Who are the "big two?"

Artfully Martial

Artfully Martial

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Jun 8, 2005
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In my mind, Benchmade and Spyderco have been the big two. The two most important manufacturers, the two most polarizing even.

Am I crazy? Or do yall consider Benchmade of less important than another company, or Spyderco.

Not necessarily saying that they're the best, just that they're the biggest players.

This is a pointless post, but it was this or studying. I'm curious to see how off I am.
 
Well, neither even comes close in sales to the SAKs. The biggest players are for sure Victorinox and Wenger. And well behind comes everything else. Don't forget: You are with the knife crowd and what is most common among us is not necessarily most common in the great wide world. Unfortuately, the average guy still likes to spend their money on knife junk (not saying that SAKs are junk, just in more general statement). The big bucks is in cheap, cool looking gadgets.
 
Interesting post, it appears that Kershaw is becoming a major player, I would also the CRKT outsells benchmade based on sheer number of models and prices. As far as quality knives go, I still think Benchmade and Spyderco are the big two, but things aren't as black and white as they were. And where is Cold Steel in all this? and Camillus? I don't know, it's really kind of hard to tell, but I would be interested in finding out how much each of these companies are pulling in, in terms of both net gain, net worth and profit. Oh, and there's Buck knives too. Can't forget about them.
 
*coff* Buck *coff*

They are sold everywhere, inexpensive, and high quality. I wouldnt be suprised if they outsold Benchmade and Spyderco 10 to 1.
 
I think they might be the big two on this forum. For me they are.

But Rat makes a good point about Buck. Good knives, and they're everywhere. Wasn't the 110 synonymous with "folding knife" at one point?
 
I would certainly list Spyderco and Benchmade as the big two among people like us. If you look at volume of sales, scope, and influence you'd have to think about Victorinox, Wenger, Buck, Camillus, and several traditional slip-joint makers who never make it onto the "tactical knife" radar.

--Bob Q
 
I'm not necessarily discussing sales here, though that is obviously an important part. I'm talking perception wise. In my mind, it's been this way, and I've always had the impression here as well, when someone recommends a knife, there's probably an 80% likelyhood it'll be from either the Spyderco or Benchmade camp. I'm a big CRKT guy, but I know if I could only have two companies, it would be Benchmade and Spyderco. When I think of good knives, I just think of those two. That's just me, of course.
 
If you count everything Camillus has made for other companies, they're very big. Even if it's not as obvious as B*******e and S******o. :D

It's like that with custom makers, too. The relatively few that get talked about here seem like they own the world, but there are true greats who hardly ever get mentioned. Some are very expensive now, which cuts back on the circulation of their work among us. Some just never got into the hype -- or the internet.
 
Spyderco and BM are certainly leading the way for production knife companies.

But Buck and Gerber sell a whole lot more knives.
 
I wonder how many official Boy Scout pocketknives are sold in the USA?

I'll bet that is a big number.
 
Tough call.

I like them both a lot, and they seem to cater to there customers more than anybody else, but I like a whole lot of other companies too.
 
i think those are closer, you go to target and you see gerber and SAK, you go to wal-mart and you see buck and kershaw.


but every time i pull out my knife someone always asks me if its a spyderco. :confused:

my most common edc is a red anodized schrade silhouette...
 
You have to keep in mind the price of benchmades and spydercos as well. An knife from either of those 2 can cost 10 times what a buck or gerber may cost. I just bought a 500 dollar brand new benchmade straight from a dealer. That would buy 13 1/2 buck 110's. Most people dont know about the huge variety of quality knives that you can buy online. They go to Walmart where they only have the lower priced knives and that is all that they know about. I attribute the popularity of those knives to ignorance.
 
I think that Benchmade wins thusfar revolutionizing the industry. They are constantly putting more and more energy into new mechanisms and new designs while still using quality materials. Sure CRKT will bring out a knife with a new opening mechanism every year... AUS 6/4.

Kershaw, I think made the choice a long time ago to go the way of Gerber. Kershaw used to have several folding knives with ATS-34 and superior fit and finish. But they eventually decided to focus on cost effective knives for a general public. I think that if they chose differently, they would be compared much more closely to Al Mar or Microtech. They do have some high end knives: The Nakamura, the Boa, the Avalanche, etc.. but they are outliers compaired to their standard line. Sort of how Benchmade has okay knives: The Red Line, but primarily focuses on the more high end knives.

Spyderco gets props, if for nothing else, listening so intently to their customers. They make a point to use high quality materials to create dependable tools that are also quite cost effective. I'm not even reffering to the new Caly Jr. in the supersteel. I'm just saying this company uses VG-10 as their standard steel.
 
BenchmadeNut said:
You have to keep in mind the price of benchmades and spydercos as well. An knife from either of those 2 can cost 10 times what a buck or gerber may cost. I just bought a 500 dollar brand new benchmade straight from a dealer. That would buy 13 1/2 buck 110's. Most people dont know about the huge variety of quality knives that you can buy online. They go to Walmart where they only have the lower priced knives and that is all that they know about. I attribute the popularity of those knives to ignorance.
Click to expand...

What knife was this? I think that your numbers are slightly misleading. Where I know that you can get very expensive Benchmades (Damascus Balis, for instance) I do not think that they are a fair representative for the Benchmade line. Just as buck has many knives for $15-30, they also have Limited runs, and special additions with Devon Thomas damascus that will be well outside the average price for a Buck.

Benchmade, as a brand, I would say costs closer to 2-3 times what a Buck/Gerber may cost.
 
BenchmadeNut said:
You have to keep in mind the price of benchmades and spydercos as well. An knife from either of those 2 can cost 10 times what a buck or gerber may cost. I just bought a 500 dollar brand new benchmade straight from a dealer. That would buy 13 1/2 buck 110's. Most people dont know about the huge variety of quality knives that you can buy online. They go to Walmart where they only have the lower priced knives and that is all that they know about. I attribute the popularity of those knives to ignorance.
Click to expand...

Im not sure what is due more to ignorance, what you stated, or equating price with quality?
 
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