How much do "non-knife" people expect to pay for a knife.

cramsey3006 said:
As sorry as it is, what Wal-Mart sells is THE indicator of what the average consumer is looking for, regardless of what it may be.
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Yeah, and the average consumer is actually not doing too bad. Walmart is all about value, which means they give you pretty much the best quality for the price. The current line up consists of Buck, Gerber, Kershaw, Victorinox, Leatherman, and Winchester.

Winchester is the bottom of the barrel, it's little more than the cheapest thing out of China with licensed Winchester brand slapped on. Gerber is hit or miss, but it fills the price gap between Winchester and Kershaw. As for the rest, well, you really can't go wrong with picking anything from Buck, Kershaw, Victorinox, and Leatherman.

This is actually a testament to Gerber quality. If they are nothing but pure junk, people would have returned their products to Walmart in droves, which would prompt Walmart to eventually pull them out completely.
 
I have a friend who's generally a non-knife person (ie: can occasionally identify the pointy end of his pocket knife if given three guesses) who very happily traded his cheap gerber pocket knife plus 40$ cash and a beer for this used POS "SWAT" knife (featuring a 'Surgical Steel' blade!) because he thought it looked cool. He spent the day bragging about what a great deal it was, only 40$ plus his 40$ knife for this awesome contraption. :rolleyes: He was happy with it, so power to him, but I was a little surprised he was so willing to shell out that much for a knife.
 
I have noticed an increasing number of posts recently looking for recommendations in the sub-$75, sub-$50, and sub-$35 range.
Maybe it's the economy driving new folks to BF who might normally have been looking for firearms or cars. Or those who are already knife lovers looking for a less expensive additions.
 
I just finished my 3rd day of work at the Sporting Goods store. I've found at least here, people are willing to pay around $80 for a fixed blade that are around the 5-8 inch variety. Sold a Buck Nighthawk and a Kalinga Pro, for around those prices.
 
The Wal-Mart closest to my house has always carried Buck and Gerber ever since it opened in 1990 (I think). They also had Schrade and Case. That was back when the knives were displayed in a wooden case with box stock underneath. You asked to see a knife and they opened the case and handed you the box to check it out.

Way before the days of the blister pack wonders. They also carried many models not part of the case display. Department managers had much more control over what they could order and sell than they do now. I bought a Gerber Bowie (coffin handle) right after I started working there. That was a $100+ they carried in stock.

The only Gerber's that I've had fail me were multi-tools. I've not had any issues with conventional folders or fixed blades, other than the usual mystery steel.
 
My brother is pretty well off and always has the best in cars, homes, shotguns and fishing tackle. That's because he researches the stuff.

He just looks at the label, Beretta, Smith & Wesson, Browning and comes up with a crappy folder every time out.

Something as straightforward as a knife is below his crosshairs I guess. He has a box full of sh*t folders from eBay and local stores, none costing more than say $25.

They sit in a box because there's always something wrong with them. Too big, too heavy, don't like the way it feels, hard to use (ergos) etc. etc.. If he had that money back he could have bought one nice knife like a BM 940 or a Spyderco Endura 4 G-10, or similar medium size high quality folder (anything longer would be out the question - so I'm making a short list).

I was going to give him a BM 940 but he got too busy drinking with his old pals and forgot to stop by (it was a surprise), well he didn't show and now a forum member owns it and I've got $100 extra for my next purchase.

He really aggravates me about his knife buying fiascos, but you're either a knife guy or not I suppose. :(
 
I just got into knives, it started when my dad brought me a MC Rambo III knife from the Smoky Mountain Knife co, since then Ive picked up a united recon night stalker knife and a large schrade sub hilt bowie. I paid about 50 bucks for the schrade, which when i ordered it thought was a bit much even though it is nearly 18 inches long.. Now weeks later after researching and joining this forum, I'll be saving up for something like a Rat or Scrapyard knife. I completely agree that 30 bucks to the average consumer would seem alot for a knife.
 
When I was starting to look for a decent and not half assed knife, I didn't know where to look. All the options from the stores were $10-$20 and I thought that was a little much for just a piece of steel.

Did some more looking and looked harder, found this forum and really learned a good ton. now I'm wiling to pay $300+ for something fancy
 
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