Purchasing knives in NYC

DPC

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Do you know any knife shop in Manhattan that has blackjacks and fallknivens ? Any good store for the prices / range of products?

Could I get tassed and peppersprayed by an angry cop for carrying them from the shop to the hotel? Is that likely or unlikely to happen?

Do you know if they open up your luggage when it goes out of the country? Could I have trouble getting those knives out of usa to my home country?

Thanks in advance.
 
I was just in nyc last week. I dont think youll find any type of outdoorsy store that has decent knives in the city :( And im pretty sure if you did find some it would be best to ship them home rather than carry them in the luggage.
 
About 10 years ago I bought a Microtech LCC (manual version obviously..) from Paragon Sports on 18th and Broadway. Just looked on their web site and they don't have any high end knives listed so they may not be so good anymore.

You're unlikely to run into problems taking the back to the hotel if the knives are in retail packaging in a carrier bag or backpack with a retail receipt.

Your bags can get opened by security / customs when you fly anywhere. I have flown to the USA frequently and never lost knives or flashlights to security or customs flying in or out, but make sure you have travel insurance just in case. My approach is to dump the retail packaging and drop the knife in my toilet bag at the bottom of my checked baggage. I like to think its not very visible on the x-ray in there and even if it is noticed no one will bother emptying all of that stuff out for it. Flashlights I take in my hand luggage. I don't take large or very expensive flashlights or, lights with a strike bezel and as such I have never had a problem.

NYC definitely isn't the best place for that sort of purchase, it doesn't compare to the sports shops for example in Florida.
 
I travel to NYC frequently and have searched hi and low. Here's what I know: Paragon Sports sells some nice knives, including customs mid techs and others, but I found their prices quite high. There is a knife shop called Beautiful Blades. He has a website. He is not always open so call first and he will come open the door. Small shop but he has quite a few nice knives. His shop is in a basement but like a cool man cave. The owners a nice guy. Lastly the Beretta store has a few knives (maybe 5-10 total) but that store is worth seeing for the high end guns.
Hope this helps
 
About 10 years ago I bought a Microtech LCC (manual version obviously..) from Paragon Sports on 18th and Broadway. Just looked on their web site and they don't have any high end knives listed so they may not be so good anymore.

Paragon still has custom knives, they are just hard to find on website. You have to select "gear" then you'll see a tab for custom knives. I just looked again and repeat Their prices are very high. A few of their customs from makers I know sell for double.
 
NYC is not a great place to find knives for sale and the legal establishment will give you a hard time if you break any of their laws. Some of this might go away with the new Mayor and Police Commissioner, but it won't be soon.

Expect air travel to be very security conscious but legal knives can travel in checked luggage. There is some theft possible.
 
Here's Mastersmiths website -

http://www.beautifulblades.com/ .

Here was a look at Paragon's knife counter to give you an idea, it changes a lot -

[video=youtube;Ksdx6qnNLD4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksdx6qnNLD4[/video].

Korin is interesting for Chef and kitchen goods -

http://www.korin.com/site/home.html .

Westpfal might be worth a look if close, just because it's one of Ny's last remaining cutlery places -

http://www.yelp.com/biz/henry-westpfal-and-co-new-york .

J B Prince has some decent Chef knives, and nice kitchen ware -

http://www.jbprince.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/jb-prince-company-new-york .
 
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Henry Westpfal - I love it! This has got to be the same place I used to walk by every day when I worked at the General Post Office on 31st Street in the early 1970s. I didn't always walk past them, I bought a lot of gear there, not just knives but tools. Still with the big scissors out front for a sign. :)
 
Thank you very much this has been very helpful.

It is hard for me to believe that the "heart of the world" has about as many knife shops as the town where I live but oh well...

That kinda sucks because what I wanted to get is around 250 $ total in the states instead of the 540$ I have to spend to get it here... crap.
 
It's the last 10 years or so that have killed off much of the NYC knife scene. If you asked just a decade ago, you might of gotten 10 - 20 stores just in Manhattan proper, now it's only really kitchen cutlery that has any foothold.
 
Like the other guys here mentioned, its going to be hard to find one in store. However, if you get the chance to take a trip to Long Island, it should be easier. I remember Dicks sporting goods carrying some ka-bars, not too sure about blackjacks and fallknivens.
 
DPC said:
It is hard for me to believe that the "heart of the world" has about as many knife shops as the town where I live but oh well...

Before 9/11, walking home from work, I used to stop in at shops on several streets, and pick up knives. There was a store on Lexington with a big display window, with what looked like the entire Cold Steel tactical line-up. Other shops specialized in kitchen cutlery or art knives.

A whole industry reduced to dust.
 
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