Knife store I go to is closing door.

[Delmar Morgan]

At the first of the year , the knife shop I go to and put knives on consignment is closing on January 1st. The owner said the last 8 months they had to take money out of their pocket to keep lights on. He is still going to set up at events and stay as a dealer. I got to go down this week before he closes.

[1967redrider]

Sorry to hear/read this, what types of knives did he sell (antique, USA made, folding, fixed blades, brand specific, Chinese, fantasy with swords, etc.)?

[edge213]

Well that stinks.

[eveled]

I didn’t know there were any knife shops anywhere. Around me it’s hardware store displays or big fishing hunting stores. Neither has good selections. I own hundreds of knives and only remember buying one or two in a store.

Sad to see a small business close the doors. Seems they would need to do more than one thing to stay open.

[tongueriver]

I didn’t know there were any knife shops anywhere.

There can't be many, but I have been in this one in Anchorage.
https://www.northernknives.com/

[orvet]

That is a bummer to hear about!
It is really difficult to make it these days in a brick-and-mortar cutlery store.
The cutlery store that I managed in the 1980s and early 1990s had started as a cutlery only mall store. Malls are fine if you realize you are paying for foot traffic to go past your door. That is why you pay ridiculous rents, but if you are in a poor location even in the good mall with a high traffic, it can be disastrous.
When the fellow started the store was his second store in that mall, he had a well-established walk in trade in his pipe and cigar store. The pipe store was right on the main entryway to the mall between the two highest traffic corners in the mall, but the cutlery store was at the end of a little used side hallway that exited to a parking lot that was used at that time primarily by employees. It did not have the traffic flow of customers necessary to sustain new business.

When it became apparent that the cutlery store was not going to stay afloat in its lower traffic location he asked myself and another store manager who worked for him if he thought the cutlery would sell in the pipe shop. We both felt it was a natural product for a male oriented business like cigars, pipes and pipe tobacco. It proved over the years to be quite a successful product mix. We were already a destination store in the mall for men and a place where men would go when their wives dragged them to the mall. It became a place where wives would go to find gifts for their husbands and eventually became the place where both men and women would go to find quality kitchen cutlery as well as hunting, sporting and pocket knives. But it took a while for customers to realize we sold a full line of cutlery from professional chefs and meat cutter tools to high-quality pocket knives and even fantasy pieces. Even with a well-established pipe and cigar store base that paid the rent it took a couple of years before the cutlery business started to pay its own way.

When I look at the way business is done today so much of it being done online I am in all those brick-and-mortar cutlery stores that can actually stay in business.

I am sorry to hear about another cutlery store closing. To me there is something very exciting and interesting about a well ran cutlery store.

[AR Norby]

Seems that the only way for brick & mortar stores to stay in business is to also sell on-line. Stores like SMKW and Shepherd Hills do a bang up business both in the store and on line. Even the big box stores like Cabelas, Bass Pro & Walmart do as much or more on-line sales as in store. Unfortunately this is the way the world works today.

[orvet]

Seems that the only way for brick & mortar stores to stay in business is to also sell on-line. Stores like SMKW and Shepherd Hills do a bang up business both in the store and on line. Even the big box stores like Cabelas, Bass Pro & Walmart do as much or more on-line sales as in store. Unfortunately this is the way the world works today.

Online sales certainly is the current trend but as a people-person I personally enjoyed the time I spent talking to my customers, (well most of them). When buying a product with which I am unfamilar, I also like my interaction with a knowledgeable salesperson as it gives me an opportunity to learn about a new product.

Online shopping is great to find the best price but they mostly don't educate the customer (me) about new products.

The wave of the future may be a hybred boutique type store that does a certain aspect of cutlery well and has an agressive online presence.
One thing I like about KNIVES SHIP FREE (I think it is them), were the videos they put out introducing new products.The fellow who ran it passed away but I thought he was a very effective online presence.
If a company like KSF can combine a brick & mortar store, (they probably already have one), with good video marketing and education; I think they may be the next successful wave in the retail cutlery industry.

I guess time will tell.

[Jacknifeben]

I had a full service gas station in Mediapolis Iowa, a small town in southeast iowa. I always had a box of pocket knives on the desk and I had a lot of people dig through them and we get to talking knives and I would invite them to my home to look at knives. I would sell some and others would say they had knives they would sell me, they had no idea they were worth some money. I sold the station and starting spending winters in Florida and going to the Gator knife show. Two dealers looked at me and said we know you, you collect Cattaraugus and Jack Knife Bens. Small world.

[Delmar Morgan]

It sold old , custom , new and everything in between. Last year he help a lady sell her husband 's Remington knife collection. Some guy came in and wanted to sell his Case collection. He sold knives for me. He told me that rent was $1500 a month , he said they couldn't sell enough.

[Jody744]

Where is this store?

[Delmar Morgan]

The knife shop is in Sellersburg , Indiana. He has a online store , the store is called Gatlin and Sons. Going down this week and take some pic's , if I don't forget.

[deltaboy]

At the first of the year , the knife shop I go to and put knives on consignment is closing on January 1st. The owner said the last 8 months they had to take money out of their pocket to keep lights on. He is still going to set up at events and stay as a dealer. I got to go down this week before he closes.

Sad to hear this! I have not seen one in years , about 5 years ago I saw a SAK kios in a Mall during the Holidays!

[1967redrider]

It sold old , custom , new and everything in between. Last year he help a lady sell her husband 's Remington knife collection. Some guy came in and wanted to sell his Case collection. He sold knives for me. He told me that rent was $1500 a month , he said they couldn't sell enough.

$1,500 a month is tough for a knife shop. Restaurants in Old Town Alexandria go out after 1 year because of steep monthly rents and the proprietor decides it's more cost effective to close shop.

[steeljustice]

Many of the smaller stores that sold knives also are closing, Academy has dropped their higher priced knives replacing them with cheaper in plastic packaging.
The store I worked at part time during Christmas 2016 is not going to sell Case knives anymore they have many other high priced knives,but one of stores owner it’s a family store they are millionaires sell lots of high dollar firearms and optics, said if some one sees a knife they want sell it knives are not something we care about we just keep them so we’re a full sporting goods store.
They know most people price their stores knives then buy them online.
If they took a better attitude and worked to really help customers they would sell their knives but they just don’t care it’s all about firearms.