Oregon knife shops?

edctac

edctac

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Hey guys, I am going out to Oregon to visit my dad and I figure while I'm out there I would look at some knife shops. I will be in the Portland area(just south), are there any really good knife or gear shops that you guys think I should check out? I know of one shop in a mall(can't remember witch one), but I know there are a few manufacturers in that area so I would love to find a factory outlet or something like that. Any suggestions would be great :)
 
They are still there.Also at the Lloyd Center. They are called Excaliber. They have a few in Oregon and Washington.
Google them.

Lloyd Center
931 Lloyd Center Mall
Portland, OR 97232
503-282-6575
 
The most disappointing knife shopping experience I ever had was in Portland. I had naively assumed that with all the knife companies located in Oregon, combined with the fact that automatics are legal in Oregon, I would find a cornucopia of knife stores in Portland.
I did manage to find a couple of small sparsely stocked knife stores and I did eventually buy a knife at an Excalibur outlet ,but the whole experience was definitely underwhelming.
Whats wrong with entrepreneurs in Portland? [ maybe with on-line shopping it no longer pays to have a fully stocked brick and mortar store]
 
Yeah, that's how it is in MN. We have no dedicated knife shops, and all the gun shops carry over priced stainles spydercos and cheep schrades. As with any other state there is no shortage of gerber and other low end china made stuff. I will most likely stop at the benchmade factory store and excalibur.
 
Larry Turko said:
The most disappointing knife shopping experience I ever had was in Portland. I had naively assumed that with all the knife companies located in Oregon, combined with the fact that automatics are legal in Oregon, I would find a cornucopia of knife stores in Portland.
I did manage to find a couple of small sparsely stocked knife stores and I did eventually buy a knife at an Excalibur outlet ,but the whole experience was definitely underwhelming.
Whats wrong with entrepreneurs in Portland? [ maybe with on-line shopping it no longer pays to have a fully stocked brick and mortar store]
Click to expand...

Aww, ya missed Hawthorne Cutlery (on Hawthorne) the guy Dave (the owner) there will flip a coin on a your knife vs. one of his knives bet (this is NO CHIT, I've done it) if he's in the mood. Ask him about any politically incorrect subject you can name and he'll party ;). Tell him the knife gambler sent ya!
 
eclectic place. Katanas, Kukri's, Microtechs, medeivel assault weapons, i've seen Striders, balisongs....you get the drift. Benchmade will be fun, i think they have a model of every knife they make in that showroom (all at MSRP, of course). But Gerber i'd have to say, are aloof, and no showroom. Ask Dave about Excalibur before you head over, he'll give you the straight dope without cheap-shotting them.
 
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Well looks like I will be going to Hawthorne, I'm curious about this coin flip now. I gota hear the story!
 
I was just looking on google for hawthorne cutlery, and the first picture to pop up has a guy standing out front flipping the bird, I'm sold.
 
I was in there in Tuesday. Hawthorne has a lot of old beat up traditional knives. They have a lot of overpriced Lone Wolf knives. An overpriced used heavily Strider. The only thing I saw I had any interest in was 2 Kershaw Junkyard Dogs with composite blades for $85 which may have been blemish knives.. And it looks like you can find them for $75 online.

Excalibur has a lot of CRKTs and Spydercos and SOGs with a few other things thrown in depending on which ins you go to. They also have the chive/shallot/leek/Blur from Kershaw but only the current models and none of the limited steels or composites and EVERYTHING is MSRP and I believe in some
cases overpriced.

The Benchmade store is neat because they have nearly if not all current models. Everything is MSRP though. But they do have some preproduction and prototypes for sale and AFOs anodized in red,white, and blue.

The Good:
The best price in Benchmades in the area is Keiths Sporting Goods in Gresham. Their prices are only slightly more than online best prices, around 25-30% off MSRP. Like $70 for a $95 Griptilian. They have a large selection of Benchmades but not everything. They also carry a ton of Cold Steel. They have KABARs of some sort. USMC knives but none of the Beckers by KABAR unfortunately.

Fisher Marine also has a decent selection. They carry a few models
from a large number of companies. Their Benchmade prices are the MAP (min advert) at about 15% off MSRP. Their prices on Kershaws/etc. are typical street prices.

Wholesale Sports also has a pretty good selection depending on the shop. The Vancouver WA has a good selection and I just picked up a Kershaw Offset and Gerber Freeman s30v there out of their bargains and got a great price. You'll have to pay tax if you aren't from a tax exempt state and fill out the form. The 82nd Wholesale Sports has a fair number and several autos, but mostly Benchmade autos and Keiths is much better. Wholesale Sports charges MSRP I believe.

You would think with all the manufacturers around here we would have some good knife shops but we don't have anything any good.
 
They have one of a kinds and customs, off-beats....but "beat up"?? (I would say USERS, and btw they are actually selling the used ones on consignment for customers/friends of the store and they have "old" "beatup" knives and swords that are hundreds of years old historical art). What exact knife did you see there that was "beat up", i'm curious. Dave is a sword collector too.
 
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hmmm, I saw a Lone Wolf T3 there for $300, that's a STEAL bub. Try ebay they are $400 - $500 there.... and comparing their prices to online prices isn't exactly fair - yes/no?
 
Either way I'm going, and I will check out the others you mentioned Oregonknifenerd. Thanks for the info guys :)
 
I always wanted to visit Northwest Knives and Collectibles in Salem. Too late. They are very active sellers on eBay, but their physical gallery is now closed.
 
edctac said:
I was just looking on google for hawthorne cutlery, and the first picture to pop up has a guy standing out front flipping the bird, I'm sold.
Click to expand...
LOL, your going to have fun. Hope you find what your looking for. Take care and good luck in Portland!

Todd
 
Have fun in PDX. I suggest checking out the microbrews and coffee shops instead. Or maybe go to Powells and look at the knife books!!!!

Oregon has lots of knife companies and custom makers, but good luck finding a decent knife shop!!!

If you are looking for gear, Next Adventure (Deek and Bryan) and the Army/Navy Store on MLK are the best if you want to avoid REI.
 
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