What Rosarms needs to succeed in the NA market

Early 90th - I did not have kids that time but my friends had to buy icecream and melt it to give their babies some milk. There were no milk otherwise (but there are somehow some icecream). And at some point grocery shops were empty. At the evening all lights on the streets were switched off - local administration had no money to pay for it (or rather steel them) and my salary was $15 a month, with was enough to survive...

It is unbelievable the way Russia reborn third time in a hundred years (after Revolution level it to the ground (1917) then Nazies (1945) and Commies (1990))!

Thanks, Vassili.
 
nozh2002 said:
So this is all new and not state owned or sponsored - to my knowledge.
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Thanks for the info.

nozh2002 said:
About modern steel...
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BG-42 isn't very modern is it, that's from 60s? There's far more interesting steels out there today, CPM10V, CPM3V, S90V, CowryX, SG2...

nozh2002 said:
So do not underestimate Russians (common mistake I see here in many areas, but this is different story).
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No, I don't, they're still bombing my country and shutting down UAVs when they're in a mood to do so.

nozh2002 said:
It is unbelievable the way Russia reborn third time in a hundred years (after Revolution level it to the ground (1917) then Nazies (1945) and Commies (1990))!
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I wouldn't blame 90s on commies, they weren't in power then. I lived in Russia mid 90s and I do remember well. As for the rebirth, it's being reborn as pretty much same commie country with the same goals to keep/expand Russian empire. And skyrocketing oil costs do help a lot.
 
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The steel that Rosarms uses is a more modern version based on BG-42 but with some titanium in it.
Hitler underestimated Russia.
I think that what was meant was the rebuilding in 1990 was from how the soviets had left the country. Actually the current Russia owes a huge debt to the Soviets and especially Stalin for modernizing Russia from a agrarian state with near zero literacy to a modern superpower with near universal literacy. There was not way that could have been done by the royal or capitalist systems. The human cost particularly during Stalins reign was immeasurable.
 
The first and foremost thing to do is have whats shown on the online store, available for purchase or something saying when it may be available.
Rescue 1M for example. It's on the products page, it's been in a magazine, I want it but its not available.
Great knife if you can buy one.
 
Loon said:
The first and foremost thing to do is have whats shown on the online store, available for purchase or something saying when it may be available.
Rescue 1M for example. It's on the products page, it's been in a magazine, I want it but its not available.
Great knife if you can buy one.
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You will be able to buy it next week, I hope. Shipment is ready :)
 
Unsub said:
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A couple weak points are sheaths and some of the handle designs are unfamiliar to NA knife buyers. It is a tricky thing to keep the knife makers happy ,have a suitable knife for the US market and keep the Russian spirit.

I would keep the handles the same but make a few of the military and hunting styles out of solid micarta as well.
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Ros arm knives are no different than Sheffield knives in as much they are good solid design in the style of the country of origin and they don't provide a quality sheath. In other words, Rosarms USA should provide a sheath at least as good as Ka-Bar does, which wouldn't be a great leap but an improvement. Also, apparently men in Russia use thinner belts than Americans. Nevertheless, I'm having a custom sheath made for my Chieftain. The knife is of excellent quality and priced right, which leaves room in the budget for a good custom sheath. As for the knives, the design and styling are symbolic of the designers and craftsmen in the country of origin. That is their main marketing model. These are Russian knives designed and manufactured by Russians. I would stay away from Americanizing your designs. You'll become yet just another American knife company that will end up having your knives manufactured in China if you're not careful.
 
I get your point about Americanizing the designs Culpepper but there is no reason you can't sell both.

However I think the US is really ready for something fresh. I am sick of the tactical look.
The mirror polish and natural hanbdles are a breath of fresh air in a tired market. Ironically it was tactical knives not having shiny blades that made them look different and popular back when MadDog was the new big thing and now it has come full circle.

The shiny has really impressed some of my pals from Scrapyard forum who are tired of black blades and plastic handles. Now we have even being polishing them ourselves.

Here is a pic orf one of my favourite Ban modded Busses.



I can't wait to see 15 inches of mirror polished expedition knife.
 
What Rosarms needs to succeed in the NA market?
To be honest - I don't think its gonna work out. Its not about quality or desing.
Major knife market - folders. And there are so many of them already.
Can't really beat Benchmade or Spyderco for production folders; customs - even more of those.
 
Ah, that's a good point and Rosarms should stay away from the folder market. They could be a market nicher. They won't be selling as much as Ka-Bar in the states but they can compete USA companies like Martin, BRKT, and Randall. They won't hurt their sales but they will take a notch out of them. Al Mar is a good example of a market nicher in both folding and fixed blade knives and they outsource most of their manufacturing overseas. I'm not sure if Rosarms USA is meeting demand as it is. They are currently out of stock waiting on a shipment. Obviously, people are waiting. The three USA companies I mentioned above are also in the same position. Demand is greater than supply with Randall leading the pack with a ridiculous 5 year waiting period. Another good example of not taking Rosarms lightly is the .22 rifle market. CZ-USA is spanking Remington in that market. So bad, that Remington is having their .22 Model Five manufactured in Serbia to compete and completely dropped their Model 504, which was actually competition for these accurate .22 Mausers being manufactured in Czechoslovakia. Can't blame Walmart either. They sell CZ as well as Remington. Please don't shoot the messenger. I don't make trade agreements.
 
benyaM95 Ranger Knif said:
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Major knife market - folders. And there are so many of them already.
Can't really beat Benchmade or Spyderco for production folders; customs - even more of those.
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I would not agree... Folders and Fixed blades - two different markets. Benchmade and Spyderco are two big well known companies. Why we or somebody else cannot beat them? What are you looking for when you are buying a knife? Just a brand name? What about your electronics or shoes?
I prefer comfort and reliability... Same with knives...
 
I like the CZ analogy ,because it did an excellent job of adapting eastern European expertise to the world market. However the USA will be a bigger threat for manufacturing now that the dollar and the economy took a dive and China and Europe's went up.
This means manufacturing that was not profitable in the US will be again and the US has serious capacity and expertise already.

However Rosarms could be a real contender if they can keep up with demand and continue to bring new products. They already have done a great job of listening to what people want.

I also think their timing for a mirror polished traditional style of knife with very good steel is a perfect fit for a market tired of tacticals but very steel concious.

Their customer service is also quite good. There is a thread about how nice Vlad was in bringing Loon his knives in person and he has been very patient with my "are they there yet" Emails every day or so.
 
kancler said:
I would not agree... Folders and Fixed blades - two different markets. Benchmade and Spyderco are two big well known companies. Why we or somebody else cannot beat them? What are you looking for when you are buying a knife? Just a brand name? What about your electronics or shoes?
I prefer comfort and reliability... Same with knives...
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To beat them you need same or better quality of folders.
Looking at folders mass produced in Russia... come on:)
even most custom made foldes aren't that good
custom fixed from Russia - different story
 
In many cases by tradition introduced by commies those folders just replicas Western brands. But if they do they own models - then they came with pretty good folders too. I found Marychev folders as good as RosArms fixed blades:

Marichev-Chirok-001.jpg


Excellent quality!

Thanks, Vassili.
 
If you could get your knives into Cabelas stores somehow or say a gun retailer like Gatt Guns here in the burbs of chicago you would get ALOT of exposure. I'd also target some more magazines geared towards serious backpacking, hunting etc. They have a nice range of knives on display at Cabelas and I consider the brands they carry to be "working knives" opposed to their competitor who seems to carry run of the mill brands.
 
All they need to do is emulate Randall. Take orders through ROSarms USA with expected delivery window. Unfortunately, this will jack up the price because people will start collecting them in earnest. But that isn't a bad thing for the company.
 
nozh2002 said:
In many cases by tradition introduced by commies those folders just replicas Western brands. But if they do they own models - then they came with pretty good folders too. I found Marychev folders as good as RosArms fixed blades:


Excellent quality!

Thanks, Vassili.
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Agree with Vasilii!
It is a main reason why it takes so long for us to start folders. We want to create something interesting for our customers.
 
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I am excited about the expedition knives. I don't think there are even the machines to make knives like this in the US because Ethan Becker mentioned that they could not make the patrol machete anymore.
 
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