Store Bought Or Online Purshase?

D

Drew66

Joined
Feb 7, 2003
Messages
101
I hope I am not crossing a line in the rules department here, but I am curious as to how most of you fellas acquire your knives. Do you order them online or go to a certain store to buy them?
 
As much as I'd like to be able to handle knives before I purchase them, I can't afford to pay the much higher prices found in mall stores. To date I've done all my knife shopping online.
 
I order most of my knives from the maker since I am mostly into custom knives and prefer dealing with the maker rather than a purveyor or dealer. There is one store in Las Vegas that I like to support when I am in that city, but that is about it for B&M stores that I deal with.


(Edited to make my post easier to understand.)
 
Mostly online, though I'll buy things I like in a B&M store, too, if the price isn't too outrageous. I think that being able to handle a knife before the purchase is worth paying a little more, and I don't mind helping out knife stores when I can.
 
I also buy almost all of my knives online. Not only due to the better prices, but also because of selection. I can't find any good knife stores near me that have a good selection of quality knives, so I buy online.

The only place and time I can really buy knives in person is when a knife show comes near me.
 
Local store.

I was fortunate enough to have a good shop open up in town and this guy knows the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly. He will only handle quality blades and will often bring in a custom piece or two which I think is awsome. I will wait sometimes months to buy a piece from him just to keep him in business. I like the way he does business and want to keep him around so when ever possible I buy from him. There are times I go the online route but it's mainly to save time on little stuff, like stingers, CS Shambok odd stuff that he doesn's usually carry or want to bother with.
Price wise he's managed to stay competitive with online pricing so it's no real difference to me if there is a variance it's made up in S/H or delivery time etc. I say it's worth it to go local when you can.
 
Both. I like my local source to stay open so that I can go and test drive some of the knives. He doesn't get all of my business, but helping to keep him open is better than not having any place to go.
 
Every knife I own has been bought online, with the exception of knife shows and one or two Bucks from Wal-Mart
 
online.....

unless i want low end traditionals (Buck, Schrade, Camillus) or a Leatherman. for those we have a couple farm supply stores that carry those.

Metis
 
Just to make something clear, I would support a local store if we had one. When I used to live in Calgary I supported Target Knives because they had a really good selection of knives, books and accessories. Edmonton has no real knife store; that really sucks.
 
100% Online..Only place to get a decent knife around here is this local gun shop and all he has is a few BM's , Kershaw, Ka-bar, and crkt. Very limited selection, and the prices are outrageous. I often see knives there, higher than the MSRP:barf: :grumpy:
 
I buy mainly online, but also try to purchase from the three gun shops here, when I can get a good deal.

One of the local gunshops here sells at MSRP, and will NOT budge on price. The second is a little better on price, but he carries only Benchmade, and stiks to their minimum allowable advertised pricing.

The third store is pretty competitive in pricing, and will order just about anything I want from the upper end production companies, so he gets the nod occasionally. I buy all my guns from this place as well. Same deal on those, too.

There are some great knife dealer members here at BFC, and I encourage you to support them, as they help keep this place afloat.
Check them out on the Exchange forums!
 
My favorite place to buy is New Graham online. If Mike's got what I'm looking for then I get it from him. I do try to buy from my local store when the prices are at least halfway decent. Unfortunately, most of the time the price differences are way too big (B&M higher). Other than that I wait for the local gun/knife show and can usually find good deals there.
 
I used to do about equal business on-line and from Brick and Mortar.I liked to support the B & M shop to keep the store in business,a place to chat knives,handle the new stuff etc.If you like to check for defects,it is much easier to sort through in a shop you can handle merchandise before purchase.I then was kinda stagnent with collecting knives for awhile not buying any.The last number of months I found myself purchasing on-line due to convience and time constraints with work.My B & M store is over an hour drive,so it is an issue when it comes to making a purchase.Although he does ship knives,so I suppose I could stiil buy from him,but I do also enjoy the money savings on-line as well.
 
I agree with Zenghost. Mike at Newgraham is great. Always has the best prices without having to ask him to match somebody elses price, always ships on time and is great to talk to. If he has it in stock, I buy from their. I would probably try to supposrt a B&M store if there was one around with a decent selection and decent prices but there isn't one in the whole state I don't think. Here in town we have an outdoor stoor that carries some SOG, Spyderco and Buck and I have bought a couple things from them from time to time. I'm mostly interested in balisongs and handmade fixed blades so not the thing you find in most small stores.
 
I buy nearly everything online. The only 'cutlery' store we have here is Herders Cutlery in our local mall, and they have been bought out! Another knife dealer chain bought them, but that's all they supposedly know at this point. They had an ok selection, but sold at MSRP, no discounts usually. When they had sales, I'd buy one or two from them, otherwise, I go online.

One surprising place is Army & Navy, which has a better Benchmade selection than Herders did, and thier prices are decent. They're usually around 10% off, sometimes a bit more. I have bought a few from them.
 
I should add that the majority of new knives that I purchase online come from a B & M store. Too bad it's not closer to where I am. :(
 
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