Only Room for One Knife Brand in My Store - What Should it Be?

W

WileECoyote

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Apr 25, 2005
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Have a nostalgic, old-fashioned gift store in a nostalgic, old-fashioned resort town, and am looking to carry a line of retro-style folders like SAK or Buck, boy scout types, jigged bone or wood scales, multi-tool, whatever. I really only have room for 1 brand to start. Which one would you pick?
 
Unless you want to drop a large amount of cash on Hen & Rooster, which is a German company that makes excellent slip joints, Queen is the best "old timey" knife company left in the US.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Probably buck, this way you can get some slips, as well as lockbacks, as well as tacticals, so you can cater to everyone.
 
I'll second Victorinox. Everyone knows what an SAK is, and a lot of people buy them who wouldn't buy a "real knife." Add to that, they're affordable, and of very high quality. You could charge a reasonable ammount over wholesale and make a good profit.

Queen is a good idea for the old fashioned looking knives. Not as affordable, and ultimately not as useful to non-knife people, as an SAK, however. But they're still high quality, nice knives.

Buck is also a good option, but when you get into the locking knives you need to be up to date on your town's knife laws. Locking knives are illegal in some places, and Buck makes assisted openers now that could be considered autos by some ill-informed police officers/judges.

I'd start with Victorinox and if it's successful and you feel like branching out, then move onto Queen, Buck, Case or Camillus.
 
PWork said:
Victorinox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Paul
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What Paul said. V'nox has universal appeal and the wide diversity of options makes it almost impossible for someone to not find at least one model in which they are interested. ;)
 
Difficult question. I think that the SAK advice is sound. Most people know what they are and are not intimidated by them. It is a knife that most non-knife people would purchase.
 
or other Mart in his town, he will be competing with them for business. Not so with the Queens, plus it sounds like the people that come into his store will be more willing to pay higher prices for quality merchandise.

Gift $tore in Re$ort Town, fella$, plus Queen is made in the USA.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
trane fan said:
NKP= Nin-Kom-Poops??? Did I get it right? :eek: If so, what did I win??? :D ;)
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Jeez that's a shame trane fan - I had a free trip to Bali, 7 sebenza's, 6 Busse's and a rare Dark Op's for the person who guessed that right first time. Sigh, I guess I'll just have to give those prizes away now. :D

NKP's - Non Knife People - started by Sal Glesser as a less derogatory term than sheeple. Not that sheeple isn't appropriate some tiimes. Just not always called for.
 
Kohai999 said:
or other Mart in his town, he will be competing with them for business. Not so with the Queens, plus it sounds like the people that come into his store will be more willing to pay higher prices for quality merchandise.

Gift $tore in Re$ort Town, fella$, plus Queen is made in the USA.
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The dude's right! No Wal-Mart nearby, but a "men's" store that carries some sort of Victorinox products, probably watches or gent's manicure mini-blades.

Oh, and two knife stores within a couple of blocks! One specializes in dramatic weaponry a la cold steel + a few gryptilians and benchies; the other has a wide array of customs.

We sell nostalgic candy, tin toys, models, signs (e.g. coca-cola, john deere) cards, incense, etc. We're in PA, folks don't seem super-uptight about blades around here, especially if it's just an old "boy scout knife."

Most people, as far as I can tell, don't associate any particular brand name with the remembered metal bolster & bone folders of their youth...accept maybe a generic "buck knife." Thing with Buck is that the only one I like is the 110...am I missing something?

Anyway, I really appreciate all the ideas, this is really helpful!
 
If you're in PA then it MUST be Queen. Titusville mfd and all - and besides, they are much more in keeping with the theme in your store, and do have quite a range of pricing...Queen gets my vote!

Regards,

Jeremy
 
queen knives are very nice ...but will "non-knife" people pay 50$+ for a pocketknife?

visually attractive knives that are affordable ... like case ... seem more appropriate to the target market. performance is not an issue here. a tourist shop will sell knives that appeal to impulse buyers. swiss army knives fall in that category...but if someone is already selling them in town...it might be better to have a unique item
 
I agree with bandaid man. Schatt & Morgan and Queen make great knives but from my experience they aren't really that well known to the average guy on the street. You would be hard pressed to find a man anywhere that hasn't heard of Case knives. Although Case's do seem to be aimed at collecters nowdays they still make a decent knife and offer a ton of different patterns and handle materials that appeal to a very broad range of people.
 
If it were me making the decision I would look down in my own pocket and see what knife I carried all the time that did all the normal jobs that suited me. I would then pursue carrying that brand mainly because you are familiar with it you use it and you can recommend it to more less informed customers. Figure that the average Joe that comes in would spend maybe 25 to 30 dollars tops on a knife and see what you can find at that range or below it. Since there are a couple of knife stores around the block so to speak let them carry the exotic or more expensive blades until your business will allow you to branch out. Schrade and or Old Timer make decent folders that are not expensive and the company can provide you as a dealer a nice display when you order them up. It seems to me that the investment would not be that great and a resonable profit could be made with knife buying customers..
 
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