The Knife Junkie Podcast is the place for knife newbies and knife junkies to learn about knives and knife collecting. Twice per week Bob DeMarco talks knives. Call the Listener Line at 724-466-4487; Visit https://theknifejunkie.com.
©2024, Bob DeMarco
The Knife Junkie Podcast
https://theknifejunkie.com

Transcribe Your Podcasts and Videos: https://theknifejunkie.com/magic (affiliate link)

Announcer [00:00:03]:
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast, your weekly dose of knife news and information about knives and knife collecting. Here's your host, Bob the Knife Junkie DeMarco.

Bob DeMarco [00:00:16]:
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast. I'm Bob DeMarco. On this edition of the show, I'm speaking with Geri and Matt Willey of Willy Knives. My guests are the second generation owners of Willy Knives, a company started by their father who made, collected, and sold knives his entire life in the farmlands of Delaware. On a recent family getaway to Rehoboth beach, my wife spotted the Willy Knives sign on the side of the road, which led to an amazing chance visit at this knife world bastion. We'll dig into the history of Willy Knives and find out what it's like owning a brick and mortar knife store. But first, be sure to, like, comment, subscribe, hit the notification bell and click this show. Share the show with your friend and click the bell for notifications if I haven't mentioned that.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:04]:
Also, if you want to help support the show, you can do so on Patreon by going to the knifejunkie.com patreon. Again, that's the knifejunkie.com patreon. The shockwave tactical torch is your ultimate.

Announcer [00:01:16]:
Self defense companion, featuring a powerful led bulb that lasts 100,000 hours, a super sharp crenulated bezel, and a built in stun gun delivering 4.5 million volt.

Announcer [00:01:28]:
Don't settle for ordinary choose the shockwave tactical torch. The knifejunkie.com slash shockwave

Bob DeMarco
Geri and Matt, welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:01:38]:
Thank you for having us.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:39]:
Oh, yeah, it's great to see you again. It hasn't been that long. It was actually on my birthday that I came to your awesome store. As I mentioned, my wife spotted the sign, but we were on the way to Delaware to rehoboth beach, and on the way back, I said, on the way back, we're stopping here. My wife said, for sure. And it happened to be my birthday. And I got my birthday knife at your store. And if anyone's interested, it's the cold steel tilite six.

Bob DeMarco [00:02:04]:
So thank you so much for hosting us. I know you were just about to close shop when we rolled in.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:02:09]:
Yeah.

Bob DeMarco [00:02:11]:
So my birthday knife at your store. It was a real pleasure. It was also really nice to find out about your whole outfit and the history of your store. Tell us about your father, Gerald, and how this company started.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:02:26]:
Yeah, dad grew up on the farm next door to us here, and he just loved knives ever since he was a kid. And when he was ten, he started making knives on the farm, took old saw blades and would they had machinery on the. On the farm. And he just kind of shape it out, shape out the blade and put a handle on it. And then when he was 15, his father and grandfather taught him how to use the forge, and he started forging some blades, and it just grew from there. And when he got out of school, he got some jobs, but he kept making knives on the side. Then he ended up in the navy for four years during Vietnam in the mid sixties to the late sixties. And when he got out of the navy, he had a shed out here and he had a machine shop in that.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:03:24]:
He finished that up, and he didn't have enough money to really just do this full time, so he got a job at the Dover Air Force base doing what he did in the Navy, civil service, and made knives on the side of, and was open in the evenings and on Saturdays. He started that in 1970, when he finished the shed, started doing the knives more on the side. And then in 75, him and mom built the house. They lived in just a single wide trailer. In the beginning, they built the house. In 75. He designed the basement to move down to be the store, and he started selling more retail as opposed to just his handmade knives. And he sharpened knives, and it just grew into what it is today.

Bob DeMarco [00:04:15]:
So you're sitting right there in the basement of that house that your dad designed, and you walk in, and from the outside, it looks like a regular house. You walk in. It is. It's a full, full throttle knife shop with. You have about 40 brands or so or more. Probably always growing, you know, our favorite national brands and all that. Matt, did your dad sort of infuse the love of knives into your generation?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:04:46]:
Yes, he did. I think when we were young, it was just him and mom. Mom did the bookkeeping, and he was just busy with making knives and sharpening. Honestly, how we grew up, when I was younger, we didn't have a choice. I mean, we had to be down here. So you just as part of life, when you get off school and you get your homework done, you came down and the shop was open from seven to nine. So we. That was kind of our label when we were younger.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:05:14]:
But eventually it grows into a love, and I ended up working somewhere else for about five years, and then I realized I really missed being at the knife shop. And so it was just something that came along over the years. But, yeah, I love being down here. And dad just always. I mean, it was our whole life was revolved around as even when we went to rehoboth beach on the weekends, we would go out and get a bite to eat at the beach, and it wasn't nearly as packed back then, but we always went out to eat, and he'd do a couple of deliveries. He didn't have as many restaurants back then as we do now, but we just kind of make a night of it and went out and ate and delivered some knives to some restaurants, sharpened some stuff, and it was. It was a big part of our lives, and. And now I wouldn't.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:06:07]:
It's. It's an awesome. It's an awesome thing. We're blessed to have it.

Bob DeMarco [00:06:11]:
So was there farming still happening, or was that when he was just growing up? Is this happening while other stuff is happening?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:06:20]:
Yes. So my grandfather was the farmer. Dad never got into farming, obviously. He had to work on the farm when he was growing up, but, yeah, him and his brother, neither one farm. So when my grandfather retired, we just rent out the fields, you know, and somebody else tills it. Another farmer tills it.

Bob DeMarco [00:06:41]:
Now that's cool. Okay. So that allows for all of the time now to be devoted to. Not now, but it allowed all the time to be devoted to knives and sharpening. When you said, we have a couple of restaurants, I was like, I think I knew what you meant, but I didn't mean that you own restaurants. It means that you service restaurants. Tell us how that works. Now, before you do, let me just say I used to work at a restaurant during the summers in high school and college, and I had a love for knives my whole life, and no one ever needed certain knives that were always delivered sharpened, like big, long butcher knives we just didn't use.

Bob DeMarco [00:07:22]:
So those would become my knives. And they're, like, basically having swords. So it was always very exciting to have brand new sharpened knives delivered kind of on a regular basis. Is this the kind of thing you do?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:07:35]:
Right. So we have about 90 some restaurants we service. They get delivered to every two weeks. So a decent part of our business is the sharpening side. Matt does all the sharpening, and we have a couple part time guys that help him back there. They polish when. When he's sharpening, but, yeah, so I'm on the road three days every other week. So every two weeks, all the restaurants have two sets.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:08:03]:
Basically, there are knives. We own them, we lease them out of. So I drop off a sharp set, pick up the doll set every other week.

Bob DeMarco [00:08:10]:
So what's the brand you lease out?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:08:12]:
It's just a generic brand. It's more of a grinder's knife, you know, kind of inexpensive knife. They're. They're a little hard on them. These are more for the prep cooks. Like some of our chefs. They use their own personal knives that are higher end. You know, some of the japanese and, and german knives that we also sell here.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:08:32]:
But, yeah, the rental knives are just very inexpensive grinder knives.

Bob DeMarco [00:08:36]:
Yeah, yeah, I think mundial. And I think we had Chicago. Chicago knife works or something with the plastic handles that are. That are melted onto the hand. I actually love those knives. And when I first moved out of my parents house, you know, that was the kind of experience I had. So I sought out those kind of knives and had them for a long time. Kid, cousin or something.

Bob DeMarco [00:09:00]:
But, yeah, just getting them fresh with a fresh edge. Every week we got it. I think every week was like, okay, I got dibs on this one. And everyone kind of scrambled for their favorite knife. I want to go back to your dad till we continue, because over your shoulder, Jerry, I see the first knife and the last knife made by your father, and I'd love to show that off just to give a little, well, some history. And they're. They're both really beautiful, and it's cool that you have it in this case. So can you, can you show, can you remove them and just kind of hold them up?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:09:38]:
Yeah.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:09:39]:
So the first one I'm showing you is one he made when he was around ten on the farm. Just out of a saw blade on the farm. Just a simple little. Simple little design.

Bob DeMarco [00:09:52]:
I love that. It's a. It's a beautiful clip. Hold that up for a sec. I just want to soak that up. So it's a beautiful clip point blade. Looks like to be about four and a half or four and three quarters inches long. It's got that integrated finger guard and a full tang.

Bob DeMarco [00:10:07]:
And two, they look like walnut handle slabs and made by a ten year old. This is a. This definitely shows promise. You know, obviously, that's a pretty excellent first knife, especially for a ten year old.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:10:22]:
And then his last one that he made of Bowie was, I'd say he was, what, around 75 when he made this, 76.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:10:34]:
It was probably around 2020 when he made that one. He passed in 2022.

Bob DeMarco [00:10:45]:
Wow.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:10:45]:
He used a lot of. Lot of 440 c and 154 cm for years on most of his pieces. And of course, his trademark was the little delaware symbol with the willie inside of it. But, yeah, he loved the bow.

Bob DeMarco [00:11:03]:
I'm sorry, can you hold that back up if you're just listening. The last knife that Gerald Willey made that we're looking at right now is a. Looks to be about a ten and a half inch double edge. It's. It looks kind of like an Arkansas toothpick and a bowie almost put together with that s guard and a beautiful contoured red micarta handle. I think, man, that thing is. That is gorgeous. And it's also kind of, kind of in a very american school style of knife.

Bob DeMarco [00:11:33]:
It doesn't look like a randall. It doesn't look like, you know, a sog, but it, you know, an old MACD, but it has some of that spirit. What, how would you describe, you know, your father's style of knife design and knife making?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:11:50]:
I think Randall probably had an influence on, in fact, years ago, he would get some bleeds from Randall and put handles on them like him. And Randall made a knife reach. He made a knife for Beau Randall. Beau Randall made a knife for him. They exchanged knives back in the day.

Bob DeMarco [00:12:15]:
Legendary. You know, Bo Randall is legendary, but there are a lot of people that. Whose names don't come as readily, and people like your father have a lot of history of knife making in the knives they put out. What were the kind of knives he mostly made? What was he known for? What did people buy from him the most?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:12:38]:
Mostly hunting knives. He did a lot of hunting knives. A drop point was one of his popular ones, and he did a couple skinners, too. But, yeah, the hunting, hunting style blades was a solid seller around here especially. We have a lot of whitetail deer hunters.

Bob DeMarco [00:12:58]:
Oh, yeah, yeah. And that's the real, you know, the real use, the real need is, you know, hunting and that kind of thing. I, of course, am a collector, so I. And any, any sort of knife that's really well made is, you know, gonna be attractive to me, and it's gonna be something that I'm gonna want to collect. So you're sitting there in a store, in a knife store. How do you decide what to sell? It can't be just what appeals to you. What is it?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:13:29]:
Dad actually made that comment to us before. You know, you can't always just buy stuff that you like. I mean, everybody has different tastes, so that's why there's so many different flavors. Ice cream, you would say. So. We like good brands. You know, we. If we added another company to the store, we like to really think about it, research them.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:13:55]:
It could be two years before we actually add them. It's just got to be a good fit for us. We like to promote more USA products the best we can. But, yeah, good quality, good styles is what we like to, you know, something reliable, good people to deal with.

Bob DeMarco [00:14:21]:
Yeah, I mean, you have Chris Reeve knives there. You have spartan blades. You have mcHenry Williams. You have some really highfalutin knives. And then you have some, you have Condor, which I love, but is, you know, it's made in El Salvador, so it's made in the Americas. And those are robust kind of high value knives. So you kind of seem to cover the Gamuthenne course. Got the cold steel.

Bob DeMarco [00:14:47]:
You have a lot of that there, too. When you're figuring out what company to go for besides american and trying to keep things like that, what are some of the qualities you go for? Is it stuff that gets bought more, or are you more presenting things to your clients?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:15:11]:
Customers will ask about different companies. Um, it's kind of hard. We can't, you know, the room, the space we have right now, we don't really have the room to add too many more companies. So it's kind of difficult. We've been with companies for many years. We started with Victorinox was actually the first company dad had added, and that was the guys that were buying some of his hunting knives. They were like, you know, we need to get a nice knife for our wife, for the kitchen. And Victorinox was the first company he added in 1970, and in 73, he added Buck and case.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:15:50]:
And then it just kind of grew from there. But, yeah, we've had really long relationships with some of these companies. We've been with Buck and case for just over 50 years now. But some of the customers will ask for different companies. But a lot of times they do rely on us because some of the companies, they don't hear about, you know, if they don't do as much advertising, when we put in White river, which is a great company, we really like them. Awesome quality, good family, great service. But a lot of our customers hadn't heard of them. You know, it's just they weren't as well known at the time.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:16:35]:
They are more now. But, yeah, sometimes, especially in our area, you know, a lot of people aren't going to hear about companies like that.

Bob DeMarco [00:16:44]:
Matt, you were mentioning when I was there that White river is your favorite, I think, currently. What about the white river knives? Do you like? And I'll say, this is because I really wanted to get that small EDC. I'm sorry to interrupt you. You were about to start talking, but I really wanted to get that small EDC that's very popular. And then I saw all the other ones in the cabinet, and I just haven't gotten one yet. Everyone loves them. What do you love about them?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:17:12]:
First off, I really like the family. The family is really nice to deal with. Really nice people. Just a small family company out of Michigan. Great people. But obviously, the quality is there. You can't go wrong with g ten s, 35 vn. They're starting to deal a little bit in magnet cut now, but just.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:17:37]:
Just a great quality knife. And they're. They're fit in the hand. The designs they're coming out with, they don't have an enormous amount of knives to pick from like some of the other companies, but the pieces they come out with, I feel like they put a lot of thought into, and for me, for my hand, I really like the feel of a lot of them. And they hold an edge well. They use a better quality steel. Yeah. Overall, I mean, it's just, just one of my favorites.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:18:05]:
As far as fixed blades go, I.

Bob DeMarco [00:18:08]:
Think that they are a good gateway company for people trying to learn how to. Not trying to learn, but people who are trying to get into carrying fixed blades. A lot of people try neck knives because they generally tend to be smaller, and a lot of people don't like having them around their neck. And sometimes they'll give up or they'll try the pocket fixed blade. I feel like the white river knives are a good place to start.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:18:33]:
Yeah, definitely.

Bob DeMarco [00:18:35]:
Isn't that what you carry, Matt?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:18:36]:
Don't you carry a. Not an everyday carry? I'm not as much of a fixed blade guy on everyday carry. I do like my white rivers for camping, but that's. That's about it. I don't do as much hunting as I used to, but as far as camping, I really love white river, and I collect some white rivers, too. I'm big into fixed blades as far as collecting, so I do have a couple other limited pieces that I have put away that I get to pull out once in a while and admire, but, yeah. So more of my white rivers probably are collecting, but they're a great use user knife as well. More than anything, really.

Bob DeMarco [00:19:14]:
So what is a guy who grew up in a knife store, who owns a knife store, what do you collect? Like, what are some of your prized pieces?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:19:24]:
I've got some limited edition sogs back when they were a lot in Japan. I've got a lot of buck limited edition knives. A lot of my collection is limited numbered stuff, but I would say from the eighties to now, I don't have as many now as I did. I would say eighties and nineties stuff, probably more of. But I like a lot of numbered stuff, a lot of pieces. Just like, I've got a white river with the snake wood handle, the mosaic pins and things like that. That kind of stick out to me that I really enjoy collecting. And I've got the FDE Pacific from Chris Reeve, stuff like that, too.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:20:08]:
That's one of my favorites. So things like that stick out to me here and there. But I'm. I carry a lot of. A lot of folders, mostly the Pacific.

Bob DeMarco [00:20:19]:
That was designed by. By Bill Harsey Junior, right? Yes, that is one of the. I mean, of all of the. And there are many people don't maybe know this, but there are a lot of different Chris Reid fixed blade knives. But of all of them, that Pacific, that is my absolute favorite. I think he designed that for. For Chris Reeve in some, like, green beret unit or something like that, man. All right, well, that's a coveted piece right there.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:20:48]:
Yeah.

Bob DeMarco [00:20:49]:
I also have an affinity for the old sogs. You know, when I was comparing your father's last knife to a sog, I was talking about those old ones, not kind of what they're doing right now, which is. That's fine, if you like that kind of thing.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:21:04]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:21:05]:
What's this demo? This all demo?

Bob DeMarco [00:21:08]:
No.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:21:09]:
Okay.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:10]:
Oh, is it an old one?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:21:12]:
Yeah, yeah, it was an older one. The scuba demo was.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:14]:
Yes.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:21:15]:
Kind of a double edge and sawback.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:18]:
Yes, yes, I have seen that. I love that. And I like the idea of numbered knives. As I grow in my collecting, I've gotten into a lot more custom fixed blade knives. And I. I've co designed a few with some custom makers, and we've numbered them, and we're going to do a special thing with the numbering. Now, I have to ask you this. On your logo, it's Hebrews.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:42]:
Speaking of numbers, Hebrew 412. What is that verse and what's the significance?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:21:49]:
So the verse is, the word of the Lord is sharper than a two edged sword. So I think Mal and dad both were very devout christians and passed that on to us as well. And just the word is active and alive. And then it, of course, it had the word sword in it, so dad liked that. So it's just been a part of our logo for ever since I can remember.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:22:17]:
Yeah, it's definitely part of our lives.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:22:19]:
Yeah.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:20]:
So how does your faith, how does that. Well, how does that work into the company itself?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:22:27]:
We feel like. Well, the customers are like family to us. I mean, it's. We have a lot of repeat customers, and I feel like it's almost a ministry here. Like, we try to encourage people. We try to just be helpful and pray for people. Yeah, people. You get to know people and they share stuff with you and they share.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:22:53]:
You get close to their family, you hear problems and issues they're having, and we just try to be that positive light, you know, with them and you do whatever we can.

Bob DeMarco [00:23:07]:
So do you think that having a brick and mortar store helps you in that?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:23:15]:
Yeah, you get. I mean, the Internet is great. I mean, we have a website, which is great for people to see what we have available and stuff. But our niche is the one on one, you know, for people to come in, be able to pick up and look at things, for us to be able to talk about the product to them and just build that relationship.

Bob DeMarco [00:23:37]:
When my wife, my daughter and I were there, my other daughter was, well, she couldn't be there. She would have loved that store, though. When we were there, we had a very warm feeling and there was no, you know, it was. It was just a warm sense there and we were just. I don't know, I could see how that could be the sort of place that. I mean, if I lived in the area, I'd be haunted. I'd be a ghost there. I'd be haunting that place.

Bob DeMarco [00:24:04]:
But I could see how it's a place where, you know, people might gather. It seems like you do a lot of events and stuff. You were telling me about hammer ins and such. Tell me about the kind of events you have at Willy Knives.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:24:18]:
So we have two main events a year. In June, July, we have a case knives event. And then in the fall, we have our October, we have our fall open house. And at both events we have tents set up outside. We have free food, drinks, and I sales and some demonstrations. We have a guy outside of Milford. He does beautiful Damascus. He brings his equipment, he brings a 50 done hydraulic press and does some demonstrations on different Damascus and stuff like that.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:24:56]:
Then we have. Sometimes we have a woodcarver doing demonstrations out here for the fall open house. We have CJ buck from Buck knives will be coming, signing Buck knives this year. He was here last year as well. But sales, door prizes, demonstrations, a lot of our sales reps come for the fall open house and do different things. Just a fun day. We have a kids tent set up and have activities for the kids and music and just a great day to hang out.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:25:30]:
You can't beat free barbecue, too.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:32]:
Yeah, no, you cannot. You know, it's interesting because being kind of where your store is kind of amongst the fields and the cornfields and, you know, it's kind of a rural location, or it's just a rural location, I could see how that could be a very popular store. Knife store. But the Delaware knife laws are behind, say, even Virginia. And I know Virginia only recently came into the. Into the light, thanks to knife rights and Doug Ritter at all. But what about Delaware? What's it like running a knife store in Delaware, especially? And what are some of the limitations of what you can carry, but what you can sell? How does that work?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:26:24]:
Right. So, concealed carry in Delaware is a three inch blade, maximum limit. You can open, carry a machete if you wanted to. So if it's showing you how to fix blade on your belt, as long as it's showing you can, you know, the length isn't a deal. But I if it's concealed in your pocket, then it's a three inch. Yeah. Maximum blade length, which can be difficult at times. I don't know if it's enforced too strictly, but it is.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:27:00]:
Yeah, that is the law. And there's no automatics legal in Delaware right now, but we are working on that. So Akti, who is another organization like knife rights, had come to us last October, and we started talking to them. And then this past April, they made some appointments so we could all talk to some of our state senators and state representatives at Legislative hall. And my daughter and I and two representatives from Akti went, and we had some really good meetings. And my state senator in my area, Dave Wilson, had introduced a bill, but it was right at the end of the session. Our session ends June 30, so hopefully, we will get that passed next session and we can start selling automatics. Hopefully.

Bob DeMarco [00:27:59]:
I think the good news seems to be that it's a much easier topic to broache both sides of the aisle than other things like guns. You know, I hate to. I should say I hesitate to even draw the parallel, but, you know, people kind of lump them together, however. Like, you can get a lot more support on both sides for something like knives, because everyone has a pocket knife. Everyone uses them in the kitchen. Everyone or many people had granddads who, you know, gave them their first pocket knife or what have you. When I was at your store and also on your website, perusing your brands, the brands you represent, I was like, huh? I wonder if they have microtech? And I said, probably not because of the Delaware laws. And Microtech has a number of great non automatic knives, but they're kind of known for their automatic knives.

Bob DeMarco [00:28:57]:
That's probably why people seek them out more than half of the time. That's a totally unscientific assessment.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:29:05]:
But, yeah, we definitely would like to add microtech. We've talked to them. We've talked to them at the Blade show and different things. And they do. They have a number of manuals that we'll probably go ahead and start putting in even before, but we've been kind of waiting to see if we can start selling the auto soon. Like, protect makes some really nice autos as well that we'd love to carry.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:28]:
So is there, are there any brands that are particularly challenging to sell? You know, because you have brick and mortar, but you also sell online. How does that, how does that work? Because I would assume you have to have the same prices whether you sell online or in a store. And does that vary?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:29:46]:
It does. So, yeah, I'm not sure how we can explain it too much online, but so we do like the prices. Some companies are very particular about their minimum advertised price we can do in the store isn't as monitored as online, where it's advertised. So we do have some companies that were actually a little cheaper in the store than we are online.

Bob DeMarco [00:30:16]:
Okay. All right. Yeah, I got you. So map pricing. Some companies do map pricing. That doesn't allow you much flexibility. Other companies allow more flexibility. And.

Bob DeMarco [00:30:26]:
Okay, because I was wondering that, because, Matt, you and I were kind of talking about this in the store a little bit, and, you know, because I noticed your spydercos on the way out. I was like, ooh. You know, because I had already bought my knife and that was it for the day, especially because my wife was there, but love you, babe. No, I kind of sensed, oh, maybe Spyderco is a more difficult brand than some others. And I wasn't sure if it had to do with map pricing. I also know ZT does that kind of pricing.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:30:58]:
Well, I mean, sometimes it's a little bit better. I mean, it's kind of nice when they have map pricing because you got some big ones, big companies out there that we're going to be hard. It's going to be hard to compete with. I'm sure they buy a larger volume and stuff like that where the map pricing, we can stay the same. You know, they can't undercut, you know, they have a limit to sell at. So, I mean, it's. It's good in, in a way, as well.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:31:29]:
So definitely helps your brick and mortar shops out there, especially online. Because, yeah, that's where a lot of sales are at anymore, is online. So we can compete with them as well.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:31:40]:
It makes it easier when they have a minimum advertised price. Sometimes that way, we're all on the same level there makes it easier to.

Bob DeMarco [00:31:51]:
Okay. Okay, I got you. All right. So I wanted to ask you, Matt, you do a whole lot of sharpening. I'm sure this is a huge part of your day, because you manage. I mean, you manage the knife collection or not collection. You manage the knives, the working knives, and a whole bunch of restaurants. That's a whole bunch of sharpening.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:13]:
You said you have some help there, but tell me what it's like kind of doing all that sharpening. What is the equipment you use? And has it given you a taste for knife making yourself?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:32:28]:
I do have a. I want to get into knife making eventually. We stay so busy with sharpening, we do at least 200 knives a day and sharpening, if not more. But we've got around 95 restaurants. Every two weeks, they have to be delivered to. We drop off the sharp set, pick up the doll set. So that's most of my day right there is sharpening for the restaurants at the beach area that Rehoboth, Lewis, Milton. And we have a lot of walk in sharpening comes in, too, especially from hunting season to Christmas.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:33:06]:
We have a lot of walk in sharpening that adds to that. But. And you get some in the mail as well? We get some mail in sharpening that we always take in. We try to get it mailed right back out within about two days after we get it in, we get it mailed back out to the person.

Bob DeMarco [00:33:24]:
Yeah, I saw that on your. On your website. What do you. So it, is it different the way you sharpen a knife? Is it different when you're doing one of your rental blades for a Rehoboth beach restaurant or when you're doing John down the street's bowie knife.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:33:40]:
So as far as the grit of the belt, the grit of the belt changes. When I'm doing a customer's knife that comes in, we use a Steven Bader grinder to sharpen the knife two by 72. And then to polish it and get that burr off, we use a real nice cloth wheel with a white rouge that gives it a real nice high polish on there. Gives it a real nice edge that lasts a long time. Instead of leaving that kind of rough burr on there, we make sure, I mean, I put in each time of each knife as it would be my own. So that's my fault. And that's what dad instilled in us. Take your time.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:34:21]:
Do it as if it's your own knives. Whether it's really a restaurant knife or whether it's a William Henry knife, that's two, $3,000. It just puts your time into it. So that's what I do. I make sure I put my time into each knife. It's just the belt course changes when I do a restaurant versus customer. So that's really the only thing that changes. Because even with restaurants, you want to make sure you take your time and keep that going.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:34:51]:
I mean, if that quality starts diminishing, then the restaurants start diminishing.

Bob DeMarco [00:34:57]:
Well, not only that, but the quality of that edge diminishing also means the knife doesn't last as long. I swear, some of the knives I used at Bella Luna, which no longer exists, so I can say it, I swear they were sharpened on concrete. They were so. They were almost like serrated blades when we got them there. So, yeah, and then with the steel.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:35:19]:
That'S a lot of time that we put into it, is the finish of the edge. To get that burr off, we really put a lot of time into finishing it off. Obviously, there's a fine line of, when you're doing 2250 knives a day, obviously, you can't spend all day on a knife, but we still put a lot of time into each knife and put that nice polish on there so there's no strong, there's no burr feel to it or anything like that. It's a nice smooth edge when you run your fingernail down it.

Bob DeMarco [00:35:51]:
So, being a sharpener, I mean, among other things, what are your favorite steels to sharpen.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:36:02]:
As far as a real nice edge? When you're finished with a higher end steel, whether you're doing s 35 en or S 90 volts, obviously s 90 volts, you're taking a lot more time to get that edge on than s 35. It's just that harder steel. But those higher end steels like that just have a nice feel to them versus doing something that's a real soft, cheap steel that comes in. It's softer steel, it's harder to. It just has a different feel to it. It is a little harder to get that burr. You just got to be a little more careful on the buffing wheel, too, when you're working with a softer steel. But a harder steel just has a nicer feel, has a nicer slice to it.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:36:50]:
So I really enjoy doing s end and the new magna cut, well, not new ish. It sharpens up really well, too, and holds a good edge. But I definitely enjoy doing a higher end steel more than I do a cheaper steel that comes in.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:10]:
Did you notice the change kind of when powder metallurgy became the standard, at least in higher end steels. Did you notice the change in the performance when you're actually grinding and trying to get your perfect edge?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:37:29]:
Yeah, when you're using a belt like that, a two by 72, you'll notice a little difference as far as sharpening goes. But when you're using a belt, you don't notice a whole lot of change. But there is that little bit of change there where you can see it's going to take a little bit longer to sharpen a knife with a little higher end steel, but it just has a nicer feel to it now with these newer steels.

Bob DeMarco [00:38:00]:
What do you make of that? I mean, from your end? From my end as a collector, I mean, I'm talking about all of the fancy high end steels. I mean, you both have been in the game for a long time. For your whole lives, I've only been really thinking about steel in the way the modern day knife snob thinks about steel for the past five years or something like that. And what do you make of the super steel? I'm going to say revolution. That sounds so corny, but just, it's like a market force now. Everyone's got to worry about steel. Was it always like this?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:38:38]:
No, I mean, bucking case for years. I mean, they use 420 hc and that was it. Now it's almost like, you know, everybody just like when they come in and they want to see, well, what new knife do you have now? It's like, what new steel is there? It's getting a little overwhelming, I think, really when you get into some of these good steals, I don't know how much the average person is really going to see the difference in some of them, honestly.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:08]:
Yeah. No, no, I've thought about this a lot because I've had to justify to myself spending more money on a steel that I will know. I mean, I know I can't push the cheapest, softest steel. Well, maybe the worst, cheapest Walmart steel. Maybe I can push it to its limit. But I just don't have the lifestyle where I'm using my knives a lot. I sharpen them, I strop them more than I use them. Let me put it that way.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:34]:
You know, a part of me wishes that weren't the case, but I'm a collector, you know, at heart. To me, it's like, oh, it's like, it's like buying a Ferrari with the expensive wheels or with the extra cylinders in the engine or whatever it is. I'm trying to make a car analogy, but I haven't bought an exotic car. So it's like, it's like that add on you, like, knowing it's there, even though you're nothing, using it. It's like an added value. And does that make knives easier to sell, would you say?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:40:09]:
I mean. I mean, I think it's. It's definitely a good point of interest. Like, somebody, a lot of the guys, they come in, they're buying work knives is probably everyday. Carry knives is what we sell the most of. And they want something to hold a good edge, which I totally get. So, I mean, you, they want a step up from, you know, like a us eight. You know, they want a good steal.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:40:35]:
So once you get in and hit even, like, 154 above, I mean, you've got a good steal.

Bob DeMarco [00:40:43]:
Yeah, I mean, I couldn't agree more. I love, I love 154. And I think that, that the material thing is exciting for people and. But there's also, like, there's the way it is supposed to behave. You know, like, M 390 is, like, super sharp and has great resistance to corrosion. But there are also appealing things like Damascus and damastasine type steels and stuff. And something that I thought was cool. When I was at Willy Knives at your store, there were, when we walked in, there was a couple, they were, they were way younger and way hipper.

Bob DeMarco [00:41:24]:
But, you know, we were hip once. No, but they were young, hip people. And I was like, wow, that's cool. Like, there, you know, you see at Blade show, you see just all you want to talk about diversity, which a lot of people like to talk about. That's where you see, like, the craziest spread of people. And it's great. And seeing this young, hip couple who were, you know, looked like they were going to go and do something cool at an art gallery or something, perusing the knives and just kind of overhearing them talk about it, it made me feel great. I was like, see, this is a, this is a unifying thing.

Bob DeMarco [00:41:59]:
Everyone loves knives. How cool. And I asked the guy what he was carrying, and he had the little civivi thug with the, with the, with the really nice sort of Damascus blade. When you have people come in who are looking for something, but they don't know what they want, how do you kind of steer them in the direction of what they should get? You have a wide variety of stuff there.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:42:21]:
We start asking them questions like, you know, is it an everyday carry or are you looking for honey? Like, what are you using it for? What kind of purpose are you going to use it for? What size do you like? I bring out, I'll pull out, like, what I'm carrying that day and say, you know, is that kind of the size you're looking for? Something smaller, something bigger, and just get information from them and kind of a price point they like to stay in. And then we just start pulling stuff out, like, do you want something with a pocket clip? Do you want to sink it in your pocket or you want to carry it on a sheath and just start asking questions?

Bob DeMarco [00:43:01]:
Matt, you were going to say something.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:43:03]:
That's one great thing I love about having this shop. When people come down, you can kind of figure out what they're using it for, and then you can guide them towards certain steels. Because some steels are going to be more brittle than others. So if they're going to be really abusing it, you don't want to go with a really hard steel because it'll nick a little easier. So that's one good thing that I do like about having this shop, is you can talk to the people, and it's obviously about having a relationship with them and getting to know them, especially around this area, but also just what kind of steel they would like and what suits them best.

Bob DeMarco [00:43:39]:
Like she was saying, what brand do you find you sell the most?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:43:44]:
Benchmade is probably is our biggest seller, and probably Buck is probably right behind that. We do a lot with Buck and case and Hershel. Then it kind of, kind of blends in there. Benchmade's a really big seller for us.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:04]:
That doesn't surprise me. I personally, and I don't mean to talk about a brand that you sell, but I'm kind of hot and cold with benchmade. I have a few that I absolutely love, and then there are some that I look at. I'm like, I'd like to have that, but I'm not going to go buy it. And then there are some benchmades. I'm just like, why did they put that out? That looks just like so many other benchmades, but they're made in America, and it's a great american company with an awesome history. And I find that I work kind of alongside sometimes first responders. I'm not a first responder at all, but I talk to them and I ask them what they carry.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:48]:
Cops and firefighters. And so often it's a benchmade. Why do you think that is?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:44:53]:
They seem to really support law enforcement, military and stuff like that. So I don't know. And they probably, they do a lot of advertising in that area, too. So they probably tend to. Tend to like, like that style, like the benchmade knife. But, yeah, benchmade's been around for a long time. We were actually with less before it was benchmade and it was specific cutlery. And all they need was butterfly knives.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:45:20]:
Oh, yeah. And they've got a good warranty. They really are easy to deal with on the phone if you have an issue with them.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:45:27]:
Yeah, they back their product really well.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:30]:
Yeah, yeah. I just had a preference for a different clip, and I sent them an email and stated that I was like, nothing happened to my clip, but I'd really love one of those little bug out clips. And they're like, here you go. And they cost them more to send it to me than it cost to manufacture it. So that was actually a nice way of doing it. That's good customer service.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:45:54]:
Provide us. We have a whole benchmade clip kit they provide for us. So if that guy comes in, we can just switch out. If they break a clip, we can just put a new one on right here.

Bob DeMarco [00:46:05]:
What companies would you say? And I'm also not asking you to call out favorites, but what companies, from your perspective, are the easiest to work with? You mentioned benchmade is another one that.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:46:17]:
Has a really good warranty. I'm sorry, Buck Knives has a really good, they call theirs a forever warranty, actually. I mean, a lot of our companies really back their products for the, for an industry. I think knives, the knife industry really has typically, really backs their products well, at least I guess we carry probably a little, maybe higher end, you know, knives, but they tend to really, really.

Bob DeMarco [00:46:49]:
Do back their products well, it's interesting. Some of my YouTube colleagues will, if they have an issue with a knife that they've reviewed, they'll send it in for warranty work, but they won't say, I have a channel and I'm going to talk about this, and they just get a read on the customer service. That's always kind of interesting to me, and it makes me wonder in speaking with you, if the customer service has stepped up, maybe just to touch if you're a store that sells their product as opposed to John Q. Public. That's true.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:47:26]:
Yeah. But I'll tell you, most of them, they want to deal direct with the customer now, so we tend to almost stay out of it if I've got but a lot of them. You fill out the form online, and I've got some customers that just don't like to do the Internet a whole lot. So if they have a broken knife, I help them. We just whip out the laptop and we start filling out. Fill out the form. Help them fill out the form and give them a box, and they can box it up and send it back themselves. I just bring out the form for them?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:47:58]:
Yeah, for, for a long time, we, we used to send the knives back for the customers for years, and over years, I'd call them and I, they just started going more towards wanting to deal with the customer. And they'll tell you that over the last couple years, it's changed. They want to deal straight with the customer.

Bob DeMarco [00:48:16]:
Well, that's actually really great news, because, I mean, it comes up a lot on this show how on the whole, you can't say about everything or everyone, but on the whole, the knife industry and the sort of community that's built up around it is, you know, pretty forward, straight dealing and kind of very cool. I mean, when I talk to knife makers, which is pretty much every week, they all talk about how they're an open book and how other people reach out to them. They reach out to other knife makers for ideas about how to do certain things, and it's like there's an understanding. Yeah, I'll give you my trick, but that doesn't make your knife my knife. So take my trick and do with your thing with it. That sort of spirit seems to, seems to permeate the industry. Are you saying that you kind of feel it from your end, too?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:49:11]:
Oh, yeah, yeah. But it's just, I don't know. I think it's just a smaller, maybe it's a smaller industry, and it's just, I mean, if you go to the blade show and even we see it, summit shot show, you know, when we go around to just more of the knife companies and stuff, but it's just, I don't know. It's just a close knit community, I think.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:33]:
You know how they say an armed society is a polite society? I think there's, there's a little bit of that, too. And, you know, I look at knives as arms as well as tools, and I think most people, being honest, do as well. Not that we all carry them as weapons, but, you know, we all recognize the danger in them. And I think that having a little community or like minded individuals based around something that's kind of like that but also necessary, it's sort of a magical combination, as opposed to things that might be 100% dangerous, that just might draw a weird crowd. I don't know. I don't know even exactly know how to put a finger on it, but there's a real sense of esprit de corpse, you know, with the knife world. So I wanted to ask you if you have, you know, you live in an area where people are coming into your store, and they're asking you about, have you ever had anyone come in and say, I'm going to war. My son is going off to war.

Bob DeMarco [00:50:37]:
What should he bring? And if so, like, what have you recommended?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:50:41]:
We've had some go overseas, you know, that were in the military. I had one guy, it was in not too long ago, actually, and he was back a few years ago. He had come in with his son and wanted to get him a good knife that he was going overseas with, and dad had recommended he got a. I forget it was a Pacifica or Green Beret from Chris Reeve. And, yeah, he loved it. He was saying how. How. Well, it just.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:51:14]:
It was. It was like the perfect knife for him. So. But, yeah, I mean, and we sell k bar, and, you know, there's Martin and all those. A number of the ones. Yeah, we have a lot of great knives to pick from. It's just kind of personal preference, what, you know, what sticks out to them.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:33]:
I hope that young man got to keep that amazing, beautiful knife, because I know a lot of stuff gets stolen out in the field, but, man, what? That's an amazing. That would be an amazing one to take. So let me ask you, as we start to wrap here, where do you see Willy knives in the future? And what I mean by that is, do you want to grow and to grow your online business, or do you want to grow your sharpening business, or how do you see the company in the future?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:52:10]:
Yeah, we've talked about it, and, you know, for the longest time, we just wanted to just stay doing what we were doing kind of here, but we, when we think about, like, a five to ten year goals out, we would really like to build a store on the corner. Not that we want to get into a major, you know, metropolitan area, but we would like to get it out of the basement. You know, you have people. We offer curbside service, but you've got people that would love to see the store that can't, you know, get down the steps. You know, they've had knee surgery or they're elderly or handicapped, many different reasons. So, yeah, that's kind of a goal. We have now is to be able to build a store and make it a little larger, expand a little, offer some more companies and, and, yeah, the sharpening service, and we would like to, we just updated our website last July, and we've gotten great results from that. But, I mean, that can use to, we like to improve that as well, but at least we got a starting point and just the things we would like to add to it and do differently.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:53:30]:
But, yeah, I think that's the main growing area that we want to increase is our website sales. I mean, that's where everything's going anymore. But, yeah, our in shop can only get so big in this area. Obviously, we want to build a bigger store for more stores, but the website sales is definitely where everything's at. And then sharpening service. Of course, I would like to bring some more people in, and we could build that bigger as well. I mean, we do a great job at our sharpening service. We don't get any complaints.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:54:10]:
We have a great edge, and that's what I enjoy doing.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:14]:
And just to reiterate, you take sharpening work, uh, by mail, you know, if someone wants to send you, uh, a box of knives to sharpen, you take them, you sharpen them. You have them out in a few days, and you've got the wheelie edge on it.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:54:30]:
Yep. Whether it's pocket knives, kitchen knives, scissors, um, that's what those things, we try to deal with with those. I don't go much outside of that, but, yes, we do. Whether it's a crisp reeve knife or whether it's just a smaller, everyday carry pocket knife. Yeah, and a lot of kitchen knives. We do a lot of shoon and wust off, and we have a lot of shoon and wust off on display as well and on our website and other kitchen companies, too.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:03]:
Funny thing is, when I was in your store, I knew that we had a limited time there because we got there about a half hour before closing, and I knew that I wanted something, you know, tactical and, you know, combative. And I was walking through your store, like, making notes, oh, I got to come back here and over there and over there. And I got to the kitchen area, and I was like, okay, this is cool. These are all kitchen knives. I don't need those. And I turned around, you know what I mean? Like, I like the layout of your store. And for a nerd who's there for only a half hour, it was, it was really easy to navigate. Now, I'd be remiss if I let you go.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:40]:
Two people who own a knife store and have been around knives your whole life. If I didn't ask each one of you what your absolute favorite knife is, and let's keep it to something that anyone could get.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:55:55]:
That is so hard, because. I don't know. I guess we all have reviews. One of my favorite is benchmade. I carry. I like the access lock, so I have a mini bug out that I carry sometimes a full immunity. Matt likes the Osbornes as well.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:56:21]:
For years, I've carried the 940 Osborne.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:56:24]:
The mini tagged out. I really like it. Came in from Benchmade recently. I like the size of it, of course, in Delaware with our three inch law. You know, we've got the. The one thing, though, too, I didn't mention. So if you have your concealed carry permit in Delaware, it covers the length of your blade, so you don't have to. That gets you around.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:56:46]:
You can carry longer blades as long as you have your concealed carry, but, yeah, that's a little off topic. Another my favorite as far as case knives go, like, if you. Traditional pocket knife. I like the mini copper lot.

Announcer [00:57:01]:
Oh, yeah.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:57:02]:
No, I think you got another one.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:57:05]:
Yeah, I like this. I can't ask somebody one knife. Oh, my goodness. The buck sprint, the upgraded one with my car to handle.

Bob DeMarco [00:57:16]:
Yeah, yeah.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:57:17]:
It's my card. Yeah.

Bob DeMarco [00:57:19]:
And what about you, Matt?

Geri and Matt Willey [00:57:20]:
So as far as what I have in my pocket right now, I just recently got a ZT 452 with a blue carbon fiber and then the magna cut steel. I just. I don't always carry a knife this large, but I do have a permit to carry, so I can carry this legally. But I like the look of it more than anything. But it's just, I like blue carbon fiber and obviously the magnet cut, I wanted to try it out. So that's something. Something new that we carry in the shop and. And that I carry that I really like.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:57:54]:
I love the look and the feel of that as far as overall for years, and I still do. The 940 benchmade has been one of my favorites. I just like the feel of it. It's got nice length to it for feel, but it's still skinny enough where you don't feel like you have a big knife in your pocket. And then I also like the hogue deca with the magnet steel black polymer handles. Wharncliffe blade. That's. That's a sweet knife.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:58:24]:
That's a nice carry for every day.

Bob DeMarco [00:58:26]:
Such a good looking wharncliffe. I love that thing.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:58:29]:
Yeah.

Bob DeMarco [00:58:29]:
All right, well, Jerry and Matt, thank you so much. For coming on the Knife Junkie podcast. It's been really interesting talking with you about not only the background of your company, and I think the story that leads up today is fascinating and adds a lot to why people love your store and would come to willy Knives, but also it was just a thrill for me to be in your shop and to know that they exist outside of the bubble I live in here.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:58:58]:
Well, thank you so much for having us. I'm so glad that your wife spotted our sign.

Bob DeMarco [00:59:03]:
I know, me too. Me too. We will talk more and I will probably be sending you some knives for sharpening as soon as I can figure out which ones need to need that.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:59:13]:
Looking forward to it.

Bob DeMarco [00:59:15]:
All right, guys, thank you so much for joining me.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:59:17]:
Thank you.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:59:17]:
Thank you.

Bob DeMarco [00:59:19]:
Take care.

Geri and Matt Willey [00:59:19]:
See ya.

Announcer [00:59:20]:
Adventure delivered your monthly subscription for hand picked outdoor survival, edC and other cool.

Bob DeMarco [00:59:27]:
Gear from our expert team of outdoor professionals, theknifejunkie.com battleBox. There they go ladies and gentlemen, Geri and Matt Willey of Willy Knives. True American dream knife story. Multigenerational love of knives. I love that. Check out hebrews 412 for that full verse. It's awesome.

Bob DeMarco [00:59:50]:
And be sure to join us Thursday night for Thursday night knives and also Wednesday for the midweek supplemental where we will be going over some new stuff in the market. All right, for Jim working his magic behind the switcher. I'm Bob DeMarco saying, until next time, don't take dull for an answer.

Announcer [01:00:07]:
Thanks for listening to the Knife Junkie podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review@reviewthepodcast.com. for show notes for today's episode. Additional resources and to listen to past episodes, visit our website, thenifejunkie.com dot. You can also watch our latest videos on YouTube at the knifejunkie.com YouTube. Check out some great knife photos on theknifejunkie.com Instagram and join join our Facebook group at the knifejunkie.com Facebook and if you have a question or comment, email them to bobhknifejunkie.com or call our 24/7 listener line at 724-466-4487 and you may hear your comment or question answered on an upcoming episode of the Knife Junkie podcast.