Try before you buy

F

Faron

Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
173
How many of you are lucky enough to have a selection of knife dealers within easy commuting distances, to enable you to TRY BEFOE YOU BUY. I use home delivery due to knife dealers not being located locally. This is a bit of a hit and miss affair , return postage ,time etc if knife does not check out. I must stress more of a hit than a miss with spyderco. When I worked in a garage many years ago we had a SNAP ON VAN visit the premises selling tool s and equipiment [now the pictures forming] Collection of spyderco vans , knife sales in lunch hours ON THE QUITE OF COURSE. Knife reviews are just so important in my eyes. GOODNIGHT
 
The closest Spyderco dealer is about 45 miles away from my home, plus sells everything at MSRP. I buy on-line and if I do not like it, I sell on BF or e-bay. Still less expensive than drive 90 miles. Last year it happened three times:GB, Chokwe, Zowada, but I kept 20+ other spydies. I wish NGK would be next to me. :):D. Probably I would have to get part time job, just to pay for knives.
 
I'm lucky enough to have BladeHQ 20min away from me, they have a very good selection and since they're a mostly internet dealer they have good prices.
 
This is bad, but buying a spyderco knife from the sole dealer in my country is much MORE expensive than buying them online plus shipping. But buying them online have gotten me less than perfect knives =(
So yup i agree with Faron on the importance of reviews for us
 
I very rarely get to try knives before I buy them. Very few stores carry knives where I live, and fewer carry the knives I like.
 
I live about 25 minutes from the Spyderco "outlet" in Golden, Co. Can you believe I've only been there once? Sad, I know...:o But when I did go, I got to play with everything, and of course dropped some $$!! Sweet place!
 
I have a couple stores nearby, but I haven't stopped by to check them out. I always buy online as well. I do research on things before letting my cash fly. Reviews are important, but I will be the best judge of the knife. If I end up not liking it, it gets sold or traded. It's an inevitable characteristic of the hobby, comes with the territory.
 
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I'm pretty much in the same boat. No decent knife stores around here (amazing for a metro area the size of Atlanta), but we do at least have the Blade show.

I've avoided some of the hassles by dealing with vendors who don't mind inspecting the knife before shipment. New Graham and Knifeworks are very good about doing that.
But that only minimizes problems, doesn't help at all in determining if I like the feel of a knife.

A Spyderco Van like Snap-on....no there's a great idea! Maybe come to each major city two or three times a year. :D
 
I'm pretty lucky to live in Oregon. We have benchmade, kershaw, gerber, crkt, and there's a knife show that comes around quite often. There's also a knife shop called Excalibur that carries many brands. I typically go there to try out knives before i buy.
 
My local brick & mortar is an army surplus. Unfortunately, they tend to stock a lot of ‘tactical’ looking crap with only a light sprinkle of knives that are more to my taste, and all of their stuff is way over-priced. I was surprised and delighted to make a ‘cash & carry’ purchase of a Delica 4 ffg in blue (on par with full MSRP) but that was a rare occasion.

They also have a plain-edged Salt 1 sitting there with a $140 price tag (:eek:) stuck to it (on the blade, might I add :thumbdn:.) It looks pretty sad and lonely, its once-proud canary yellow FRN is all dirty and dusty, and I’ve been tempted to adopt it on several visits. It kills me to see it amongst all those dirty street-stabber flea-market knives… :grumpy: *sigh* I’ve gotta stop going there.
 
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I almost never buy online. Have two pretty decent stores in Johannesburg. There's another good one in Cape Town when I visit my parents. I always try before I buy. Prices are higher here, so you have to be sure about getting max bang for your buck. Risky ordering online as there are sometimes problems with parcels disappearing in the local postal system.

You don't know how lucky you are in the US. Online prices and availablity are exceptional in your country!
 
MikeyJ said:
I live about 25 minutes from the Spyderco "outlet" in Golden, Co. Can you believe I've only been there once? Sad, I know...:o But when I did go, I got to play with everything, and of course dropped some $$!! Sweet place!
Click to expand...

I am addicted.
There was a period when I was visiting the SFO every Month.

About 2/3rds of all Spydercos that I purchase I get from the SFO, after handling and trying them on for size. Its a dangerous thing to have a scant ten minutes away.
 
With the forums and youtube, I basically make all knife choices online. Youtube reviews are a fantastic way to get an idea of what to expect.. despite so many reviews, it is always a surprise when you actually hold the knife and feel the weight, texture, build/construction and determine the quality in those first few seconds.
 
No spyderco dealers within easy reach. The nearest is a plane ride away and MSRP plus 10 percent. I also can't ship out knives from where I am because of some stupid policy instituted by ignorant airport security guys(shipping knives is legal here). So what knives I get stay here with me. Thorough research and lots of annoying questions in the forum is my method for determining what knives I buy.
 
I don't live anywhere near a place where Spyderco knives are stored, but I don't really need to feel them out, if I know the specs of the knife I'm getting. I've never made one single bad purchase of a Spyderco knife yet.
 
MikeyJ said:
I live about 25 minutes from the Spyderco "outlet" in Golden, Co. Can you believe I've only been there once? Sad, I know...:o But when I did go, I got to play with everything, and of course dropped some $$!! Sweet place!
Click to expand...

Indeed.

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(And yes, I've been there more than once.)
 
I actually know a few brick and mortar stores "in town" (100 miles away) that keep a decent selection in stock. Unfortunately, I am not their intended customer, as they usually sell things at MSRP.

QC issues are almost never big enough to actually worry about, and stuff like blade centering is easily fixed.
 
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