Where to buy knives

Bumblingtinkerer

Bumblingtinkerer

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Please forgive me if this is in the wrong place. I'm located in SW Georgia, namely Thomasville. Now, we have a few gun stores around here that stock a few knives. Ive seen a few places in Thomas county that stock Benchmade, some in Grady County and some in Lowndes, and I've seen one Spyderco Ambitious that's been sitting in the same hardware store for about a year. Is there anywhere within about an 1.5 hours that stock a good selection of different brands of blades? For all you guys near me, where do you buy your knives? I'm getting desperate for a place. I drove to St. Augustine to go to Knife Factory, only to find it was closed. I've been to Kevin's in Tallahassee, only to be dismayed by their stock. Anybody got a secret spot? I don't care if it's mom and pop, chain, or whatever, I just have an itch that needs to be scratched! Any help us appreciated, thanks, Tink.
 
The problem with a lot of retail stores is that they charge "suggested retail" more often than not, which isn't the same as the "minimum advertised price" some manufacturers require their dealers to display online, in print or in-store. I have paid MAP on a few knives and it doesn't really bother me for the right knife, but a lot of chain stores (Gander Mountain, Cabela's, etc.) charge well above MAP as often as not, plus sales tax depending on where you live. Buying online, you usually can find a lower price, no sales tax and sometimes free shipping. I'm all for supporting local businesses, and will knowingly overpay if I'm on vacation and see a cool knife at a shop along the way, but that's more as a souvenir. For a knife I'm going to use, I'm going to shop around just like if shopping for tools. I've paid more for some knives than for power tools or even a new lawnmower, and I definitely shop around for the best price on things like those.

That being said, if you have a local shop that you like and want to support, it's your money to spend wherever you want, and as long as you get what you want, paying a little more isn't the worst thing in the world.
 
Ask for reviews here at BF before you purchase, there's plenty of people who have handled whatever you may get.
 
Also unless you're lucky enough to be near one of the really big knife dealers, most brick and mortar stores don't have a very good selection of nicer Spyderco's, BM's, ZT's, etc.
 
Buying online is really the only way that you can find the exact model knife you are looking for. At least that's what I've found for myself. The drawback is that you can't handle the knife before you purchase. Just make sure you buy from a reputable dealer and making an exchange if you're not happy shouldn't be a problem. Before ordering from an unknown dealer, I always use our favorite search engine followed by the terms 'complaint' or 'rip off'. You can always ask about a particular vendor here as well.
 
Take a ride to Birmingham, AL and go to Mark's. If you search you can find a write up with pics I've done on their staff and selection.

The only thing better (in your area) is the annual Blade Show.
 
+1 for buying online. Retail store prices are ridiculous most of the time. Same with gun stores


You can always buy it online, then sell if you don't like it


ETA: Yeah, Marks is a nice store! But, I wouldn't take a trip to another state to go to it.
 
eBay and this forum is where I buy most of mine.

Alot of folks are afraid of eBay though...
 
I live somewhat between Atl. and Athens, but I'm unfamiliar with your area. I've just discovered a couple gun/ knife stores in Athens, the best selection being Franks gun knife and pawn(not positive on the name). They had a great selection of knives. Many benchmades and spidercos, just don't get your hopes up, because theyre out of the pm2(just saying). If you type franks pawn. Athens ga. it should be one the first listings.
 
Moxy said:
eBay and this forum is where I buy most of mine.

Alot of folks are afraid of eBay though...
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Why do you think a lot of folks are afraid of eBay? Just curious.... I've bought a ton of knives off of there.
 
OP - if you're looking for something common - try "the big river website". Typically the best prices.
 
AntDog said:
Why do you think a lot of folks are afraid of eBay? Just curious.... I've bought a ton of knives off of there.
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Many of the ones I've bought there have been misrepresented as new, when in fact they had been used. Some of us are just nit pickers though I suppose.
 
draggat said:
Many of the ones I've bought there have been misrepresented as new, when in fact they had been used. Some of us are just nit pickers though I suppose.
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Thats certainly something to watch out for. I try and only buy from dedicated knife stores on eBay, instead of personal/private sellers. There are alot of mom and pop type shops that run through eBay nowadays, and many of them have the better prices than bladehq, knife center, knifeworks... ect.
 
Dude, go to Going Gear in Smyrna!! They have a decent selection! Not bad for a camping store.

They have decent prices (actually the best out of any store around here) and the guys that work there are GREAT to talk to.

Then, if that doesn't suit you, there is Adventure Outdoors, also in Smyrna, but they have a lesser selection and the staff really isn't very knowledgable.

Last but not least there are 2 Army/Navy stores located on highway 41 in Marietta that sometimes carry decent knives. Beware, the prices can be horrendous. One is called Hodge army/navy the other is just referred to as "Army Navy Discount" on highway 41 (use that phrase for googling purposes).

Oh and one more in Alpharetta called "Martins coins and Firearms." it's owned by some decent guys and they have a small collection of some really high end stuff (microtech, CRK, medford)

Good luck! Its nice to be able to actually hold the knife you want to by, so I completely understand your wanting to find some actual shops.
 
Bumblingtinkerer said:
Bump. Anybody?
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Most gun shops will carry knives. You may also want to look at certain larger sporting goods stores, camping and hiking supply stores. If you want to handle items before buying them, then you are going to have to do some legwork on your own to see who has what in stock. One other thing is you can search for "gun shops in your town, USA" and the results of that search will lead you to a lot of places.
 
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