KAI autos. What happened?

PURPLEDC

PURPLEDC

Joined
Apr 4, 2007
Messages
8,578
Anyone know why KAI discontinued its auto endeavors? They seemed to really be able to make a nice affordable product and people really seemed to like them. What happened?
 
I think only Thomas, or someone from KAI, can answer this with any certainty.

My guess, due to all the laws the ability to sell autos is very limited. That sales numbers just weren't enough to support them. It sounds like online retailers skirt the law a lot but brick and mortars I think are a lot more limited and where a lot of casual sales happen that keep a model line afloat. I don't know the retail side of things at all and love when Thomas gives us little glimpses in to that side of the business. I'm a nerd though so there is very little that doesn't interest me and the M2M fulfillment systems and ROI stuff is just as interesting to me as the engineering and design side. I comment all the time just because I'm here.. not because I think I know anymore than anyone else who hangs around here (except in a small number of very specific cases).

I've got a decent size collection of Breakouts [still trying to find a few colors] and 2 or 3 Rogues. The Rogue is as good as the Benchmade autos I have for much less and the Breakout is abso-f-ing-lutely fantastic. It's the only model other than the Blur that I've tried to find every one of. I love the design and the thin blade. I know a lot of people think it is too thin but I think it makes an amazing slicer. I love the broken glass patterned handle. I wouldn't mind seeing that design with a plunge lock resurrected in a manual with a small thumbstud.
I really wish I could get a ZT auto in plain edge though!
 
I am intrigued by the Rouge, but its discontinued now. I kinda think whats the point, if an assisted opening knife gets the job done just as fast and can be sold in many more places, why continue to make an auto that can only be sold to limited buyers?

I remember Thomas posting about them working on an out the front auto, but that the internal parts could not be made strong enough to meet their standards, so they scrapped that project.

Hopefully there will be some new auto's in the future.
 
Last edited:
I managed to pick up a Rogue, and it's a great knife, blade is awesome, the handle is comfortable, and the whole thing is very stout, but I have several other non autos that I can open just as fast if not faster. I'm glade Kershaw ventured into the auto market if just for no other reason to show that a good auto can be made without is costing and arm and a leg.
 
The breakout is pretty cool, I picked up a purple stonewashed version off the bay a while back and first time i opened it, it almost threw itself from my hand. They open with some power. But up here they are illegal, I recall Kershaw saying there isnt much of a point to make them with so many other successful models.
 
Thomas commented in an older thread, that they just did not have floor time in the shop with all the other projects going on.
 
This is from Thomas' post in The Real 0777 thread.

"As to the ZT OTF part of the story. At Blade, we had an OTF that we had been playing with for a while. We wanted to prove out an OTF, and never really did. In cycle testing, we never felt there was long term success with the internals. They all failed. 2 proto's were brought to Blade. While we could have produced and sold these OTF's, had a lot of interest, we never were comfortable with the durability and warranty portions associated with OTF's. Thus the project was scrapped. Shortly after, all auto's for 2012 were disco'd. "
 
Part of it might be related to the warranty process for Auto's. From Kershaw's website, "Due to state and federal regulations, these knives [autos] can only be returned to an authorized dealer or to a military/law enforcement office."

So they can't return them to your home, like your normal knives. I'll bet that they were just receiving too much head ache from that to justify continuing to make them.
 
You all have touched on the various reasons - Laws and regulations where they can/can't be sold, they're a pain to ship, sending them in for warranty is tough because of shipping regulations, and they take a lot of floor time to build in the factory.

I'm with you all.... I was sad to see them go.
 
I guarantee you that they are hard to sell because of the laws , I can't legally ship them , unless it is to LE or Military and then there is still gray area. I still have over a hundred Kershaw/ ZT autos on hand, I sell them within the state of Oregon, we don't have knife laws here, like a lot of you guys do anyway.

Dave
 
Yeah the laws kind of stink. I was going to get a couple but the laws are iffy here in Ohio so its just not worth the risk.
 
kershawguy said:
I guarantee you that they are hard to sell because of the laws , I can't legally ship them , unless it is to LE or Military and then there is still gray area. I still have over a hundred Kershaw/ ZT autos on hand, I sell them within the state of Oregon, we don't have knife laws here, like a lot of you guys do anyway.

Dave
Click to expand...

why is every one and there brother selling them across state lines on the knife auction sites??
 
I wonder how collectors continue to get their autos today?

I got mine back in 2009, don't think the laws have tightened now have they?
 
Leek_Freak said:
I've only seen a few over the past year and they usually get pulled before ending. It's against ebays rules to sell autos on their site at all.
Click to expand...

Ebay isn't really the slickest place to sell those. They'll either get pulled or bid up beyond what they're worth.

There are some knife auction sites that specifically have categories for autos and all sorts of knives.
 
richard thurman said:
why is every one and there brother selling them across state lines on the knife auction sites??
Click to expand...

The same reason our jails and prisons are full, some people don't care about rules. I think the auto laws are insane, but I am making my living as a Kershaw dealer and I respect those laws just as Kershaw does. There are a lot of knife sites, from what I have heard, that sell and ship autos and I personally don't think badly of them for doing it, I just think people need to be careful, it isn't worth the potential consequences of getting caught and prosecuted for bad laws.
 
kershawguy said:
The same reason our jails and prisons are full, some people don't care about rules. I think the auto laws are insane, but I am making my living as a Kershaw dealer and I respect those laws just as Kershaw does. There are a lot of knife sites, from what I have heard, that sell and ship autos and I personally don't think badly of them for doing it, I just think people need to be careful, it isn't worth the potential consequences of getting caught and prosecuted for bad laws.
Click to expand...

I see people here in fl that are selling autos and are shipping them by us mail. if they where to crack down on the people that are shipping by us mail. the post office would go broke. I am looking at the knife sites that sell autos and every one of them ship by the post office and the people are living in almost every state.
 
richard thurman said:
I see people here in fl that are selling autos and are shipping them by us mail. if they where to crack down on the people that are shipping by us mail. the post office would go broke. I am looking at the knife sites that sell autos and every one of them ship by the post office and the people are living in almost every state.
Click to expand...

Not to mention there's a sales forum specifically for autos in the exchange here. People there use USPS/Fedex/etc. And I'd imagine few to none of those deals are done FTF.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top