Had fun at a knife store

K

Kellster

Joined
Sep 29, 1999
Messages
129
I stopped into a knife shop on Asylum ave in downtown Hartford CT the other day. the person was fairly knowledgable and I enjoyed showing him my BM 750 and an old Buck stockman my Dad gave me that day. I handled several folders they had on display, and they kept them clean, and the actions were very smooth. I'll try to list the ones I handled, pardon me if details are shaky.

BM AFCK both sizes, I want one!
BM 730? the purple one.
BM 710, 720, like the axis lock.
Spyderco Military, I want one.
Native, SS (heavy) and G10 nice.
Bob Lum, large handle.
Kershaw, Ken Onion?
Custom, looked like a small Apogee, mustard colored handle, Aluminum?
A few others, can't remember all.
Prices were high of course, but Brick and Mortars are great for "research".
smile.gif

Anyone else think brick and mortars are great as well?
BTW, I hit escape by accident twice and had to retype this, especially when I hit the Windows hotkey and hit escape one too many. Anyone else think that's a hassle that ESC clears this form?



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A knife is by default a tool, it's only a weapon when a human chooses to make it so.

 
Glad you had fun. The only knife store near here is an army surplus with a few benchmades, a few spydercos, and a load of cheap worthless rambo-type survival knives. It's the same arguement with local bike shops and online retailers. Sure, you could browse the shop and save 20$ by ordering that SID fork online, but you would be just using the brick and mortar store. We've all done it, but eventually we all lose when the local shops go out of business and we can only see internet pictures of knives and handle them at shows. That said, it's your money and most people would agree that spending more of it than you have to is a bad thing. Just throw the locals a bone once in a while.
 
Kellster, brick and morter stores aren't there for your research, they are in business to sell knives. You said the salesman was helpful, looks like he showed you 8-10 knives, and took a look at yours, sounds like you just wasted his time. I would support a store like that in my area, and not make a habit of doing what you did. IMO, you owe it to him to go back and buy at least one of the knives you said you wanted, knowing full well you can get it for a few dollars less on the Net.

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"Will work 4 Knives!"
My PhotoPoint Site
 
Sticker shock at Stoddards??? What, you don't pay full MSRP for your knives? I have bought a few from them over the years (before the internet, and one or two after for reasons in post above) and their prices are high, but the owner (at least in the 80's) was a nice guy who could talk knives all day. Still go in to look around sometimes. Mostly while waiting for my girlfriend who goes to school around the corner.

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It is not the fall that kills you. It is the realization that "yes, you did something that stupid."

[This message has been edited by bfm (edited 08-16-2000).]
 
Kellster and all,

#1 is glad you had the opportunity to visit such a store that had some depth of quality mchdse. The time you spent was probably as important to the store as it was to you. If they don't show their wares they certainly won't sell them. Not everyone who buys a quality blade is 'knife smart', they need the opportunity you gave them to develop a customer. Yes as Chief already said you and I and probably all of us need to 'throw a bone' to the storefronts once in a while. I enjoy blades (duh).......but never have any desire to be in the biz. Tough business; tight margins, tons of sku's, too many price points, fickle and persnickety customers, heavy discounters and mfgs. sometimes playing games in a tight market,knowledgable personel needed to do the best 'at the counter'.......naw.. I want no part of that kind of headache BUT I will visit such an enterprise that takes on the risk and will enjoy looking or handling such wares that meet my fancy. If the experience was satisfying and they had something I liked that wasn't priced too far out I made it a point to buy a gift blade of some sort if nothing else. We had a more than decent knife/scissor store in our local mall...high rents and all. Though I'm not much of a mall shopper, when the wife would drag me there around the holidays it was one of my regular stops. Sure miss it..was a small oasis...don't think any of us could have bought enough blades to help them pay the mall freight though. This topic makes me think about gun shops I haunt. I try to make a habit of getting 'something' while I'm there...though perhaps seldom a major purchase. Gunshops are a vanishing breed...if not nurtured by those of us that can they will all die and we will all lose...yea I know I can buy it cheaper at Midway...but price isn't EVERYthing.
 
One of the few serious knife stores in the Bay Area, Edge Of The World, recently moved from Oakland’s Jack London Square to a town on the far side of the next County. I used to love to take a Sunday trip across the Bay, pick up some Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles before going down to see if they had the latest thing in stock. I’d usually make a few impulse buys a year, so I think that there time with me was well spent. I hope it is a good move for them, the pier they were on was rat infested and in need of a wrecking ball, but it might be a while before I see their new digs. My loss, definitely.

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
James,
Edge of the World is only 15 minutes down the road from me. I was there the other week -- didn't buy anything that day, but I will be back. The staff was very friendly; insisted on showing me all sorts of stuff, even after I tried to decline, explaining that I didn't have any money to spend that day.



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Dave

Let no one ever from henceforth say one word in any way countenancing war. It is dangerous even to speak of how here and there the individual may gain some hardship of soul by it. For war is hell, and those who institute it are criminals. Siegfried Loraine Sassoon
 
I guess the point of my post was that I had a quality experience at the store. I am not opposed to purchasing from stores, I have paid retail for other knives I have, a Marbles Woodcraft (from a store), and a Busse BM (not from a store), etc. I hope the brick and mortars stay viable, and don't condone 'using them'. Feel like I have to defend myself. Anyways, I was just offering the info for people in the Hartford area.

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A knife is by default a tool, it's only a weapon when a human chooses to make it so.

 
I support the local shop, Sharp Edge Sharp Shooter in Johannesburg. This is probably the biggest knife shop in S.A. and they have some impressive items I haven't seen elsewhere.

If I compare the prices on most items it works out to about the same as if I were to buy it over the net because of the high shipping costs (I'm overseas). In this case it makes sense to support them. On some items the price difference is a little more significant (compared with discount internet prices which is unfair), but these are the items I could only dream of anyway.
 
Geez, give the guy a break. So what if he "used" the store for research. Just because you walk into a store and handle their merchandise does not mean you are obligated to buy.
While living in San Antonio I used to haunt the halls of "Nagel's" at least 2-3 times a month, checking out the latest wares and "handling" all the newest knives. On occasion I even left with a new toy in my pocket, but usually I would get dealer info and order direct. Did it bother them to lose business, not at all. Technically they weren't losing any business at all as I would constantly brag about the excellent service they provided to all my friends and helped drum quite a bit of business up for them. Not to mention that I "acquired" some of my toys from them directly. I never felt obligated to buy anything and nor did I feel bad about "Using" them.

Just my opinion,

Roy
 
stjames and dsvirsky,

I just had the pleasure of visiting Edge of the World a few days ago, and I have to agree that the shop is awesome. The staff is very helpful, and they have a good selection of knives. I enjoyed the opportunity to handle many of their knives (even a few customs!)and ended up buying a Benchmade 940 BT from them. Although I paid full retail for the knife, I feel it was worth the price since they delivered such great service and even let me examine all of their 940's (they had 5) and pick the one I wanted. I will definetly be returning to their shop in the future!
 
To bfm and Strider,

Where is stoddards?

Thanks

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A knife is by default a tool, it's only a weapon when a human chooses to make it so.

 
There are three Stoddards stores. One in Copely Plaza, near the bridge to the Pru center, sort of across from Brookstone. One in Downtown crossing On the street that leads from Lafaette Place to the Commons. One in the ChestnutHill Mall

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It is not the fall that kills you. It is the realization that "yes, you did something that stupid."
 
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