Trying to buy the latest Northwoods

[joeradza]

I feel like a lot of you are friends, but please get a life. What a bunch of crybabies.

 

[rustysocket]

The best thing that ever happened when these Northwoods and GEC's became overpriced was that I realized what a true value there was in buying a custom handmade knife from a craftsman.

EDIT: I really shouldn't have used the word "overpriced" in my initial comment as I do believe they are a good value for the first purchaser. My comment was directed at the secondary market. I am a firm believer in capitalist philosophies however and the market will sort itself out. As someone else stated, once you are comfortable spending 200-300$ (or even more) there are a lot of great knives that are available....

 

[joeradza]

The best thing that ever happened when these Northwoods and GEC's became overpriced was that I realized what a true value there was in buying a custom handmade knife from a craftsman.

Absolutely. I like my GEC/Northwoods knives but when they start approaching $200 I've got second and third thoughts. There's already a Delta jack on the exchange here for 265.

 

[mrknife]

I feel like a lot of you are friends, but please get a life. What a bunch of crybabies.

indeed, some of em seemed to have gotten really worked up about someone else's opinion. I couldn't careless how someone else spends their money.

 

[155440]

This didn't use to happen until GEC limited their SFO output per order by half. Models with multiple blades that aren't rustic (more functional) also tend to last longer.

 

[SadSappySucker]

This argument is always entertaining.

This didn't use to happen until GEC limited their SFO output per order by half. Models with multiple blades that aren't rustic (more functional) also tend to last longer.

I don’t believe anything GEC did caused this. They may have made it easier for the trend to take off, but it’s us as consumers that are to blame.
They just happen to be the “in” knife right now(or one of them), and we made em that way. I mainly blame the countless instagram photos of unused knives sitting on top of some funky looking bandanna with some over priced flashlight and whatever whacky titanium doo dad some cat milled out.
What we are seeing is nothing new. Fads will come and go.
Derick is just capitalizing on a market right now. This market will eventually fade.
In my opinion there is a silver lining. If you really are into quality cutlery and not just snapping up whatever knife is in vogue then this might be the nudge you needed to start putting your money else where. There are other companies out there that produce quality traditional knives.

 

[155440]

This argument is always entertaining.



I don’t believe anything GEC did caused this. They may have made it easier for the trend to take off, but it’s us as consumers that are to blame.
They just happen to be the “in” knife right now(or one of them), and we made em that way. I mainly blame the countless instagram photos of unused knives sitting on top of some funky looking bandanna with some over priced flashlight and whatever whacky titanium doo dad some cat milled out.
What we are seeing is nothing new. Fads will come and go.
Derick is just capitalizing on a market right now. This market will eventually fade.
In my opinion there is a silver lining. If you really are into quality cutlery and not just snapping up whatever knife is in vogue then this might be the nudge you needed to start putting your money else where. There are other companies out there that produce quality traditional knives.

Idk man. I remember the first edition of Hawethornes were out there for months and the presidential lasted a year plus (objectivity the best northwoods model).

While the demand has increased, cutting the supply in half is why we see the sell outs. People think (and rightly so) that if they don't insta buy on release they will miss out.

 

[SadSappySucker]

Idk man. I remember the first edition of Hawethornes were out there for months and the presidential lasted a year plus (objectivity the best northwoods model).

While the demand has increased, cutting the supply in half is why we see the sell outs. People think (and rightly so) that if they don't insta buy on release they will miss out.

I don’t remember the same kind of demand for traditional pocket knives back then. I think the demand just wasn’t quite there.
You can take new standard models for example. GEC used to produce smaller quantities of new models but they released more models throughout the year. These same models sat on dealers shelves much longer than a run twice as large would sit today.
I also remember back when I frequented General more often that you would hardly ever see someone post a traditional in the EDC thread.
It also doesn’t help that other than the change in supply with GEC and the increase interest in these super limited runs of northwoods and Charlie Campagna SFOs the traditional world saw CSC close and Queen’s decline in quality leaving consumers with fewer options. I think all these things just happened and created a perfect storm of frenzy.

I will end in saying that I could very well be way off base. This is just how I remember it happening. I came into the traditional world right around the release of the Presidential. It was the knife that introduced me to traditionals, and I would literally commit a felony and risk prison time to see them produce a similar knife in the ~3 1/2” range. That knife was seriously underrated.

 

[marcinek]

The best thing that ever happened when these Northwoods and GEC's became overpriced was that I realized what a true value there was in buying a custom handmade knife from a craftsman.

And what a great value there was in buying a Northwoods when Ol' Dave Shirley still owned them!

 

[okbohn]

Guys, I am thrilled you like the Northwoods product. We are working to make them better and in greater quantity. We are doing the best we can.

Be assured, we are not scamming anyone, on the take, trying to piss everyone off, trying to screw anyone—we are just trying to enjoy and sell great knives.

Someone said we advertise too much—we have actually cut out all advertising except announcing on Facebook and emailing people who have requested it. I stopped announcing on Facebook groups and on forums because too many people just decided those were places to gripe about who I am or what we do or some other hurtful and unrelated thing. You would be amazed the people that wish us ill or write horrible things to and about us all because we sell a popular product.

I don’t think Northwoods are over priced. Neither do I apologize for making money selling knives—it feeds my family and supports 5 other families as well as a ton of other hardworking Americans at factories around the country. I’m actually kind of proud of that.

Anyway, I sincerely appreciate you guys who are so passionate about traditional knives. We are the same.

 

[Danke42]

Thanks Derrick for looking at this. I fell for sure the knives aren't overpriced; they are really a huge bargain. They're just too frustrating to try and purchase.

Have you considered not so much a pre-sale but an allocation so that you can manage the user requests and maybe everyone doesn't get all four examples of a release but they do get their first or second picks.

 

[pwrdbycotn]

Thanks Derrick for looking at this. I fell for sure the knives aren't overpriced; they are really a huge bargain. They're just too frustrating to try and purchase.

Have you considered not so much a pre-sale but an allocation so that you can manage the user requests and maybe everyone doesn't get all four examples of a release but they do get their first or second picks.

Have you tried being faster? I don't mean this as a snide comment, but seriously, have you tried following KSF on IG, deciding what you want before the drop, being on the site before the drop time, then putting the one you want in your cart and immediately checking out, then maybe going back for more? You can't shop around and put multiples in your cart and then go check out. You can't show up five minutes late. You have to look at it as a battle and you have to be prepared to win.
Enough with this "fair" crap. I missed the blue camel bone 78's on KSF yesterday because I was hunting and didn't check my phone when the IG notification came through, but you don't see me on here crying to Derrick about how it isn't fair that all those other people got the knife I wanted. If I want one bad enough I'll find a way to make a few trades and get what I want or just suck it up and pay for it on the secondary.
No disrespect meant, Danke42, I just hate it when I see grown men complaining that things aren't fair.

 

[Danke42]

Have you tried being faster? I don't mean this as a snide comment, but seriously, have you tried following KSF on IG, deciding what you want before the drop, being on the site before the drop time, then putting the one you want in your cart and immediately checking out, then maybe going back for more? You can't shop around and put multiples in your cart and then go check out. You can't show up five minutes late. You have to look at it as a battle and you have to be prepared to win.
Enough with this "fair" crap. I missed the blue camel bone 78's on KSF yesterday because I was hunting and didn't check my phone when the IG notification came through, but you don't see me on here crying to Derrick about how it isn't fair that all those other people got the knife I wanted. If I want one bad enough I'll find a way to make a few trades and get what I want or just suck it up and pay for it on the secondary.
No disrespect meant, Danke42, I just hate it when I see grown men complaining that things aren't fair.

Sure I'm fully plugged into KSF on Facebook, email notificaction and IG. in fact if you look in some of the Northwoods threads about what's coming you'll see me mentioning that there's a release tomorrow etc. to folks who may not have the same social media feed.

The feedback at large seems to be a lot of people not getting knives in their carts. Then some other users winding up with multiple knives in their cart and those multiples winding up for sale on here days later and at hefty premiums.

None of the new releases have been really to my taste so I don't feel bad myself. The last Northwoods I got was the latest Hawthorne in burlap and it's a show stopper.

The simple fact here is that if the site had 240 knives for sale it's good for Derrick that they all sell on release. Good buzz and money in the bank. But long term if out of those knives KSF gains/retains 200+/- customers instead of 50. Because those other 150 will take their money to DLT this time around and may not come back. Churn might be great for cell phone providers but for for a small niche item locking in a customer base for life is pretty valuable.

So for me personally it's no big deal. For me as a member of a community though it does seem to be a problem that's not just about whining. So giving the source some honest feedback instead of just complaining is my way of joining in.

 

[pwrdbycotn]

Sure I'm fully plugged into KSF on Facebook, email notificaction and IG. in fact if you look in some of the Northwoods threads about what's coming you'll see me mentioning that there's a release tomorrow etc. to folks who may not have the same social media feed.

The feedback at large seems to be a lot of people not getting knives in their carts. Then some other users winding up with multiple knives in their cart and those multiples winding up for sale on here days later and at hefty premiums.

None of the new releases have been really to my taste so I don't feel bad myself. The last Northwoods I got was the latest Hawthorne in burlap and it's a show stopper.

The simple fact here is that if the site had 240 knives for sale it's good for Derrick that they all sell on release. Good buzz and money in the bank. But long term if out of those knives KSF gains/retains 200+/- customers instead of 50. Because those other 150 will take their money to DLT this time around and may not come back. Churn might be great for cell phone providers but for for a small niche item locking in a customer base for life is pretty valuable.

So for me personally it's no big deal. For me as a member of a community though it does seem to be a problem that's not just about whining. So giving the source some honest feedback instead of just complaining is my way of joining in.

Fair enough and I appreciate the response.
As odd as this may sound, if KSF inplemented some kind of system that makes it spread the knives out to as many buyers as possible, I’d lose interest. The reason is, these drops are something that I find to be really fun and I get an adrenaline rush from them. We all want what we can’t have and for those that have it, the feeling is pretty sweet.
So, I guess I’d have to say that I disagree with your theory that people will move on to another dealer and never look back. It’s my theory that when those who didn’t score see the excitement and pictures from those who did, it makes them want the next one even more.

 

[Danke42]

My philosophy is the more you want the unhappier you are.

 

[pwrdbycotn]

My philosophy is the more you want the unhappier you are.

While that may be true, there are billions of dollars spent in advertising every year to convince us otherwise, and for the most part it works like a charm.