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The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 1:49 am
by mikey177
I saw on the Millie Club FB Group that
The Knife Joker is closing shop.
First, New Graham Knives, now TKJ. Now I really regret not getting the 20CV mystic Manix exclusive when it was available
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 3:38 am
by jwbnyc
Sorry to hear this. Hope Travis is okay.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 4:41 am
by WilliamMunny
I noticed he has been selling a lot of knives online. I was not sure if he was just moving old stock/used items or it was something else.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 8:52 am
by Snacktime
Crap, he was my go to for Reate. Every time I drive through Bishop he has been closed.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 12:41 pm
by Danke
That's too bad, I have the glow Jester he did.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 12:47 pm
by Skywalker
Shame. One of my favorite exclusives and definitely my most-carried Manix:
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 1:10 pm
by abbazaba
I really wish we'd see more translucent Manixeseses. Props to KJ for doing one.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 2:35 pm
by buckleys
that's a shame. out of ~15 manixes I've bought previously, the Knifejoker variant is the only I've kept. It has the best action and snap out of any LW one I've tried, and it looks the best too, reminds me of translucent N64s when they came out. Thanks for commissioning this run Travis!
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 3:20 pm
by dj moonbat
My Knife Joker exclusive Jester is one of my favorite knives.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 5:40 pm
by zhyla
Seriously guys. Brick and mortar is done. Online retailers will consolidate into a few large sites. Online retailers mostly differentiate on price and selection. Might as well cut to the chase and either sell direct on Spyderco.com or on Amazon (or both).
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 5:57 pm
by Naperville
zhyla wrote: ↑Thu Jul 24, 2025 5:40 pm
Seriously guys. Brick and mortar is done. Online retailers will consolidate into a few large sites. Online retailers mostly differentiate on price and selection. Might as well cut to the chase and either sell direct on Spyderco.com or on Amazon (or both).
GO FOR IT
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 8:53 pm
by Mrj
This makes me sad. Hate seeing this happen.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 10:01 pm
by CDEP
Sad news. I love his CruWear/Deep Forest Green exclusives. Wish I'd made it out to his shop to meet him in person.
Unfortunately, I don't think this will be the last of this kind of news. It was a tough market in good times, and with tariff chaos and a looming recession it's gonna be dire.
I've decided to make all of my purchases from a specific small retailer until things get better. No disrespect to the big guys, but we really benefit from the smaller shops and their exclusives. Maybe if we try to support the smaller shops when we can we might be able to fend off more closures.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 10:18 pm
by spydergoat
I liked seeing the Jokers unique exclusives, seeing Travis' chill videos about Spyderco releases, and regret that I never was close enough to visit the shop.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2025 11:07 pm
by vivi
CDEP wrote: ↑Thu Jul 24, 2025 10:01 pm
Sad news. I love his CruWear/Deep Forest Green exclusives. Wish I'd made it out to his shop to meet him in person.
Unfortunately, I don't think this will be the last of this kind of news. It was a tough market in good times, and with tariff chaos and a looming recession it's gonna be dire.
I've decided to make all of my purchases from a specific small retailer until things get better. No disrespect to the big guys, but we really benefit from the smaller shops and their exclusives. Maybe if we try to support the smaller shops when we can we might be able to fend off more closures.
I'm with ya. I'm willing to pay an extra 10-20% if need be to support brick and mortar knife shops over amazon etc. They're a dying breed....enjoy them while they're still around.
the place I bought my first spyderco closed 6 years ago. I stopped by maybe 8 years sgo and the shop was nearly barren. Used to buy all my camping gear, lights, knives, guns & ammo there. That last visit it was 1/2 their usual counters full of guns....and not much else. It was sad. So was seeing new graham closed.
It's gotten to the point where I make detours whenever I can to visit b&m shops while on vacation. Thinking about hitting up smoky mountain knife works in august even though they annoyed me with their catalogue spam years ago....
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2025 1:21 am
by jasonstone20
All my favorite knife haunts are gone, George & Son, Excalibur, Portland Knife Company, Andy & Bax. I think Hawthorne Cutlery and The Portland Knife House are still open.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2025 2:44 am
by aicolainen
A sad development.
It’s so hard to find knives and knife dealers around here, I sometimes play with the idea of doing curated knives and some other outdoor gear as a side gig.
But the financial risk is quite high and my main gig takes up so much of my time, there’s not much left for side projects. All in all it’s hard to justify such an endeavor in my current situation.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2025 7:46 pm
by mikey177
It's sad that brick and mortar knife shops are struggling. Being able to handle a knife prior to purchase is a big advantage for the buyer.
I will continue to support my favorite stores as funds allow. I would rather help a small business than add to Jeff Bezos wealth any day of the week.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2025 8:14 pm
by Jimandchris2
zhyla wrote: ↑Thu Jul 24, 2025 5:40 pm
Spyderco enforces Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies to maintain brand value and protect smaller retailers. Amazon’s pricing model often undercuts MAP, which frustrates dealers who follow Spyderco’s guidelines. If Spyderco leaned heavily into Amazon, they’d risk alienating their loyal network of authorized dealers, many of whom are knife enthusiasts themselves and provide expert customer service that Amazon’s automated systems can’t match. The knife market is plagued by fakes, especially for premium brands like Spyderco. Authorized dealers, both online and physical, are vetted to ensure authenticity. Amazon’s open marketplace makes it harder to police counterfeits, and Spyderco’s reputation could take a hit if customers receive knockoffs. Smaller retailers like Onkata (an authorized Amazon seller) are trusted, but they’re the exception, not the rule.
Re: The Knife Joker is closing
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2025 9:57 pm
by zhyla
Jimandchris2 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 25, 2025 8:14 pm
Spyderco enforces Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies to maintain brand value and protect smaller retailers. Amazon’s pricing model often undercuts MAP, which frustrates dealers who follow Spyderco’s guidelines. If Spyderco leaned heavily into Amazon, they’d risk alienating their loyal network of authorized dealers
Just to be clear, my suggestion is that Spyderco forget the small retailers and sell
direct on Amazon. This means they pay Amazon a cut and ship directly to customers. This is a different business model than they have today where (my understanding) some 3rd party retails Spyderco knives on Amazon under Spyderco's name.
Jimandchris2 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 25, 2025 8:14 pm
provide expert customer service that Amazon’s automated systems can’t match.
Amazon's customer service system absolutely blows away anything else in the market. But yes in this hypothetical future, Spyderco would need to increase their CS staff.
Jimandchris2 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 25, 2025 8:14 pm
The knife market is plagued by fakes, especially for premium brands like Spyderco. Authorized dealers, both online and physical, are vetted to ensure authenticity. Amazon’s open marketplace makes it harder to police counterfeits, and Spyderco’s reputation could take a hit if customers receive knockoffs.
I think you missed my point. I'm saying Spyderco themselves should sell on Amazon. When you buy from Spyderco on Amazon you by definition receive authentic products.
Obviously I don't have much knowledge of the realities of moving product. But I do know if business don't adapt fast enough they get left behind. It's pretty clear that in the end there will be zero brick and mortar stores. ****, I haven't even seen one in 20 years but I'm on the west coast where everyone adopted online retail pretty quickly.