TOP KNIFE BRANDS THAT ‘STICK‘ IN THE MINDS OF KNIFE PEOPLE
Brought to you by BladeHQ
Rank | Brand Name | % Able to Recall | % Top of Mind | Awareness Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 98.3% | 68.6% | 243.2 | |
2 | 94.3% | 63.0% | 229 | |
3 | 94.9% | 47.6% | 215.8 | |
4 | 62.9% | 22.7% | 124.5 | |
5 | 58.9% | 31.1% | 120.8 | |
6 | 57.1% | 19.0% | 110.4 | |
7 | 52.6% | 16.3% | 100.4 | |
8 | 48.0% | 14.3% | 90.6 | |
9 | 46.9% | 18.3% | 90.4 | |
10 | KA-BAR | 42.3% | 13.5% | 79.9 |
11 | SOG | 40.0% | 7.1% | 72.6 |
12 | Victorinox | 34.9% | 11.5% | 65.1 |
13 | ESEE | 33.7% | 5.1% | 60.8 |
14 | Chris Reeve Knives | 31.4% | 12.7% | 59.3 |
15 | Emerson | 28.0% | 22.4% | 55.4 |
16 | Ontario | 28.6% | 6.0% | 51.8 |
17 | Opinel | 23.4% | 7.3% | 42.5 |
18 | Microtech | 24.0% | 2.4% | 42.5 |
19 | Leatherman | 22.3% | 7.7% | 40.5 |
20 | Case | 18.3% | 0.0% | 32.0 |
21 | Morakniv | 17.7% | 3.2% | 31.8 |
22 | Schrade | 16.0% | 10.7% | 30.3 |
23 | Kizer | 13.7% | 4.2% | 24.5 |
24 | LionSteel | 12.6% | 4.5% | 22.5 |
25 | Pro-Tech | 11.4% | 5.0% | 20.5 |
ABOUT KA-BAR Want a KA-BAR? Get it now at BladeHQ
The clip-point fighting/utility knives issued to Marines starting in WWII came to be known as ‘KA-BAR’ knives. The unusual and memorable name comes from a fur trapper in the 1900s, who wrote in a letter to the Union Cutlery Co. that he used one of their knives to kill a bear when his rifle jammed. The letter was only partially legible, and “kill a bear” became “k a bar”. Union Cutlery began using KA-BAR as a branding stamp on their knives, and after WWII, they changed their name entirely. Today, KA-BAR is owned by the Cutco Corperation, and they manufacture a full line of folding and fixed-blade knives, including the popular Becker survival knives.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
We surveyed involved production knife enthusiasts and asked them to list as many production knife brands as they could remember to gauge brand awareness. 74 out of 175 respondents were able to recall KA-BAR and of the 74, 10 did so within their first 3 responses. The average survey respondent was able to recall 12 knife brands and in total 167 brands were recalled.
Research indicates that there is a relationship between brand recall and market share, because in most buying situations a brand must be prominent in the mind of a buyer in order for them to consider purchasing it.
The survey, which was also the basis for our Infographic, did not measure brand esteem or brand identity and has nothing to do with what knife people think about the brands. Instead, it provides an indication of how widely the brand is known and if it has a strong place in the minds of involved production knife enthusiasts.
Visit KnifeNews tomorrow to find out which brand is #9 on our list of the Top Knife Brands that Stick in the Minds of Knife People.
August 14, 2015 #11 SOG
August 13, 2015 #12 Victorinox
August 12, 2015 #13 ESEE
August 11, 2015 #14 Chris Reeve Knives
August 10, 2015 #15 Emerson
August 9, 2015 #16 Ontario
August 8, 2015 #17 Opinel
August 7, 2015 #18 Microtech
August 6, 2015 #19 Leatherman
August 5, 2015 #20 Case
August 4, 2015 #21 Morakniv
August 3, 2015, #22 Schrade
August 2, 2015 #23 Kizer
August 1, 2015 #24 LionSteel
July 31, 2015 #25 Pro-Tech
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Corey Hilinski
August 16, 2015 at 3:39 pm
Solid name. Average knives
Jon DeAsis
August 16, 2015 at 3:53 pm
Benchmade is #1
KnifeNews
August 16, 2015 at 4:26 pm
Thanks for the question Brendan Karcher – the ranking is based on a survey of knife people that only measured brand awareness and has nothing to do with what knife people think about the brands – everyone has their own opinions and experience.
Taylor Gardiner Lewis
August 16, 2015 at 4:31 pm
Benchmade is def #1
KnifeNews
August 16, 2015 at 4:33 pm
A little over a week and we’ll know who is #1 🙂 – just measured whether the brand has a strong place in the minds of knife people who are into production knives. You can track the ranking and get more info at http://knifenews.wpengine.com.
Mark Meyers
August 16, 2015 at 4:44 pm
i agree….and you’re biased 😉
Dylan Baklor
August 16, 2015 at 4:45 pm
I am not surprised ESEE brand awareness isn’t up there. They rely a bunch on word of mouth and obscure cinema product placement.
Ryan Kehler
August 16, 2015 at 4:46 pm
Kill a bear
Michael Waki
August 16, 2015 at 7:22 pm
I bet Kershaw or Spyderco will be in the top 3.
Michael Waki
August 16, 2015 at 7:32 pm
Idk. This survey is based on bread recognition and Benchmade knives tend to be on the expensive side so less people can afford to buy them compared to a Kershaw or something typically cheaper like that brand. A more affordable knife appeals to more people than a brand selling more expensive knives. So the more affordable brand is going to get their name out there better than the me expensive brand.
Im not a Kershaw fan-boy
I just got a Bm-51 morpho in Blade HQ exclusive blue.
Reine Cabarrubias
August 16, 2015 at 10:29 pm
SOG over Emerson?
Sonny Dickinson
August 17, 2015 at 3:07 am
Cold Steel, Spyderco, and hopefully Microtech will make the list…
Ken R Abrahamson
August 17, 2015 at 7:54 am
You can also have two ka bars for the price of one esee. Just sayin
Dean Kisak
August 17, 2015 at 11:08 am
This survey has nothing to do with performance. It’s a popularity contest basically.