Knives and guns

[akadave2]

Im seeing an interesting trend in knives that has me scratching my head a bit.

I have primarily accumulated firearms over the last 7-8 years with an edged weapon interspersed here and there. Lately I have been buying more and more knives that are starting to cost the same as some of the guns I have purchased. I mean you can easily spend the same on a Strider folder as you would for a decent 1911 or Glock or any number of other firearms. I can only imagine the profit margin on these knives compared to that of firearms must be huge! I cant imagine a folder being as difficult to manufacture or require the same amount of strict controls over tolerences not to mention the testing and proofing as making a firearm. And fixed blades, even less demanding than folders.

Of course it hasnt stopped me from buying Busse knives or Striders but I find it interesting.

Anyway its just an observation that I thought might be worth discussing.

 

[65535]

Warranty factors into, with Striders apart from the name and material + manufacturing, you pay for their warranty. You break it they fix it. I mean sure you could buy a cheaper knife break it replace it and still be under cost. But from the manufacturer side they have to add some overhead to cushion the cost of repairs.

 

[akadave2]

Benchmade has a good warranty too. Neither will fix abuse for free I dont believe though. I love my Stiders, they are my fave. I find the SNG to be the closest to a perfect EDC I have ever owned, and it is a brute!

 

[Absintheur]

It is basic economics, supply and demand. As long as people are will to pay high prices for anything that is limited in production the price will remain high. If demand for said commodity falls so will the price. Does this mean the product is better? Not necessarily.

Look at the current gas pricing for example. Price per gallon got so high people made the choice to quit buying as much and didn't travel. As a result demand went down, in order for the oil producers to maintain sales they had to drop the price of crude and as a result the price of gas to the consumer went down. The was no change in the cost of producing the oil, it was a simple matter of demand allowed oil producers to charge more for their product. This is a very simplified explanation of course.

 

[Lycosa]

We try to live a non-consumer lifestyle. If I would like a Warren Thomas knife or a Glock pistol, I will make the purchase. Thanks.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

There is also the matter of volume. How many 1911s are sold as compared to Strider RCs? The higher the volume, the lower the margin required for a product to be profitable.

Also, companies like Strider and Busse have a customer base that is quite happy to purchase all the knives they make at the prices being charged. The fact that they are so popular is a big factor in their pricing.

 

[akadave2]

True, the scarcity factor is big here. It just seems odd when I think about it too long.

...now for that next knife!

 

[knivesandguns]

I like both, hence my "name."

 

[Kaizen1]

Nice topic. I have a local gun and knife store that's a master distributor to many of the popular online stores. The owner mentioned that Strider wouldn't even return his calls a year ago but now they're getting calls from Strider to be a dealer for them. He said he thinks it's an indication that they're struggling from this economy. If that were the case (and that's a big "if" considering how the conjecture was made), I don't see how their profit margin would be that large.

 

[knarfeng]

There is also the matter of volume. How many 1911s are sold as compared to Strider RCs? The higher the volume, the lower the margin required for a product to be profitable.

Also, companies like Strider and Busse have a customer base that is quite happy to purchase all the knives they make at the prices being charged. The fact that they are so popular is a big factor in their pricing.

There's the big factor. You cannot just look at the manufacturing cost of the article, but at the overhead as well, mfg eqpt, sales, marketing, insurance, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Fewer articles sold to support overhead costs mean that each knife must account for more of the overhead costs. So the total cost to produce each knive is much higher.

 

[akadave2]

There's the big factor. You cannot just look at the manufacturing cost of the article, but at the overhead as well, mfg eqpt, sales, marketing, insurance, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Fewer articles sold to support overhead costs mean that each knife must account for more of the overhead costs. So the total cost to produce each knive is much higher.

Which goes to my point. Either the knife manufacturer is creating an artificial shortage of their products by limiting supply or they cant sell enough product to pay for overhead and thus rely on high single item pricing and GP. I would believe with liability laws, and the highly visible nature of gun manufacturing that the overhead of firearms is way higher and volume is nowhere near other durable goods. I believe that a company like Strider for instance could double sales by lowering the price by 20% and more than make up for the loss of GP. Sometimes volume is king. I will say that the current economy does make that tricky.

 

[CL01]

Which goes to my point. Either the knife manufacturer is creating an artificial shortage of their products by limiting supply or they cant sell enough product to pay for overhead and thus rely on high single item pricing and GP. I would believe with liability laws, and the highly visible nature of gun manufacturing that the overhead of firearms is way higher and volume is nowhere near other durable goods. I believe that a company like Strider for instance could double sales by lowering the price by 20% and more than make up for the loss of GP. Sometimes volume is king. I will say that the current economy does make that tricky.

I've seen threads like this on other Forums (It may have even been on this one awhile back), but it's really supply & demand. Overhead's probably much higher for firearms, but that's mainly because of insurance & silly lawsuits. However, on a knife like Strider, Sebenzas, etc., I believe they hire more "skilled" employees, so their payroll is relatively high (I'm talking about high-end knives only vs firearms). Also, I believe the firearm companies sell far more of their product than the knife companies (Again, I'm talking about the high-end, closer to a handgun cost knives).

Yes, Strider et al could drop their prices a little & sell more, but that's a maybe & once you drop your prices, it's harder to bring them back up & not lose sales. If you're selling a decent amount at a certain price, you're taking a chance that your loss in sales (If, indeed there is one) is coming from a lack-luster economy & not just that more people would buy if it was a little cheaper.

Also, I believe the run of certain, high numbers, firearms is many yrs longer than the run on certain knives. As an example, there's been several generation Strider SnGs, but the Glock 19 & other calibers on the same platform, have been made for a couple decades. Granted, there have been 3 generations of Glocks, BUT, the changes were to the grip & adding rails on the polymere frame. That's a relatively less expensive thing to do, than retooling for a new parts made out of steel, etc. Also, again, volume plays a big role here. It's one thing to retool for a new part on something that you sell that numbers in the thousands, but it's much cheaper when you're doing that for a product that numbers in the 100,000s+. That means the firearm co. isn't paying nearly as much, per item, as the knife co. Over a long period, that makes for a firearm to get cheaper to make, but the cost can stay relatively the same because of the high volume & they can absorb the increase in material costs (To a point, of course), while the smaller volume of H-E knives & shorter runs of them (In yrs), doesn't allow for them to absorb the increases in materials.

My main example to explain this, are Glock & Strider, but you can use any popular H-E production knife company whose prices are close to that of a firearm.