Which Knife Co. Would You Buy Stock In?

Joined
Jan 4, 2006
Messages
6,272
This might be a lame thread but I wanted to get an idea of the companies out there from this perspectve. For the sake of the thread, they don't have to be public. If you could also explain why, it would be great.
 
Based on the knives alone, Benchmade. They make great knives that are very popular, and more sales turn into higher stock prices :)

I haven't looked into any knife companies for investing though, so I have no idea which one I'd really invest in.
 
Ditto on Benchmade, and not just based on knives alone. They seem to understand the knife buyers and the community in general. They have a wide variety of products, in all cost ranges, they are innovative with their knives (axis lock), they are very quality conscious, and they haven't succombed to the "uber-tactical/sci-fi klingon killing knives type of stuff.

Jubei
 
I'd go with Benchmade and Spyderco. Both companies seem to be expanding at a controlled pace without forgetting their respective core buyers. But even if neither expanded, it appears both companies have a solid consumer base for their knives. Benchmade is probably more vulnerable due to the emphisis on "higher end" knives, but it is expanding down (which is a double edged proposition).

If I get more risky, I'd go with Cold Steel (what a managerie of products) and Buck (consistant existance for decades can be seen as good and its name recognition has gotta be one of the strongest in knifedom). But both these companies have major competition from more recent companies, therefore I'm worried of the long-term health. Hoping both continue for years to come.
 
William Henry. If you look at where they started, and where they are today it's almost a no brainer. They have plenty of leeway in their pricing to avoid potential calamity if the market turns sour. At least when you spend nearly a grand on something in the William Henry line, you feel like you got something. In contrast, I see little value in the Benchmade Gold Class.

Benchmade also is an excellent company that adapts to the market. They do custom collaborations very well at a good price point. But I think the opportunity for growth is much better for William Henry,
 
Spyderco and Benchmade would be good ones as they both have a strong customer base and make the best products. I'd also have to give a nod to CRKT as they give a highest end of the cheap knives. I have a friend that works in sporting goods at the local Wal-Mart and he tells me that they sell more CRKT M-16's than any other knife. Now, I'm not big on CRKT's knives but as a business investment they offer probably the highest quality to the NKP market.
 
Spyderco, Benchmade in the first place, Kershaw and Boker could also show potential.
 
I'd invest in Himalayan Imports. I think that they have tremendous potential for growth. Furthermore, I feel good about the company, and what they do for their workers.

Swamp Rat Knifeworks has an interesting mission statement. They are marketing their knives to a much larger market than Busse. If they played their cars right, they could put a knife on the hip of every soldier, cop, firefighter, and paramedic in the North America.
 
MaxFisher said:
Spyderco and Benchmade would be good ones as they both have a strong customer base and make the best products. I'd also have to give a nod to CRKT as they give a highest end of the cheap knives. I have a friend that works in sporting goods at the local Wal-Mart and he tells me that they sell more CRKT M-16's than any other knife. Now, I'm not big on CRKT's knives but as a business investment they offer probably the highest quality to the NKP market.
I would say Kershaw for the same reason AND for the fact that they also have knives that are very respected by people in this forum.
 
Kershaw and Spyderco. Both have a wide line that appeals to more than just knife knuts. I would want Spyderco to increase it's line of kitchen cutlery to include a line of MAC type knives and I would like to see Kershaw imove the steel in their lower end pocket knives to something like VG-10 or sandvic.
 
If I could have stock in a knife company, I would want ti to be Spyderco and/or Chris Reeves Knives.:D
 
Spyderco and CRK. When the person at the top has that kind of attitude to customer service, you have a winner. :thumbup:
 
If we are talking real money, I would go with smaller companies that I could probably get stock for cheap. Companies like Bark River and Willaim Henry.

The Blue chip companies would have to be Spyderco and Benchmade. These are the Bucks and Case of the modern era. They will make money and they will grow because they make a good product that people actually want.

Risky= CRKT and Kershaw. CRKT will fade away because they made an overall inferior product. Kershaw needs to start offering some decent steels if they want to keep up the recent surge in popularity they have enjoyed.
 
Benchmade, busse, spyderco, swamp rat, or ranger knives. All of them make good knives and sell alot. Spyderco is prolly the most popular with benchmade not far behind.
 
spydeco,benchmade or buck.all seem to have one thing in common .great for everday use and fairly economical.
 
Based on knives I've owned, I'd have to say either Buck or Spyderco.

If I were to make a purely business decision, I'd say United Cutlery. Its not that I wish them well, but P.T. Barnum was right. I mean, have you seen how much of those paperweights they sell every weekend on that there tee vee?!? Product is crap and bought by the pound, and even with the huge discounts they usually give they would STILL make a heck of a profit on that crap.
 
I'm going to venture a guess and say that Spyderco probably has the best margins in the business due to the sense that they use more Japanese steel and production and seem to have better distribution channels than the others. You can buy a Spyderco anywhere -- but you'll note that the pricing rarely drops below a certain level at the retail level. They also seem have more standardized parts that carry over from one knife to the next. Think about how many knives Spyderco has sold with the basic Delica / Endura linerless FRN handle mold. The marketing is also superior. That round hole is probably the best brand on ANY knife, and Spyderco gets a lot of free(?) exposure in the mass market from movies and shelf placement in broad based retailers like Walmart.

As an aside, I'll venture another guess and say that Benchmade lives and dies by the Griptilian.
 
Back
Top