ProTech knives explained?

kingston73

kingston73

Joined
Oct 14, 2013
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I am not at all bashing, I'm rely just curious why Protec knives are so expensive? For instance the Malibu seems like a pretty standard flipper, what makes it such an expensive know and why are they in such high demand? Am I missing out?
 
I've owned two ProTech knives, the Cambria and the Malibu, and both are exceptionally well thought-out designs with superb fit and finish. Button locks are still pretty uncommon, despite being excellent from a mechanical and fidget-factor perspective, and ProTech implements them perfectly.

Stack the Malibu, with its 20CV blade, up against a comparable American-made knife from a company with a great reputation, the Para 3, and you're paying about $50 more for the Malibu (asterisk: except they're always sold out!) than the G10/S30V Para 3, or $60 more than the FRN/S90V model. Given that ProTech is a much smaller company, making fewer knives, that doesn't feel out of line to me.

I submit that there's also an "it's the hot knife everyone wants right now" factor at work, but I'm discounting that entirely. The Malibu is just plain excellent. :thumbsup:

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I will make a few semi-educated guesses.

1. Made in the USA specifically California which has a very high cost of living and higher taxes.
2. Small(er) company with limited production. Similar to CRK, TRM, Medford, etc.
3. More "hands on" work then most knives get.
4. Reputation for quality and workmanship. People are quite simply willing to pay for good craftsmanship AND support a USA made company.
 
In the realm of modern locking folders it is not expensive at for a USA made, high quality, folding knife. Sucks to say that for a $200 knife but Protech makes a quality product and today for USA made $200 Is pretty standard
 
Protech knives are awesome. That’s why.

They’re extremely well built and have great fit and finish. Their automatics kick like a scalded donkey. They also have great customer service if that matters to you.

If their new prices scare you, check out the exchange here. You should be able to snag what you’re looking for. They all eventually come around - just keep an open eye and a full wallet.
 
You need to "get out" more.

FYI, Pro-techs are no more expensive (and often less) than Benchmades, MicroTechs, ZTs or Spydercos, which are all w/in pretty the same general mid-price range for knives these days, regardless if they are manual or auto.

However, MicroTechs and Benchmades tend to run on the high end for autos; higher than ProTech. So, many Pro-tech autos are a "bargain" in comparison.

Does Pro-tech even make manual folders? I only buy Pro-tech for their autos and I only buy BenchMade and MicroTech for the autos and/or balis.

As for mid-range priced manuals, no one made (emphasis on "made') them than ZT and no one makes them any better NOW than Spyderco, which is why I own 40 "vintage" (and no current) ZTs and over 130 Spydercos (both vintage and current).

I also have a lot of vintage Kershaws (just sold off all of my cheap contemporary ones) and some CRKTS (vintage and contemporary) but that's another matter.
 
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I’ve been told by Protech that they are working with .001” tolerances. I’m sure that plays a role.
 
Why the price?

People will pay it & it seems that people line up to pay it.

It really, really, really is - - as simple as that.
 
DustinK said:
In the realm of modern locking folders it is not expensive at for a USA made, high quality, folding knife. Sucks to say that for a $200 knife but Protech makes a quality product and today for USA made $200 Is pretty standard
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Yep, knife prices overall have gone up. A USA made quality knife will cost you. To op, Protech is actually one of the most affordable still.
 
IMG-1505.jpg

Protech Strider SnG Operator

This was delivered an hour ago. For me this is special in more than one way. I never had anything tactical, nor an auto and wanted to experience Strider ergos. I really like the sterile look.
So, my initial impressions is that it has a healthy kick and the build quality is great as far as I can tell. It came shaving sharp, the thickness behind the edge is the same as the Spyderco Native. That is fine.
The steel is 154CM, which is not a PM, but should be adequate with 60-ish hardness.
This is a fun knife. I don't need it, but it is part of my knife journey.
 
I agree with the others who have said that ProTech is a great value. I think they have the best price to performance ratio in the knife world. I think the Malibu is a screaming value at just under $200 for a USA-made knife with 20CV steel and a button lock. Value is subjective though, so I could see how others wouldn't agree.

Like others said, ProTechs have some of the best actions and very tight machining tolerances. They make their knives very well, and they're all ground to cut, no folding pry bars here. Additionally, they have some of the best customer service I've ever dealt with. That's probably the best part of them being a small company. I've called their customer service a few times, and Dave, the owner answered one time!

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sgt1372 said:
Does Pro-tech even make manual folders?
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Yup, here's all the button lock flippers they've made: Cambria, Mordax, and Malibu. In the past they've made a manual button lock TR-4 and an assisted TR-5. They made a framelock version of the TR-3 as well.

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Not to diminish the quality of the Malibu at all, because it is an extremely well made and knife with a perfectly executed design. However the high demand in my opinion can be 100% attributed to YouTube knife influencers like Shabazz. They get a knife and praise it as the second coming and the rest of the enthusiast community follows suit
 
Silvanus said:
Not to diminish the quality of the Malibu at all, because it is an extremely well made and knife with a perfectly executed design. However the high demand in my opinion can be 100% attributed to YouTube knife influencers like Shabazz. They get a knife and praise it as the second coming and the rest of the enthusiast community follows suit
Click to expand...

Hmmm. None of my purchases has ever been attributed to an influencer.

I pay the ProTech price because of the value I get for my hard earned dollar. When you have great stuff at a reasonable price, there's a demand for it.

I'm not saying you are "wrong" per se, because I'm an old guy and really have no idea how much influence "influencers" really have in the knife realm.

But I can't buy that 100% of the demand comes from such a source... the product, pricing, customer service etc. is where I think the demand comes from.
 
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