Is the Knife Industry Failing?

The knife industry for the most part has been off their rockers with how much they are charging for knives. It's time they got a reality check.

People can't afford food on their tables. I can't afford a new knife past what I need right now.

Love y’all are discussing this. The knife market is saturated with inflated pricing. That combo along with what you all discussed is a huge factor.

I personally think that the industry pivoting to expensive pocket jewelry and away from knives meant to be used for things has been a huge contributor.

Ive got more knives than i could ever use. I realized its dumb and I am now selling most. The surge driven by social media is starting to die. At the end of the day a knife is a knife and the small market is over saturated

When I first started buying knives, the average price of a Benchmade was about £100. A Griptilian was about £70, a Freek or an Osborne about £120 or £130. A Manix was £70, a Paramilitary in G10 and S35VN was a little over £100. Average Benchmade today -- well, I guess the Bugout would be the Griptilian's equivalent. About £180. Osborne is over £200. Paramilitary about the same. Prices have more than doubled. Wages are the same.

My absolute favorite thing about you guys is this philosophy of sharing and fostering the knife hobbyist community.

It isn't a slump. We are just literally not able to buy stuff because everything is so expensive. It will pick back up

Yes. Too expensive for USA knives, too many that look the same and too many designs trying to be different so they end up looking like gas-station or carnival knives.

NGL I hope B-made is feeling it HARD. I hate that the industry as a whole is feeling it, especially such a consumer forward company as Knafs. But I am comforted by the fact that some companies will be forced to reevaluate their values being offered. Everyone else is trying to balance their profit with value for the customer while B-made is doing the equivalent of spitting in our faces by trying to convince us that G10 and S30v is worth $280. Which just isn't true on this planet at this time.

Man, it’s like I’m watching the og knife banter and I LOVE IT!

Very fun show! Most knife purchases are luxury buys, even sub-$100 ones, and there’s less extra money available for those these days. The only segment of the market that has really adapted is the budget category.

I was #1000 like 👍 BTW Ben is the absolute best. He has helped me numerous times with knafsale and every time he meets and exceeds customer service

Spending was high while on the Stimmy's, and now we in a ton of debt and withdrawals

I think the knife industry is oversaturated and there's a glut of excellent designs for little money. It's a victim of its own success. Knife collecting is a niche hobby and many of us have more than we can use. For everyone else, a $30 Pyrite Light is about all they would need, full stop.

The knife market is definitely ready for some change. The American manufacturers (Benchmade and Spyderco in particular) have kind of been resting in their laurels the last few while dramatically increasing their prices. Many Chinese manufacturers aren't as competitive as they once were - Reate, WE, Bestech, etc. are pumping out cool collaborations with American designers...but their prices are now nearly in the same range as smaller American-made brands like Mcnees. There is some innovation going on at the edges, but it's gotten a little stale and a little pricey lately I love what Knafs is doing with user-serviceable, customizable, budget-friendly designs. Now I just need Ben to let go of the finger rule and release some knives with 3.5"+ blades! 😀

I was not expecting to see my knife handle project featured in one of your videos. That popped up and I haven't quit smiling yet.

In the 70s and 80s I had one or two small pocket knives that I made last for years. I've seen the knife hobby rise and fall a few times. Add to it being a luxury item in a historically bad world economy, and huge oversaturation, there is the fact that besides legality most "normal" people and all law enforcement still don't like pocket knives in the hands of the public.

With my gear, I'm only buying new knives and flashlights with money I make on ebay selling stuff from the collection and it's slow af right now. I have a Fenix LD30R, brand new but the box got messed up during shipping so I removed it. It's a 70 dollar light I have up on ebay for 50 bucks. I also have a Fenix E28R V2 up for like 43 bucks that was carried for 3 days and has one small mark. Can't sell either of them. They're the lowest price for those lights on Ebay and I can't get them sold. This inflation is killing the market majorly

00:50 I speculate the softness of the knife industry is due to a lack of really good knife content. You guys are getting into it, so it may help. Most of those we followed, aren't doing much content as they use too. Maybe it's burnout, maybe it is life changes. The majority of us knife nerds were and still are Ben, Zac, and Taylor fans. With Zac stepping away, that is nearly 1/3 of the industry leading market salesmen to excite products. This does not discredit other knife influencers, but what he brought to the table, was backed by you- Ben and Taylor. Love em' or hate em' it was true. The zac influence, I believe helped because he has a degree that relates to PR if I remember correctly. That being said, any man who has the capacity to invite himself to a hangout and skateboard home with a whole pizza, and then bring that energy to the knife world says something. Unfortunately, it makes it readily difficult to do what Zac and Jamie had as a team. That being said, I am really REALLY excited about this content, b/c the level of knife related videos has plummeted, which I can see as a corelation to sales. Y.t. is the Hotspot for knife marketing. Thank you Knafs and especially you Ben for providing what we long for. It may not be WOW or Banter which i know you created, but your videos are still really good. I have fond memories in those few years of looking forward to be home from work, or from bible study to sit and watch WEEK ONE WEDNESDAYS. Thank you for those times. I am grateful that you are still bringing the same energy you did back then.