How did the idea for your company come about?
The first idea came about when I needed a big knife in high school as a student scout for camp, for making wood chips. A big knife at that time was a matter of two or three thousand crowns, which was completely nonsensical for me as a young student in the first year of high school. So I searched for cheaper sources, and gradually I got to China, where I bought a big enough knife relatively cheaply, which I made such a big deal with... and if it hadn't been confiscated in Spain a couple of years ago, I would still have it and use it today.
Confiscated?
That's right. In Spain, it's illegal to have a big knife in public. Anyway, my friend and I were trekking around and we had it with us... but I was surprised at the quality of it and the thought crossed my mind as to why we shouldn't keep offering knives like that. So it started with advertising and gradually evolved into an e-shop. Here we are talking about 2004, that was the first attempts. So far it was purely a hobby. My friend and I didn't spend much time on it...
And what happened next?
In college, I decided that if I wanted to do it properly with everything, I had to give it more. So I took it up on my own, and my friend went in a different direction. I went into developing the e-shop, more business... then I decided to work directly with the manufacturers, so I went all over China, contacted the factories directly to skip all the middlemen and get the best price for the end customers. And at the same time to control the quality. And I was able to do that! As a result, I no longer run the e-shop alone, I was able to employ several people.
I wonder why China? Today, when you say something is made in China, it doesn't evoke quality in people, quite the opposite. Is it different in your industry?
It's a misconception and a misconception, but unfortunately it' s strongly rooted. Often in our marketplaces they sell only cheap electronics, cheap clothes and they don't look at quality at all, it's about the lowest price, there is no guarantee, no warranty, sometimes not even an invoice...
But China can do wonders. If you have contacts and you can build them up, which is a matter of many years and a lot of effort, China can create basically anything. It just depends on what you choose, your budget and your idea of quality. In China they can build anything from the lowest quality to the highest quality. Even iphones are made in China.
So you went for quality and that led you to manufacturers in China?
Not really, I went for the best price/performance ratio. I was going for things that weren't overpriced, but at the same time that were good enough for practical use, beautifully made and not disposable. In short, the product should be able to impress customers as much as my 500 crowns knife did when I was 15 years old and lasted for more than 10 years.
Are there no such manufacturers in the Czech Republic?
There are great manufacturers in the Czech Republic, but in China they can make it for less than a quarter of the price with the same quality.
Could you tell us about your really wide range of products?
Sure. We focus on cold guns in general, which is kind of a narrow scope, but on the other hand it's a huge variety of different types of guns.
The term "cold guns" maybe conjures up something negative, because the word "guns" is in there. But we are pacifists, it's a hobby thing, we think it's nonsense to use our guns for self-defence etc. We don't even want that.
Our product range is everything that is not a firearm - so martial arts tools, knives, swords, machetes, axes, if we go more into Asia then katanas, spears, other polearms, blowguns, starfish, throwing knives, nunchaku ....
In short everything :-) let's put it another way, is there anything you don't have from cool weapons?
We're experimenting a bit right now, we'd like to include larger, heavier double-barreled weapons and more expensive categories. One can choose to have them just behind the display case, or to use them, but mostly they are all functional, which the customer always learns in the product descriptions.
What about you personally, do you still go outdoors or are you already absorbed in business?
I really like to go outdoors, maybe next weekend we're just going to go tremp with friends, have a night or two out. I like to travel around the world with a crossbow. In a way the business has consumed me, but I can filter it out from some of the big hustle and bustle, I can just indulge in the relaxation.
At the same time, I also like history, historical fencing, so I go to historical events, festivals, etc. several times a year... I have historical equipment, I'm into Celts and a bit into Slavs.
How?
I have my own costume, handmade boots, so I go to various historical and Celtic festivals. Generally, I also like fantasy...
That might be another target, right? Also on social media you often have very successful posts with Avengers etc., does that translate a lot into your range?
Yeah, we have replica weapons that run across all the well-known movies or series. We have a lot of interesting stuff from Chinese martial arts and movies. Then we also have a lot of stuff from The Witcher, Avengers, we've got stuff like Thor's hammer, Captain America's shield, lightsabers, but really good quality ones that you can fence with without regret, and they have great sound effects...
That's what our customers are interested in - how do lightsabers work in the real world?
There are electronics in the hilt of the sword with a microphone that makes great sound effects, just like from Star Wars. There is a transparent tube on the hilt and when you turn it on, it lights up a LED... on more expensive swords, it lights up gradually, like in 4 parts, so it's really like real life. At the same time, every time the sword hits any object, it makes that classic sound.
It's even an official sport now , lightsaber fencing. The sport of lightsaber fencing has been created in France, maybe it's only a matter of time before it becomes an Olympic discipline☺ We should make it an experience for our customers soon ;)
How does one actually know a quality knife? Does a layman know?
If we are talking about a knife, it depends on the type of steel - the layman can't tell, you have to measure the hardness. But of course it depends on what one expects from the knife, if one wants to use it every day and somehow put it to hard tests, then quality will be a big deal. However, if he goes out in the field once every month or two and cuts a few branches with that knife, he doesn't have to worry about the quality of the steel, it's enough if there's a standard steel, standard blade, well reinforced blade in the handle. Then the knife doesn't have to be expensive at all. It will work well, feel good in the hand and last a long time. And then if he loses it somewhere, he doesn't have to cry over the thousands he wasted...
And he'll make the same music with it!
When we get to our experiences together - why these and who leads them?
We chose them because we excel at throwing knives and cold weapons in general. We have the largest assortment of Cold Weapons in one place. We have throwing knives, axes, starfish, as well as throwing curiosities like the chakram that the mythical Xena used to throw. And some really spicy curiosities for people to try during the experience... Be surprised! ;)
Courses are usually led by one of our 3 trained staff members and occasionally by me personally. Throwing is a relatively time-saving affair, you just need to know how to stand up to the target, how to hold the knife, how to release it and what force to put into the throw to make the knife make exactly one turn for example. Or half, one and a half, two, etc.
The longer and heavier the knife, the easier it is to throw.
What is the difference between a normal knife and a throwing knife?
You can destroy a normal knife when throwing, because the handle is usually not reinforced enough to withstand such a hard impact. If you don't hit the tip exactly, but the handle, which happens very often. Throwing knives are often made of a single piece of steel, perhaps with some kind of wrapping made of cloth or leather that will last. But there's no plastic or wooden handle that can come off...
photo:coldguns.eu
And finally, two more questions about you. What have you done lately to make yourself happy?
I bought...
A knife? :-)
No, I bought shrimp for my aquarium.
And if you had to choose an experience from our selection, what would you choose?
I've been thinking about going skydiving on my own for a long time! Adrenaline is close to my heart and I love aerial events where the body is free in the air! So I am already slowly looking at your website to see which parachute training with certification I will choose ;-)
