Knife variety in the absence of product congruence

[Czechmate]

I believe that the designs will continue to diversify because fewer and fewer people actually use knives in a meaningful way.

If you don't have to actually use the knofe, the outlandish and uncomfortable features are less important.

Super thick stock. Horribly obtuse grinds. Outlandish multiple curves. Useless saw teeth and hand shredding rough spots all mean nothing but cool looks if you only ever cut air, or imagined enemies.

If you take it for a use review and make one or two fuzz sticks and call it good, it will be fine. Take that same knife and whittle a hickory pick handle for three hours and see if you still feel the same.

Make kindling with a chopper for a few hours, or chop down or process wood for a few hours, and the aggressive texture is not so cool.

Yeah Kershaw Camp 14; the whole damn series really. Great knives but the handle texturing is overboard and is like hold a rubbery cactus. :foot:


Also, cool marketing features sell stuff whether it's useful or even practical and as a result, people will continue to buy. All you really need in a folder is an Opinel so why buy anything else? :thumbup:

 

[The cow]

I believe that the designs will continue to diversify because fewer and fewer people actually use knives in a meaningful way.

If you don't have to actually use the knofe, the outlandish and uncomfortable features are less important.

Super thick stock. Horribly obtuse grinds. Outlandish multiple curves. Useless saw teeth and hand shredding rough spots all mean nothing but cool looks if you only ever cut air, or imagined enemies.

If you take it for a use review and make one or two fuzz sticks and call it good, it will be fine. Take that same knife and whittle a hickory pick handle for three hours and see if you still feel the same.

Make kindling with a chopper for a few hours, or chop down or process wood for a few hours, and the aggressive texture is not so cool.

You hear and see more and more people buying knives for their collection. Most of these people really don't use their knives for very much beyond ravaging cardboard and other various paper products. Heck, you darn well know people will just let their knives sit in a Pelican case.

Of course, there is the fascination of attempting to make folders do a fixed blade's job. Some of them get close, but ultimately that $500+ strider/hinderer/crusader folder will never be ase "hard use" as a well made fixed blade.

I do like your "hand shredding rough spots." I remember whittling a bear in the woods while camping with a some cheap multitool. talk about hand cramps.

 

[RBid]

Production and design follow the money. It's that simple. P&L reports carry more weight than message boards.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

This concept is too heavy for me to debate now, let me sleep on it and I'll get back to you if I come up with something.

 

[Noddy]

The reason there are squillions of types of knives is because we haven't figured out which one is The One .... and we won't, ever

Which is good

 

[DShiflet]

Yet we have seen some knives go away. There are certainly far fewer hollow handled survival knives then there were during the 1980s.

We've seen certain "trends" become less popular, but we've seen very few knives truly "go away". In the 80's, the success of Rambo made all the weekend warriors want the "Rambo knife", so you had tons of them on the market. These days, Rambo isn't a big thing, so most people don't have a ton of interest in the "Rambo knife". That said, there IS still a market for them, and threads asking about them do pop up here every few months. So yeah, they're less common to be sure, but they certainly haven't "gone away" either. Just...last year I think, Schrade put out their SCHF1 and SCHF2 models of hollow handle survival knives(which are from most accounts I've heard fairly decent knives), then you have variations on the theme with knives like the popular Cold Steel Bushman line and the recent Matagi and Mini-Matagi additions to the Condor lineup. They may not be the "hot trend" anymore, but there's still a market for them too.

 

[ron_m80]

I doubt that many markets operate on actual demand anymore. Unless you "nay sayers" would have me believe there is no power in advertising.

You can watch 8 hours of tv a week and read your local paper, catch the nightly news, and honestly tell everyone you didnt think about any of it? There were plenty of ad placements in that time.

Many unnecessary things are sold everyday around the world.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

Here's what I think, so long as the manufacturers go after the knife hobbyists/enthusiasts disposable income, the majority will drive the variety, what the popular most talked about style being discussed will determine direction of what's made. Don't forget nostalgia and how that drives current pattern trends.

The man who uses his knife to work, the guy who maybe has 3 knives because he doesn't collect them he uses them. That guy he doesn't care what's popular, he doesn't care what's being discussed, he just cares what works. His money most knife manufacturers don't want, he doesn't spend enough, consequently his options, his choices diminish because the big guys aren't catering to him.

Hobbyists will always have more choices simply because they're not buying out of necessity, they're buying because the want it and if the manufacturers want their money they'll make whatever brings about the most buzz.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

You ever notice how the elite purists always find what they're looking for and if there are lots of choices than they're not interested because everyone knows about it, they always want the technical best, the leading edge at the fire front of technology. Usually there are a lot less innovators and an overabundance of copy cats, unfortunately the copy cats will always get the bulk of the money.

 

[RBid]

I doubt that many markets operate on actual demand anymore. Unless you "nay sayers" would have me believe there is no power in advertising.

You can watch 8 hours of tv a week and read your local paper, catch the nightly news, and honestly tell everyone you didnt think about any of it? There were plenty of ad placements in that time.

Many unnecessary things are sold everyday around the world.

You are mistakenly associating demand with need. Demand can originate with need or want. Advertising caters to either and can generate want.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Indeed it will, with things such as Buck 110 winning in the end for tactilely obvious reasons

I doubt that many markets operate on actual demand anymore. Unless you "nay sayers" would have me believe there is no power in advertising.

You can watch 8 hours of tv a week and read your local paper, catch the nightly news, and honestly tell everyone you didnt think about any of it? There were plenty of ad placements in that time.

Many unnecessary things are sold everyday around the world.

Yeah, i have not watched tv advertisements for about a decade
Though i do buy magazines such as blade, bike and guns & ammo, they contain the only ads i am interested in

 

[Czechmate]

You hear and see more and more people buying knives for their collection. Most of these people really don't use their knives for very much beyond ravaging cardboard and other various paper products. Heck, you darn well know people will just let their knives sit in a Pelican case.

Of course, there is the fascination of attempting to make folders do a fixed blade's job. Some of them get close, but ultimately that $500+ strider/hinderer/crusader folder will never be ase "hard use" as a well made fixed blade.

I do like your "hand shredding rough spots." I remember whittling a bear in the woods while camping with a some cheap multitool. talk about hand cramps.

I'm still hung up on this. ^^^ :thumbup:

Are you secretly Chuck Norris and how exactly do you whittle a bear?

 

[ericvar101]

Your knife is a means of self expression. People who carry a knife regularly, want a knife they identify with and feels personal, not a cookie cutter of what everyone else has. People will always be interested in something new and different. I think the opposite is true, the forums help drive innovation and knife makers will continue to come up with new and different designs and will combine features from previous styles and designs to form new creations. I believe customization and personalization will only continue to get bigger as we are already starting to see. A good example is ZTs new "Factory Custom" line with the upcoming ZT0392.

 

[K.O.D.]

I'm still hung up on this. ^^^ :thumbup:

Are you secretly Chuck Norris and how exactly do you whittle a bear?

I think he means he whittled a bear from a piece of wood, not taking a knife to a bear. If he did take said knife/multitool to a bear, I say pics or it didn't happen.