A Tale of Leatherman and Butts (EDC ISSUES)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.พ. 2022
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A I N S W O R T H
gottem
As a Puritan from the 1640s, I abhor all displays of vanity. All knife enthusiasts should be wearing modest cloaks and hats with buckles.
🤣🤣🤣
When someone wears a hat with buckles, you know that person means business.
Here here!
Solomon Kane has entered the chat 😁👍
I mean must of mine are black and don't stand out does that count
Stellar video on both topics. You’re great at this, Pete.
99% of my knife usage is opening Amazon boxes and kitty litter… unfortunately that’s not advertisement worthy to companies. On the same hand, I bought my fiancé a K390 dragon fly and guess what she uses it for… opening Amazon boxes and kitty litter. She uses the shit out of that little thing. I’m totally for inclusion in the community, newcomers are awesome, it’s just a matter of putting the right message out there. Great vid Pete!
I bought my girlfriend a Squeak, she wasn't strong enough to open the blade normally and hasn't really used it.
I actually interviewed at KAI USA back in early 2020 and the two ladies (HR & Compliance) who were interviewing me actively lamented the tactical toughguy marketing of the industry. They carried knives of course but didn't identify with a utilitarian tool marketed next to a Glock.
I'm a car enthusiasts first, pocket cutlery enthusiasts second, so I loved the Simpsons reference.
Make functional pockets on clothing ubiquitous and perhaps knives will become so.
I wasn’t ready to laugh this hard at potatoes this early in the morning.
As a woman who likes knifes: it has to stop being a „conversation“ and become normal. If I take out a Manix 2 and people get bug eyes… ANOYING.
Great Video
Honestly, I've never really seen knives be associated with sexual/sensual content and had no idea this was happening.
Same. This is all news to me.
It’s few and far between. Miss tale of knives. Microtech and their paid models that know not a damn thing about a blade grind or a handle texture if it was written, in English, on lined paper for them. That’s like giving Shaq a knife to advertise … and hey that’s actually not a bad idea … he should do a knife ad someday when we’re all normal to the rest of the world.
SMKW hired at least one individual who I am pretty sure is just a pretty face used to market knives, but beyond a few relatively silly things like that that I generally agree.
@@jonduncansakurawallknifegarden Shaquille O'Neal is probably the only man in the world who could wear a Cold Steel Espada XL and make it look like a normal pocket knife.
Either belt holster is an effective measure against teen pregnancy
Leatherman, "It's alright cuz I'm saved by the bell!"
Its pretty amazing how you managed to bring these two issues together so well in the end. It's almost as though there was some connection between the two of them in the first place.
In regards to wanting the world to view knives like scissors/other tools....Let's be honest, a HUGE part of the problem with how the general population views knives is because of the community and industry's own damn doing. A gigantic portion of knives are designed, made, and marketed not as tools but as spec-ops super deadly assassin manbro death sticks. And another thing no one wants to talk about and I'm sure will garner a lot of backlash is the community/consumer's own trends towards huge beefy tactical looking pocket knives. Preferences are preferences, enjoy what you enjoy, but 99 times out of 100 when a non-knife-nerd sees you pull a pocket knife out they're expecting something like a SAK, not an SNG or a ZT 0561 or a PM2... to them you look just a crazy as if you were to pull out your "scissors" but what you're actually carrying is a pair of garden shears. It's not that there is anything wrong with that tool but more that it seems overkill for the setting you're carrying it in. I personally find it funny that as the pocket knife carrying population got smaller and smaller over the years, the average size of the knife the current carriers choose got bigger and bigger and bigger.
I generally agree with you on that.
Byeah
I think companies should be marketing knives more like victorinox, case, and buck. Just quality stuff that works and not being so aggressive with the marketing all the time. It also depends on the way you carry yourself honestly. In other words, dress and act like a normal person and no one will think anything of you or your knives.
"...everyone has their, both literal and figurative, spuds out." 😂😂😂
I've been without power for near on two weeks, so seeing this video reminded me of one of the key reasons why I like you (and AKB) is your very real understanding of good sarcasm. It is a pleasure to hear.
Magpies in the background. Solid 9.8/10 sir
I thought everyone entered the knife life after seeing Lynn Thompson chopping an arm after getting a knife through the roof of a car. I had no idea there were actual knives ads.
I loved the Leatherman chat of this episode of EDC issues; the second part had my falling asleep which caused me to fall forward and head "butt" my keyboard.
Regarding the sexy pics, it depends on where it comes from. If it’s from the chick’s page that’s legit about knives, it’s fine to me because she’s making that choice. When it feels like there’s a creepy old dude behind it (Taran Tactical and the like), then it gets into “boothe babe” territory.
What’s also worth pointing out is that a lot of OnlyFans type chicks are purposely posting content in niche communities to gain more followers. I’ve literally seen it happen in the most random places (like the Settlers of Catan subreddit 🧐). That would be annoying because it’s not coming from a genuine place. That’s not to say knife community women can’t also have OF, but it’s tacky if someone who knows nothing about knives is exploiting the community strictly to market to its followers.
In 5 minutes, I was able to find 2 more edc holders exactly like those. I am convinced that the ToK version is of better quality, so it’s to each one to decide if they are ready to pay a prime for it but I am not pissed at Leatherman for offering us an edc holders that is similar to many handmade ones.
It's one thing if a chinese manufacturer decides to copy their design. It's another when Leatherman steals a design from a local maker.
CulteryLover once did a video about how people were stealing ToK's photos of their products, putting them up as their own, and then selling people an inferior product. CutleryLover showed an example of what they were actually selling while using ToK's product photos in a bait and switch.
@@Max-vn6jv My point was that this design is not original to that maker. Who knows, there’s probably some old version of it that we are not aware of. I, myself, often buy handcrafted tools and knives and I am ready to pay the prime but not everybody is.
For me, they are not targeting the same customers. That being said, I am happy about the reactions of the community as it’s good publicity for TaleofKnives and I am sure this local maker will greatly benefit from this.
He he, I just found 5 different “brands” of this one on Amazon. All using the same pictures of it, slightly photoshopped and scewed colours to look different.
Captain Business can do whatever he business. But you don't have to business with his business.
That vertically moving background is pure seizure fuel! 😵💫
If you want to see absurd, irrelevant sexualization of utility products, Winchester’s birdshot ads in the 80’s were a nightmare. They marketed their skeet shells in Italy with photos of nude and seminude women being branded like cattle.
Ahh, the good old days.
I mean, I don't think a tale of knives invented that style either. There's not a whole lot of different ways to make a sheath.
There are literally dozens of manufacturers making these.
You nailed the advertising in knives being so poor.
Such a well reasoned (and more important balanced/nuanced) argument.. feels out of place in today’s world. I have a bunch of sisters who quite often need to borrow my knife to make utilitarian cuts (removing tags, opening packages, etc.). I’ve started remarking on how handy it is to have a knife available (followed by gifting them knives and the most popular are the Banter with kitty scales and a small SAK). Ads showing the daily utility of a knife could be entertaining and could help with seeing knives as something other than efficient baby killers.
now i need a shirtless metal complex episode
EDC issues are better than ED issues
Victorinox nailed friendly knife marketing. People see a Swiss army knife and they think MacGyver, famous pacifist feel-good TV handyman. They think of that guy who works in their office opening letters. They think of their dad who changed the batteries on their toy car or their mum who used one to trim her nails. Friendly, inoffensive stereotypes associated with the brand.
What about Leatherman? 127 hours, James Franco cuts his arm off with a PST posing as a quote "Cheap Chinese Multitool". Still, positive depiction in media. It's a utility tool that saved a man's life, not a weapon.
What does Spyderco have in comparison? Maybe somebody knows somebody who had a knife with a thumbhole at some point? Maybe random non-knife guy saw someone use one at work? The most famous Spyderco depiction in pop culture that I can think of is that scene in Fight Club where the Project Mayhem guys are about to use a Spyderco knife to castrate the narrator. Great scene, not really the same vibe though 😂
Other knife brands? A Buck 110 was used to slash a guy's ankles in Kill Bill, there's probably some other depictions out there.
Benchmade? Nothing I can think of. Microtech? Probably used as a generic switchblade in action movies.
Really what I'm getting at is we can get a snapshot of how the public perceives knives through pop culture. And what we see is that the only pocket knives the public is sort-of familiar with and accepting of are Swiss army knives, multitools, and maybe traditional slipjoints. It hasn't been normalised for somebody to whip out a modern folder to open a box around other people without at best raising some eyebrows or worst scaring folks. I live in the UK, our knife laws are stricter than the US but still better than some EU countries and other parts of the world, but we have a very anti-knife culture due to supposedly high amounts of knife crime in urban centres. People get stabbed with kitchen knives or DIY shanks or machetes or £5 AliExpress knives, the media makes headlines of it, and now the average person is scared when his best mate pulls out a UKPK to cut off a price tag.
Idk I'm going on a bit of a rant, idk what the solution is but a nice first step would be if knife manufacturers would drop all the tactical survivalist marketing to appeal to a wider audience. There's always going to be the SOGs and Cold Steels out there but Spyderco, Benchmade, CRKT etc could maybe lean more towards the everyday boring usecase in their advertising. James Brand (despite the horrific overpricing and cringe-inducing slogans) are going in this direction somewhat by pushing for a stylish brand image that appeals to lifestyle people as much as knife guys. Just my two cents on the subject.
Thanks Pete
I've always found the tactical ads as homo-erotic without intending to be, which is kinda funny to me. Like a Louis L'Amour novel. Knives as phallus is a Freudian classic. Bring on the butts!
Cowboys butts drive me nuts!! Nothing like Uncle Randy showing off his pinstripe pocketed denim dungarees with a leather sack fulla' Buck 110.
Tale of knives didn't make those in the first place. This may be the first time that an American company has stolen intellectual property from China, but YA, I think that they made this one first. The first one was just a magazine pouch for a gun with a key clip. Then as all of our best EDC ideas, they added more tools er pockets. First, one for a flashlight, then for a pen as well. Next maybe a pocket watch and a wallet so we can have all of our EDC on the same holster. Who knows
You fucking tied potatoes in! Hahaha love it! Leatherman fucked up but only to us nerds who even know what Tail Of Knives is. I doubt they do anything about it except sell the shit out it. It’s unfortunate. Lastly, I agree, I think the military surplus marketing stuff is scaring people away.
The TOK sheath isn’t a proprietary design. There’s all sorts of difference sheaths on the market. Hell, leatherman uses to sell a nylon sheath that has a slot for a mag lite
Since Tale of Knives didn’t originate the design and has no IP claim to it, I have no issues with Leatherman making the same thing.
Somewhat ironically, Tale of Knives does seem to have a lot of yoga pants pics on their Instagram. But the butt shots on their account don’t seem as gratuitous as when someone like Microtech pays Instagram models to pose with their stuff.
I knew I’d be able to link the stories!
Bro the design is the exact same they are literally the sane
You're right. Could they? Yes. Should they? No. Absolutely not. Business is business but there's room for everyone.
😂😂 I love your review and input, Pete. Well done 👍🏻
Versions of that tool holder have been around since Leathermans came out. I saw versions of that guys were getting in the military back in the early 90's from small shops and I doubt ToK was doing them back then. It is not a new product by any means.
Exactly
Great thoughts here, Pete. I think you expanded the conversation well into the realm of the tactical mall ninja-- how do we get more people involved instead of selling more knives to the same people? I'm definitely looking at this from the view of a salesman of products and total attainable market. I think making more women feel included and respected is a great start.
This was my fav video you’ve done! I spit out my coffee!
Not sure how long ToK has been around. But my Grandfather had a edc hip organiser when I was young . Like preschool age . I'm now 57 . Just saying .
People like to forget that their "new idea" or design may have been around long before them plus the way i see it is ToK's created nothing original they created a belt sheath thats open topped that holds 2-3 items...nothing new or original designed here its just a sheath that someone said "What if i added 2 other sheathes onto this!" and there you go theres their "organizer" in a nutshell.
“...literal and figurative spuds out... “🤣😂🤣🤣🤣
Carry their leatherman in a dad like way” 😂😂😂💀
Hello trouble type advertising is aimed at the wannabes. Tits and butts have been around forever, ie; hot rods and fast sports cars, guns, knives etc. I think most of us look and move on. I don't buy a product based on how much skin I see and I've seen too much real trouble to be impressed by an ad produced by some ad agency geek who in most cases never owned or seen the product he's touting in 'real' use. I've become very good at ignoring the shills. Good vid. You make some thought provoking points and leave us chuckling at the same time.
Spoken like an experienced person. I’ve been done “hello trouble!!!” Alley a few times and I know what those girls are about … trouble ! (I wouldn’t have guessed it tbh). But I found out the hard way and that advertising gimmick is really kind of sleazy to me.
I think no one cares about knife marketing, no one notices it, not knife guys, not "normies"... so even if it can be a bit cringe sometimes, doing a cold steel does nothing for us or agaisnt us.
What hurts the community is that movies and shows that regular people watch constantly show knives as weapons but rarely as everyday tools.
So the urban guy or gal that lives a life removed from manual labour of any sort cant see edged tools as anything other than murder.
Theres tons of boobs for burgers and beer yet tons of girls eat and drink those... sure, they would prefer other type of ads but the point is that the ad is not the big issue.
Summary: We need more mcgyvers, less stabbing psychos
I think marketing them as you would advertise any other hand tool is what is required to normalize them.
Yeah, that's a sleazy move on Leatherman's part. The whole "It's just business" argument people use to excuse shitty behavior by companies doesn't fly with me. You can run a decent business that treats people well, or you can pull shady shit. It's like when someone acts like an asshole, then exclaims "it's just my opinion" when people call them out for being an asshole. Per the second part, 100% it's the tactical-bro marketing that turns a lot of people away from the knife industry that might otherwise be interested. I've literally seen this play how where a friend was asking me (the knife weirdo) about what they should buy, and they were annoyed that all the knives looked like "Rambo knives".
I'm now 11 minutes in. I don't see knife advertising other than on Instagram, so can't comment on that. However, I think we need to push to have knives recognised as nothing more than a tool, a pair of scissors without the other blade. Unfortunately, mass media and the movie industry perpetuate the Lynn T 'Cold Steel' mentality of knives as primarily a lethal weapon.
I’ve seen many “edc multitool” holsters like the ToK one on amazon (to be fair I didn’t know about the ToK one before watching this video.). I can see how someone in marketing at leatherman could have looked at them told the execs”we’re making one of these now, everyone’s doing it!” without considering that at one point there was an original designer and maker of the pattern. Because they are an American company however, I think it isn’t unfair to expect better.
I agree on diversity and inclusion, it’s a bit of a lonely hobby in real life that will get you weird looks if you geek out over. I would like to be able to share my enthusiasm with more types of people without looking like a “kyle”.
My wife is getting more into outdoors things and general preparedness, the lack of diversity means that finding her something that she may like and find useful is considerably more difficult.
Dang it Pete! I almost bought this 2 days ago. I ended up getting the viper 3 pocket organizer.
Correction I almost bought the one manufacturer by a company in Georgia, USA.
It would be one thing to look at something that looks alarmingly like another product and decry it because it falls under IP laws. In this case though it doesn't as far as I know. And when literally everyone and their mother decided to make their G/A/Bar/whatever knockoff of the Benchmade Axis Lock when the IP laws made it so they could. They did, and they should, because that stops Benchmade from being the only game in town, it means they can't keep trading on a legal monopoly on something to avoid competition. So should Leatherman look at a niche product like a belt pouch/organizer and make their own version? I don't see why not? If anything the competition will cause lower prices or better products.
Nice take on the leatherman/ToK issue. Good to see you haven’t joined the angry boycott brigade that is shaming anyone who doesn’t immediately throw all of their leatherman products into the closest body of water. Leatherman cannot market the sheath (or the tool pouch they’ve recently released) as “new” and should admit that they’re jumping on the bandwagon. The internet EDC Karens should take a breath and allow leatherman a chance to make appropriate concessions to ToK-perhaps joint marketing or some type of licensing like you described.
Way I figure, if someone enjoys posting saucy photos of themselves and they enjoy cutlery and they wanna put those two together? Fine. My problem is when a company tries to sell me their product based solely on who’s holding the product in the ad, rather than selling me on the features/merit of the product. (This applies equally to over-sexed AND tacticool marketing)
Topic 2 is very much a case of two things being correct simultaneously and lots of people hearing what they want to hear and not what the other side is actually saying. Ben's post seems a bit high and mighty but whatever, since he obviously means well, and that kind of oversexualized marketing has historically been very offputting to women across multiple industries. But the emphasis there should be on "marketing" - there's a big difference between sexy pics taken by a gal who enjoys it or by a small maker in collaboration with a model, and sexy pics designed by big businesses in a lab to cynically appeal to a target market by any means necessary. Skylar sounded up in arms over something that wasn't happening - since Ben's post was coming from a place of support and was about marketing overall, not "women are foul temptresses and must never post ankle" like Skylar made it sound.
"It's good when women have control over their own sexuality" and "It's bad when women have their sexuality exploited for money" are two ideas that can very easily coexist. Plus, sexy isn't empowering for everyone, and demanding that sexy is necessary to fight The Patriarchy is just... reinforcing those old patriarchal standards, but with a #girlboss veneer.
The butt's expansion pack XD. I love you Pete truly, you and DBK make this hobby evergreen for me.
As for Ainsworth, its ridiculous just because you can doesn't mean you should. I'll be getting a ToK item soon.
Me I prefer to have less boobs and butts in my feed as a result of my personal convictions, so I am in agreement with Ben and I do think the hypersexualization is a problem. The issue is I don't think its a knife issue, as it happens in damn near every industry. It's a moral issue really and those are messy to say the least, I don't see a change coming anytime soon.
I totally business. My business is my business's business. Business.
I generally agree with you. I can't comment on sexualized advertising in the knife industry because I generally keep a pretty low profile on social media. Even so, I think a lot of people tend to associate a lot of pocket knives with weapons masquerading as tools. The more the knife industry shifts away from the military advertising as a core trend and towards the more recent trend of bright colors and basic features the better off we'll be.
That is a very disturbing wolf. Thanks for sharing.
Yes bro! Way to go speaking out on ToK vs leatherman. I love ToK And can’t wait to buy more of their gear
Enjoy! They are severely overpriced. Those pissing and moaning about TOK being ripped off are girls. This is how it goes. Someone else redesigns your product with a slightly different angle or cut and it’s it’s own own new product. This is how patents (and getting around them )work, it’s known. TOK needs to drop their prices nearly 50% to rival the competitors. They would still be the most expensive brand.
The new Leatherman sheath is a chinese-style white labelled knock-off of someone else, ToK or not.
I learned as a youngster that "brand loyalty" gets you nothing at all other than the admiration of other brand loyal people. The things that drive my purchases are - Access to product, quality of product and price. Geo-political tensions may also play into it (I don't buy from the enemy). Other than that - how a company conducts itself short of clubbing baby seals and putting LSD into water supplies - I care not. As to markets, the prices of decent quality folders has risen and risen but I don't believe wages have increased in line. Paying 400 for a folder that only a few years ago would have been 250 or less turns people off the game far more than anything else (I am looking at you Spyderco). Bottom line is there is always issues in the hobby from generation to generation - it just depends how much you can stomach before you realise you don't need a different knife for every day of the month and move on with your life.
I don't think there's any monopoly on leather belt held sheathes. Humans have been making these since forever.
Personally I work and use a knife, pliers, screwdrivers, flashlight and keys every day. I’ve had a local saddle shop make a similar product because I dislike bulky items in my pockets. I’m not mad at Leatherman for stealing my idea, but local small business need to be supported. What I am irritated at is Leatherman and all multitool manufacturers make tools with various flaws and poor materials. I’m sure their sheath is inferior to the ones small business produces as well. Examples of poor design include excessive bulk, short blades and tools made of poor quality steel, accessibility of tools, etc. Oh yeah, propriatorey fasteners used are a pet peeve of mine too. I own a dozen or more multi tools and still prefer the original PST because of its small form factor, but the knife blades are crap. That small belt sheath is perfect and a small flashlight carried with a pocket clip with a Maxpedition key holder round out my edc and beats the bulk of a combo sheath anyway. Just my preference and thoughts, no need to comment further as I seem to be writing a book.
AKB shirtless and in skin tight Lycra?
Ebay, from our great chinese mates less than $20 bucks posted to your door. Don't see the point of them in Australia you can't go out in public with a multi tool or knife on you.
@DTL There was old farmer in Q.L.D. recently who had to go to court for a small pocket knife carried on his belt. I think he got a small fine and got off light as he was in his 70's. Should be able to find the story some where on big world web. I guess things are up to the cop's discretion .
Well done vid as usual. I'm all for content creators getting creative with photography - an individual on Instagram who goes by TPK comes to mind. Where I personally draw the line is when it's used as corporate marketing leverage. Cold Steel has jumped HARD on the booth-babe aesthetic since the buyout, and it has definitely impacted their image negatively in my mind. It just comes across as a lack of effort, going for the 'hue hue, boobies' reaction instead of actually studying the target market properly.
If you think tpk and cold steel have different end goals (or one is more low-effort) then I'm not sure you understand social media, or capitalism.
Personally, I think cold steel has an understanding of their market in ways other corporations spend 7-figures to try to achieve. I can't fault them for leaning into it extra hard. Them becoming even more of a parody to me (us?) isn't gonna stop any of their fans from buying their knives.
Like Pete said, more knives to a smaller group...
At least they're not using the Microtech model; trying to corner both the xenophobia and high-end Chinese folder market.
Cold Steel knows exactly who their market share is. Do you need a pocket sword? If you're on the CS website the answers is yes, yes you do. Some of their stuff is useful inspite of themselves. The Trail Boss axe is decent quality at a decent price for a good portable axe. But let's be honest, no one needs an Espada XXL.
@@jacknemo8021 Didn't think I needed a mini sharp as frick shovel either...until I got one.
@@adamjames1375 after 20+ years in the Infantry I will never discount the utility of the entrenching tool.
Great coverage! Love this type of video! I agree about Leatherman… I think that they are seriously overstepping some moral/ethical boundaries with this. With the other “issue” … I didn’t know it was an issue… I think whatever- there was a girl that used to work for SMKW and she is a model and is a knife designer too… so she posts sexxy pictures sometimes with knives… is what it is… if ya don’t like it don’t buy it and the market should correct
Is it wrong that I want to see that potato pose, Pete?
You are a funny dude. Love your videos.
As far as I can tell I really only see Microtech using models posing in sexual positions for marketing and advertising purposes. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think it really just does well with their preferred demographic, which is basically gun enthusiasts. I don’t see a lot of knife people reacting to those kinds of posts at all. Tony definitely has his own little world that he lives in where his custom knives cost more than everyone else’s and all his girlfriends want to have multi colored ultra techs.
Mate I would love to join a potato growing community and would happily moderate a potato message board
I'm in. Ruth Stout ftw!
Knives have a bit of a PR problem for sure. I was at a friend's office to drop off animal rescue stuff. While we chatted I got out my Spyderco Native 5, a modest knife I think, and smoothed off an irritating rough spot on a fingernail. She looked shocked and I asked why. She said I had just casually pulled out a big old murder knife! So clearly an item shiny and pointy has a strong possibility of having baggage attached in general society. I carry my Baby Banter more now because of this. It seems the epitome of harmlessness, at least to me. Mall ninja (I first saw the phrase years ago on Everyday Commentary.) style knives certainly do us no good. Flea markets abound with crappy knives and a full array of bright cheap "knife-like objects" (Thanks Nick Shabazz), including swords and "throwing stars" all marketed with dangerousness emphasized. The TV knife channel I get sells lots of swords and other stuff marketed on appearance, not functionality. That does not help, either. The EDC concept is pretty sane, but I can see where OTF and button-opening knives scare people unaccustomed to such. I stick to knives 3 inches and under for EDC and do not "fidget" or flash them about. "Fidgetiness" is not a selling point to me. I would be irritated by someone doing that all the time. And it looks bad to casual passersby. Fidgeting to one is flaunting to another. Knives as tools are a salable concept. Knives for outdoors tasks and camping-type recreation are the same, as are kitchen knives. But I live where the "Carolina squat" comes from, so no matter how pedestrian an item you have, someone will be obstreperous with it.
It's our soyboy society. Men of every class had previously carried knives as necessary functional tools, so the women folk would be used to seeing non threatening men always carrying and using palm sized knives. As less men carry knives, they may have had no exposure to it. They just see a man with a "dangerous weapon" and pray they can make it to their safe space before you go Micheal Myers on them.
I'm on Instagram all the time looking at knife posts. My question is: where are all these scantilly dressed women pics using sex to sell knives at? I certainly haven't seen these pics or ads. Guess I'm missing out?
This video was certainly food for thought and desperately requires a response from MC. We need to know the lengths he will go to for the ladies
Personally I don't like a bunch of t&a or taticool or whatever on my timeline, however, if that's what gets the company sales, then the company shouldn't stop advertising in that way. This is an extremely niche market and these companies aren't really that large, so taking risks can seriously effect them and it's not like they have Disney bucks backing them up or whatever.
If the potato farming community likes muscle bound guys with potatoes near their junk then the potato farming suppliers should keep advertising that way. Who would I be to come into a community and tell them to take a financial risk by chasing a section of the population that hasn't shown much interest in their products?
I like being able to sew and fix my clothes etc. for example. I find it to be a very useful skill. Did I complain that sewing is advertised in a way that's more attractive to women? No, I understand that they are advertising to the people who have proven that they are willing to buy what their selling. I'm not entitled to have companies cater to my likes or dislikes or for them to try to expand their market. It's not like they are trying to exclude me either, they just advertise in various ways and go with what gives them the best return on their investment.
Scumbag move by leatherman agreed though.
For the Leatherman thing, I think people are overreacting a little bit. Tale isn't the first person to make a multitool belt sheath, and he won't be the last. Yes, Leatherman basically copied his design. I don't know if they did it on purpose. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before this happened, and it could've been any of the tool companies.
Why I don't think they did it on purpose follows. Big companies really don't pay attention to their IG. When they like people's posts, they're just scrolling through their mentions and liking posts that won't get them into trouble. They don't do detailed scans of the pictures. Maybe a person from their PR department and a person from their design department were talking one day and got to mentioning sheaths. Maybe the PR person just gave some ideas subconsciously remembering the Tale sheath from pictures, but not fully remembering it; and it went from there into the new Ainsworth sheath. Of course, what could've also happened was that two different people had the same idea at different times and didn't know about the other ones. It happens.
Inclusion - bring it on. The most common problem with inclusion is that no one asks the affected group how they want to be included. Men deciding how to include women? I think the knife world is generally inclusive overall but can we do better - probably. As Pete suggests, turning down testosterone & tactical would be a start. I've been into knives for 20+ years and I can't recall how many boxes I've opened or food I've prepped or fires I've started etc... But I can recall how many people I've stabbed or cut - NIL. Oh and there other colours other than black, brown & green. Thanks Pete. Please also see Nick Shabazz's recent video re. disability inclusion. 👍
Big Scissor is called Fiskars...✂️
Cowabunga dude.!
I feel like the Tactical Dude Bro advertising and and Bodacious Curves Galore issues are both in the same category, however the former does a LOT more harm.
From what i've seen Gerber's Instagram advertising has been decent in this regard, however hat would work best is advertising knives in our community how they're often used. Opening letters, breaking down boxes, or my personal favorite, having my friends borrow some of my knives and all of us doing a small whittling project.
The more you show these knives as just everyday tools in the same vein as scissors or a pen, the more it will be seen as a tool rather than a Testosterone Weapon.
I also think the editing of photos in ads and general design is part of the problem as well. Like Gerber's photo editing is still super grimey and edgey, leading to that "Hello Trouble," vibe, which doesn't help. And Most if not All of the designs coming people like Kershaw are so angular and threatening, which is hard to watch since i doubt someone new to the hobby is gonna go for a ~$50 Civivi, they're gonna go for the ~$25 Kershaw, or Gerber, or even Buck.
It's a very multi-faceted issue that i could go on about for hours, like how an openly LGBTQ person can be treated by the general populace of this hobby, but the root of it all seems to be the Man Dude Bro Pocket-Katanas-Hell-Yeah marketing. Very odd to watch in 2022
Search ‘pocket knife’ on eBay. That’s a pretty innocent term. But the result is listing after listing of black, camo, stubby tactical Rambo pig stabbers. The industry itself is closing the door to a wider market through its ongoing obsession with the ‘tactical’ myth.
Cool vid and all, but we're overdue for a video on POTATO ISSUES! Come on Pete..
Love this video! I am a woman who likes knives/edc (and woodworking and fishing and other "manly" things). Your potato farming analogy is a good start, but needs further elaboration to more accurately represent what it's like to be a woman who likes things or has hobbies that are predominantly marketed to men. Along with the unnecessarily sexual photos of potatoes and balls, any time you share an opinion about potatoes, 10 "established members" of the potato community will harass you or tell you how unqualified you are to even have an opinion, much less be bold enough to share it out loud or just "nicely" explain to your silly little brain why your opinions & experiences are wrong. When you finally find some popular potato growers you identify with, they soon quit the hobby because of harassment. Once a year, the big potato companies try to pander to you and others like you, which you find insufferable and a bit offensive, but then they ignore any criticism or suggestions you have to help them seem less patronizing. And so on...
Ben's post on insta completely misses the mark. Women are not turned away from the knife community because of booth babes or sexy knife photos in advertising (women are not shocked by other sexy woman). Ben attempting to determine which type of knife imagery including women is acceptable or "classy" is 100% an issue. If getting more women (and other underrepresented people) interested in knives is the goal, include more women in decision making within knife companies, hire more women knife designers, hire women photographers/directors when creating marketing materials etc. Thank you for highlighting Skyla's comment! Ben's response to her unsurprisingly asked the wrong question. If your goal is truly inclusivity, instead of asking a woman "how do you suggest getting more women interested in knives?" maybe ask "What are some issues you see in the knife community that might turn women away?" Don't put the onus on the minority to fix problems created by the majority.
Also, Leatherman is a fistful of jerks, don't buy their crappy knockoff sheath.
This is awesome!!
This is amazing. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I 100% agree with you, you’re a badass, thank you for sharing this.
The Tail of Knives one looks better.
I want a butt expansion pack!!! 😍
It's usually referenced by It's more common name "carbs".
I'm only five minutes in, but I have to say that I do like some ethics mixed in with any business I'm doing.
While there may be many thieves out there stealing this idea, I do not want to see this from a well-established American company I expect this from Chinese companies that don't respect laws.
I can't say I've noticed this "titty" issue with sexy knife photography. I don't really see the need for influencers and professional celebrities at all though, when what knife owners are really looking for as an expression of the traditions of knife use just like our fathers and grandfathers did before us. The strong, classic brass hardware of the Buck 110 doesn't need any embellishments from skimpy spokesmodel butts or some kind of "tactical timmy" wannabe militia, it already carried proud traditions like rugged self-determinism and preparedness and free markets (with some controls). I think it's time for these knife-butt marketers to find their way back, and in the meantime there's no point rewarding how they pander to foolish vanities. Consumers should just stick to what works, and the timeless flattering appearance of solid brass hardware and proven, tested designs like the Buck 110. I hate to repeat myself, but it was good enough for our grandfathers who got through the world wars and that ought to be the real test of what's capable and practical enough for a man to carry.
You should have seen the reddit thread. It was nothing but defending Leatherman.
Even I acknowledged this was a scummy thing to do but perfectly fine legally and nothing but downvotes.
Some times I feel like Reddit is allergic to common sense
Metal complex looks like a budget mark Walburg! Sooooo there’s that!
damascus walburg maybe
id like to think if someone wants to display their fondness of a tool or knife,they can show it as they see fit.....i'm not the type of person to say no no to how a lady or gent chooses to display that fine tool or knife of there choosing....fair play to them
Timothy Leatherman is NOT a steely eyed missile man.
1. I’ve cursed them out for such a disgusting behavior.
2. It sounds so pretentious to opinion on how the girls should do knives or anything else for that matter. Let it all fly ladies! You do you.
Man that's a bummer, puts me off of buying another Leatherman. Not much else appealing (to me) in the market though.
Those are not the potatoes I'm looking for.
The second topic is pretty much the reason why i don't consider myself a part of the "knife community" (let's be real, a hobby that mainly revolves around owning something is a very shallow bond). The knife community is 90% male and a lot of them happen to be tactical dudebros. But now, people come in and say that a hobby and culture that the tactical dudebros built needs to be changed to be more inclusive to the point where the dudebros are made fun of for liking booth babe advertising when beautiful women have been used to sell products ever since advertising existed. Why? Just so that some white knight on Instagram can defend the fair maidens so that the evil edc companies can't exploit their buttocks anymore?
I think the burden of proof should be on the ones making the claim that "women are an untapped market" or that "dudebro advertising scares newcomers off". Maybe someone with your amount of subscribers can conduct a field test on advertising or something, but i think until we know more about this i will assume that your claims have not much more depth than being your opinion. And the potato analogy does not convince me because it assumes that men and women are fundamentally the same thing from a biological/social standpoint.
Totally unaware of these issues, but damn that background is distracting.