Is it safe to say that kershaw is leading benchmade and spyderco now?

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ukknifer

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Hi guys.
When I first started into the knife world I used to view kershaw like I view Gerber and CRKT now. Judging by the way they appeared in blade the last few years, it seems to me that they are the leader of the pack now.
How do you rate these 3 in terms of innovation, quality and being fun.
 
I would say that ZT has become increasingly popular over the years. This year will probably be the year that they pass up the competition in the areas mentioned above. Spyderco however is an amazing company with a lot of good designs but ZT takes the lead slightly this year in my opinion with Benchmade coming in at a close third.
 
I'm still partial to Spyderco. They are so consistent year after year after year. That's just me though.

Jordan
 
I'd certainly say they are leading the pack in the value knives area along with the $200 to $500 price range with new in-house designs, new collaborations and newer blade steel offerings, combined. By far. It's easy to see why they are winning the awards they have at the big show . . .

There is a lot of good to be said about consistency but there is also a lot of good to be said about pushing the envelope in new, exciting directions that don't just involve changing the blade steel or the scale material of a well regarded, good selling design.

I like all the new going on with KAI from the in-house designs, collaborations, build methods, finishes, combined materials and innovations . . .
 
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It would be nice if they had more locks and steels. The stud lock and vault lock did not work out. If they had premium offerings with lockbacks or some other variations, it would take them farther, imo. As it is now, BM and Spyderco have multiple locks and multiple steels as standard offerings, so I don't think they've lost any ground. The amount of S30V, N680, H1, 154CM, D2, M390, M4, etc. right along with the lower alloyed steels, fitted with liner, frame, axis, back, nak, bali, bbl, and compression isn't lacking. Kershaw has some cool sprints, but they aren't regular production. They are the only ones to give us S110V in a production knife, but that was a while back, and the next one is also going to be limited supply. SG2, CPM-D2, ZDP-189, etc should just stay on shelves a little longer for Kershaw, imo.
 
I don't know that I'd rank one higher than the other. I currently own three Kershaws, and four Spydercos. Nothing high end from either, and they all have there pros and cons. Tremor/stainless Chive/Baby Boa, and Ambitious/Persistence/Tenacious/Manix 2.

I do wish Spyderco would start making AO knives. That's about my only complaint.
 
Unless someone gives some data like awards, new models, sales, market share, etc., it all just completely subjective. And thats fine, as long as we know what it is. I have a strong affinity to Spyderco for a number of reasons (design, utility, aesthetics, range of models, etc.), but own plenty of Kershaws and Benchmades and the rest.

Brother Reeek properly notes that Kershaw has a full lineup in the value category, for example, so there's a subjective measure we can look at. And there are a number of other subjective measures. Beyond that, you just go with what you like.
 
I thought Spydercos were somewhat ugly when I first started looking at them, but they started to grow on me a little. Then, after I got my Manix 2 (my very first Spyderco), I was hooked. Even their cheaper (Chinese) knives seem to be higher in quality than I've seen from other companies.
 
In terms of sales, Kershaw leads Spyderco and Benchmade by a lot. In terms of the knives, I think Kershaw has the most potential, but they need a few more good designs. Their customer service, quality, and heat treat are excellent, but they don't have very many higher end offerings that compete with directly with Spyderco and Benchmade's signature blades. The few that they do have are great, but the majority of their line is dedicated towards a less specialized market.
 
This is just my opinion, but Kershaw doesn't have a ton of high-quality regular production models like BM and Spyderco do. They have high-quality stuff in the form of ZT, but those all scream "tank knife" to me, and frankly, I'm not that interested.

For something high-quality that isn't huge and overbuilt, BM has (for example) the 940, and Spyderco has the Sage 1. A Kershaw Shallot is a nice, slim design, but it's just not in the same class as a 940 or Sage, and I don't know of anything in their regular production line that is.

I've got products from all three companies (only Kershaw, not ZT, though), but I've got more Spydies and BMs and for me that trend will be continuing into the forseeable future.
 
Is it safe to say that kershaw is leading benchmade and spyderco now?

On the Kershaw/ZT subforum, yes.
On the Spyderco subforum, no.

:D
 
When I was a teenager and my mom bought me my first new cool knife it was a Spyderco Q, with the laser cut blade and matching handle. This knife was the coolest thing around in its day, for being inexpensive, lightweight, innovative, good quality and fun. I don't think that they make products that match it and have progressed with time. They are reliable and have been making good products for a while, they have a good reputation. I haven't had a lot of experience with their customer service, but its wasn't good, I'll give them another try soon, but I don't like that they charge for the work they do regarding repairs and sharpening.

Kershaw/ZT has been around a long while, but have only within the past decade started making innovative and popular have to have knives. I think a lot of this has to do with the people they collaborate with. They have some great award winning in house designs too, the 0777, 0888. I have had quite a few customer service experiences with Kershaw and they only get better, more than once they didn't just fix a knife they gave me a whole new one. I reciprocate their loyalty to their customers with purchase power brand loyalty.

I have only had one Benchmade knife was given to me and I ended up trading away. It was an older Stryker M2, it was pretty high tech for how old it was. G-10 and Ti liners. Their knives seen to be more expensive, I am not sure they are worth it. I would like a balisong though, they got that down cold.

I think all three companies have their loyal followers, and we all like to see what the other guy's got. I think its a personal preference really, but based on awards given out at Blade Show, Kershaw/ZT has been getting multiple awards for many years.

I think all three companies have nice and pretty even higher end knives, gold class, sprint runs and boutique/limited editions. But its the little things that set Kershaw above the rest for me. If we are talking the ultimate approval, which is willingness to spend money, Kerhsaw wins for me these days, hands down.
 
As I love the best of all these brands 2 big thumbs up for that post!! :thumbup::thumbup:


marcinek said:
Is it safe to say that kershaw is leading benchmade and spyderco now?

On the Kershaw/ZT subforum, yes.
On the Spyderco subforum, no.

:D
Click to expand...
 
I have 4 new spyderco knives in the past 6 months. The last Kershaw I had was 2-3 years ago. I think " safe to say" isn't safe at all.
 
I still prefer Spyderco and Benchmade. I don't really care about lower end knives and I don't really like liner and frame locks. Kershaw/ ZT needs a different lock. They also need to put out some slicers and not just heavy duty knives. I have the 0551 and 0560 and they are darn nice knives. But they are frame locks and they have thick blades that just aren't good cutters. If they made something similar that was slimmed down with a thin blade made for slicing I would have one in my pocket. As is, they just sit in their box for now. Except for those two ZT knives, it has been a long time since I have bought a Kershaw.

For now Spyderco and Benchmade still reign supreme IMO.
 
it's as simple as looking up their respective income statements for the prvious year and seeing who has the biggest sales. that's how you determine overall market leadership. everything else is just argument.
 
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