Stauer Knives Question

[SwampWolf]

Every couple of months or so, Stauer "Afford the Extraordinary" features an attractive looking knife (they also do watches and jewelry) for sale in full-page magazine advertisements at what seems to be attractive prices (the latest is dubbed the "Stag Hunter"). Other than the axiom "you get what you pay for", does anyone have any experience and opinion as to the worth of their knives?

 

[hso]

Zero

That sort of thing is just for show and when you go to their website it becomes apparent.

 

[Speedo66]

Same for their watches, mass production tarted up, with no collector or any other value.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Some of theirs look a lot like the Pakistani knives I have seen over the years. Some are pretty well made, and some much less so. However, you usually don't know what the steel used in them is, and while serviceable, could be quick to rust, hard to sharpen, chip, etc. I would pass on them.

At some gunshows there are guys with similar things and if you can look at it and like it for the price I think that is different as you know more what you're getting into.

 

[SwampWolf]

I was kind of hoping that someone who had actually bought one and used it and might have an opinion they would share in terms of their experience regarding the quality and value of a Stauer's branded knife. I don't have much confidence in anyone's opinion about most anything if they've never personally "sampled the goods" before extolling or damning the product in question.

 

[entropy]

Junk.

 

[hso]

I don't have much confidence in anyone's opinion about most anything if they've never personally "sampled the goods" before extolling or damning the product in question.

Well, considering some of use have decades of industry experience it isn't always required to have handled an individual product to recognize what it is.

 

[rust collector]

The ads themselves do not inspire confidence. Here's a link to their knives, and they have a "souvenir" vibe to me.
https://www.stauer.com/category/112202301/collectible-cutlery I think your spidey-sense is like ours, but you would like to be pleasantly surprised. Don't be surprised if no one admits they fell for the "collectible" knives.

 

[JohnKSa]

Other than the axiom "you get what you pay for", does anyone have any experience and opinion as to the worth of their knives?

Some of their stuff is quite expensive. They sell at least one knife with a price tag of almost $1300. I don't think this is as simple as judging the product by the price.

Ok, my opinion, since providing an opinion was one of the options.

1. They don't often tell you what steel their knives are made of, and when they do, it's often not inspiring or it so vaguely stated as to be meaningless--like "stainless steel" or "German Stainless". I don't like buying knives when the manufacturer/seller won't tell me what they're made of. Not that I'm necessarily a steel snob, I just think it is the mark of a reputable maker who is trying to provide good quality knives when they let their potential customers know what materials they are using. To be fair, I did find one knife that they claimed was made from 420 stainless steel. That's not a terrible knife steel, but it's one that I would really only be interested in if it were found in a budget knife.

2. They specifically market a lot of their knives as "collectible". I've never heard of anyone collecting Stauer knives, unlike some of the other brands out there like Case. I don't think you get to simply declare your products as "collectible"--people start collecting them and that's what makes then collectible.

3. They specifically market a lot of their knives as "collectible". That doesn't scream "functional/durable/useful" to me, and that's a lot of what I want out of a knife. Even if I were to buy a knife with no intention of using it, I want it to be potentially useful. I won't buy a knife if it's only good to look at.

4. They list some of their knives as being made in Pakistan. That's not a good sign, IMO. People don't buy Pakistani knives for the impressive quality, in my experience the price may be attractive, but the rest of the package is usually wanting.

They're not something I would consider buying. If you like how they look, think the prices are reasonable, go for it. I wouldn't bet on much in the way of performance in general although they may have a model or two that would hold up to some use.

 

[SwampWolf]

Thanks JohnKSa, that's the kind of advice and opinion I was hoping to get. I was never seriously considering buying one but I've seen enough of their ads over the years to be curious. Most of the offerings I remember cost around fifty bucks (always claiming a "retail" price of three times as much). I don't expect a fifty dollar knife to perform like a one hundred dollar one but it might be worth at least fifty dollars.
I don't have any high-buck, big-name knives (the best I have are made by Buck, Puma, BenchMark, Case and Gerber; all priced well under $100.00) though someday I might invest in one for "bragging rights"; a Wilson vs Colt sort of comparison for instance.

 

[hso]

I was never seriously considering buying one but I've seen enough of their ads over the years to be curious.

The most telling comment.

They're worth consideration, but not worth buying.