how much is a SAK worth?

hardheart

hardheart

Joined
Sep 19, 2001
Messages
8,968
If you suddenly took over Victorinox or Wegner and had the ability to set prices, what would you charge? (being a board member concerned with maximizing profits for the benefit of your stockholders and rasing wages for employees, of course:)) I don't think these people know who they're selling to. Knuts spend hundreds on a knife alone, and they're passing out scrwdrivers, saws, compasses, etc. for pennies!

Also-what would you spend on, let's say a Tinker, with locking S30V blades, carbon fiber scales, a pocket clip, and titanium toothpick :D I got a non-tactical one for $5 on sale at Target, I almost feel guilty. :p
 
hardheart said:
Also-what would you spend on, let's say a Tinker, with locking S30V blades, carbon fiber scales, a pocket clip, and titanium toothpick :D I got a non-tactical one for $5 on sale at Target, I almost feel guilty. :p
Click to expand...

You are speaking my language! I have been thinking about this lately. What would I pay for a super tinker, my edc, but upgraded like your suggestions above?

I think I would easily pay double the price of a standard model for our "upgraded" version. I have always thought it would be cool if Victorinox had a "custom shop" or if a new knife co. came out making custom or semi-production heavy-duty versions of regular SAKs. I would be all over them.
 
I have always been amazed by the inexpensive price structure of the V'nox line. These are very well produced knives with ingenious designs. I've got more V'nox knives (6) than any other single brand yet all of them combined would not be half the cost of one of my CRKs.
 
I doubt we're Vnox's target market. Joe Average is, and he doesn't care what the blade steel is. They're making their money with quantity, not quality (workmanship is top notch, I mean quality of materials).

Why should they bother to sell a couple hundred or thousand upscale models when they can just keep pumping out a bazillion of the same old thing?
 
andymp said:
I doubt we're Vnox's target market. Joe Average is, and he doesn't care what the blade steel is. They're making their money with quantity, not quality (workmanship is top notch, I mean quality of materials).

Why should they bother to sell a couple hundred or thousand upscale models when they can just keep pumping out a bazillion of the same old thing?
Click to expand...
Maybe a limited run with better materials would be a nice touch while still pumping out a bazillion of the tried and true.
 
Simply put, it isn't worth their time to try the "knife knut" market. They make their money by selling millions of a model, not hundreds.
 
I wouldn't mess with a single thing. You don't mess with success. The cellidor models are already fairly cheap, and sell like hotcakes. Aside from the SAK nuts, who are more willing to pay, l the ALOX are about as expensive as they could be. Some models are $80, you can't sell them for much more, they're only trinkets to most people. They have done some upgraded material knives like a Damascus main blade, or silver scales. I doubt they sell many due to the price. Victorinox already figured all this stuff out, and I'm sure they're right on target.
 
If I suddenly found myself in charge of Victorinox, I would not change anything in the way of steels or production methods. Like it's been said, Victorinox doesn't care about knife nuts, as said knife nuts are a fraction of 1% of the knife markets. Companies like Victorinox, Opinel, Aitor, and Frosts of Sweden, don't cater to the knife nuts, but Joe Average. And Joe doesn't care at all about what steels are in the knife because he wouldn't know one steel from another. All he cares is, will it cut as well as screw, pry, open cans, and saw and whatever other tools are on the thing. Victorinox probably makes and sells more knives in a year than Benchmade, Spyderco, and any other two brands all combined. For the world market they compete in, they're perfect.

Except for one thing...

I'd change the G-- d---ed cheap ass cellidor for FRN! Or even the strait up nylon scales from the economy versions!
 
jackknife said:
If I suddenly found myself in charge of Victorinox, I would not change anything in the way of steels or production methods. Like it's been said, Victorinox doesn't care about knife nuts, as said knife nuts are a fraction of 1% of the knife markets. Companies like Victorinox, Opinel, Aitor, and Frosts of Sweden, don't cater to the knife nuts, but Joe Average. And Joe doesn't care at all about what steels are in the knife because he wouldn't know one steel from another. All he cares is, will it cut as well as screw, pry, open cans, and saw and whatever other tools are on the thing. Victorinox probably makes and sells more knives in a year than Benchmade, Spyderco, and any other two brands all combined. For the world market they compete in, they're perfect.

Except for one thing...

I'd change the G-- d---ed cheap ass cellidor for FRN! Or even the strait up nylon scales from the economy versions!
Click to expand...
I like the cellidor. Alox looks better, and is more durable, but it's not like cellidor is garbage. It can last decades. The only down side is it's tendency to dissolve if you try to clean your SAK with spirits. It doesn't like that stuff.
 
I’ve had nothing but good luck with cellidor. I work on concrete floors and have dropped my saks more times than I can remember. Never had one break , chip or come loose.
 
Short Answer: I wouldn't change ANYTHING right away, as their business models has been refined over the last century, and I don't think they're stupid.

Long Answer: I wouldn't even begin to guess. Sometimes, their pricing strikes me as very strange. For example, a Classic is $15, but a Manager is almost $40? It probably costs just a few cents more to manufacture, but I'm betting they're taking a small hit on each Classic just to get folks on board with a quality product, then they make up the difference by over-charging for many other models.

Ditto for how cheap the Spartan and Tinker are, but then an Explorer costs triple or something, for having 3 more implements.

They have their strategy, and it seems to work. If there's one thing the Swiss know about, it's how to make money without sacrificing quality. Whether it's banking, cheese, chocolate, watches or pocket knives.
 
After reading some other responses, I think I would launch a more modern line. See how it goes:

- G10 handle scales, with slots for the scale tools.
- A different steel for at least one of the blades. It should be Rc 60, at least. If someone breaks it by prying with it, that's not a warranty repair, but an abuse repair.
- Optional locking blades on the smaller models, like Swiza does. That shied-actuated liner lock (which Wenger pioneered) is just brilliant. No reason it can't be implemented with smaller blades.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top