New designs here to stay

chevyrulez1

chevyrulez1

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This is something I was pondering, looking back knife manufacturers over the years makd knives and come up with designs that were a home run, and have stayed with us the decades. Examples of this are the classics like the Buck 110, the Kabar combat knives, the Buck 119, the Opinel, the Mercatur K55K, I could go on. Solid well accepted designs that will go virtually unchanged for many many years with the exception of some minor tweaks or minor changes in materials.
I don't really see this in modern knives so much, I see manufacturers constantly coming out with new stuff and promoting it like it is the latest hotness and then discontinue it a few years later.
It seems like the market is being flooded with designs and models that don't seem to have any staying power.
In your opinions, what are some newer designs that you think will still be with us 50 years from now and why?
 
Some modern mid techs I could see being considered mainstay designs:

LG vecp/talos/myna
Hinderer xm/eklipse etc
Nicholas Nichols new 3.5” guppy
Crk sebenza/inkosi (wish they would change the thumbstuds)
Demko shark lock
Koenig arius

Don’t know if these would be considered new designs still but definitely have staying power imo.
 
I would have to disagree, I do no like any lock back knives, so the Buck 110 is an old design that I do not want. So for me the "modern" frame lock or a number of other types will be around for a long time
 
I think the compression lock on Spydercos is here to stay, it's just a good design, same with axis-style locks (I much prefer a CBBL), they work very well, are ambidextrous and fun to play with (which I believe is a factor for a lot of people)
 
Deviate a bit from just knife design but I feel like we've come up with some very impressive folding knife lock designs. Triad, plunge lock button, liner lock button, Compression, Axis, Shark, and more. I may favor a Triad for insane toughness but overall I favor the Compression lock. There's various Chinese knives that are somewhat copying the Compression lock now that the design is free and I wish more companies would try it.
 
I realize it is impossible to say which ones will be here 50 years from now because a lot of that depends on many factors such as the longevity of the company itself, the company's own commitment to tradition, continuing and repeated sales over the years, etc.
Who knows, maybe the Gerber Paraframe is considered by some to be a classic because people are steadily buying them. Among all the Gerber products that come and go that one just doesn't seem to go away.
I could certainly see the Paramilitary, Griptilian, Leek, and other "flagship" models becoming the "classics" of tomorrow so long as the brands can survive the future of the business.
I think in order to make it to classic status there has to be a right balance between performance, value, and availability in order to command a wide appeal among knife enthusiasts as well as regular folks who view a knife as a cutting tool and nothing more.
Speaking about longevity of businesses, I will not call names but I really believe that there are some of our beloved companies that are not going to make it 50 years because they cannot keep their pricing under control. Basic Economics will win eventually and at the current sky high prices I believe the demand is going to drop off to unsustainable levels over time. Would Opinel and Victorinox still be around if they were charging $200+ a piece for them? I doubt it. Being the new hotness is only going to carry you so far. The knives you buy today will last you a lifetime if taken care of, and if we ever get to a point where the disposable income of folks starts to diminish significantly then the rug is going to get pulled out from everyone in the industry and only the most efficient companies are going to survive.
 
I think it's important to separate "still in production" from "commercially and economically relevant". With the possible exception of the Buck 110, none of the knives you mentioned are "commercially relevant" and even the Buck 110 might be better represented by Buck 110 clones than actual Bucks.

Just because you can still buy a Mercator Black Cat doesn't make it relevant. It, along with most of what you mentioned, will never see an increase in sales on a year over year basis. They'll linger and stick around but never really matter other than as a nice piece of knife history. They are completely acceptable as a knife-like-object, but they'll never create a buzz or be sought after again. They will not be the concensus knife-of-choice by new knife knuts.

We are enjoying a true renaissance age of knife excellence. In a way, that renaissance has swept aside the knives that have come before. There is so much more raw knife potential, quality and excellence in a $50 CIVIVI to the point where these older models can't really compete. The modern counterparts of a Buck 110, Opinel and Black Cat are the Spyderco Delica, Benchmade Grip and the Kershaw Blur/Leek...but even those knives are surpassed by the current production of computer-made knives.

In a way, its a little sad. I'm hanging on to my legacy knives because I'm an old fart, but in reality there's not much in the classic designs to engage a new knife enthusiast beyond history and nostalgia.
 
Modern far Eastern makers are exploiting the same collectors mentality that the Pokémon makers exploit. All the designs are meant to trigger the impulse buy mentality. Few if any of the designs will be remembered five or ten years from now, no matter how well crafted they are. Much like modern pop music.
 
CRK Sebenza is approaching 40 years, and with it now being a 2nd generation family owned business, could likely qualify.

I think with the family element over at Spartan, the Spartan Harsey Folder may stand the test of time.

It wouldn't surprise me to see a Hinderer such as the XM-18 or the Koenig Arius make the list, but time will tell.
 
Interestingly enough I half jokingly talked about the Gerber Paraframe, and just found out apparently it has been discontinued 😂 I guess it is not here to stay after all. I am wondering if Walmart has taken that market with their Ozark Trail knives?
 
A good part of the fun in collecting and using knives is their constant evolution: new materials such as carbon fiber and reinforced plastics,, better steels, manufacturing techniques like CNC machining, innovative designs and improved locking mechanisms. There's no end to human ingenuity.
 
I think it is also important to take in to account the changes and modifications done to certain models by the manufacturer. The Buck 110 has been largely unchanged for nearly 60 years. The Sebenza 31 is not the same knife as the 21. I applaud CRK and love my Inkosi, but I wanted a 21 with titanium on steel...old school. Instead I bought a Spartan SHF (2 actually), and I feel they fit my needs better. So something like the Sebenza is a classic model that has stood the rest of time with the IFL, but it's not the same.

I have a hard time seeing a world without a Spyderco Endura and/or Delica. Sal's completely radical design of a wedge shaped knife of good steel and a lock back is just too utilitarian to see it every get replaced.
 
I don't think the main determining factor for longevity in a knife design is the strength of the design. Although there are some wild new designs out there, the mainstream knife designs and technology really don't change that much.

The biggest factor contributing towards a knife design's longevity is how much the company is willing and able to market and support the model. Some knife companies sell based off of the novelty of something new, while others see that the perception of a knife as a classic can sell a lot of knives. You may not see them posted much on knife collecting circles, but Buck still sells a ton of 110's and 119's. A lot of this also has to do with distribution and how well the knife is positioned in the market. The Kershaw Leek is a really good modern example of this; inexpensive enough for the casual consumer, quality enough to satisfy the more informed collector, backed by enough production capacity to pump out a lot of units, and distributed by the big box stores along with specialty retailers.
 
The Atlas , Shark Lock and similar types . Just so fidgety and easy . Keeps hand out of blade path also . :cool:
 
SharpBits said:
Modern far Eastern makers are exploiting the same collectors mentality that the Pokémon makers exploit. All the designs are meant to trigger the impulse buy mentality. Few if any of the designs will be remembered five or ten years from now, no matter how well crafted they are. Much like modern pop music.
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I remember back in the 90's how baseball cards got to be really huge as collectibles, the card companies got gimmicky by putting inserts in every pack, and then one "special" insert at one card per box, then they started with all the bat cards and jersey cards, one of 100, one of 50, one of 5, one of one! etc.
Next thing you know almost every card you got was some limited edition special something and suddenly nobody cared anymore. I am afraid the knife industry is heading in the same direction. When everything is super special, then nothing is really special any more.
 
chevyrulez1 said:
I remember back in the 90's how baseball cards got to be really huge as collectibles, the card companies got gimmicky by putting inserts in every pack, and then one "special" insert at one card per box, then they started with all the bat cards and jersey cards, one of 100, one of 50, one of 5, one of one! etc.
Next thing you know almost every card you got was some limited edition special something and suddenly nobody cared anymore. I am afraid the knife industry is heading in the same direction. When everything is super special, then nothing is really special any more.
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I sure hope all those gavkos, Koenigs, Rosie's etc get cheap for me to complete my scrooge McDuck knife pit!
 
I’ve tired of the “KNIFE-OF-THE-WEEK” mentality that pervades today’s marketplace. Certainly someone must be purchasing the inventory that’s introduced virtually on a weekly basis…seemingly spurred-on primarily by YT internet “experts” shilling for the overseas mfgr’s. Apparently disposable knife-related income is at a record high. Certainly some of these introductions are actually decent knives but, IMO, the majority are simply products flooding the market from opportunistic overseas companies taking advantage of the (willing) US consumer’s desire for the “newest, greatest, latest knife-of-the-week”. There, I’ve said it….rage on if you will. 🙂
 
Spyderco Police is 40 years old - released in 1984

Spyderco Delica and Endura are 34 years old - released in 1990

Spyderco Military is 28 years old - released in 1996

They are still going strong but have gotten some CQI along the way.

I agree with some of the other suggestions here, like the Sebenza and the Spartan Harsey Folder. They will probably stand the test of time as well
 
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