Why would you ever buy a knife without holding it?

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Feb 7, 2004
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Let's keep this limited to PRODUCTION knives. The process involved in having an artist make a knive just for you is not what my question is about.

It seems obvious, but a knife is so personal and individual, and each one is different. Give me 10 Spyderco Natives and probably only 3 or 4 will really be what I am looking for. Somebody else may see those same 10 and decide the balance of all things differently and choose others.

Why would you buy a knife without holding it?
 
There aren't any knife stores in my area that have the knives I want. The only way to handle one is to buy it on the internet!
 
I have handled a lot of knives over the years. In addition I am an engineer and have a lot of experience evaluating designs from their appearance and specs. There just are not a lot of cool knives available to look at where I live. I probably buy 80% of my knives sight unseen via the internet. I have had very few surprises. The disadvantage is having to return a couple of knives where the locking mechanism didn't fit and perform correctly. By not insisting on holding the knife first I have acquired at least 20 knives that I would never have seen otherwise. I have also saved hundreds of dollars in the process. The quality of the major brands is high enough that I don't feel the need to hand select knives like I did 30 years ago. Back then more than 50% of the lockback knives were unreliable.
 
I like to buy slightly used knives to save some cash and help out others needing to free some up. Lots of knives I like are not available locally so I buy based on extensive research (like this forum). I have purchased a BM 630, Al Mar SERE 2K and a Ontario Rat-7 all without ever handling. 100% satisfied with all my purchases.
 
Usually no, but I did today, I ordered a TOPS fixed blade but it was recommended by someone that I pretty much take their endorsement as being 100% reliable.
 
Jeff Clark said:
I have handled a lot of knives over the years. In addition I am an engineer and have a lot of experience evaluating designs from their appearance and specs. There just are not a lot of cool knives available to look at where I live. I probably buy 80% of my knives sight unseen via the internet. I have had very few surprises. The disadvantage is having to return a couple of knives where the locking mechanism didn't fit and perform correctly. By not insisting on holding the knife first I have acquired at least 20 knives that I would never have seen otherwise. I have also saved hundreds of dollars in the process. The quality of the major brands is high enough that I don't feel the need to hand select knives like I did 30 years ago. Back then more than 50% of the lockback knives were unreliable.
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Ditto, except I usually fix the lockup problems myself to save on shipping (usually 1 out of 20 knives).

Mike
 
I had never bought a knive without touching it before my last purchase. I decided to buy a Bark River Northstar about a month ago, and had to trust buying it without ever having handled one.

I took the risk and ended up owning the most beautiful knife I've ever seen :cool: I selected buckeye burl for the handles, and the stuff is even more beautiful than any picture I've seen. I'm truly glad I bought it.

Guy
 
I bought a CRKT M21 and I just recently (today) got a Chinook II. Both I had never touched. I made a model out of a piece of oak with the exact dimensions of the Chinook II before I bought it, so that gave me an idea of how it felt to hold it.

(It still didn't feel like a tank though :D )
 
Buying from a company you can trust! Chris Reeve, Benchmade, to name a few. You know that they are well built. I have bought a few without holding them first.
 
“Why would you buy a knife without holding it?”

Because in Australia it’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever get to hold most of the knives I’d like to own.
 
Living in So Cal, I can usually hold any knife before I purchase it. However, I couldn't find anyone who had a Camillus Cuda Maxx 7.0, so I bought it sight unseen and love it.
 
The majority of mine not "held" first.

If it isn't a Case or a $10 Gerber I am going to have to drive a couple of hundred miles to MAYBE see one. That is why.
 
Denix said:
I had never bought a knive without touching it before my last purchase. I decided to buy a Bark River Northstar about a month ago, and had to trust buying it without ever having handled one.

I took the risk and ended up owning the most beautiful knife I've ever seen :cool: I selected buckeye burl for the handles, and the stuff is even more beautiful than any picture I've seen. I'm truly glad I bought it.

Guy
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I also bought the North Star based on the review in this forum and I am really glad I did :) I got the Curly Maple without seeing it and I love it.
I also recently got a BM 552 and today I got a Spyderco Endura (which I really like so far!) all sight unseen...I figured if I don't like them I can always sell or trade them for something else...
 
One thought that comes to mind right away is that there are no Spyderco dealers local at all so my only option is to buy it on the internet or over the phone to mail order it in order to handle it. This is also the case with many other brands.

For the ones that I can handle local I sure do the hands on thing though.
 
if possible i go look at a B&M store and buy on line, actually will buy from the B&M (and have) if the price isnt too outrageous, i aint gonna pay retail price.

as far as F+F and lockup, most of the stuff i get is higher end spyderco/BM/MT and customs, so probs are few/far between, if F+F or lockup is funky i'll send it in to ther respective company to fix it, they all will, have only sent in 3-4 outta probably 100 knives i have owned at 1 time/another.
 
Why would you ever buy a knife without holding it?

There's really no choice for us fanatics who have to handle something new or different on a regular basis. It's very frustrating and expensive since I am dissapointed more often than not.
 
Most knife manufacturers have already tested their grips for comfort and usefulness before going into full scale production.

Wouldn't you?
 
HighTen said:
There aren't any knife stores in my area that have the knives I want. The only way to handle one is to buy it on the internet!
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Ditto. Even the limited variety at Walmart and KMart and Dick's are almost always in clam-packs, so I can't even handle something as basic as a Buck 110.
 
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