I recently started running a store for a PD guy while he is working and not able to come in... I am looking to get rid of his cheap and cheerful line of knives united,s&w, and no name chicom junk...
What would be good to put on the self to market to police,fire,military, and the everyday joe ? Not everybody is looking for a 100.00 knife but I dont want to sell junk the will let them down in the fight either...

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This, I get tired of going into a "man" store and seeing cheap knives.
If you have a remote chance of depending on your knife, you don't want
something that costs 19.99...

came here to say this

One cant go wrong with Cold Steel and offer other "interesting" products on there line.

As for multitools: its hard and difficult to find ones. Personally I dont like Leatherman due to political reasons and Gerbers are not how they use to be, but SOG makes a very sturdy multitool. Most of my customers up north needed a tool specialy for pliers cutting bailing wire and not cust have that tool. SOG promos on cutting up pennies is a great selling point. Also the ability to switch out tools on it is an interesting feature as well

I am much more of a knives as tools (as apposed to knives as weapons) kind of guy so take my recommendations with a grain of salt...

Mora
KaBar Becker line
ESEE
Fallkniven
Kershaw
Benchmade
ZT
Spyderco

And in terms of price point - you definitely want a good bang for the buck but the last thing you want is cheap... for the professionals you mentioned, at work, a knife is a life-support device! You want to be sure it won't fail you in time of need - that doesn't come cheap...

I will agree with many of the knives on the above posts, I would also ask local PD, Fireman, EMS, to see what they want or maybe what they are looking for in a knife, there are many that will know what they want and others have no idea just a knife. A Multitool should almost be a requirement for LEO, Fireman EMS professionals so a good selection would be advantageous. I would maybe buy one or two of each and then see what sells, and restock those, no sense in having a bunch of knives that no one buys. Benchmade makes a few duty specific knives, like autos, and special knives for rescue operations.

Maybe also look at the type of customers you get are they looking for high end stuff or low end stuff, that would make a determination of how many of each you should carry. Low end is usually considered IMO under $75, mid range is normally $75-300, and high end above that.

I agree I would not get rid of the cheap knives even if they are pieces of crap because you may sell them in high volume, CRKT makes great knives and they are fairly cheap too, I have CRKT knife I paid around $10 for that has worked great as a beater knife.

I'd definitely recommend Kershaw too. I've bought 3 without ever touching any. If I had a local place I could play with them I'd have quite a few more.

Don't ditch the cheap stuff just add some good stuff. I used to sell knives. Everyone says if I some one had/I could find good quality I would buy it. Then you have it and no one wants to spend that kind of money for a knife and they buy the cheap shit anyway. Even if your prices in the store are the same or less than they can buy it on line. Keep in mind I primarily sold to a niche market where folks pay $200 plus with out blinking for an out of print book that originally sold for $15-40. Selling to cops is worse. For every one that will buy a decent knife 10 carry the cheapest they can buy.

If you want to move product, CRKT, Cold Steel, Gerber, Smith and Wesson, Kabar, Spyderco, Buck, Benchmade, Boker, Kershaw.

If you want really good sub $100 knives to offer, the Buck Vanatage line is a better EDC than anything else I've found. The Vantage Force Pro is my favorite folder regardless of price, is made in America, has an S30V blade, and the black and blue G10 would surely be a hit for the local police guys.