Plaza Cutlery in South Coast Plaza in Orange County CA is fairly impressive, not too far from Disneyland if that's where yer headed.
For the folks going to the Santa Barbara area, ya gotta hit Nordic Knives in Solvang. But you don't go there for production stuff...
Don't forget to stop in at Cold Spring Tavern on your way up the 154...
Nordic Knives is particularly impressive to me. They've got the finest selection of custom knives I've ever seen and their production knife selection isn't too bad either. (I picked up a Kershaw Groove there a few years ago.) They're well worth the side trip to Solvang . . . as if Solvang weren't worthy of a side trip all by itself. Check it out:
http://www.solvangusa.com/
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Haven't been to Nordic Knives in Solvang but I'll be sure to check them out next time I'm in that area.
In addition to Plaza Cutlery which has been at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa forever I've also been to Grommet Collectibles in Moreno Valley and they have a great selection of knives, swords, etc.