Why have knife sales skyrocketed

Bob Denman said:
While I agree: that's what extra magazines are for!
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Knives have other everyday uses.
Don't require ammo or other consumables.
Lots of knives available that cost a lot less than nice guns.
Most knives and guns I've bought seemed like a good idea at the time although most are not carried. Too much idle time lately results in seeing stuff I think I need but don't.
And they are available.
 
220-9er said:
Knives have other everyday uses.
Don't require ammo or other consumables.
Lots of knives available that cost a lot less than nice guns.
Most knives and guns I've bought seemed like a good idea at the time although most are not carried. Too much idle time lately results in seeing stuff I think I need but don't.
And they are available.
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Knives are a consumable, if at a much lower rate than ammunition. Though my 1944 Underwood M1 carbine has probably 20,000 rounds through it, it saw WWII and Korea. Not to mention 15 years of me shooting it. So it may be a consumable, but it was free (inherited) and I'm sure it will be running fine when I've long left this life. If not then fate is just cruel.
 
I think, like others have mentioned, demand on almost all things has increased. I also think it is worth pointing out that unless you pointing a chart where knife orders have increased significantly, it may be a false increase due to supply. For example, say a company can produce and sell 1000 knives to a retailer under normal times where the retailer takes 12 months to move those 1000 knives is considered a normal year. If there is a raw material supply issue, maybe that company can only produce 500 knives. The retailer still sells them at the same pace, but now they are sold out and on backorder in July instead of running out right around the time of the next yearly order. To the average consumer, this would look like the sales have gone up when in fact the manufacturer is making half as much.

Totally stripped down and speculative on my part, but you get the idea. There is a difference between increased sales and available stock for sale.

Now that said, I know that I have tripled down on my knife purchases because ammo is hard to find, so I haven't shot, so I haven't bought more guns. I just bought a microtech today that flirts with pre pandemic Glock pricing. I've spent more on knives in 2021 than I did on guns in 2019.
 
I'm gonna agree that part of it is the stimulus money, or that combined with less money spent on vacations or travel. I don't think it's always a matter of self defense or anything like that, a good budget knife is affordable enough that anyone who wanted one could already have one. I think people are interested in upgrading or collecting now that they have the cash.
 
The supply of many things have gone down, the exception being drugs. And the things that are not low on supply have inflated prices.

When I was in the city (Chicago) this week my cousin and I were going to get steak or seafood and bring it back to my hotel. One of the consequences of the looting, riots, and shutdown is that in order to keep businesses running and people employed has caused the cost of food downtown to skyrocket. One of my favorite meals had been $28 dollars for several years, and was a good deal. Its not $63. The effect was less out by me, 45 miles from downtown, but still prices for even fast food have skyrocketed.

Supply and demand as always, and now, with the new administration, even though stay at home restrictions are lessened, or gone, gas is now so expensive no one wants to go anywhere. Last fall it was $1.85 for regular. Now its $3.60 where I live. In less than a year. So more and more people are ordering stuff online, including knives, ammunition, etc.
 
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Cycles are interesting. You ever go to the grocery store at the same time as everyone in town it seems? Then there is no one there an hour later. Or a lunch rush at a restaurant, you get the idea. It’s a cycle thing. I agree with all the ideas mentioned above. Baseball cards tanked for a long while, but now it's hard to even find them. It makes it interesting in my opinion. I don't always completely understand the why of the cycle, but usually understand when it's there.
 
K.O.D. said:
Knives are a consumable, if at a much lower rate than ammunition. Though my 1944 Underwood M1 carbine has probably 20,000 rounds through it, it saw WWII and Korea. Not to mention 15 years of me shooting it. So it may be a consumable, but it was free (inherited) and I'm sure it will be running fine when I've long left this life. If not then fate is just cruel.
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In economic terms, the great majority of knives are definitely not "consumables." They're classed as "durable goods."
 
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I think it has most to do with that people have more cash to spend than anything else. The cash could be from stimulus and/or saved from canceled vacations. Knife supply may have been reduced due to the pandemic but that alone does not explain the whole thing. Just look at how fast Hinderer knives get sold out lately as an example. I don't buy into that people have more time to browse knife websites.
 
I started making them from kits. I was bored, needed a hobby, something other than painting toy soldiers and airplanes. I've purchased about 20 kits in the past two months.
 
knife sales and values have slowed down recently IMO but everything has skyrocketed in price. People staying home with nothing better to do than shop!
 
Doesn’t everyone know about the Uniform Sharp Object Prohibition Act?

Takes effect at 12:01am on 1-1-2022. Get your knives while you still can.
 
Lee D said:
It seems that hobby sales went up dramatically in the last year. I collect slot cars and it’s the same thing with those. Supply is down, and shipping problems are keeping the shelves bare, so people are buying up any and all cars.
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I ran slot cars in my teens.. No tracks to race on for on for many years. I am 65.
 
Bob Denman said:
👍 But how come nobody is holding their favorite sharp instrument in the picture? :oops:
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Because it was a family picture from last Christmas.🥴 Not exactly whipping out cutlery to go in cards to the in-laws. Or outlaws.
 
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We're in the midst of a . . . knifioid crisis!

Always carry a dose of blade-can in case of an overdose!
 
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