Okay, clue me in. Why discontinue a POPULAR knife?

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Messages
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Case in point. The Emerson CQC-6. I never even heard of it, but I knew it was neat. When I first joined the forum I think I asked what knife was used in "The Running Man" and the CQC-6 was the answer.

I think it is HUGELY better looking and more streamlined than any of his newer stuff.

But it is discontinued. Why?

Could it not be made again to enormous demand? If it's the "rarity" of previous buyers he is worried about, why not make a small change that would easily differentiate the new model from the old? Blunt off the end of the handle or grind in a larger thumb relief or something like that.

I just don't understand the discontinuance of knives that are VERY popular which can be seen by the demand for second hand ones when they rarely appear.

This applies to many knives. I just picked the CQC-6 because I would like to own one.

:confused:
 
Perhaps it is popular, but the market is saturated, so it's not selling well?

For another example, see the Benchmade AFCK.
 
So they can drive up the hype about how much better the "good old knives" were, and then reintroduce the line with less-beloved characteristics.

Wait, that was Coca Cola.
 
the '6 was never a production knife, its a custom only. if ya want one expect to spend ~$1500 or more. i have seen posts by ernie were he states the '6 will never be a production knife, not ever.

ya are thinking of another model, perhaps the '7??

most knives are disco'd because they dont sell, plain and simple.

one that comes to mind which ya would think would have enough demand to keep making but got disco'd anyway is the axis AFCK and std AFCK from BM.
 
Another thing to look at, atleast in the last 20 years, is wheater the knife was another person's design. Many knives have been discontinued when a designer/custom maker decides he doesn't want to work with a company anymore.
 
I'm more concerned with why a company wouldn't make a great knife a regular item. The best example of this is the limited run SAKs, like the one shown in the WSS forum a while back. It was a OH Trekker that had a non-serrated main blade and glow in the dark handles. Friggin' awesome.

Everyone loved it, it solved flaws of the old one that people didn't like. So why not just start producing them?
 
They may. This special item just came out. They introduce new models all the time. But they don't do it the day after someone says they should. :)
 
I wonder about that too. When Microtech introduced the LCC it quickly became their biggest seller. They didn't keep it in their lineup very long and dropped it a few years later. At the time the LCC was still a pretty popular knife. So who knows? Maybe some companies don't believe in meeting market demands, they'd rather create it by introducing "newer" and "better" models.
 
SIFU1A said:
the '6 was never a production knife, its a custom only. if ya want one expect to spend ~$1500 or more.
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Ouch! Excalibur wasn't worth that!

Could someone post a photo of what a $1,500 knife looks like? I'd dearly love to see one. (I'd have to sell three really fine handguns to buy it, though.) I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but it's ONLY a knife!

Uh-oh. Am I going to hell?
 
I think it is the market saturation thing. Sometimes they bring them back later. We can always hope!
 
Every decision made by a (well-managed) corporation centers on maximizing the share value and dividends for the share holders. :thumbup:
 
kamagong said:
I wonder about that too. When Microtech introduced the LCC it quickly became their biggest seller. They didn't keep it in their lineup very long and dropped it a few years later. At the time the LCC was still a pretty popular knife. So who knows? Maybe some companies don't believe in meeting market demands, they'd rather create it by introducing "newer" and "better" models.
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You put one up that hit a nerve with me. The LCC in my opinion is my favorite Microtech knife. I am completely clueless why it was discontinued, but I can imagine there were many possible reasons. I'd buy a brand new one if they were to put it back out in a heart beat.
 
It was said that the LCC was discontinued because Tony didn't pay Greg his royalties.
 
Confederate said:
Ouch! Excalibur wasn't worth that!

Could someone post a photo of what a $1,500 knife looks like? I'd dearly love to see one. (I'd have to sell three really fine handguns to buy it, though.) I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but it's ONLY a knife!

Uh-oh. Am I going to hell?
Click to expand...


virtually any emerson custom will go for $1ooo or so, the bolsterd and waved ones are even higher.

and yes if ya get luck at the lotto at a show they run ~$550 or so depending on the model.

great knives though, i had a CQC8 and now have a CQC13 custom & a CQC6 too which is LNIB and i have never carried..
 
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