have knives hit a lull in the last few years ??

I don't think there has been a lull. Then again, I mostly carry budget gear. Under a hundred bucks, it's been the opposite of a lull! We've seen a real Renaissance in Chinese manufacturing. Brands like Civivi, Ruike, and Tangram are producing amazing knives for the money. What you can get for $50 or less today is incredible.
 
I don't think there has been much of a lull either. I just haven't been too excited by much lately due to ...

1. I'm a budget shopper. My toy budget has been going to firearms the last few years.
2. Maybe a little too much fancy CNC machining on some products.
3. Everything doesn't need to be made out of Ti.
4. I don't want 4 different blade bevels on my knife.

I'd be happy with Spyderco doing some Delica 4 FFG/Enduras in micarta handles and Ontario Rat 1s with D2 steel with G10 or micarta handles. (Yes, i know aftermarket stuff exists)
 
What is available in today's market versus when I was a kid is staggering! everywhere I look and every time I check my email there's another one about a new exclusive or sprint run. There are so many fantastic options today that it can be overwhelming making a decision sometimes. even the same model with several different blade shapes, steels, coatings and colors, handle and scale materials, but this is a good thing! Also the budget offerings, what you can get nowadays for 40 to 50 bucks is just incredible!
 
Industry wide there has been a shift to fulfillment operations over traditional brick & mortar stores. That is true of many retail industries. The speciality retailers seem to do okay if their speciality is in demand. I think that's why you see so many sprint runs these days. They sell and they sell for higher prices. It is all about the money as it always has been.

As Edgeoflife Edgeoflife said the choices are staggering these days.

The large knife store in East Tennessee is an exception, but they are located in a high tourist area, along the dominant highway to the most visited national park in the US. If your operation is located in podunk AL, I doubt you would see much traffic daily in a brick & mortar store. You have to be located where people have disposable cash and willing to spend it to be successful with a brick & mortar store and still maintain a mail order business. Tourists meet that classification.
 
Last edited:
I don’t feel there is a lull at all. There are more high-quality knives available now than at any other time. When I was a kid in the ‘70s, there wasn’t even a 1/100th of the variety available today. Maybe to someone who grew up recently and has only known a world with a dazzling variety of knives it could seem stale.

We’re talking about knives, not rocket ships. There’s only so many ways to make a knife ‘different’ before they cross the line and start becoming gaudy. IMO, when things reach a certain level, improvements come in increments, as opposed to gigantic leaps.

Jim
 
James Y said:
I don’t feel there is a lull at all. There are more high-quality knives available now than at any other time. When I was a kid in the ‘70s, there wasn’t even a 1/100th of the variety available today. Maybe to someone who grew up recently and has only known a world with a dazzling variety of knives it could seem stale.

We’re talking about knives, not rocket ships. There’s only so many ways to make a knife ‘different’ before they cross the line and start becoming gaudy. IMO, when things reach a certain level, improvements come in increments, as opposed to gigantic leaps.

Jim
Click to expand...

Agreed. There are only so many ways to design a practical knife.

That’s what I look for, a practical knife. I am not a big fan of bling or fancy designs if they are not needed to make the knife work.
Sometimes, not even then.

So many of the new, innovative knife designs are just over the top and they do nothing for me.

Clean lines and proven materials will hold me attention longer than the latest and greatest.

I find it interesting that we still use a fixed blade that is basically the same design as the one found in King Tut’s tomb.
 
ScooterG said:
They all still seem to cut things fairly well.

Here’s a sort of custom.
9604.jpg
Click to expand...
REK?
 
I'd candidly love to see more knives being made here. I'm getting really, REALLY tired of seeing a new design I like, and it's just another We/Reate made ti/S35vn, M390 flipper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top