what's up with strider knives lately?

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I agree for the most part. (It can also get vicious over there, but can't mention the other too much)
 
I can't afford 'em, but most of my friends use them for heavy use on the boats and outdoors. From what i've seen, they are great knives. IMO they feel and handle better than Busse knives. They have a large fan base. Ynot? They are personable at the shows and not full of themselves like so many other wannabes.
 
doorkicker, it's a business. They make money by selling knives. They make a lot of money by selling the same basic knives to many people, and they keep their really enthusiastic customers happy -- as their company, equipment, and production techniques grow and improve -- by tossing out customs, variants, and new models.

They aren't the only company to develop a rabidly loyal following. I AM a Sebenzanista :D Busse and Emerson and Benchmade ... just ask what knife would do ya and the loyalists shriek out the name of their favorite company, not even listening to the restrictions on what you need or can afford.

It's also fun, for the buyers and the sellers. Boring doesn't sell, even if excitement is often beside the point when it comes to real utility -- which, as you know, Strider always provides anyway.

By the way, I know not everyone can get to a knife show, and not everyone can afford the expensive knives, but I never miss a chance to hit the Strider table and talk with whoever's there. They really are good guys face to face, so I try not to worry about the hype online.

Don't let it get you down. Focus on how good the knives are and what they have to offer YOU.
 
Like Ed said, there are a lot of companies that have rabid followers. Busse is one of them. As far as new innovative models is concerned, you don't fix what isn't broken. Strider is selling everything they can make right now. If that changes in the future then you will likely see new models soon after.
 
Strider is selling everything they can make right now. If that changes in the future then you will likely see new models soon after.
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Much like Surefire, can you get any better endorsement for your "tactical" product line than soldiers in a war using those products? Strider's timing couldn't have been any better, i.e. they build an excellent line of knives for hard use individuals, and at the same time there are many soldiers hungering for what you have to offer. I realize that not every soldier wants or needs a $350 folder or fixed blade, but plenty do. Also in both cases, the civilian market has a strong appetite for what they have to offer (catching the "tactical wave!"), so there's probably not a lot of incentive to either discount or make any significant changes to their extensive product lines.

If you're having a hard time satisfying demand for what you already offer, new product development can go to the back burner. Not forever of course, but for a while.

And yeah, that thread with Darrell Ralph was embarrassing at many levels. It became the proverbial online lynch mob.
 
The only Striders I would buy are the GS and the SnG, hopefully I'll swing both one day:). Many of their designs are way cool, love the paracord hadles, but there's no telling how many Ka-Bars and Beckers I can buy and destroy for what one of their knives would cost, if they'd come out with a "value" like I'd def. buy many, I bet they'd sell like wildfire. Mass produce some of their more popular designs in 1095, or some other inexpensive carbon steel with a crinkle finish, or possibly even 440C or VG-10 for those people that HAVE to have stainless? Buck could produce these knives, or they could get TOPS to make them or Camillus, it'd probably make the Strider boys a fortune and I'd be able to play with a GS without having to sell off body parts:) I know this was way off topic but I just had to throw it out there:)
 
doorkicker said:
did you get a chance to read the thread where mick tore into darrel ralph for using the torched look on his handle? it was crazy. im not saying that i know who was right, but it got way out of hand and was totally unnecessary, extremely unprofessional, but of course, everyone had mick's back.
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A little hipocritical of mick I think since he copied so many other things on his knives from other makers without compensation as well. Notice the similarities in his knives to Ek designs, also they're making framelocks as well as linerlocks which I don't believe were their own inventions. There's an "organized crime" mentality over there and Strider is one of the "bosses". What can you do about it? Vote with your wallet. Refuse to buy anything associated with the "dark side".
 
There are a couple of designs that I like, but the availability and pricing got way out of hand.
 
Spydiefan04 said:
The only Striders I would buy are the GS and the SnG, hopefully I'll swing both one day:). Many of their designs are way cool, love the paracord hadles, but there's no telling how many Ka-Bars and Beckers I can buy and destroy for what one of their knives would cost, if they'd come out with a "value" like I'd def. buy many, I bet they'd sell like wildfire. Mass produce some of their more popular designs in 1095, or some other inexpensive carbon steel with a crinkle finish, or possibly even 440C or VG-10 for those people that HAVE to have stainless? Buck could produce these knives, or they could get TOPS to make them or Camillus, it'd probably make the Strider boys a fortune and I'd be able to play with a GS without having to sell off body parts:) I know this was way off topic but I just had to throw it out there:)
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You might want to take a look at the Buck/Strider knives.
 
"but there's no telling how many Ka-Bars and Beckers I can buy and destroy for what one of their knives would cost, if they'd come out with a "value" like I'd def."

Destroy a Strider, and Mick replaces it free, or so he tells me; I've not destroyed mine yet, and I use it as a pry bar often to pick car doors etc(I operate a 10 ton wrecker). As far as innovation, I'm not sure how much gadgetry Strider wants to add. It seems their line is straightforward. Some people collect knives - some use them. I can see how they could find more market share by being more diverse in their offerings like other makers for better collectors status and interest. Afterall, as a Texan, I would love to see more Strider bowies. But it IS a knife. They can stab or they can cut, there's not much else to a utility knife except ergonomics of the grip. Strider goes one more and makes them warrantied pry bars(my main reason for purchasing). Strider's main customer either collects their knives, or uses them in conditions that would destroy others, or both. I do things with my Strider EB AC I would never consider doing to most any other knife. It takes a lot of punishment, holds a edge better than any other stainless knife I have ever used, and asks for more. With the move to S30V blades, the Striders are now more in line with their prices since they haven't changed much since going from BG-42 or ATS-34. A $300 Strider in ATS-34 was too much, in my book, but the chunk of S30V blade my EB AC is seems like a decent deal - especially since I recently destroyed a $140 Camillus S30V folder in less than a week.

WYK
 
WYK, you got NO business using FOLDERS :D :D :D

Strider sells to a certain segment of the market. They make money charging what they do, and they satisfy their customers. Like Cold Steel, they have their times and places for stirring up the crowd. I don't go there; I just like the knives, and they talk politely face to face with me.

There are other companies like Busse who go head to head with Strider and like TOPS who would like to. TOPS has a lot of variety and good tough knives. Maybe people who like Strider but want more variety should check them out, too. Ranger Knives is also in the same business.

Strider is doing so well as is that they not only have no incentive to change, they can't afford to. They wouldn't be able to keep up with their followers' demand for what they are making now.

Man, I love all the choices! :cool:
 
Of the tens of thousands of people in the combat branches and units, how many can actually afford a Strider? They may or may not be the best knives out there, but they simply are out of reach for most people, especially when there are less expensive knives that'll do the job just as well.

Strider has developed a cult of personality, just like many other makers. I have really been turned off by the hyperbole and rabid rhetoric. Their online behavior has made me decide to spend my money elsewhere.
 
From what I've seen, the guys at Strider knives are good people, and deserve any and all success that they get. I owned one of those Strider WP models, and foolishly traded it off. I'm making it a point to obtain another soon. I'm also planning on picking up one of those huge AR folders. Now, if that makes me a part of a "Cult", then so be it.
 
Doorkicker, they are in bussiness to make money.

If I could sell the dust off my floor for $300/$500 you can bet I would.

As for your claim that people are acting cultlike on another forum, it would not supprise me. The Busse forum is no better. High end products have that effect on some people.
 
I think that there is an interesting phenomenon in which the "tool" becomes more important than the job it is designed to do. It'd be interesting to see how many Striders, Busses, Ryans etc sit in cases and are never used, versus those that are getting beat in the sandbox or on a cop's vest.

Hey, pride of ownership is certainly OK. I am certain that the owners of certain cars feel the same way. But sometimes the hero-worship wears kinda thin. It's a knife, not the cure for cancer. And if all it is doing is guarding a display case, well, any knife can do that.

We sometimes take this stuff way too seriously. For many of us these are little more than toys thru which we can experience vicarious bonds. There is'nt anything necesarily wrong with that, but it isnt for real. We have designer label clothes, so designer-label knives should'nt be a suprise
 
BTW I've not been able to destry my Becker either and it was only 50 bucks, typical strider pricing is like 350-500 depending on the model and I could get another Becker tomorrow for another 50bucks if I lost or broke mine (I can live with the performance diff for the priced diff) also two reasons I'd like to see a "budget" Strider line (they could drop the warranty as far as I'm concerned) 1. Make their designs accesible to more people. 2. Carbon Steel is EASY to sharpen, and depending on the CS used it could actually be tougher than their S30V stuff:) I know Buck makes Buck/Striders I have an 880SP (it's an EXCELLENT knife) but they only make one fixed blade and it's not in the GS style :)
 
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