Sunday, September 26 begins National Fall Foliage Week. What better way to celebrate than to take a drive in the country, enjoy a walk in the woods, and give camouflage Buck Knives with your logo to all your customers.
This Friday, September 17 is National Tradesmen Day. These are the people who specialize in certain skills like electricity, plumbing, masonry, carpentry, painting, and mechanical repairs. Honor these tradesmen by giving them personalized pocket knives with your company logo. They will appreciate them.
If your customers are truck drivers, this is the week to show them your appreciation. What better way than to give them pocket knives engraved with your logo. They will keep them forever as a symbol of your generosity.
When new, you shouldn’t have to sharpen
engraved Gerber knives. But after some use, you will have to sharpen them. The best advice is “Easy does it”. The gentlest but most effective knife sharpener is the R119 by “American Made Cutlery”. It is made of two wheels of hardened steel, that are placed close enough together to provide an ideal angle of sharpening. It sharpens both sides of the blade at the same time. You want to draw the knife blade through the opening smoothly and gently, as if you were slicing something. Other sharpeners are on the market for more rugged sharpening jobs. We’ll get to them next time.
The Buck 110 Folding Hunter Lockback is the “poster child” of the Buck family of pocket knives. When someone refers to a Buck knife, this is the one that people picture in their minds. It has been made in the USA since 1964. It’s a huge 4 7/8″ long when closed, and sports a 3 3/4″ stainless steel blade. The packaging of a genuine leather sheath make it an attractive gift package for your employees or customers. If you ask, “How long will my logo last?” My answer is, “Does anyone ever throw away a pocket knife?”
Engraved Buck Knives have been around since 1961, and will probably outlast many other forms of promotional advertising.
The Reverb 1220 is the newest member of the engraved Kershaw knives family. New in 2021, it features a handy carabiner so that you can carry it on your belt loop or backpack. The sleek design of the reverse tanto blade contributes to the overall lines of beauty of this tool. It is small enough to keep on your body every day. Only the best stainless steel is used in this knife and all Kershaw knives. Check out the divergent lines in the design when the knife is closed, also.
Kershaw® Reverb 1220
Engraved Leatherman Tools were developed in the mind of Tim Leatherman in the 1970’s. That was way after the age of the caveman. But today’s Leatherman tools look a lot neater and professional than the original prototypes that Tim made in the late 70’s. He made the initial models in his garage, using the equipment and material that he was able to get at the time. Today his company is growing at a fast rate. His products are in demand around the world, only 40 years after they were first developed. Here are some examples of Tim’s first prototypes, which are on display in the front office of his Portland Oregon factory….
Case has 2 numbering systems. The reason is that one numbering system identifies the specific knife (SKU
number) and the other system (pattern number) tells you more about the knife.
Whether you are buying logo knives for your company, or just blank knives, these 2 numbering systems will help you find the right knife.
Each knife has 2 numbers assigned to it.
SKU number and a Pattern.
This is like any other SKU number. It identifies the item according to its size, shape, color, number of blades.
The pattern is not as specific as a SKU number. Several SKU numbers could have the same pattern. Their difference would most likely be a different handle color. The purpose of the “Pattern” is to encode information about a knife into only a few digits.
For example 6347 is a pattern.
Handle materials:
1- Solid hardwood
2- Smooth black synthetic thermoplastic rubber
3- Smooth yellow synthetic
4- Smooth synthetic
5– Genuine stag
6- Jigged bone, jigged synthetic, jigged laminate, smooth bone
6.5- Bonestag
7/P- Curly maple, rosewood, smooth laminate
8- Genuine mother-of-pearl
9- Imitation mother-of-pearl
10- Micarta, G-10
I- Ivory, Imitation ivory
EX- Exotic (Giraffe, Ostrich, Volcanic Glass, and other Exotic Handle Materials)
Here is a link to Case’s list of handle materials:
https://www.casexx.com/Library/Secret.asp
Pattern Numbers:
The Pattern number is not always 2 digits. Here is a comprehensive list from Case that lists all their pattern numbers.
https://www.casexx.com/Library/PatternNumbers.asp
Here’s a quick checklist when you decide to order company logo knives.
There seems to be some lingering effects from the Covid-19 lockdown of year
2020. In that year, production levels of many products decreased. This was caused by the reduction in the workforce due to “social distancing”. Other effects were a reduction in the availability of raw materials. Shipping materials and finished products from China suffered as well.
Currently, the production time for engraved Gerber knives is 15 or more business days. Normally the production time used to be 10 business days. This additional 5 days may not be too important in the month of July. But, when the Christmas rush begins in October, those additional 5 days could affect the Christmas deadline. Imagine having a company Christmas party, and the gift knives haven’t arrived yet. My advice is to plan ahead, so you don’t get caught with this sort of inventory problem.
