in general what experiences, positive or negative, do you have in local stores mainly regarding price?
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Finally found a knife store
- Thread starter smo1898
- Start date
The only store within a 45min drive of me charges retail on most, even higher on a few models.
There's a store about 1.5 hrs away but they also have a website.
If you find a store, call them and see if they have a website or will give you a price over the phone.
There's a store about 1.5 hrs away but they also have a website.
If you find a store, call them and see if they have a website or will give you a price over the phone.
I love my local knife shop (Plaza Cutlery), but they generally charge 30-50% more than the going rates online. Most of the time when I go there I just "showroom" - handle the knives to get a feel for them before I buy, then purchase online. I do still throw them my business on products that are the same or nearly the same price online - I've bought two CRKs there. They make enough money on those purchases that they don't mind when I showroom, and I don't feel like I'm taking advantage of a local small business. Plus the folks there are just delightful to chat with about knives.
I consider myself lucky to have a knife shop 1/2 hour away. He has an online presence which is likely the key here. If a guy is competing online the prices in his store probably reflect that. This store has good, workingman's prices. Nothing to write home about but competitive (usually equal) to online with no postage.
I love that he has used knives as well. Cost is way over the deals you can get at yard sales and such but the prices once again aren't bad.
So, how does this work? I can name the shop but not the online presence? Help me out here mods.
I love that he has used knives as well. Cost is way over the deals you can get at yard sales and such but the prices once again aren't bad.
So, how does this work? I can name the shop but not the online presence? Help me out here mods.
I'm not sure about the knife stores in my area, but they had a collection of knives, in a military surplus store, in a display counter. Since I'm only 15 I don't get much work, so getting money is hard for me. When I asked about any of the knives, they were all double their average price. Either way I couldn't buy them.
I go to two local stores, one the same one as Funzy12 (about 45 minutes) and another about the same distance in the opposite direction. With the knives I buy from them, I pay about 30-40% more than I'd pay online, but I can get it RIGHT THEN. One pays for convenience. No waiting on a knife to arrive, which slows down time like a science-fiction novel in my case!
The other store charges full retail. It is primarily a gun shop first and knives are far secondary. I go there to handle knives I've researched online, then buy then online. I have completed some impulse buys there, because at just HAD to have it right then, but generally do not pay retail when I can get them online so much cheaper.
I have also bought a couple of knives there, took them home, and played with them (but never used them at all) while going ahead and purchasing the same one online. When my online one gets here, I return the locally-bought one that charges full retail. I'm "borrowing" it in essence, but I treat it as not mine in the meantime, meaning very carefully. With this shop, knives are probably 2% of their business, are a good-sized operation so I am not hurting them by doing so. But I've only done that twice in three years.
One good thing about getting them at the local store is you can examine THE actual knife you will add to your life. Fit and finish, blade centering, etc. are not a question, you're looking right at it. Remember, these are production items. Things vary with some makers, others are much more controlled in what goes out the door. I've had to send back and swap out several knives from online sources because of quality control issues. I've also passed up knives at the second retailer because their quality was not up to par; if they had arrived from an online source, they would have been in the mail that day going back to be swapped out. Don't have to do that if it is in your hand.
So call ahead and get their price if it is a particular knife you want, and also to make sure they still have it in stock. It sucks to drive that far and it's not there when you get there. Have them put it behind the counter while you drive there. Who knows, you might not really like it when you get there and walk out with something different. That has happened to me on more than one occasion.
Also, it's usually worth the drive when you get there, and if you buy something you get to play with it all the way home!
And lastly, if you have knives that need sharpened, and they offer that service (like River's Edge does, and they do a great job very inexpensively) bring those with you and get them done at the same time.
The other store charges full retail. It is primarily a gun shop first and knives are far secondary. I go there to handle knives I've researched online, then buy then online. I have completed some impulse buys there, because at just HAD to have it right then, but generally do not pay retail when I can get them online so much cheaper.
I have also bought a couple of knives there, took them home, and played with them (but never used them at all) while going ahead and purchasing the same one online. When my online one gets here, I return the locally-bought one that charges full retail. I'm "borrowing" it in essence, but I treat it as not mine in the meantime, meaning very carefully. With this shop, knives are probably 2% of their business, are a good-sized operation so I am not hurting them by doing so. But I've only done that twice in three years.
One good thing about getting them at the local store is you can examine THE actual knife you will add to your life. Fit and finish, blade centering, etc. are not a question, you're looking right at it. Remember, these are production items. Things vary with some makers, others are much more controlled in what goes out the door. I've had to send back and swap out several knives from online sources because of quality control issues. I've also passed up knives at the second retailer because their quality was not up to par; if they had arrived from an online source, they would have been in the mail that day going back to be swapped out. Don't have to do that if it is in your hand.
So call ahead and get their price if it is a particular knife you want, and also to make sure they still have it in stock. It sucks to drive that far and it's not there when you get there. Have them put it behind the counter while you drive there. Who knows, you might not really like it when you get there and walk out with something different. That has happened to me on more than one occasion.
Also, it's usually worth the drive when you get there, and if you buy something you get to play with it all the way home!
And lastly, if you have knives that need sharpened, and they offer that service (like River's Edge does, and they do a great job very inexpensively) bring those with you and get them done at the same time.
That's why I will still go to gun shows occasionally, to handle knives I'm considering buying online. And you got it, the disadvantage is not handling the actual knife.
There's a nice little shop in Newport Ky., right over the river from Cincinnati if any Ohioans ever want to make that kind of a drive. It's just a hole in the wall storefront but I like it.
I always try and support local business and small brick and mortar stores, however that has ended up costing me money. Case in point: 3 months ago I was looking for a hard to find PM2, I found it in a local knife store who wasn't negotiating on price. I ended up buying the knife. Days later I found it for $40 less elsewhere. I did the right thing though and didn't return it and just ate the difference. Like I said I prefer to support my local businesses, but haven't had that great of experiences.
I don't have much luck with shopping local for pocketknives. The antique stores sell broken used junk that's grossly overpriced. There used to be an outdoor sporting goods store with outrageous prices. And the nearby hardware stores don't have much selection. Once in a while I get lucky at the big discount department store (KMart was closing out their Wenger knives a while back at really sweet prices).
Fortunately I travel a lot for work. Ya know those huge online dealers with fantastic selections and prices? Well most of them happen to have real stores too. Make a note of where they are, and the next time you happen to be close to one of them, you're all set. :thumbup:
I drove an hour and a half each way yesterday for a Christmas tree; it's the nearest large town, and we do most of our shopping there.
Fortunately I travel a lot for work. Ya know those huge online dealers with fantastic selections and prices? Well most of them happen to have real stores too. Make a note of where they are, and the next time you happen to be close to one of them, you're all set. :thumbup:
An hour and a half to find a knife shop, if i drive an hour and a half in any direction... i left my country
I drove an hour and a half each way yesterday for a Christmas tree; it's the nearest large town, and we do most of our shopping there.
Thats actually the one I was thinking about checking out, $5-$20 isnt too bad at all....The other place i checked out was called cutco cutlery, and i would never set foot in that store, they take popular knives and replicate them (ex. cutco usmc instead of the Ka-Bar) and literally charge 3 times the price
Gunshop in a town not too far away from where I live that has a big selection of knives. I haven't been there in awhile, but was able to buy Almar and Spyderco for what I was paying on line - some excellent deals - could shoot myself for not buying the two Spyderco Ronins' they had on closeout for 66.00 ea.
Smo1898
You Definitely should any knife you buy over $25 they'll sharpen for free for the life of the knife (thats what they said I sharpen my own so idk) If you go in Talk to Brian hes a really nice and almost has all the answers (I think his name is Brian or maybe Rick).
You Definitely should any knife you buy over $25 they'll sharpen for free for the life of the knife (thats what they said I sharpen my own so idk) If you go in Talk to Brian hes a really nice and almost has all the answers (I think his name is Brian or maybe Rick).