Gordon Blake and Dave Navoyosky Demonstrate Personalized Pocket Knives
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.
Truckers Like Pocket Knives Engraved With Your Logo
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.
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.
Case has 2 numbering systems. The reason is that one numbering system identifies the specific knife (SKU
The Secret of the Case Numbering Systems
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.
SKU number (Model Number)
This is like any other SKU number. It identifies the item according to its size, shape, color, number of blades.
Pattern
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.
The first number is the handle material (6)
The second number is the number of blades (3)
The last 2 numbers are the pattern number, (47). 47 is the code for a Medium Stockman. 54 is the code for a Trapper.
Sometimes the number is followed by 2 letters (SS for Stainless steel, or CV for Chrome vanadium)
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:
Decide on the quantity. Include a few extra for new employees or new customers that will emerge after you place your order.
Determine your budget.
Pick a style of knife that will be popular with your employees (or customers)
Choose a reputable online engraved knives company.
Send them your art file. Hopefully you have vector art, which is an eps or ai file. Sometimes pdf files are in vector format. Vector art is the clearest, neatest art for engraving your logo on a knife.
Ask for an email proof before your knives are put into production.
Now just wait for your order of gift knives to arrive. You’re the hero of the workforce!
There seems to be some lingering effects from the Covid-19 lockdown of year
Gerber Quadrant Bamboo
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.
If you are a business owner, you are always looking for ways to increase your income. You know that promotional products are useful, long-lasting, and appreciated. You can’t say that about a newspaper ad.
