Tactical Knives, the magazine

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A. G. Russell

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Is everybody aware that we have lost this great magazine?

Closed because they had too few subscribers and I am sure too few advertisers.

You might see if Harris Publications will maintain their archives on TK, if they hear from enough people they just might.
 
When did you hear about this Mr. Russell ? I just bought the latest issue not more than a couple of days ago.
 
I stopped buying it when the price went to 6.95. Add tax on and that was pushing 8 bucks a copy. I have recently noticed it in the stores though.
 
Brboru7,

When they emailed last Friday to let us know that our ads would not have a place, quite a surprise.
 
I picked it up a few times and read it in the magazine isle, but alas, the internet kills print magazines. Photos were nice.
 
Price kept going up. When I was a subscriber I had issues too. Most of the time I would not get my copy until it had been on the rack at the store for over a month. My covers were always torn all to hell. Skipped a few issues here and there. I had to call and remind them to send it quite a few times. I was a subscriber for 2 years. After the problems I listed, I walked and didn't go back.

Their articles always had a "biased" flavor to them anyway. When a company produced a knife that was being reviewed they would always have tons of ads elsewhere in the magazine, etc. Seemed like a lot of favors were being made. I did get a lot of info from TK, and I liked the photos and articles, but enough was enough for me.
 
I've never seen that magazine in this state at any grocery, convenience, or book store. It could have been that it was not feasible keeping the magazine as a digital media form available online via Amazon, iTunes, or Good Play. Shame.
Multiyear subscriptions usually keep the cost of the magazines down a fair bit. This seems to be destined to happen to much of printed media though. This won't be the last one either.
 
A. G. Russell said:
Brboru7,

When they emailed last Friday to let us know that our ads would not have a place, quite a surprise.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I was just curious. They were easily my favorite knife magazine, never been a big fan of Blade and Knives Illustrated.
 
The only place I could get it was Barnes and Noble but they typically only had 5 or so copies. I wonder what will happen to current subscribers?
 
That's too bad. I bought a few issues and enjoyed some of the articles. I stopped buying it because, like on most magazines, reviews were always super positive and usually followed by a big ad from the maker.
 
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I just saw the latest issue with the Justin Gingrich designed/Kizer made folder at my local Kroger supermarket.
 
Sad to hear that. (Former) editor Steven Dick is one of the most knowledgeable knife writers around. Tactical Knives was my first choice among the various knife magazines.
 
M.FREEZE said:
The only place I could get it was Barnes and Noble but they typically only had 5 or so copies. I wonder what will happen to current subscribers?
Click to expand...

The last place i ever saw it was Borders (before they closed up shop). I haven't checked Krogers, we don't have those in Southern AZ. We do have Fry's (that might be close enough they sell Kroger branded stuff), Safeway, Albertsons, and Bashas.
 
It was a very good magazine, on balance I always thought it had the best ensemble of writers as far as the larger magazines went. I hope they're all able to find new spots in the industry if they want them.
 
Sucks to hear. I have every issue since the 1st. A few people I consider friends write articles for them.
 
Rev, I don't think I've ever seen them at Kroger. My Barns & Noble did usually have them though.
 
Well, their parent company wasn't allowing them to switch to the digital age fast enough is part of the problem as I see it.

They were only available on the Barnes and Noble Nook e-Reader. Which is far from the most popular e-Reader system.

I really enjoyed them 15 to 20 years ago when I first got into knives.

By the late 1990s and early 2000s I got bored because it repeated a lot of the same stuff.

Plus they lost some of their best writers due to age and such.
 
Hope not, I just mailed my renewal this morning????????????


I just got my renewal notice in the mail Friday, why would they send those out if they knew they were shutting down???
 
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