I recently posted about the new Kobalt disposable-blade utility knife at Lowe’s. Lowe’s has now significantly discounted the knife, and that warrants another look.
I have been checking on local inventory levels, and it seems that the Kobalt knife, which works with Outdoor Edge blades and is probably be made by that company, has not been selling very well in my region.
My closest store is reporting 25 units in stock. When I saw these in-store in mid-November, I counted 30 units in the sales floor display. If this is accurate, it could mean that my local store only sold at most 7 out of 32 knives. The next closest store is reporting having 22 knives available, and the one beyond that has 26.
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Lowe’s dropped the price from $25 to $15 last week, and it’s now down to $10. This reflects a 60% price drop.
Outdoor Edge knives seem to be popular with hunters, as it offers pocket knife-like functionality with the convenience of being able to get a fresh blade without having to sharpen it.
It’s not my cup of tea, but the Outdoor Edge-style design is tried-and-true.
$25 was a stretch for a holiday gift center-type product like this, and especially for a knife that at first glance gives the false impression of a proprietary blade system. Well, it is a proprietary blade system, but Outdoor Edge blades are easily available on Amazon and elsewhere.
Outdoor Edge’s knives are typically priced at $25 and include 6 blades. $15 seems much more compelling, and I can’t understand why Lowe’s didn’t go with such pricing at the start.
The $10 price won’t sway users like me who aren’t interested in a knife like this, but I think it’s low enough to firmly push or pull anyone who was on the fence at $25 pricing.
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The utility knife-style blade seems less useful to me than the standard drop-point blade, but it can be convenient to have both styles. And, if one blade style works out better, users can always buy just that blade refill style.
Lowe’s shows the $9.98 price for all of the stores in my area. It’s unclear if this is a clearance price, or if it’s temporary. They’re also only offering free in-store pickup and truck delivery – there’s no standard shipping option, free or otherwise.
If you already own an Outdoor Edge knife, this Kobalt gives you 6 replacement blades – 3 utility knife-style and 3 drop point. At the time of this posting, Outdoor Edge blade refill packs are ~$10 for 6. So, at the knife’s $10 price, you can almost think of this as a blade variety pack with a free knife handle.
Read More: Would You Buy This Kobalt XL Utility Knife from Lowe’s?
A-A-Ron
Classic Lowes strategy. Release overpriced junk and mark it down weeks later.
Jared
Whatever strategy is at play, $10 makes it a more interesting experiment.
SaturnFire
Yup. I picked up two today.
feels weird in the hand like I might cut myself. I will use it exclusively for opening packages.
Rob H
It was marked down last week here locally but was OOS everywhere nearby.
Plain grainy
Off topic: Home Depot has the Husky 33” 4 drawer mechanics tool cart on sale. Regular price $198.00, sale price $159.00(20% off). Sale ends in about 5 days!
Nathan
so I have an odd thought with all the shortages or supposed shortages and with people supposedly not buying as much and whatever.
do you think there will be some major sales after christmas this year.
Stuart
Do you mean markdowns of holiday SKUs? That depends – I was told my a local manager that retailers can only do this for certain brands and products.
Seasonal promos tend to end in December and a few last until January, and then things are slow – aside from specific promos – until the spring.
This holiday season was heavily affected by shipping delays and shortages, although very subtly. The biggest impacts were deliberate, such as the early kickstart.
Plain grainy
Off topic: Lowe’s has the Toughbuilt steel sawhorse(40.3” W x 32.0” H, 1300# cap). Regular $44.98, now $39.98($5 off).
Plain grainy
I’m not sure, but the sale might be just for today.
Julian Tracy
Better buy up the blades, because by next feb they’ll be gone forever.
Stuart
Why would you think that?
Plain grainy
I notice Lowe’s no longer carries the Toughbuilt miter saw gravity stand. Not sure why.
Gordon
My lowe’s has a lot of the Kobalt items in the cardboard stands on clearance now. It’s not as much as this 60% discount, but most are 20-50% off. Even still products don’t seem to be moving.
Koko The Talking Ape
I believe this kind of knife is designed specifically for dressing game, and I imagine it would do very well in that function. A thin, razor-sharp blade (like a scapel) is good for cutting skin, meat and organs, and the spine reinforcement won’t snag on those soft but tough materials. I would wonder if this knife is hard to clean, but I’m not a hunter. It might also be good for some utility-knife type jobs, like slitting thin materials.
This knife is NOT designed for bushcraft: splitting kindling, whittling or carving, starting fires, etc.
The old-school hunting knife with a deep curve and heavy, hollow-ground blade is a kind of compromise. The hollow grind lets the blade slice easily (though not as easily as this knife with replaceable blades), and the thick spine provides strength. The deep curve makes it suited for skinning.
But for bushcraft, a drop point blade with either a full flat grind or a “scandi” grind is more suited for whittling, notching, etc., and won’t bind in stiff materials like wood or bark. Most “survival” knives have that design.
MM
I hunt. The curved blade is a nice shape but it doesn’t really need to be thin. My favorite knife for dressing game is an old Joseph Rodgers made in Sheffield more than 80 years ago and it’s a little over an eighth of an inch thick at the spine and hollow ground. Thicker wouldn’t hurt but it would also be pointless as the blade shape is all wrong for any sort of heavy use. I also have a Forschner flexible boning knife, the same sort used in commercial kitchens. The flexibility is a nice feature but the reason I prefer the Rodgers is that it’s very good quality carbon steel (not stainless). It keeps its edge very well and it’s extremely easy to sharpen when necessary. The Forschner is stainless and it’s a hassle to sharpen by comparison.
You raise a very good point about sanitation and cleanliness though. I would not not want to use a knife like this for processing game because there are too many nooks and crannies that could harbor bacteria and it would be a huge hassle to properly clean the knife after using it.
I completely agree with you about the Bushcraft uses, this does NOT seem like a blade for that at all.
Koko The Talking Ape
So the blade doesn’t have to be thin? I see.
It seems like flexible stainless steel is always difficult to sharpen. Maybe Spyderco makes a boning knife that’s easy to sharpen.
But there are many stainless steels that aren’t hard to sharpen and keep an edge. They just cost a bit more.
Jerry
I have an Outdoor Edge knife, two actually. They have the most effective sharpest edge I have ever used for field dressing game of any knife myself or any of my hunting buddies have ever used short of a true scalpel knife (a knife that has a holder for replaceable shrgical scalpel blades). The design of the blade holder is such that the spine of the blade fits in a groove which goes a long way as far as stiffening the blade and making it less prone to break. This also reduces flex giving the blade a rigid ‘feel’ comparable to a standard hunting knife. This design has its limitations as it is not for becoming and really not for splitting the pelvic bone but it is strong enough to open the ribcage. Cleanup is as easy as any other knife but with one extra step. If you used the knife at the end of the day remove the blade insert, and clean the blade holder, allow everything to dry and re assemble. I was not I defeated at all in the Lowes k I’ve for $25 because I don’t feel the design is well suited for utility blade use but for $10 if there was a Lowes nearby I’d grab o e or two and just use Outdoor Edge blades in it, and possibly give them as gifts. The OE knives are excellent for field dressing and boning meat, probably the best I have used for their size, but IMO are kind of a specialty tool.
Jerry
Auto correct strikes again. I meant to say the OE knife blade is not suited for batoning.
Plain grainy
I’ve always used stainless steel knife blades for hunting. This knife might be alright for someone running a trap line, where your not eating the meat. These blades may start rusting in a damp backpack.
Jerry
I have two Outdoor Edge hunting knives and neither has a dot of rust on the blade. Worst case scenario would be buy the handle for $10 and use their hunting blades in it, and still be $10 ahead.