A Visit to Lowe's

[Travis Autry]

I had a few unemcumbered minutes this afternoon, so I wandered into Lowe's to see what kinds of deals they might have.

I was surprised to find SOG's, Leatherman's and Gerbers, yet nary a Victorinox in the store.  Since this was more of a looking mission than a buying trip, I was forced to behave.  I don't recall which models were present, but all the prices seemed pretty reasonable.

There was one package that spoke to me a little.  It was a Gerber keyring tool and folding knife combo.  It was going for $19.95.  Being both broke and cheap, I may wander back over there after Christmas and look for markdowns.

I hope the lack of Vics is not an omen.

[J-sews]

Does Lowe's usually carry Vics?

[Tom Munch]

One of the new guys on the forum just bought a Tinker earlier today there, & I've seen at least 3 or 4 Vic's at my local Lowe's.

[Travis Autry]

Yep.  In the past, particularly this time of year, Lowe's has been teeming with Victorinox packages.  Often, one could find a pretty decent two knife set for less than $20.00.

This may be this particular Lowe's.  I've noticed some variation among the local outlets.  I thought it might bear further investigation so, if work permits, I may sneak over to another later today.

(Yeah, I have this thing about staring temptation in the face )

[hurricane bob]

Good evening everyone,

My Lowe's store here in Pennsylvania doesn't carry Leatherman, Wenger or Gerber. They carry Victorinox ,(but not the Swiss Tools) and Case knives. If I recall correctly they used to have a whole Victorinox display case. Not anymore though, all the Vic. knives are in the plastic clam shElll type packs hanging on hooks.

Home Depot here only carries Leatherman, (very limited selection) Husky, (which appear very crude) and some made in China pocket knives with wood handles, and brass handle ends.

I'm sure the selection varies from store to store.

In my area Wal-Mart has the best selection of tools, and knives. They carry Victorinox, Leatherman, and Gerber multitools. They also carry a few Spyderco folder models.

Bob.

[inkster]

Does Lowe's usually carry Vics?

The Lowe's near me used to carry  Victorinox, as well as case knives, and a few other decent knives and tools. Now they don't carry any of it.

Those filthy smurfo's 

[Travis Autry]

I managed to check another Lowe's on the way home this evening.

This one had a Vic Recruit(1) and several Classics.

In multis they had a couple of New Waves and a Blast from Leatherman.  They had a few SOG Powerlocks.  In Gerber they had several Clutchs and one larger tool that I didn't take time to get the model.  There were no Gerber sets like the ones I saw at the other store.

What I saw in greatest number were Kobalt brand folding utility knives.  They also had a set with a Kobalt Multi and Kobalt Spyderco-ish knife.  Of course all the Kobalt stuff is made in China.

Once again, I resisted temptation.  I did note that the store tonight must either have had or be concerned about theft.  All the Multis, the few Vics and the one or two Case offerings were behind plexiglas that had been added to the side of the endcaps.

The Kobalt folding utilities were not thusly protected.  Some of them were even on clearance already.

There's only one other Lowe's that can even be considered remotely convenient for me.  Perhaps a little road trip tomorrow afternoon too?  Of course, by checking them out now, I can save some driving next week when checking for after Christmas clearance stuff.

[prime77]

I got my Swisstool and SwissChamp at Lowes a long time ago.  Now they have LM Surge, Wave, and Blast and two models of LM folders.  SOG PowerLock with V-Cutter, two SOG folding knives, Flast 2, Twitch 2. Gerber Clutch and full size multitool I don't know which one.

[Splat]

I wish Lowes sold SOG multis. At least I'd be able to check one out in person. I must admit though that I'm very happy with my LM Core. Still.... it would be nice to have the chance to pick up a SOG...literally.

[Travis Autry]

Whie out and about yesterday, I had the chance to check out two more Lowe's.

The first was in Raleigh, NC.  It was devoid of all quality multis, except a few Gerber Clutch models.  They still had both Leatherman and SOG knives.  Amazingly enough, I didn't even see any of the Lowe's Kobalt tools.  Of course, though, there was the Sheffield pack.

The second Lowe's was near Clayton, NC.  They had some Waves, Powerlocks, Clutches and a few Gerber Suspensions.  SOG and Leatherman folders were also still available.  One new wrinkle was the Alpine Trail pack that had a couple of knives and a multi, all cheap POS.

Amazingly enough, I haven't seen any more of the Clutch and folder sets that I found at the first Lowe's I visited.  Oddly, I've always found that store to be a little backward from the others.

From my brief tours, I suspect that the days of Lowe's teeming with Vic and Case knives are over.  The most abundant brands in evidence were their Kobalt and Alpine Trail lines.

[J-sews]

From my brief tours, I suspect that the days of Lowe's teeming with Vic and Case knives are over.  The most abundant brands in evidence were their Kobalt and Alpine Trail lines.

That is unfortunate news. 

[Steel]

The Lowes near me in Newbern NC has a couple Case Sodbusters and some Vic Multitools but mostly SOG and Gerber I picked up a SOG powerlock with V-cutter but I think they are getting seconds or something cause they have a few blemishs but they dont affect perfomance of course

[Travis Autry]

I checked out the Lowe's in Garner, NC today.

Surprise, surprise, they had a Vic Tinker with belt sheath as their lone offering.

Other Brands and models of multis  present were the Gerber Clutch, SOG Powerlock and the Kobalt.  In knives they had a couple of plastic handled Case, Leatherman and Alpine Trail.

Overall, it looked like they had been hit hard prior to Christmas.

Brief tours of two nearby Target stores showed plenty of Leatherman models, some Gerbers and a few Vic packs.  I even noted a pink Squirt P4, for those that might like that color.

[J-sews]

Travis, after you check out all of the Lowe's stores in North Carolina, which state are you going on to next?   

[Fred]

you kidding? he's going to go on the air during a live broadcast and ask his listeners to check their local Lowes and call the station!

[Travis Autry]

Yeah, well my wife thinks I'm a little nuts too, but she has indulged me(this time).

I actually went to Lowe's for some reason beyond checking the multi selection tonight.  One of the things about being off from work is, I work harder at home than I would at work.  About the time it began to get dark, I realized I didn't have everything I needed to finish the task for today:  Putting up a new TV antenna.(Yes, someone really does still use them!)

So, off to Lowe's we went.  AFTER locating the parts and pieces I needed, I wandered over to the tool area.  This store got a little tricky with their multis.

The Powerlocks were on the end of an aisle before I got to the regular tool area.  So were the Leatherman Waves and folders and the Gerber Suspensions.  The only multis in attendance in the knife/multitool area were the Kobalts and one of the Gerber Evo/Clutch sets.  The set was on clearance for $14.95.  The other multis were regular price.  There were so few of them that they probably sold pretty well for Christmas.

One new twist in my, apparently, ongoing adventure was the presence of 3 Vic models.  There were Recruits, Super Tinkers and Midnight Managers.  The Supers and the Midnights were both on clearance for $13.46 or some oddball number.  While heartened by the offerings, I am still convinced that Vics are going to be scarce and Lowes.

This visit was a little different from the others:  I actually bought something.  Among the clearance items was a multi-sharpening kit with a 'free' Buck folder.  I snagged it for $14.95 to put up for a Christmas gift next year.

While I didn't buy any multis, I did look long and hard at both the Kobalt and the Gerber Suspension.  From appearance alone, they look very similar in size, weight and overall design.  Since both are of Chinese manufacture, I'm not surprised.

Thus endeth my forays into the Lowe's of North Carolina.  At least, until the next time I happen into another one!