What Brands of Knives would you sell ?

ParadigmShift said:
Here's the setup: You have 3 brands to start and will add others down the road. What would they be in order of best brand / price / allure?
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#1: Bark River for great USA-made sheath knives. I know that Mike is a great guy and the endless variety of their knives lets the competition between dealers be friendly because every dealer can offer a completely unique selection. Instead of selling bland uniform knives all with the same handles when Mike does a run of a model it's normal to see 40 or 70 or so different handle options. He also makes many interesting customs.

#2: Kershaw for well built comfortable edc folders. They are also made in the USA. Kershaw's customer support has a very good reputation.

#3: Either Spyderco or BM
 
i like brkt as well, however you are thinking like a knife enthusiast, and choosing what you would buy.

this is fine, but since the op is just starting to carry knives, perhaps an upper tier company, and far less well known, would be a better choice once he has established a customer base.
 
This scenario is not our main line business and certainly not to appeal to the masses. I would rather be known for quality and uniqueness rather than commodity. Since our main business is unrelated I would rather offer quality tools to quality individuals who can appreciate a nice knife.
I guess I'm just worn out on the mass market big box sell everything thats cheap for cheap mentallity.
 
ParadigmShift said:
This scenario is not our main line business and certainly not to appeal to the masses. I would rather be known for quality and uniqueness rather than commodity. Since our main business is unrelated I would rather offer quality tools to quality individuals who can appreciate a nice knife.
I guess I'm just worn out on the mass market big box sell everything thats cheap for cheap mentallity.
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Well, if none of your 3 brands need to be cheap, I would go for Benchmade (for customers who want true user-knives), Chris Reeves for expensive user-knives and William Henry for the works of art.
 
I agree w/ the big 3 that others have suggested. You can get the others almost anywhere and probably can't compete w/ their prices.

But I'd suggest adding Anza knives to your line. Great unique knives. Then look into Mission knives. High quaility too.
 
Buck, Leatherman, and Victorinox for certain.
Very recognizable brands that offer a lot of value for the $.

Since most of your customers are not going to be knife enthusiasts, brand recognition is important.
Perhaps for that reason, you should also add Kabar (unless you have a regional sporting goods store or military surplus store that carries Kabar).

Hopefully, the lesser priced (and foreign-made) Buck knives will cover the 'cheap' price point and some of the mid range Buck knives (like the 110, 119, etc.) will cover the 'higher quality' seeking customers.

Victorinox - everyone needs a SAK - keep the models basic - including a lot of Classics and make certain to have at least one of the 'jumbo' models that have many tools - just for "WOW" factor.

Leatherman - between the Micra, Juice/Squirt and some of the larger models - that should meet your customers' needs.


Regards,
Mike
 
I can really align on Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw, and the big question for me is who are your customers? What are their tastes and spending patterns?
 
I think Cold Steel's offerings can really stand out from the standard folders and small fixed blades you usually see from the brands that keep coming up as recommendations in this thread. In the Cold Steel line you have a wide variety of eye catching stuff including push daggers, bowies, tomahawks, machetes, swords, exotic folders and kukris, offering something for almost everybody, at a variety of price points from inexpensive to quite pricey. Just my two cents.
 
Since price is not a prime factor for the OP, I'd certainly include Fallkniven.
 
You might want to take a look at Boker. They have a wide range of products, everything from mil/tac to traditional folders. They also have a wide price range, so you could have something for everyone.
 
Who is your target market?

Non-knife people know Case and Buck and SAK, but they don't know Fallkniven or Spyderco even. I know because I was one.

Now, that being said, I would still go with those who said to Spyderco, Benchmade, and Kershaw. Then, add Leatherman and SAK and Case (dare I say, Gerber?) as you go. Spyderco, Benchmade, and Kershaw are all established companies with a range of offerings in style, steel, and size (just made that up!). Broad appeal is what you need, as well as quality and a great warranty!!

That being said, until you build a reputation, price is going to be your first hook into a new customer. Then, as you treat them like kings and queens, you'll increase loyalty to you.
 
With out going into extremes on the target market, like low end or high end, I would say German Eye Brand, Boker, Ontario, Case ('cause you haft to). I would have said Camillus and Schrade, but not any more. Queen certainly. Some of the standard Scandi names. Cold Steel, sure, they have good designs.
 
I would carry Mora's, Not many places retail them and they have a good reputation for making a good low cost knife. It's easy to make 40% on them. A friend of mine sells them like hot cakes.
 
-Definately go with either Spyderco or Kershaw, whichever you think will sell better.

-Case would be another pick of mine, as they are well known inside and out of the knife world, they are high quality, and they have a HUGE selection of designs, some modern, and some traditional.

-For a high-end company, I'm thinking either RAT Cutlery or Fallkniven, whichever you think will sell better.

-Mora's might be a good idea to add later, as they are low cost, good quality knives. I would think they'd be easy to profit off of.
 
Depends on the store and your target clientele.
--What other things do they buy in your store
Hunting and camping? General Sporting goods? Military Surplus?
What is their pocket book range?
--Retail on a Native or Benchmade Red Box is still about $85. Pretty pricey for most clientele.

High end:
Spyderco
Benchmade
Kershaw
These have a pretty wide price range, but retail will still be high.
Non-knife knuts will have a hard time justifying the price, but a high end sporting goods store might have the right customers.

Lower price tag
Buck - Name recognition. Good line of Camping and Hunting designs. Good mix of price ranges.
CRK&T - Pretty designs that catch the eye and work for urban carry
Victorinox - Name recognition and general value. Everyone likes Vics.
 
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