Which major knife company is advancing the industry the most lately?

PG5768 said:
Add in their Shun lines and colabs and I don't think anyone else is close.

Spyderco would be 2nd with all of their variations on existing designs with new blade steels, handle materials and colors and colabs.

Kai and Spyderco seem to be leading the pack with others farther behind, IMHO.
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I'm with PG:thumbup: Without getting into a pissing match about details, these two companies by far are the ones pushing the envelope in many different areas. Kershaw is my all time favorite production knife company, hands down, but I'd be lying if I said that Sal and Co. aren't making great contributions themselves.

As much as I love Kershaws, part of me would like to see other US companies besides them and Spyderco putting some cutting edge products on the market for us knife knuts. The custom arena is overflowing with products and options for Knife lovers, but where is the competition in the production knife market?? I would love to see some more variety, because it would be good for everybody. Competition is always a good thing, it drives those in business to strive to succeed even more than they already are.

BTW, one exception lately is Hogue. The knives that they're putting out with Allen Elischewitz are some of the best competition I've seen for the big two in some time.
 
Spyderco and Kai/Kershaw. They are up there in quality as well, considering costs;ie: You won't put a $18 China made knife against a top of the line model.

New steels, new technologies, etc. , there's no comparison IMO.
 
I might get some slack for this but I'll say CRKT is up there somewhere aswell, they may not be comparable in the quality but they have alot of innovative designs out there.
 
Spyderco for innovative designs and use of materials, followed by Kershaw, BM & CRKT (love the latest Ken Onion folders)

CRK for pushing quality standards ever higher
 
Spyderco, BM and Kershaw.

Just for the new steels alone they are pushing the standards.
 
I think a 4th behind the big 3 is Cold Steel. They have brought the Triad lock system to the table. Their catalog has shrunk in 1/2, getting rid of loads of crap & mall ninja stuff they used to sell.

I look forward to the new Voyager series. The older ones I own are so big and light, they make opening a box into about a 2 or 3 second job.

I hope they get innovative and bring some different steels to the game. They appear to be getting serious, but one never knows what LT is up to.
 
Spyderco for the plethora of steel selections; Kershaw for QC, innovative designs, and flat out good looking products. But the top of the totem pole has to be reserved for Frost Cutlery.

My meds will be in stock tomorrow they say.
 
Boker has to make the list. They've got great designs and they're collaborating with some of the finest knifemakers on the planet including Jerry Fisk, Tom Krein and Deitmar Kressler, to name just a few.
 
William Henry.

Unlike the companies mentioned so far, this company has taken a niche and made it their own. The high end pocket knife with superior fit and finish did exist beforehand, and certainly it has been a major player in the custom world, but WH took a segment that no other producton company had bothered with and built a very successful company and following. Note that a large portion of the industry has since started to try to compete in this segment.

The best thing Spyderco has done in the last 20 years is to team up with various custom knifemakers and designers and use their names to boost sales of production models. This has usually led to the increased value of the original pieces and the cheapening of the MSRP of their cooperative efforts; read into that what you will. Note that, as in the case of WH, many other companies have tried to follow this lead. (I know this was not the first this was attempted, but earlier efforts never reached the level of mainstream acceptance that Spyderco gained; look at the Seki/Loveless or AG Russelll efforts for example.)
 
IMHO, out of the major manufacturers, I feel Kershaw/ZT is leading the way to advancing the knife industry with their many unique, varied and bold designs, the features and steels used. AO's and flippers using composite steels in bold designs. Plus, they offer so many models at various pricepoints from less than $20 to the $300 range.

Spyderco is right with them but I think Kershaw edges them out.

It is a great time to be a knife enthusiast. So many makers offing so many new models. Boker deserves mention too for some great stuff coming to market. And Columbia River, well, if they could only fix their quality, they would be right up there since they have some innovative designs too.
 
Nothing against Spyderco and Kershaw which are 2 great companies but it appears to me the Benchmade is the leader of the pack. New and more steel offerings from which about a decade ago, all Benchmade models came in ATS-34. Now there is 154CM, D2, S30V, M390, X15, 440C, etc.
Benchmade has also diversified their line with the HK brand, Bone collector series, and now the aquisition of LoneWolf Knives.
Handle materials run from plastic to titanium and carbon fiber. Locking mechanisms are many as are the types of assited opening knives they offer.
Not to mention the different classes of knives including their automatics.
Benchmade also prides itself on the number of custom knife makers they employ. Due to all of this, I'd have to say that Benchmade is advancing the industry the most.:thumbup:
 
successful trend setting is the product of an extensive R&D program and equally brilliant marketing at a given opportune time;
through which public and professional recognition for the work and effort put into making a quality product that meets or exceeds the consumers expectation makes it imperative for stake holders to build future successes through exploring the new and unknown.
there are movers 'n shakers, and then there are wannabes.
stagnation is the result of resting on past laurels.
a capitalizing spirit means to be daring enough to brave the uncharted in order to stake new claims.
the recognition for pioneering efforts brings great rewards for those who can sustain the stresses of market forces.
it's quite clear that a company that doesn't do design will hardly take top spot for very long.
the choices are clear, and most have correctly called out the names of such companies already.
i am glad all are lead by people who are committed to their craft and reputation.
 
Spyderco for constantly bringing in new steels and new models. Also they are constantly improving upon older lines, ie; Military, Paramilitary, Manix, Delica, Endura. And their mule team line which provides steel nuts the means to test newer steels.
 
5.56 said:
Spyderco for constantly bringing in new steels and new models. Also they are constantly improving upon older lines, ie; Military, Paramilitary, Manix, Delica, Endura. And their mule team line which provides steel nuts the means to test newer steels.
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+1, let us not forget the sage line, a helluva an idea :thumbup:
 
kershaw and......

i hate to say it but cold steel :foot:
triad locks are awesome, i just picked up a mini ak47 and they are finally doing things right.
 
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