Knife retailer Derrick Bohn, owner of the unambiguously named KnivesShipFree, is facing one of the busiest holiday weekends his store will ever see.
Speaking earlier this summer on the Modern Neanderthal podcast, he announced that his store would be moving from Oregon to Escanaba, Michigan, without skipping a beat. “We’re going to move over Labor Day weekend,” says Bohn. “We’re going to ship orders on Thursday; when we’re done shipping we’ll pack everything up and the trucks will leave on Friday morning… we’ll unpack everything on Monday and ship again on Tuesday. So, we’re only missing one shipping day.”
Bohn isn’t just moving one of the largest knife inventories across the country; he’s bringing most of his employees with him. Bohn points to the rising cost of doing business in Oregon including new, impending government regulations for the decision.
It wasn’t just a squeeze from economic pressure in Oregon that brings him to Escanaba – the new location will be “just down the road” from one of KnivesShipFree’s most popular fixed-blade brands, Bark River Knives. Bohn, is no stranger to knife design himself – having already collaborated with pocketknife manufacturers like Great Eastern Cutlery to make Northwoods, a line of highly sought-after traditional knives. Bohn says he’s looking forward to working more closely with his new neighbors.
But ultimately, Bohn feels the move will better serve his customers from a more central location, and remains as fanatical about excellent shipping as ever: “It will be an adventure… also, we’ll be basically a 2 day ship from most of the US.”
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