How successful are production knife companies? Profit margins, company size and so on

Quiet Storm

Quiet Storm

Joined
May 17, 2002
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I guess the largest knife companies out there are Chinese knock-off manufacturers...but I'm talking about firms producing quality cutlery.

How many employees work for Spyderco, BM, CRKT, Kershaw, Microtech etc?
Which one of the well-known manufacturers makes the highest profits?
Who sells more knives, Les or Sal?

That's the stuff I would like to know more about. If you have anything to contribute that might shed some light on these or related questions, please do so.

Thanks in advance.
 
I'm interested to know this too - both from a financial perspective and a social one. For eg, if profits are not astronomical, why do some companies continue to produce knives - is it a family tradition etc etc
 
Unfortunately, most of them are private and so don't disclose those numbers.

You can make some guesses, though, especially if you live in the Portland, Oregon area.

Benchmade has a very nice building. Through these times of "economic downturn", Benchmade hasn't done any "right-sizing." They continue to invest in new equipment and new designs. I'd say they appear to be doing well.

Leatherman has nice building too up by the airport. I haven't hear of any layoffs there either. And they also seem to have a continuous stream of new products.

Gerber? Well, they put up fancy new signs a few months ago. But I have heard tell of cutbacks and staff reductions.

Lansky? They seem just the same as always externally. I suspect that they're holding their own.

Al Mar? Honestly, I've never been by their facility.

Kershaw? They've downsized.... smaller digs, less people.... and not so much good stuff at their annual inventory clearance sale this year.

CRKT? They seem much the same. Same offices. I haven't heard of much in terms of staff changes. I suspect that, financially, they're still recovering from the blow that US Customs dealt them last year. (They were almost ruined, you know?)

So, there's the rundown from Portland.
 
why do some companies continue to produce knives
Click to expand...

Because you can sell them for more than it costs to make them, that's why! It's called profit.

But, notice the list above. Knives create a lot of good jobs in the greater Portland, Oregon area. Good jobs with benefits. Good for families. There are a lot of families in the Portland area that depend on knives for their living.
 
Don't know how other companies are doing, but Leatherman just laid off 60 out of 400 last year, according to a recent AP article. Their sales are also trending down since 1999. Still, $90million in sales is nothing to sneeze at.
 
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