I recently posted about the new Kobalt disposable-blade utility knife at Lowe’s.
I caught an individual from Outdoor Edge leaving FAKE REVIEWS in the comments section of that post. I didn’t want to give this product any more attention because of this, but 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.
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.
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.
Compare: Outdoor Edge at Amazon
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.
