Future of traditionals?

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FarmKid

Joined
Jun 7, 2012
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Just visited the big blue roofed knive super store in the smokies yesterday. It's one of the greatest places on the planet and I try to visit there at least once a year. Yesterday I noticed something tho. The selection of traditional knives they have to offer is getting less and less. A handful of eye brands, bout 15 bokers, 20 or so queens, 10 GEC, 50 hen and roosters, a lot of bear and sons and of course the whole case section. Anyway as I purchased another case yellow trapper the SMKW employee told me that case is the only traditional knife selling good for them anymore. So with that being said, what's the future hold for traditional knives in the next 10 years? Because 10 years ago traditional knives over shadowed the tatical knives. It was just a shame that it used to take hours of deciding on which knife to buy; it took bout twenty minutes. I just hope the traditional companies that's left don't throw in the towel and start making one hand wonders like everyone else.
 
I think there will be a hard core of traditionalists for the forseeable future, but we're definitely a dwindling number.
 
I thought it was on the upswing. I too noticed the little ol store in Sevierville was a little light on good traditionals and heavy on cheap junk.
 
FarmKid said:
10 years ago traditional knives over shadowed the tatical knives.
Click to expand...

In 2003? I find this pretty hard to believe. Modern one-hand knives (and various multis) ruled the market then and they rule the market now.

I do think that, thanks to exciting companies like GEC and Canal Street, traditionals are on the rise. But they're a niche product at this point and I don't see that ever changing.

-- Mark
 
I hope that the future of traditional knives will overshadow the tacti-cool knives in popularity with the youth of tomorrow. Doubtful, but there is always hope.
 
I'm definitely a member of the mall ninja generation, but I refuse to buy into the tactical hype. I think the old ways are the best ways, and there's something to be said for carrying the same kind of tool that grandpa or great grandpa woulda carried. As long as somebody somewhere is making traditional knives, I'll be there to buy them.
 
I try not to be too pessimistic, but I see the traditionals being a shrinking market. Everyone wants the newest and greatest whiz bag in anything, and having to pull open an old fashioned blade is just too much trouble for them. With the death of Camillus and Schrade, and all the other great Marques of the cutlery world, I don't see us surviving except for one or two boutique shops feeding the collectors. I hope and pray I'm wrong, lord knows I've been wrong lots of times before. But this instant gratification and throw away world we live in makes me wonder.

Carl.
 
I visit the south a lot. Its refreshing to see a lot more pocketknives and a lot less pocket clip one-hand-opener-sharepened-pry-bar type knives. I have a pretty good collection of one hand folders. Some really nice steel and very well made pieces. I got tired of not having one that cut like I wanted it to. Ive always had a soft spot for pocket knives though.
 
I think there has always been a "mall ninja" generation though. I'm sure when metal blades started coming into vogue, folks still using flint knives thought they were ridiculous too.

I would think that the popularity of the Rough Rider and Steel Warrior lines would reassure some that traditional knives aren't going anywhere for quite a while.
 
I think that there will always be a place for traditional knives. I have a varied collection, but just recently got into traditionals. I love the simplicity and the way they cut, I carry a locking folder and a slipjoint now.
 
You know what this means, right?
We have to buy a lot more traditionals to keep the fire going ;)
Anyway, I used to have a bunch of one hand wonders when I started collecting.
Fast forward a year, and its down to about one or two one hand wonders and a lot more traditionals.
Its a dying market.
But not dead yet.
 
I feel traditional knives are a real niche market that will ebb and flow but will stay around for the foreseeable future. They have a lot of history and have quite a few collectors. I also think that people may start to trend back to more classic designs in terms of knives but also other things like clothing etc. I feel a lot of people are starting to get tired of how things are going these days and maybe we will have a return to many of the more vintage tools :) one can hope anyways
 
I'm not sure! I don't think it's all gloom, brick&mortar shops may have to cut back (and let's also face it, their prices are not always the keenest...) on Traditionals and offer trendier knives. But...think of the internet, that's where I get all my knives and I think I could be e pluribus unum here. Just about all of my knives, French,German,English, Italian, Swiss,Japanese, Chinese and above all, American come from on-line vendors. The range and choice is very good, there are very few knife shops left in Europe. So, brick&mortar shops must concentrate on what sells fast or they are fast out of business.

Think also the increasing number of patterns that GEC and the re-vamped Queen Cutlery & Canal St. have been offering over the past decade, CASE too despite its need to rely on collector specials. All this indicates lively interest, moreover, a lot of younger people are interested in Traditionals once they KNOW about them, I believe this forum promotes that knowledge.

I could of course be totally wrong......Not.

Regards, Will
 
I think you have it right, Will.

The future of traditionals is through Internet sales, not brick and mortar.

Brick and mortar sales of all kinds of goods are being driven by just in time inventory management which favors scale a d thus produces "big box" retailers and less product diversity on the shelves. This is across the board and definitely affects knives.

You want selection of traditionals? Just point your browser at the retail sponsors of this sight. And that just scratches the surface. I would go so far as to say the rise of GEC and the hope for companies like Canal Street, Case and Queen rest almost entirely on their ability to compete on the Internet.
 
Carl,

I believe you are correct. With my new job I run into people in the trades of home building etc and I see nothing but box cutters. Everyone does seem to have a pocket knife, a few tradtionals, but not many. The pocket knives are so dull they can't cut a piece of rope. I don't know what they are carried for.

I'm starting to think most people can't make a knife as sharp or sharper than a razor blade. For these people the box cutter is needed. At lunch the other day I passed around my pocket stone to a group I was working with. Everyone sharpened and got better edges. Even the guys that could get a decent edge still did not understand about a strop. So that razor burr they thought was a durable edge folds over immediatly in use and they have a less than razor sharp knife.

I think its become a niche just to have a sharp knife much less a traditional.

Kevin

jackknife said:
I try not to be too pessimistic, but I see the traditionals being a shrinking market. Everyone wants the newest and greatest whiz bag in anything, and having to pull open an old fashioned blade is just too much trouble for them. With the death of Camillus and Schrade, and all the other great Marques of the cutlery world, I don't see us surviving except for one or two boutique shops feeding the collectors. I hope and pray I'm wrong, lord knows I've been wrong lots of times before. But this instant gratification and throw away world we live in makes me wonder.

Carl.
Click to expand...
 
willgoy said:
I'm not sure! I don't think it's all gloom, brick&mortar shops may have to cut back (and let's also face it, their prices are not always the keenest...) on Traditionals and offer trendier knives. But...think of the internet, that's where I get all my knives and I think I could be e pluribus unum here. Just about all of my knives, French,German,English, Italian, Swiss,Japanese, Chinese and above all, American come from on-line vendors. The range and choice is very good, there are very few knife shops left in Europe. So, brick&mortar shops must concentrate on what sells fast or they are fast out of business.

Think also the increasing number of patterns that GEC and the re-vamped Queen Cutlery & Canal St. have been offering over the past decade, CASE too despite its need to rely on collector specials. All this indicates lively interest, moreover, a lot of younger people are interested in Traditionals once they KNOW about them, I believe this forum promotes that knowledge.

I could of course be totally wrong......Not.

Regards, Will
Click to expand...

Very good points. I also think that people on the whole are carrying knives less than in years past. Also, many carry one for "defense" over it being a tool. Lots of places of work don't allow pocket knives or their use where in the past it was different.



It's hard to say really. I do think the apparent growth of a company like GEC and Rough Rider is a positive though.
 
I would have thought in places where the knife laws are getting stricter (I.e. Here in Aus) that there would be a researgance in the interest in traditional knives. I know that this was applicable for myself. I could be wrong though but would be interesting to see if this is the case, if so the future may be brighter than first thought.
 
I sure hope you guys are right, but as a whole, our society that is, I see very few people even carrying a knife anymore. Our society has changed so much, that this doesn't even seem like the same country I grew up in. I can remember a time that when I was a kid, every store you went into had a knife display somewhere. Maybe a case, maybe only a cardboard stand of the little all metal Trim keychain knives. Something. A knife was considered mandatory for a man to have in a pocket if he had pants on. Now, I see people opening boxes with a key sawing back and forth, or punching with a pen point.

And the tradesmen who do need a knife, all seem to carry the folding utility knives from the Lowes or Home Depot. We had out kitchen redone a few years back, and the guys all had a Husky replaceable blade utility knife clipped on a pocket. The guys who delivered the new refrigerator all had a folding utility knife to unbox the thing. Aside from members of my family, and just a couple friends who like knives, I never see pocket knives in the general public anymore.

Being a knife nut on a knife based forum, for the adulation of knives, I think we may get a slanted opinion of the issue. As far as the general public goes, we are the 1% of the weird ones. The other 99% of the society we live in views the issue as a non issue. How much do they actually need a knife in the great sprawling American suburbia? Just once in a rare while doesn't count. The fact is, most people won't leave the house without their electric technological pacifiers like smart phones, iPods, or whatever. But a knife? Only recently, I had a nephew ask me what did he need a knife for? I wanted to give him one of mine, and he looked at me and said, "Uncle Carl, what do I need a knife for?" and he was serious, as he was texting a friend on his magic box with all the latest aps.

The problem with internet sales is, they cater to a very small part of the public. It's no longer worth the time and money for a retail public outlet like a store, stock items that don't sell quick, if at all. So knife displays have gone south, and the general public just does not perceive a need for a cutting tool in the pocket. The members of the esteemed liars circle of my youth have all gone to the front porch in the sky, and the new centurions don't have the same needs or wants.

To paraphrase the Marines, we're the few, the obsessed, the knife nuts.

Carl.
 
Carl, you are right of course particularly the bit about people opening boxes with keys and what not...this is due to the connexion with knife as 'defence' or 'weapon' that has appropriated public discourse. Knife enthusiasts are the very few, but so long as we exist so will beautiful knives:D:D:thumbup:

Thanks, Will
 
If traditional slip joints do become more popular in the future than they are now, I would have to say that GEC is the future. GEC have mastered the collector's market while providing a functional yet beautiful working tool in all of their many patterns.

The only kind of pocket knife that makes since in today's world are traditionals, everything else is a gimmick or being sold as a survival/self defense weapon. Sure, you can get by with a folding utility blade, but then you loose the beauty and aesthetics that so many of us obviously appreciate when it comes to traditional pocket knives.

If kids realized that everything they would regularly use a tacti-cool knife for can be accomplished with a slip joint, maybe they would start to appreciate the form. I think it is up to people in the 'know' to promote traditional pockets knives for the youth of today and tomorrow.

One benefit that I really appreciate about a small traditional knife is that I do not have to worry about it being illegal wherever I go in the U.S.A..
 
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