Help me to understand this...

G

Gideon46

Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
7
Okay, I don't get it, what is the benefit of a business that doesn't sell many knives? What am I missing? I liked the looks of the howling rat and would consider it but if they only make certain knives here and there and they're immediately sold out, then they must be hundreds of dollars and beyond what the average guy would want, much less want it for daily use.

Am I really missing something or is this just the way it is with valued custom knives? I'm thinking of an Ontario Rat 3 so I can acually order, get and use a knife?

I guess I don't understand a company that could obviously increase production, grow their business and allow us to have a great knife at a reasonable price?

Educate me please!
God Bless
Gideon
 
I'm no production operations guru, but I think there is something called the "Law of Diminishing Returns" in play here. Over time, and item produced and sold will peak in demand, and then demand trails off while profitablity sinks and costs remain steady or even rise. Then layoffs and other cost cutting measures ensue to keep the doors open, until a new product or organization emerges. If you find a market segment that allows profitability in short production runs and also allows you to operate at reduced costs all the while providing a quality product, why then grow the business into some huge wasteful, beast where craftsmanship and quality are reduced considerably in favor of mass production of an item that loses it's appeal with said market segment over time? Or it could just be that it's their business and they'll run it as they see fit.
 
No inside information, but my observation is the Busse Combat Knife family of knives primarily sell MANY knives to the military. The public market selling thru the internet is probably a small secondary market for them. I would not be supprised if the public market is almost a hobby for them. If you watch closely you will notice they often have "military overruns" on knife styles not normally available to the public. Refer to the knife now on the Busse Combat Store, it was a helicopter pilot knife for four years and is only now being made available. Clearly the Busse Combat family of knives does not live (financially) on limited runs, ganzaas, two hour sell outs.
They sell every knife they can make. Sounds like good business to me. They certainly have created a rabid market for their knives. I know I keep buying knives I do not need. Buy the way. Buy the RAT3. It is a great knife for the price.
Ron Athay
 
The Ontario Rat 3 is a decent reliable knife. I bought one because even when I was in the military, I could not get my hands on a Busse Combat or Swamp Rat knife (sold out). To me, the Ontario Rat 3 is a useful tool for most small tasks, is readily available to purchase and is small enough to carry around. The handle is a little small for my hand, but it’s nothing that a little string couldn’t fix. Recently, I got lucky and was able to purchase a Ratmandu from the Swamp Rat Store. Eric “The Bully” was extremely helpful in my first purchase. Since then, I have joined this forum, and I found that these knifes are not only some of the toughest knifes in the business, but have a huge “cult like” following. The pictures from the last Blade show highlight this incredible affliction to this product, for you can’t buy just one. They don’t call it the “pigs at the trough” for nothing. But personally, I could care less if my Ontario Rat 3 was stolen, lost, or broken because I know, I could get another within a week. On the other hand, I would feel pretty distraught if this were the same case for the Ratmandu. Further, although it took me awhile to procure my first knife, the immersion into the Busse family knife culture has being very interesting, learning experience. Soon, I will attend my first Blade show and maybe, just maybe, buy my first Busse combat knife. Good luck in your endeavors, for I think you will find it more rewarding than what post suggests, I did.
 
Gideon and HRM,
Welcome to the Rat's Nest, I'm glad that you both stopped by and I hope you stick around and join in our discussions.

:D:D
 
Gideon46 said:
Okay, I don't get it, what is the benefit of a business that doesn't sell many knives? They do sell MANY MANY knives, there are contracts with Military groups and the normal production models sell quickly because of the number of folks here who know these are some of the best overall knives available and it is not hype but actual fact and many folks buy 10 or more at any given time, also the online community and friendships is a byproduct of interaction here.What am I missing? Everything! First thing, don't be impatient. Take your time, read the threads, visit Rat Chat, read and learn. Many folks here are more than willing to help folks looking for knives, hell, send me an email!I liked the looks of the howling rat and would consider it but if they only make certain knives here and there and they're immediately sold out, then they must be hundreds of dollars and beyond what the average guy would want, much less want it for daily use.Some are hundreds of dollars and some folks don't use them...I feel bad for them because they have the best knives available and never put them to use. When you hold one, you are immediately impressed, but when you use one...you are amazed at what a perfect package it is! And like I said before.....be PATIENT!!!!! Don't "impulse buy" that is when you will over spend. Ebay sometimes has great values on out of production (OOP) Blades and here on Blade Forums in the exchange you can find great prices sometimes. The howling rat was one of my first and still is one of my favorite blades. (If you like the Res-C handles, check out Scrap Yard Knives...a member of the Busse Combat Group. They just released a Howling Rat sized knife and it can still be found....just not on the website. I say go ahead and get the Ontario.....then when you find your Howling Rat....get it! You will instantly know what a better knife you have and we will be seeing more of you here.

Am I really missing something or is this just the way it is with valued custom knives? I'm thinking of an Ontario Rat 3 so I can acually order, get and use a knife?

I guess I don't understand a company that could obviously increase production, grow their business and allow us to have a great knife at a reasonable price? With growth comes a loss of the personal touch....at any given time you can call or email Busse and get in touch with someone that will bend over backwards to help you!

Educate me please!
God Bless
Gideon
Click to expand...


Glad to see you are interested, stick around, learn a few things, ask plenty of questions and get knives from other companies.....only then you will see just how good Busse, Swamp Rat, and Scrap Yard really are!

www.combatknives.com
www.swamprat.com
www.scrapyardknives.com
www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=10
http://homepage.mac.com/zombiekiller/badmojo/index.html
www.armoralleather.com/
www.bussecollector.com/
www.swampshack.com/
www.bussecompanystore.com/
 
Okay some good points and thanks for the info on the RAT 3. I have small hands and a limited budget so this sounds like a decent first fixed blade. It'll be a field carry and even an SD option; at least I want to try. I do like the swamprat offering, will have to keep looking!

Thanks guys!
God Bless
Gideon
 
SwampRat knives and Eric are first class in my opinion. Their knives are well worth the money and they're tough as hell, not to mention they're built in the USA which, in itself, means a lot. With all these American made companies going overseas with a lot of their production, I'm in the mode of supporting anyone who keeps their manufacturing here at home, especially those that make a great product like SwampRat and Busse. Now, I'm not dissing our own knives, the Ontario RAT-3 is made in the USA also but it's more of a high production knife and I look at SwampRat being more "hands-on" with more attention paid to detail. In the end, it's whatever the consumer wants and what fits them the best, but I know from the SwampRats I've carried I could (and would) stake my life on anything they make.

Jeff Randall
 
Anytime amigo. We just appreciate high quality, great designs, good customer service, and made in the USA products. It seems like SwampRat has all of that. Nowadays there are not a lot of US companies built around those premises. So, more power to you guys and I wish you plenty of continued success. Onward!

Jeff
 
I started "High End" blades with an Ontario RAT 7 in D2......after my Cold Steel SRK....since that was only 50 I don't consider it high end, but when I dropped 89 buck on the Ontario....I knew I was entering a world of badazz blades. It was a hell of a blade......then came the Battle Rat....the rest has been a love affair. with 95% of all my knives now being Busse Combat Group Blades. I still want a RTAK and RTAKII....as soon as I find some good deals, those will be added to my collection. Price point wise I think those appeal to my Military friends a bit more.
 
It CAN be a pain in the butt, I don't care what any one of these die hard fans say.

But, I have to admit I am one of them.:D When I got my first Swampy I swear to God it took 6 months(if not more) but it was the coolest piece of gear I bought, to include several high end pistols. Then I was able to get my hands on the Howler. Yeah it's my favorite(for now, Ratmandu on the way;) .)
Anyway, all I can say is that you DO have to be patient, to include waiting(several:o ) months. If you can't be patient, and it's hard, the Rat line has a good rep from a lot of people on this forum. To be honest I've seriously considered the Rat-3. Or maybe even a Bark River. There are a lot of great makers out there but from only one company do I own more than one fixed blade knife.
 
Usually those calls have been to either come down/over and smoke cigars / drink scotch **or** look at INFI! :thumbup:

Good times, brother!
 
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