If you owned a knife shop and could only sell...

[Kaizen1]

I feel sorry for you ignoramus beacuse nobody is posting on your thread.
If you mean what are my five favorite folders, I will give you 2.
Endura and Delica because they were the first folders that got me into collecting and I view them as nearly perfect folders.

Good luck with your thread.
DH

A question not properly asked doesn't hold much emotion for me. No need to feel sorry, but I do appreciate the empathy.

 

[Kaizen1]

This is a real bummer of a question. The fact of the matter here in my town is that the local gunshop couldn't sell good knives, and has resorted to only ordering and selling crap knives. It seems they were selling 20-30 junk knives for every benchmade or cold steel they sold. And even those aren't the greatest knives.
So to stay in business, you'd have to sell junk.

I'm not so sure that in order for a knive store to stay in business, they'd have to sell junk. Look at New Graham-Yes they do have a lot more than 5 knives, but that wasn't my point anyway. I was trying to find out the best selling knives and asked a bad question instead. The local gun store is just relying on people who are in the area to purchase their knives, so there's no surprise that they'd have these types of results. What if they targeted the Bladeforums community? They would go out of business trying to sell the crap knives.

 

[Joe Dirt]

1. Benchmade Mini-Griptilian 556
2. Spyderco Delica PE FRN
3. Buck 110
4. Benchmade Pika
5. Victorinox Climber

I think I would do pretty well with just these 5 models

I think half of the people didn't get the question.

YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SPECIFY ONLY THE BRAND.

 

[Boozoo Chavis]

I wonder how many guys who frequent gun shops wouldn't be caught dead with a Hi Point, but have a Chinese junk folder clipped to their pockets.

From my experience there are quite a few of them. My brother runs a hunting guide service in South Texas and I've seen a lot of guys drive up in a $45,000 dollar four wheel drive pickup, pull out a pristine $2500 dollar Browning Citori, and then clip a $15 dollar junk-steel folder to their $150 dollar gore-tex pants... Every time it happens my brother shoots me one those looks that say, "OK dammit, I know what you're thinking but don't say anything".

 

[orthogonal1]

1. Benchmade 710
2. Spyderco Military

Good, EDC knives that most will find meets their needs.

3. Spyderco Endura
4. Spyderco Delica
5. Benchmade Griptillian

Inexpensive knives that also are capable of meeting most peoples needs.

Plain edge only for all. If they want serrations, I'll sell them some stones to make their own (and zerox off directions to do it) or explain the advantages of using different grits when sharpening different blade areas.

 

[digdeep]

Thank you, I am quite fond of it myself

Gee Rat, don't keep us hanging - who made the knife and what is the steel? Are they still available to be made?

 

[digdeep]

If I was able to get a franchise from Busse Combat and Swamp Rat Knives I would sell them exclusively in as many different models as I could get.

Chances are though, that hell would freeze over first before that could happen.

 

[Trout Tamer]

C'mon guys, he asked a fun question, let's hear some thoughts! Would you sell proven quality knives, time-honored designs, the fast 'n furious, "tacticallish" knives, or what?

Here's my list:
Spyderco Delica 4 (the new model with liners)
Benchmade Griptilian
Swiss Army umm... I don't know their models well. The Farmer, maybe
Cold Steel SRK good, stout fixed blade at a decent price
Leatherman Supertool 200, or whatever it is they replaced it with

Now, are the multitools counted as a knife, or can they be added on, with 5 actual knives? (I'm just trying to up the numbers and, therefore, options a bit )

 

[RedEdge77]

Becker BK9
Buck 119
Buck 110
Cold Steel Voyagers
Spyderco Endura

I think those would sell like hot cakes:thumbup:

 

[Lone Hunter]

I would sell knives from 5 pos knock off companies. That is where the money is it seems.

My neighbor makes a killing selling junk at gun shows etc. I mean second home in South Carolina, Harley, 3 new trucks/cars. gaint rv that you drive etc. This is his only job. Now he sells more then junk knives, but he sells a ton of them.

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

Gee Rat, don't keep us hanging - who made the knife and what is the steel? Are they still available to be made?

It is a Vintage Busse 3 Finger, D2 and canvas Micarta. I don't know when it was made, but they are not made now.

 

[JWBirch]

I'm not so sure that in order for a knive store to stay in business, they'd have to sell junk. Look at New Graham-Yes they do have a lot more than 5 knives, but that wasn't my point anyway. I was trying to find out the best selling knives and asked a bad question instead. The local gun store is just relying on people who are in the area to purchase their knives, so there's no surprise that they'd have these types of results. What if they targeted the Bladeforums community? They would go out of business trying to sell the crap knives.

Of the two dedicated knife stores in Denver malls, last I knew one was going out of business, and the other sold more nunchucks and .45 looking airsoft pistols than knives over $50. There isn't any "I'm not so sure" or "I think..." or other form of subjectivity about this. It happened, and is happening. No theory involved. If you want to sell good knives, you can do it on the internet, or you can do it in a brick and morter by subsidizing the sales of good knives with the numerous sales of crap knives. Don't feel bad about the question, it's a damn good one. But don't feel bad about the answer either. The good knife purveyers in my area (Bass Pro and Sprotsman's) have an extremely broad selection, and most bubbas buy the $7 spyderco knockoff, because they have no idea, or no capacity for the idea, that the spyderco is made of better materials. Why are SKS rifles the #1 sellers at gun shows? Sheeople don't want what they need, they want what they want and usually don't have a clue what they need. And there you have the reason for why I initially said this is a bummer of a question.

 

[JWBirch]

And one more thing: Businesses fail not for a lack of business, but for of a lack of businessmen. When klingon knives outsell Benchmades 8:1, you sell them to stay in business. You can't force your passion on idiots. Smile knowingly, and suggest to them that you doubt 15 year old plastic samuri sword kid will win in his battle with 16 year old plastic HK sirsoft USP .45 kid, and then smile again when you realize they are paying for your south seas vacation!

 

[Kaizen1]

Of the two dedicated knife stores in Denver malls, last I knew one was going out of business, and the other sold more nunchucks and .45 looking airsoft pistols than knives over $50. There isn't any "I'm not so sure" or "I think..." or other form of subjectivity about this. It happened, and is happening. No theory involved. If you want to sell good knives, you can do it on the internet, or you can do it in a brick and morter by subsidizing the sales of good knives with the numerous sales of crap knives. Don't feel bad about the question, it's a damn good one. But don't feel bad about the answer either. The good knife purveyers in my area (Bass Pro and Sprotsman's) have an extremely broad selection, and most bubbas buy the $7 spyderco knockoff, because they have no idea, or no capacity for the idea, that the spyderco is made of better materials. Why are SKS rifles the #1 sellers at gun shows? Sheeople don't want what they need, they want what they want and usually don't have a clue what they need. And there you have the reason for why I initially said this is a bummer of a question.

Actually, I never specified that this was for an actual, physical, brick and mortar shop. I was actually referring to internet where I'd have minimal overhead. This would also be something that would be part time and my actual livelyhood would depend on it, it would just be for fun. So people can have a "shop" and would not need to buy and sell crap knives.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Why do people insist on ruining this thread with logic and reason?

Just specify the 5 knives (brand and model) that you think you could sell a lot of if you could only sell 5 models.

Good grief.

 

[JWBirch]

Why do people insist on ruining this thread with logic and reason?

Just specify the 5 knives (brand and model) that you think you could sell a lot of if you could only sell 5 models.

Good grief.

Because it's a forum community, and we're not robots. If it's that easy Wikipedia would own the world. We're having a conversation here, and it's been fun and productive. Many people appreciate perspectives they hadn't thought of when typing the initial thread, and the logic and reason here has contributed as much or more than the 5 bland knife answers.

A thoughtful reader will realize that ignoramus is asking for a lot more information than is contained in the thread title. By contributing to the conversation, we're getting closer to providing him with a valuable answer he can work with. Most people here didn't even bother to mention why their recommendations carry any weight in a market. For that he could have just posted a 5 favorite knives thread. But the likelyhood of him getting 3000 posts to filter the 5 most mentioned knives out of are pretty unlikely. This thread may not even make page 4. So it's the conversation that is going to contribute the most value.

Ignoramous, if this is going to be a hobby, is there anything else you're selling, or just the 5 knives?

 

[Temper]

1: Sebenza
2: Green Beret
3: BM Nimravus
4: Cold Steel Recon Tanto
5: Benchmade 707

These are IME the best sellers.

 

[oregon]

In that one small, well-lit, display case in the small, but sweet smelling, cutlery shop you would find, made in quantity just for this one shop (with "5X5" on the sign outside):

1. Kershaw ZDP-189 bladed titanium frame lock scaled Leek with an onion icon set with gold into one side of the scale
2. SAK Vic gold alox soldier with S30V blade
3. Mayo TNT tip-up Wharnclif (just a little bit bigger OA than Buck's)
4. Buck OTF #110 cocobolo dagger with vicious saw-back retraction feature
5. F1 designed by and for big slick himself (C. Stamp), with Lapis Lazuli, with lots of iron pyrite in it, skull bead hanging from the glow-in-the-dark lanyard

Best,

oregon

 

[Kaizen1]

Because it's a forum community, and we're not robots. If it's that easy Wikipedia would own the world. We're having a conversation here, and it's been fun and productive. Many people appreciate perspectives they hadn't thought of when typing the initial thread, and the logic and reason here has contributed as much or more than the 5 bland knife answers.

A thoughtful reader will realize that ignoramus is asking for a lot more information than is contained in the thread title. By contributing to the conversation, we're getting closer to providing him with a valuable answer he can work with. Most people here didn't even bother to mention why their recommendations carry any weight in a market. For that he could have just posted a 5 favorite knives thread. But the likelyhood of him getting 3000 posts to filter the 5 most mentioned knives out of are pretty unlikely. This thread may not even make page 4. So it's the conversation that is going to contribute the most value.

Ignoramous, if this is going to be a hobby, is there anything else you're selling, or just the 5 knives?

There'll be more than 5 knives more than likely. There will also be other items as well. Mostly things I enjoy buying. I'm not going to be very picky about what I'll be selling, I'll let the repeat customers decide what's best.