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Blades Community Growth

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Hey everyone,
As many of us are happy about, the Blades community product offerings have been growing at a ridiculous rate this year, and I'm genuinely curious where the growth is going? If my memory serves me right, just this year we've seen new collaborations with: Bharucha, Zinker, Laconico, Schwarz, Terzuola, Gavac, Ochs, Hara, Spyderco, and Ferrum Forge x2. This is more than one per month and not mentioning new versions of existing models like the Gent and Crux, or kitchen knives!
So, to Massdrop (@JonasHeineman), is this trajectory expected to continue? Are we going to keep seeing fresh collabs at this rate? What happens when these are all made and sitting in stock with Massdrop, are we going to see mostly collabs offered here?
For the community, what collabs do you think we'll see next? Any collabs you'd hope to see? Curious what you all think!
Thanks for reading! I'll leave it with a throwback to the collab that started it all:
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Canadianedge
13
Feb 16, 2019
I am some what late to the party when it comes to massdrop and there amazing collaboration with Ff for instance and unfortunately I still haven't gotten the one that apparently started it all for them. I've purchased 3 knives from Md 2 which are Ffs i cant wait to touch and use I look forward to 2019 and even more exciting collab another Laconico keen like design i dont know I just know when I see what I want. Iam a knife nut who can't get enough.
Canadianedge
13
Feb 17, 2019
So true I've got a horizon and I've handled the Begg collabs with Reata had a impossible struggle not to buy on the spot. Love there work
Bknguyen
693
Feb 18, 2019
CanadianedgeI hear ya. I got a Starboy too. Great knife
mysticbulldog
2
Jan 29, 2019
You can definitely see continued growth, your just now being named in the Facebook groups for the first time, which will allow to spread. @knifegods
Guns
38
Jan 21, 2019
Apologies, My response was in general but I meant for it to be under “barsije’s!
Guns
38
Jan 21, 2019
I can understand the curiosity, I guess many get more curious when excited? I’ve collected knives for over 50 years so the urgency of getting them faster doesn’t play into the collecting quality & sometimes exclusive knives. I’m happy being part of MD. I usually research prior to joining a drop & if it’s not exclusive & it cost less at another site? I purchase there. I enjoy MD & I’ve no complaints or worries concerning how it’s run. Meditation works well for most everyone.
Bknguyen
693
Jan 21, 2019
GunsYep, I've had no issues with Massdrop myself. If anything, patience is a virtue here but other than that, they've taken care of me well. 50 years! I've only been at it since '17, and I already feel like it's out of hand. Can't imagine what your collection looks like.
barsija
70
Jan 17, 2019
Hopefully the group continues to grow, to the point where its buying power is enough to reduce the turnaround time on some of these offerings. I understand that the collabs and exclusives take time to manufacture, but it shouldn't take a month or so to get a batch of CRKTs or some such out to people. PS. In my experience, MD's collabs are pretty much in line, timewise, with others I've gotten in on. The APurvis Blades Progeny I'm waiting on will end up taking a little over 3 months to deliver. It looks like most of the collabs I've gotten from MD took about 5 months, give or take, from order to door. There is room for improvement, but it's not outlandish.
(Edited)
reswright
3850
Jun 18, 2019
There's a lifecycle to the knife consumer's activity. We see the knife, we want the knife, we decide whether or not to get the knife, we get the knife, we have that period where the knife is still in Schrodinger's sheath, it could be awesome, it could be crap, you might learn something new just by handling it, that thing you learn might be 'I overpaid for this knife' but you don't know until the package arrives. You know the initial rush has worn off when you start setting the packages aside to open later in the day instead of beginning the process of opening the package as soon as it reaches your hands. You open the package, you look at the knife. Sometimes you gotta wipe off the grease right away because there's an astonishing amount of it, sometimes it's shipped dry and clean. You register your first impression which usually turns into the backbone of your long term idea of what the knife is. Sometimes your first impressions are right on, but a lot of the time values of the knife only become apparent with carry and use and your willingness to be a student of what you carry. If we buy too damn many knives we don't always give each knife that sort of true test of usage, but hey, at least there's more where that one came from right? Anyway then unless you really found one of your lifetime knives, it turns into something you own and pick back up every once in a while, or see in your big collection and smile that contented, dragon-with-a-hoard smile we get. I can see it now, the future archaeologists digging through our ashes, deciding that some of the remains that some of us left behind are evidence of an early 21st century cult of knife worship.
reswright
3850
Jun 19, 2019
The thing is, if you have to take that cumbersome step, then go ahead and take the time to do a little better review of what they’re passing on. I mean, why not? a time delay is already unavoidable, so take steps you ordinarily wouldn’t because it’d cost time. Make the most of it, if you know it’s gotta happen. What’s better for the customer, getting the knife in X weeks with an unquantified level of risk that things will be arseketeered and subsequently requiring an even longer wait, or getting the knife in X+1 or 2 weeks with much better assurance that the end product will be good? And which goes better, finding out that they’re getting a refund or credit in the store or whatever, or getting their knife and noticing the problem? Neither goes well but I know which one I dislike more as a consumer. It all depends on their supply chain- it has to go to them first, out of the shipping choice you posed. but that to me seems like the sort of brand building they wanna do. They’re assuming real risks no matter what they do, and to be fair we have to recognize that. But all of this is my way of saying, if we have to wait, let us wait in anticipation rather than angst. That is a real and true value that they can provide, and a little Tier 1 QA isn’t really all that hard. And it solves the issue of Drop not knowing about an issue until someone decides to tell them. For all I know it is completely and hopelessly impractical because of the secret sauce they use to juice their pitching in the game of inside baseball, but brand loyalty has to start somewhere. Why not here?
Wired4Sound
14
Jan 17, 2019
I Hope they continue with the Collaborations, I just received the Gavko-Massdrop and it is outstanding, My first Knife purchase from Massdrop, and for the price and quality offered I would most likely buy more, I already purchased 3 of these knives because of the Value and Quality.
Bknguyen
693
Jan 17, 2019
Wired4SoundThat one's on my next to buy list!
Omniseed
1972
Jan 16, 2019
I think they will continue on largely the same trajectory. At this point they seem to be building inventory of in-stock collaborations at the same time as they introduce new models. A few of them appear to have been restocked without much fanfare, and I think we can expect a similar pattern where there are no new models introduced for a few months at a time as the existing collaborations make it through production. I would guess that 2018 was a huge year for the Massdrop-Massforge-blades collaborations, and that we can expect to see a more moderate pace of new models now that their selection is starting to fill out with a variety of designers, manufacturers, models, and variations. I expect to see more models like the Pro-Tech Mordax, knives that might be more expensive than the original lineup, but that offer features that the community has been asking for. In the Mordax we get a fully American knife, we get something other than a frame or liner lock, we get beautiful 0.12" stock on a full-size knife, and we get a steel that outperforms the excellent S35VN on every front except toughness, which isn't terribly relevant in a folding pocket knife. I also think we will see more variations and derivatives of the existing design catalog. The Dogtooth as both a framelock and liner lock is the model for that. The possibility of a Crux with carbon fiber inlays or overlays, acting as an upscaled Gent, or maybe a liner lock Keen with nested liners in a carbon fiber handle is real. Not likely, but it's possible and I don't see them releasing as many new designs now that they have something for everyone in their lineup. The one thing that is missing, is a slipjoint.
Bknguyen
693
Jan 16, 2019
Oh yeah. They're definitely pushing the boundaries and seeing what sticks. Going from the crazy value we've seen in the G-10 Gent (which if it isn't the most popular knife collabo, is sure shaping up to be since it sells out every time) to the Prism and Mordax. Granted, the Damascus Falcon didn't really hit (there were other mitigating factors in that one), but I think it wouldn't be far off for them to try an integral. Curious as to who the designer could be. I agree with WE being the likely manufacturer. I think Reate would be way too pricey (see the Jack). I'm unsure if they would make an integral of an existing model though....because in my mind, it's hard to see the value of adding a significant uptick to a budget model. I think this might've been one of the (many) reasons why people didn't jump on the Damascus Falcon. Anyway, it's fun speculating on what they're working on! I'm calling the next Tashi collab to be the Heatseeker, likely made by Reate.
Bobraz
2631
Feb 15, 2019
OmniseedOh yes, a pocketable, sexy slipjoint! I second that! Titanium, micarta or carbon fiber, please!
2luvknives
3
Jan 16, 2019
I can't wait for the Protech and Furrem Forge drop my wallet is going to get lighter!😍$$$
Thorn74
167
Oct 26, 2018
I would love to see more Gavko colabs and maybe a front flipper like a Shamwari from Gareth Bull. I'm loving the Ferrum Forge blades, although I don't think my bank account agrees. To Jonas and the crew, keep doing what your doing
JonasHeineman
5987
Oct 24, 2018
Thanks @Bknguyen , we've come a long way since we released the Falcon in April of 2017. And yes - you can expect the general pace of releases to continue through 2019.
Bknguyen
693
Oct 24, 2018
JonasHeinemanExcited to see what you guys cook up!
fhood
715
Oct 26, 2018
JonasHeinemanHook me up with a front flipper guys!
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