Local Knife Shop Experience

4

4W4K3

Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
603
This was a real shocker for me today. I have pretty much lost hope in buying knives in person over the last few years because all of the local knife shops have hired less than knowledgeable counter workers, or the good ones have simply shut down.

Well today, at the Arlington Mall here in Texas, I found a good shop. It was the generic "The Knife Shoppe" place right by the food court. I walked in and was surprised to see a very wide selection of blades. The other shops I have been to only carried 3-4 "good" brands, but this one easily had 7-8 brands I am interested in.

Not only that, but the counter workers were very smart, and they knew about all the different models I questioned them about. I asked to see a Kabar TDI and he handed me one right away. I asked if they had any Kanetsune blades, and he pulled one right off the shelf. I asked about a few different Cold Steel knives (they probably had at least 30 of their line) and he knew which model I was talking about right off the bat. I also saw Benchmade knives, Gerber's, Paul Chen, Buck, Kershaw, Rat Cutlery, CRKT, etc etc. I could have easily walked out of there with thousands of dollars of quality/name brand knives that a lot of people on these forums praise. I was really happy with this shop.

Just thought I would post that up. It was such a change in experience for me, I walked in expecting to see the same old stuff, but was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of quality knives and very experienced/knowledgeable counter guys. They will be seeing my business in the future.
 
Yeah, the only "knife" shop around me is a Ranger Surplus store and they have Cold Steel and a very small amout of Spyderco's and old Kershaw models but there is a guy who works there who I swear has about $2000 worth of knives on him at all times. It's insane, he has Pat Crawford customs, 2-3 Striders, and all these other amazing knives. He then pulls out a drawer and has Dalton Auto's, Microtechs and tons of other stuff. It always blows my mind what he has on him. The other shop around me is a Gun Shop that sells Benchmade Cold Steel and SOG stuff. The guys are nice there and pretty well informed but their prices are insane. Like they had the Infidel for $500, if i'm correct the MSRP is $450. But that's what my local shops are like. I do most of my knife shopping at the Gun Shows.
 
I’m jealous.

We have one dedicated knife shop up here.

They carry the major brands, Benchmade, Spyderco, Kershaw/ZT, etc.
The problem is that they rarely carry the models I want.
For example, I have never seen a Spyderco Sage 2 or a Leafstorm in their inventory. A Para-Military would be rare. Aren’t these desirable models to most people?

It’s weird, they have shelves and shelves of customs and locally made knives, again, nothing that interests me. I’m just not in to XYZ steel and antler handles.

I was told that they won’t carry Bradley’s because they ‘Are too expensive and won’t sell’.

This shop has an entire case of William Henrys!
Benchmade Gold Class are usually available.
And Bradley’s are too expensive?!?

I really try to buy locally up here. But when the internet shops offer me what I want, I have to go with them.

Glad you found a good shop in Texas.

And thank goodness for the internet.
 
I have to drive an hour to find a knife shop. And they are pretty expensive! 70$ for a Delica.. I would rather shop online :D
 
^That reminds me...

The prices at this shop were high compared to your bottom dollar online dealer, but not ridiculously high. By the time you add in tax (if applicable) and shipping rates for the online price, the shop's price was usually competitive. Convenience of having the knife in hand NOW is usually worth a few bucks to me personally. This was based off of lower priced knives I have been looking at online and I still remember the price. The more expensive knives I can't accurately speak for.

The guy at the counter also mentioned to me that if I can find a knife cheaper anywhere else, print out the ad and bring it to him and he will call his supplier and see what they can do. He mentioned sometimes they price match, or at least can offer a very close price. I was happy to hear that.
 
I usually end up shopping online for my knives but wish I could find a local knife shop that sold decent knives. There is one shop that I know of in the mall but they only seem to sell cheap knock off knives and have to custom order everything else. To me that defeats the purpose of going to a knife shop because I don't get to feel the knife before I buy it and I don't get to walk out with it right away. At that point, I might as well just order online.
 
Consider yourself fortunate! We used to have a decent knife shop where we lived in WA, but here there is nothing within reasonable driving distance. Besides, sometimes it's just nice to also talk to fellow knifeknuts in person (not that BF isn't great too :p).

- Mark
 
Mark J said:
Besides, sometimes it's just nice to also talk to fellow knifeknuts in person (not that BF isn't great too :p).

- Mark
Click to expand...

Definitely understand that as well. It's nice to talk to people that have the same passions as you do. I spent all last Saturday at a car show, a dyno day, and than in a garage working on a car. It was easily 12 hours of cars, cars, cars...and I could have done more! Talking to different owners, going on cruises, talking to other owners, looking at cars. It's a passion of mine, just like knives.

For the 10 minutes or so I was in the knife shop I felt like I fit in. I mainly asked questions and made a few short comments on each knife I looked at, but it was nice to know the guy behind the counter could relate to the terms I used and the steels I mentioned. He even corrected me on how the Kanetsune uses a real ray skin same wrap and not imitation. I had thought it was imitation.
 
4W4K3 said:
This was a real shocker for me today. I have pretty much lost hope in buying knives in person over the last few years because all of the local knife shops have hired less than knowledgeable counter workers, or the good ones have simply shut down.

Well today, at the Arlington Mall here in Texas, I found a good shop. It was the generic "The Knife Shoppe" place right by the food court. I walked in and was surprised to see a very wide selection of blades. The other shops I have been to only carried 3-4 "good" brands, but this one easily had 7-8 brands I am interested in.

Not only that, but the counter workers were very smart, and they knew about all the different models I questioned them about. I asked to see a Kabar TDI and he handed me one right away. I asked if they had any Kanetsune blades, and he pulled one right off the shelf. I asked about a few different Cold Steel knives (they probably had at least 30 of their line) and he knew which model I was talking about right off the bat. I also saw Benchmade knives, Gerber's, Paul Chen, Buck, Kershaw, Rat Cutlery, CRKT, etc etc. I could have easily walked out of there with thousands of dollars of quality/name brand knives that a lot of people on these forums praise. I was really happy with this shop.

Just thought I would post that up. It was such a change in experience for me, I walked in expecting to see the same old stuff, but was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of quality knives and very experienced/knowledgeable counter guys. They will be seeing my business in the future.
Click to expand...

I've been to the Knife Shoppe many times over the years. The guy who owns the store is very knife-savvy but it can be hit or miss with the help. Decent selection of knives, though.

Now if you want to want to go to a REAL knife store in the D/FW area you have to check out the House Of Blades in Lake Worth. They have one of the largest knife inventories in the United States - literally every brand you can think of and many that you can't. Lot's of customs, vintage knives, and out of production Spyderco's, as well. Unfortunately, there is a drawback - pretty much everything is list price. Even if you don't buy anything it's still well worth the trip there just to browse their extensive inventory of knives. You can easily spend a couple of hours there and still not see everything. Just look for the place with the giant knife out front. Just look for the giant knife sign out front. :D

7120919.JPG
 
At 62 I don't know whether you'd call it experience or prejudice - but a lot of knives that interest me become much less interesting if i can handle/open/close them .The very rare knife show and the even rarer knife shop are well worth paying a premium price ( within reason) for their wares. Figure that handling and rejecting the "not right for me" is really worth something.
 
+1 for the House of Blades. I made the pilgrimage a few weeks ago. Its about an hour and half from my house on the complete opposite end of the metroplex. They do have a giant inventory and I ended up getting a ZT200 there. I noticed that their prices are a little higher than you can find online but you must factor out shipping and the fact that I want to support my local brick and mortar shop when I can.

What mall is the Blade shoppe at in Arlington??
 
I live in Rockwall, not too far from Arlington. I think I will pay them a visit to see if I can find the knife Im jonesin for right now. You didnt happen to see the Spyderco Milie with the sv90 steel and carbon fiber handles? Did you?
 
If anyone is ever in the FOLEY, ALABAMA area hit up St. Nick's knife shop!! They have a very nice selection. They used to sell Christmas decorations as well as knives. haha :D
 
I believe there's a "knife shoppe" in Grapevine Mills mall in Grapevine that I've been to several times over the years. They dont have as big a selection as the OPs, and the prices are an absolute joke. I remember when I was hunting for a black boron Chive a long time ago, they wanted $89 for it (i'm dead serious). Got mine at Cheaper than Dirt for $49.

Might Have to stop by next summer on my way to the Ball Park.
 
The one at the mall just a few miles from me is ok, they carry a few good brands but have a terrible selection. They usually have maybe 2 or 3 Benchmade's Kershaw's and Spyderco's. They are also fairly expensive
 
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the shop keeper is one of our fellow forumites. Okay, so who was it ? Fess up, boys! :D
 
Don't have any good knife stores within easy driving distance. There are a couple nice ones a few hours away in Delaware and PA. New Graham is a LONG drive, but a short UPS order away. Knifecenter delivers overnight. Closest thing to a knife store around here are a few gun stores that stock a lot of Benchmades. Would be great if I was into Benchmade knives.:o
 
I do not follow the Spyderco line personally, not quite to my taste. I do know they carried them though, it might be worth a call on the phone to ask as I'm sure they can look it up for you. They will special order knives they don't carry, provided they can get them.

I will have to check out House of Blades. I might have heard about it before but since I haven't been in the market much lately I haven't done much exploring.

This mall is called "The Parks at Arlington" mall I believe. Right off 20, inebtween Matlock and Bowen.

I have been to the Knife Shoppe in Grapevine Mills and I was not that impressed. Their selection is far less than this place in Arlington, and they seem to carry more off-brand stuff or novelty items than knives. Chess sets, cigar and smoke accessories, "ninja" weapons, etc.
 
We have a couple of knife stores here, one in a gun shop and one in a mall. The gun store guys are great, and if they don't know something about a knife or its steel, they will not guess. But they sell everything at retail +, sometimes at ++.

They have a consignment section where they help folks sell their unwanted blades (think widowers) and they have some great hardware in there from time to time. But since the customer wants a certain prices and the shop gets 40% for consignment fees, they have knives in there (literally) that have been for sale so long I thought they were part of a permanent display.

The mall store.... ouch. Not too much on knives, but have some higher end fantasy knives, ninja blades and a lot of kitchen stuff. If the yoyo behind the counter finds out you are a knife enthusiast, he invariably finds an excuse to pull out a knife hidden on his person every 2 - 3 minutes until he has them all out. He told me he never carries less than 4, and he makes sure he "always has the tactical advantage".

Between those two shops and a couple of sports store chains, that's it. I buy on the internet.

Robert
 
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