Social media? How did you discover your interest in knives?

H

HammerHill

Joined
Dec 4, 2012
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SharpByCoop, a custom knifemaker, posed a question about how to reach out to and find potential customers over in Custom & Handmade Knives that got me thinking... forgive the wall of text but I think there is a really interesting conversation to be had here. How did you discover knives; and now, how do you decide which ones to buy? How important are places like bladeforums?

There is absolutely a shift occurring in how people are talking about (and buying, and selling) knives (and everything else, frankly). I think bladeforums and its ilk still have a vital place in the landscape because they offer a depth of knowledge that absolutely does not exist elsewhere. Mostly this is because forums like this one are archived in a really straightforward way. You want to know about X blade steel? Use the search tool and find 30 discussions between amateur and expert alike! It's a valuable record of knowledge and opinion. That said, it is not nearly as good at growing an audience. Sure, people sign up for these forums probably daily but the conversations are among a core group who are really well-versed in the culture here. I'm not saying that bladeforums is unfriendly or unwelcoming, but it IS absolutely a walled-off, niche little world here.

Instagram (and places like reddit; facebook, to a lesser extent) offer a much more fluid and LIVE experience. #hashtags are weird but they allow people to share stuff thematically on a platform where EVERYTHING is shared with EVERYBODY. Let's take as example a hypothetical person who has no knowledge of high-end knives whatsoever. His exposure to knives comes from the kitchen and next to the cashier's at truck stops. He doesn't know it yet, but this person is a potential knife enthusiast (and potential high-end knife buyer). He's got an attention for details, he cares about good design, and he's probably a little obsessive, too. Maybe he's had a passing interest in other similar things - mechanical watches, or leatherworking, or even firearms? Well, he starts using instagram, and starts following friends, then people whose interests overlap his. And soon, the crazy rich guy he follows on instagram because he's always posting pictures of beautiful unattainable mechanical watches posts a picture of some awesome custom knife with the hashtag #EDC and with one click he can see EVERY picture anyone has tagged with #EDC and BAM now he's got a healthy knife obsession. The point is that tools like instagram allow people to find out about things that appeal to them quickly and totally organically.

Because the instagram (and reddit, and etc etc etc) community is so massive it allows anyone to discover anything relatively quickly, but it also means that there's very little depth and very little history. Knifemakers "blow up" on instagram but they do so often based on aesthetics alone (thinking of you, Direware and Medford Knives) and function more as a "sharable" status symbol than as a useful knife.

Anyway, I guess my point is... this all sure is interesting and if I was a knifemaker I would be focusing on my instagram presence AS WELL as here on bladeforums. Both are great tools for reaching people, and ultimately customers!

And don't even get me started on Facebook...
 
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I've stayed entirely out of the social media aspect of the knife world. No tumblrs, instagrams, facebook friends, or anything. I didn't discover my interest in knives as much as it developed as I continued to search for "the" knife. Every time I thought I had found it, I learned more about the materials and about my tastes, and "the" knife became the old "the" knife, and a new "the" knife had to be found.

Along the way, I've learned a lot and met a lot of interesting and awesome people. I have no regrets except for selling my Kershaw RAM.
 
But HOW do you search for "the" knife? In person, at your local knifestore? Luckily there's a pretty great knifestore in my town but that's sadly not an option for most people. And usually when I go in there I find I know more about a given blade than they do, simply because I've done obsessive research about it online, beforehand!
 
I discovered my interest in knives the second I saw one I liked. I was probably 4 years old. No "social media" necessary, nor available.
How do I choose knives now? I choose a knife I like, and that I think will work to fulfill a specific need I have. That's it. No outside influence necessary anymore. My only problem now is sometimes it's hard to wrap my mind around the actual scale of a knife. I.E. - how big is it? How will it feel in my hand?
 
I got my first knife when I was a Cub Scout. The rest is history. No social media involved.
 
Honesty:

When I was very young, I saw my grandpa use a folder. I asked him about it, and he replied that having a knife was part of being a man and that I'd have one.

A couple years later, I was a young Cub Scout reading "Boys' Life" (scouting publication) and saw knife ads in it. I wanted to be just like grandpa, so I begged and begged my parents for one. They made me do chores for months and months to earn it, and I eventually got a sweeeeeet stockman.

Soon after, I became infatuated with SAKs, and begged my parents, busted out chores, etc until I got one with the BSA logo on it. I was 8 or 9 at the time. That was my EDC for many years.

Eventually, I was at a gun shop and saw a SOG Trident Tanto on a peg hook.

Then a Kershaw Clash combo edge.

Then I met someone who knew more than I did and was advised to check out a particular knife store, where I bought a Spyderco Persistence.

Gun boards lead me to EDCF and BF, and I discovered that the local shop was KSF.


All of this is to say:

- initiated by someone I knew
- horizons expanded because of accessible media
- more specific media brought better information and understanding, which contributed to better buying decisions

I am a very big advocate for social media.
 
When I was growing up, most men carried a knife. So I carried a knife. Been doing so for over 50 years. No social media needed.
 
Recent interest rekindled by participation in standard web forums, like this one. I don't use any of the social media services you mentioned nor do I have any intention of doing so. No Facebook, no Instagram, don't even know what Reddit is. Played around with Twitter a few years ago but found limited value in it, and don't really use it now. My wife uses Facebook. I looked at it, seemed like a waste of time. As if I cared about all of the drivel other people constantly spew about themselves.
 
I was raised by the internet so I've always been a part of it whenever it's available. I love talking knives on reddit/4chan/instagram/facebook ect.
 
Unfortunately, (IMO,) social media has become a prime venue for sales...it's one of the reasons I got out of my hobby business - I hated it. I didn't like the medium, I didn't like the way the people conducted themselves, and - in short order - I refused to be a part of it. Sure, I had the forum classifieds that I'd used previously; but traffic was dropping off, and the facebook mentality was taking over there, as well.
I have no desire to "work it" on facebook, instragram, etc - I'm from a world where producing quality & having a sound reputation was what made you a big deal...not the number of posts made each day, and how many friends/followers you can amass. I realized I'd rather stop selling than immerse myself in those venues...so I did.
 
I was a bit of a late - bloomer and was absolutely assisted by the endless stream of knowledge to be had on the net. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved knives. But, a lot like the average human, I thought they were cool and didn't have any knowledge other than recommendations made by fellow uneducated "experts".

However, about 8+ years ago, I asked my wife to get me a good knife for my bday. I searched amazon until I found "the" knife. It was a SOG Toothlock. I instantly LOVED this knife. Went to my local Army/Navy and purchased an SOG Vulcan. And that is where my obsession began. I started researching steels. I came across a chart, via google, that explained how each steel was made and the specs of each. I spent countless hrs searching for my next knife, and the next, etc.
 
hhmoore said:
Unfortunately, (IMO,) social media has become a prime venue for sales...it's one of the reasons I got out of my hobby business - I hated it. I didn't like the medium, I didn't like the way the people conducted themselves, and - in short order - I refused to be a part of it. Sure, I had the forum classifieds that I'd used previously; but traffic was dropping off, and the facebook mentality was taking over there, as well.
I have no desire to "work it" on facebook, instragram, etc - I'm from a world where producing quality & having a sound reputation was what made you a big deal...not the number of posts made each day, and how many friends/followers you can amass. I realized I'd rather stop selling than immerse myself in those venues...so I did.
Click to expand...


Amen.

I think that 'social media' may one day prove useful to this hobby, but at the moment it's nothing more then a place for overnight 'custom' knife makers to build a rep, and make some easy money....

The set-up of places like Instagram is idea, because you link the sheep to the wolves with very little conversation.
It's just 'followers' and 'likes' and 'mentions' that can give someone status, whether it's deserved or not.

On a medium, such as a forum, there is endless discussion and questioning.
If you took an Instagram 'custom' knife maker (and I know a few who couldn't sell anything here, but are doing quite well in IG) and dropped him into the world of BF, there would be questions, there would be discussion, and skepticism.

You need that.
As a maker of anything, you need to prove yourself, your skill, and earn the respect and the $ of your potential customers by having your product scrutinized and passing that test.

Hype is what sells knives on IG, etc.

That's a tough way to buy a knife......
 
Growing up in 1960's Britain all us kids had at least one fixed blade or sheath knife as we called them along with a few folders. I've never really been without a pocket knife of some kind. I suppose my interest in collecting was started by buying a Zippo knife in the early 1990's.
 
The part that mentioned attention to detail, mechanical watches, firearms and OBSESSIVE pegs me pretty well. I laughed when I read that.

I go cheap in a lot of areas in my life but I tend to geek out on craftsmanship regarding certain items.

I always liked knives but the internet let me dive pretty deep pretty fast.
 
knarfeng said:
When I was growing up, most men carried a knife. So I carried a knife. Been doing so for over 50 years. No social media needed.
Click to expand...

Exactly. There was no social media in 1985, when I got my first SAK.

In 87, I got my first folder, large single blade Case XX.

Those were enough for me until senior year of high school, and a specialty outdoor sporting goods store was closing their doors and everything was on sale. I picked up a SOG Pentagon Elite (liner lock, this was 1997) for $35.00. I was 27 before I got my first fixed blade. I always used my dads hatchet and other tools camping.

What brought me here? I was researching some knives and specifications I was looking for on google.

I don't think social media will ever be a very good outlet for discussing or advertising knives and guns, etc because of the "media" part of it. My generation has become somewhat of the last vestige hope in this regard (Gen X). My sister, four years younger, (and her husband, 2 years younger) think on the same wavelength as me. However, 90% of her friends (mostly from high school) are the complete opposite. It seems to get worse the younger people are. There are always exceptions, but most people these days live in the city or suburbs, and never really think about the outdoors, or having to survive on their own. They are too wrapped up in their electronics to pay attention.

15 years ago, I went on a mission trip with my church (at the time) driving in 8 8-passenger vans from Chicago to the Austin, TX hill country. We were building an outdoors sanctuary for underprivileged kids from the city. Other missions had started building, but we were divided into different groups;

Building cabins
Building an outdoor prayer area with river stones and mortar
Hauling large, flat rocks from the other side of an island in the river using paddle boats.

I was in the last group. It was really hard work, but gratifying at the same time. It was spring break, and we were there for five days. The last day, they group using the rocks had more than enough, so we went to a group not with ours and helped them plant trees and shrubs, etc. We stayed in the finished cabins, and the only phone was in the main building, at the bottom of a massive hill. We each got to call home once a day. My SOG Pentagon Elite came in very, very handy that trip, mostly for cutting up tinder and small branches for the evening bonfires.
 
Got my first knife well before the computer was invented (sounds weird to say). No internet, no FB etc. just the woods and lots of free time instead of being behind a screen, inside and online.
 
I was born in the 80's grew up with no Internet, no Facebook , Twitter or nothing. I Learned about knives from my Boy Scout experience, and people at church we went hunting, fishing with. My knowledge of knives has exponentially expanded since joining this forum last year bought a lot of knives because of this place lol, so thanks.
 
This is my first post here, so it will serve as a good introduction.

I got my first pocket knife for Christmas when I was 7 (56 years ago) because that was part of growing up then. Most men carried one. Got my first fixed blade at about 14, shortly after I started hunting. The social media at that time consisted of talking to people, specifically old guys that had figured out over their lifetime what made a good knife. With their input and then refining it as I grew up I went through lots of different blades, usually reading about them in gun magazines or seeing them in sporting goods stores. I still get that input along with the internet and forums like this to help with purchases. I haven't really seen any use for Facebook, Instagram, or any of the others. I still prefer just face-to-face talking and the ability to handle a knife before purchase.
 
There is nothing to 'learn' about knives on social media...

It's a store.
It's a place to build your name.
It's a place to build a following, or to be a follower.

I see no contribution to this community in any of that.....
 
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