A quick note before we get to the post. These are pretty tough times for the gear business. People are making great stuff in every part of the market, but looking at things I can’t shake the sense that we are at a precipice. Tariffs are a huge issue, of course, but the market wasn’t healthy before them. They just might be the last straw before a shake up.
Competition from China has not just been strong, it has crushed the US companies. Let’s look at one discrete example—the Spyderco Button Up, a new “budget” release this year that costs $75. It sports 8Cr13MoV. How is this possible in 2025? 8Cr isn’t a bad steel, but it is certainly not a good one. I can’t think of a worse steel used by major brands, except for the really cheap stuff from Gerber and SOG that uses its even worse brothers (7 or even 5Cr).
The Button Up is emblematic of the problem that makes me worried for the gear market. The new companies—We/Civivi/Sencut and Vosteed chief among them—are doing laps around their American counterparts. Benchmade’s prices have gone back to their historical high norms, ZT’s line up has stalled again, and Spyderco is releasing an $80 button lock with 8Cr steel. This knife, done by Civivi or Vosteed would have 14C28N steel and cost $58. That’s not a problem, that’s capitalism. The problem comes when you look at what results from this flurry of competition. American makers end up behind the curve, overpriced, understeeled, and fighting last war’s battles on designs and materials. They end up looking very unappealing. On the other end the Chinese companies flood the market. With no one buying high end and no one interested in more mid market, there is no new way to stoke the fires of knife sales. I don’t think we are there yet, but we are getting there.
Whelp, that was a somewhat depressing intro, but he isn’t necessarily off base. I found 2025 to be a bit flat, with a few highlights like the Buck Range, which isn’t one that made Anthony’s list.
Read the whole thing at EverydayCommentary.com
https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www.everydaycommentary.com/2025/10/5/gear-of-the-year-2025
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