My Swiss knife experience

LiamLynch

Well-Known Member
I don't know if this is the right place but today I went into Switzerland into a knife shop. They were selling some half decent knives (some kind of damasteel kitchen knife) but what I noticed apart from all the SAKs was that they were selling mostly hunting knives, unmarked, uncontoured handles, no pins and the bolsters had the most obvious halos around the pins I had ever seen. These were being sold for 490 Swiss francs, I don't know quite how much that is but I think it is over £300. It got me thinking, why are these unmarked unbranded knives selling for this much when even a decent branded knife is cheaper? Why are handmade knives going for a few hundred dollars when this junk is selling for so much? It isn't like these knives had any advertising at all as they were completely blank. I came up with no explanation so what do you guys think?
 
I just don't understand how junk like that sells for so much when handmade knives get a quarter of the price.
 
He was pretty disapproving of a 16 year old bieng in his shop to start off with, I didn't want to get in an argument in front of the family.
 
Part of being a man is picking your own battles. You have my respect. As far as the knives go, I have seen this in the States as well. What really gets me is all the junk in the pawn shops for $10. And they call that a knife?!
 
The reason Manfred von Richtoffen was so successful because he knew when to avoid conflict. Since I learned that I have been avoiding any unnecessary conflict.
 
He was pretty disapproving of a 16 year old bieng in his shop to start off with, I didn't want to get in an argument in front of the family.

I would think the owner would be helpful?
When I have a family come in my store on vacation to look at my custom and the production knives I sell, It can be a good sale. Maybe it's different in Switzerland when you have British tourist's?

Laurence

www.westsidesharpening.com
 
The fact that I can barely understand German, let alone Swiss-German, also was a factor in him being a bit irritable.
 
Last edited:
Those people can sometimes be very brash in their nature.
I didn't think about the language barrier, I can usually do fine with German tourists here in Santa Monica, As long as the can speak some English, I know very little German.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
The Swiss are very right wing, they expect you to speak their own language in their country. I think that is perfectly reasonable anywhere other than places where the main industry is tourism.
 
:biggrin::biggrin:Well at least you didn't try to use German marks in France- Trust me THAT did not fly... I wonder if those were maybe the local maker/ shopowner's own manufacture. But then again who knows? People are funny critters...:what!::biggrin:
 
They may have been hand assembled but the blades had no finish other than the marks from being ground out on a cnc machine. There were some handmade steak knives I think but they weren't selling for much at all.
 
The Swiss are very right wing, they expect you to speak their own language in their country. I think that is perfectly reasonable anywhere other than places where the main industry is tourism.

I am one of the few that remains thinking that people should speak English in the USA. I mean the people that live here. Its understandable to me if tourist's visiting my country aren't fluent in English. My wife is from Mexico City originally and was brought to the USA by the US State Dept to be a school teacher & transition Hispanic children to English.

The funny thing is that she says the kids really don't speak Spanish, It's guttural slang Spalingaish. And NO, Its not native Indian tongues.


Before that she worked for your British Foreign Service for years and taught school in England & Canada.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
I believe that people should make an effort to speak the local language. The problem is when you maintain this attitude in a tourist resort. I am probably just as right wing as the Swiss but I acknowledge the fact that in a tourist resort there will be people who don't speak the local language, especially if it is a relatively uncommon language to be tought like Swiss-German is.
 
Gentleman,
a small reminder we are a knife forum and not a political discussion forum.
 
Back
Top