Packaging&Presentation - How important is it to you?

How important is packaging/presentation of a knife to you?

  • I'm happy with a cardboard box, I just care about the knife.

    Votes: 90 67.7%

  • The more premium the knife, the more premium I want packaging.

    Votes: 43 32.3%
  • Total voters
    133
If the knife will be a user, or even have the possibility of being a user (eg. a limited edition ZT) just box it up in cardboard and ship it but if it's something really special, maybe a custom commemorative blade that clearly is an art/display piece I really enjoy seeing it displayed in a beautiful, handmade hardwood display box.

There's a European knife maker here who makes pistol / knife combos (that sell for like $5k and up) who is absolutely the best display box craftsman I've ever seen. Don't remember his name, anyone know who I'm talking about?
 
I don't need a good packaging but I appreciate it to some level, but I am okay with most packagings.

Spyderco is a bit too basic IMO but I can live with it. The drawer is a nice touch. However, I really appreciate Benchmades thicker cardbord boxes with the foam and the small storage bags. My least favorite packaging from an US manufacturer is KAI's though: Both my Kershaw Link and my Zero Tolerance ZT0630CF came in simple cardbord boxes. Not even a cardbox inlay, just the knife in a plastic bag! The same goes for Bear and Son. While it may be acceptable in for both Kershaw and Bear and Son because they are rather low priced knives I really disliked the ZT's packaging. I might be picky but it is a special edition and it cost me close to €300! That's a price where you can expect a bit more.

When it comes too European manufacturers the situation is comparable to some degree: You will get okayish to nice cardboxes. IMO Böker/Extrema Ratio are comparable to Benchmade, as are Atelier Perceval or Viper Technocut, Fox, etc. Lionsteel on the other hand has a very broad range. You will find those cheap cardboard boxes that I consider to inferior to Spyderco's and then there are those with a real wood inlay that are quite nice.


Cereal_killer said:
There's a European knife maker here who makes pistol / knife combos (that sell for like $5k and up) who is absolutely the best display box craftsman I've ever seen. Don't remember his name, anyone know who I'm talking about?
Click to expand...

Maybe you mean David Pedersoli. From what I read his hunting knives are top notch as are is guns.
 
I'm fine with either a plastic bag or a fine wooden chest.
I dislike cheapo cardboard (Spyderco, ZT) or crammed packages like CRK.
I'd say overall I'm happy with Benchmade style packaging.
 
Here's a unboxing video to showcase Busse's packaging.
Works for me.
 
Bark River does it just fine with their boxes; very plain jane. Don't care about boxes and if a knife is mailed to me, just pack it right. A really pretty box forces me to save it; more junk and I already have plenty of junk saved including knife boxes.
 
Generally I throw boxes away.
However, I did like the plastic boxes two of my Medford knives came in.
Felt like I was missing something with the one that came in a normal cardboard box.

I got one Boker Plus Gnome, and it came in a fancy box.
Threw the box out, and gave my brother the knife.
Next Gnome I bought came in clamshell packaging...I missed the box the other one came in. :(

Weird.
 
shunsui said:
Here's a unboxing video to showcase Busse's packaging.
Works for me.
Click to expand...

Is there a reason/justification they don't even give you a Kydex Sheath? Seems...meh to me, I can get over the fact that they just dump your knife bubble wrapped into a flat rate box, but not sheath seems very lame to me and a bit of a hassle having to find some sheath maker to make me one, probably send my knife to him, wait again.
 
shunsui said:
Here's a unboxing video to showcase Busse's packaging.
Works for me.
Click to expand...
The only problem I have with Busse's packaging is storing it, and trying to reapply it when I sell the knife. I have a hard enough time getting the paper right; but getting the plastic wrap straight enough to work with is beyond my BAC. (I'm not sure if that task requires higher or lower than mine; just that mine isn't right for it)
 
All my knives are users so I don't care for the package.
I don't mind nice box, but it just makes me wonder if it shows in the price tag? Perhaps not much.
 
I like having the CRK boxes as well as the GEC tubes and save them for resale time. If I buy what was already a user I am not too picky though. On Northwoods knives they could keep the ridiculous coin and even the leather pouch and knock $20 off the price, l don't need or want either.
 
Personally packaging goes a far way for me. I absolutely detest Apple products but man do I love their sleek & economical packaging. I look at it the same was as buying a new car or possibly a new watch. I take the whole experience and wrap it up into one. Going out a buying a nice new watch (Rolex ETC.) I personally ask them to keep the watch 100% the way it came from factory, I prefer to remove all the tags/plastics myself. Being at an A.D and opening the box myself, undoing the plastics & removing tags, all of that is worth something to me. Rather than going to the counter and slapping it on my wrist and walking out the door without even looking in the box.

I've been selling things all my life from watches to knives to just about everything you can think of. I've always been very meticulous to keep things the way they were intended to be. When I purchase a knife, if the seller does not have all the correct paperwork/boxes then a lot of times it just does not feel complete and I won't end up purchasing the knife. No matter if I know I'm going to beat the living snot out of the knife or not, resale value is ingrained in the back of my brain.

Grimsmo knives are a great example of not over the top packaging, but the lazer cut foam (thats engraved), pelican case, nano oil & tool makes the knife feel a bit more higher end.
 
I don't mind knives coming in a descent-looking, size-proportionate cardboard box or even in a nice fabric pouch (for the nicer models) inside the box but, what I'm REALLY getting tired of is all the totally unnecessary plastic clam packaging on cheaper models. (and this applies to EVERYTHING, not just knives)

I hear they do it to discourage theft but, if theft is really that much of a problem, they need to find a different way to go about combating it because all that extra plastic and cardboard is just insanely wasteful and I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone here how much fun they can be to open. :mad:
 
Jack_Burton said:
I don't mind knives coming in a descent-looking, size-proportionate cardboard box or even in a nice fabric pouch (for the nicer models) inside the box but, what I'm REALLY getting tired of is all the totally unnecessary plastic clam packaging on cheaper models. (and this applies to EVERYTHING, not just knives)

I hear they do it to discourage theft but, if theft is really that much of a problem, they need to find a different way to go about combating it because all that extra plastic and cardboard is just insanely wasteful and I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone here how much fun they can be to open. :mad:
Click to expand...

theft is tricky, those packages do help. the fact that you struggle to open them at home shows how effective they are.

About 1.5% off all store revenue worldwide gets lost directly to stealing, and another 1% to prevention.
 
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Just speaking of clam shell also brings to mind that majority of knives I seen in clam shell would fit an a simple and small cardboard box. Most would view the cardboard to be a more pleasant packaging design along with it being less wasteful with cardboard being recyclable vs clamshell which may or may not be but is generally treated as just simple trash.
 
PirateSeulb said:
Just speaking of clam shell also brings to mind that majority of knives I seen in clam shell would fit an a simple and small cardboard box. Most would view the cardboard to be a more pleasant packaging design along with it being less wasteful with cardboard being recyclable vs clamshell which may or may not be but is generally treated as just simple trash.
Click to expand...

You can't display a cardboard box in a store ;)
And you get the same theft issue.
 
basmca said:
You can't display a cardboard box in a store ;)
And you get the same theft issue.
Click to expand...
Every store I am in these days has their knives locked up so theft becomes moot and display it is easier and likely better to have a display model that people can even handle and it can be sold with original packaging if its boxed vs clamshelled.
 
I don't care about the packaging one bit, so long as it's functional. Hinderer has some of the most plain packaging around but I never hear complaints about thanks company's packaging.
 
First off let me say I order a one hundred dollar plus knife and what do they put it in ?
A thin cardboard box that can't stay closed long enough to ship the knife from Texas to Colorado . . . you see what I'm saying ? Knife out of the box sliding around inside the shipping box or bag.

Now the industry / knife vendors in the US could take a lesson from the Japanese. Even if I order a thirty five dollar knife from them the knife comes in a very nice box, the knife is in a plastic bag with gold colored characters on it and all of that is wrapped in bubble wrap and then wrapped in plastic and taped closed . . . the paper work and invoice are in sealed plastic envelopes.

Hahaha and just today The Chef was feeling guilty about spending ten dollars on a package of tea bags but she says she tried the tea some where and she really LIKES the tea so she bought a box.
Here's the box ! ! ! ! !
Lively silk screen printing (or looks like anyway).
Check it out . . . milled tung and groove joinery.
Foil wrapped
Individually bagged with nice individual hang tags.
Heck that's a twenty dollar packaging job !
IMG_5039.jpg
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IMG_5041.jpg
 
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