Stopped by Smoky Mtn Knife Works today and..

S

skippz

Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Messages
76
..THEY DON'T DEAL BENCHMADE ANYMORE!!! Spoke to the ladie at the SOG booth and she said that the smkw owner and benchmade's owner were both hard headed, apparently smkw was getting their benchie's from a wholesaler below cost, BM got upset... etc. etc... Anyway, she then goes on to tell me that SOG and BM are both made by the same people... (Still not quite sure I believe this)... and that they were of equal quality but SOG was half the price... trying to make a sell on me I suppose... They had one BM left, an auto rukus... and they didn't hesitate to tell me that "you have to be LE before you can buy this" which is fine, not a big auto fan anyway, but I think that is ridiculous seeing as how one can present a manual or wave just as quickly w/ a little practice.
So after all this, all I ended up leaving w/ was a dmt diamond stone, which I'm disappointed w/ as well... or at least disappointed in how bad I am at sharpening a blade...
Enough rant guys, if you've made it this far, thanks for listening.
 
skippz said:
<snip>

Anyway, she then goes on to tell me that SOG and BM are both made by the same people... (Still not quite sure I believe this)... and that they were of equal quality but SOG was half the price... trying to make a sell on me I suppose...

<snip>
Click to expand...
When she said this, did you burst out laughing in front of her, or were you able to hold it in until you were out of the store? ;)
 
I wouldn't be surprised if BM and SOG mass produced designs were made by the same manufacturing company. The factory just makes the product to the specs they are given.

For instance, guitar and bass strings [of varying quality] sold under a hundred different brand are mostly made by [IIRC] 2 or 3 companies.
 
bladerique said:
I wouldn't be surprised if BM and SOG mass produced designs were made by the same manufacturing company. The factory just makes the product to the specs they are given.

For instance, guitar and bass strings [of varying quality] sold under a hundred different brand are mostly made by [IIRC] 2 or 3 companies.
Click to expand...

That would be difficult given most SOGs are made over seas and most Benchmades are made at their factory in Oregon.

I think she was slinging a pretty good sales pitch, or it would have been if she hadn't been talking to a knife nut:D
 
either way, I love the store and the people there are friendly/helpful... especially some of the older guys... but I was hoping to leave w/ a BM rift... oh well...
 
EricV said:
That would be difficult given most SOGs are made over seas and most Benchmades are made at their factory in Oregon.

I think she was slinging a pretty good sales pitch, or it would have been if she hadn't been talking to a knife nut:D
Click to expand...

I dont call it a sales pitch when its an out right lie. I would have confronted her personally.
 
Wow. One has to wonder whether it was just ignorance, or deceptive sales tactics. I wouldn't be surprised either way.
 
"...anyway, she then goes on to tell me that SOG and BM are both made by the same people..."
- skippz

now that was far more upsetting...
 
I have a love/hate thing for SMKW. I love it as a resource where I can go to handle knives and knife related products. I hate it though because nearly all of their knives can be found much cheaper online. And I'm talking shipped to the door with significant savings. I also hate that many of their staff don't know jack about the knives they're selling. Most of the time, I know more of the specs and features of knives I'm interested in than they do. They make their living as a tourist money trap like most of the shops and businesses in the Sevierville/Gatlinburg area.
 
I love the store. I take anything that the salespeople say with a grain of salt. Same as I do at any sports/knife/gun store nowadays. Most people aren't working at those stores because they have a passion for the wares, they're working there because they need a job and that's what they could find.
 
I was in retail sales for a long time..... and while I came up with some creative sales pitches..... none of them were that ridiculous. Big difference between putting a new spin on things and a blatant lie.
 
cramsey3006 said:
I love the store. I take anything that the salespeople say with a grain of salt. Same as I do at any sports/knife/gun store nowadays. Most people aren't working at those stores because they have a passion for the wares, they're working there because they need a job and that's what they could find.
Click to expand...

Yeah most of the stores don't really want anyone who knows what they are talking about. ;)

They would have to PAY them for one.....
 
I've talked with the owners of some of the gun shops around here. I've told them that they need to pay a small commission in addition to their hourly wage and that will help move more products. He thought I was nuts. Their salespeople could care less if they actually sold something.

Then I told him that most of the people he employees would make more money working at Sears, JC Penney, Macy's etc. That's why everyone at those stores fight to get you to their register and makes sure to show you anything you are looking for. They get an hourly rate and a commission based on the sales they ring out on their register.

I know people who work at Macy's that make $40,000+ a year selling shoes. The hours usually suck and it's got to be boring as hell, but that's not bad money anyway you cut it.
 
SMKW doesn't have bad prices. (At least for what I buy) Most of the people were also pretty smart that I talked too. I only talked to the older people though.

If she was serious about being made by the same people though, I would have said something for sure. She may have thought that, as she may have been told that by someone else.
 
I was in smkw last fall and one of the salesmen told me that case makes their parts in the usa and sends them to china to be assembled then ships them back here, dont know if this true or not. this guy was at the rough rider counter.
 
As far as I know, Case's knives are 100% USA. There are videos on You Tube showing the manufacturing and assembly of the knives.
 
bhcarl said:
I was in smkw last fall and one of the salesmen told me that case makes their parts in the usa and sends them to china to be assembled then ships them back here, dont know if this true or not. this guy was at the rough rider counter.
Click to expand...

100% bull right there. Good lord, what a laugh! :D
 
MtnDude said:
I have a love/hate thing for SMKW. I love it as a resource where I can go to handle knives and knife related products. I hate it though because nearly all of their knives can be found much cheaper online. And I'm talking shipped to the door with significant savings. I also hate that many of their staff don't know jack about the knives they're selling. Most of the time, I know more of the specs and features of knives I'm interested in than they do. They make their living as a tourist money trap like most of the shops and businesses in the Sevierville/Gatlinburg area.
Click to expand...

Most of what you say is spot on. BUT, I still love having this place close enough to go once in awhile. ANY knife store with that much stuff on hand is cool beans in my book. The good part is...once they mark a blade the price stays the same FOREVER. I've gotten some good deals on stuff that has been discontinued and everyone else has jacked up the price, but with so much inventory smkw has kept the original price :)
 
SMKW is definitely geared toward the tourist trade, with a lot of very inexpensive knives. Nothing says "I visited TN and SMKW like a $15 knife. They apparently sell a ton of them.

But they do have a very extensive collection of Victorinox, along with a lot of Buck and Case, and a bunch of others thrown in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top