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2014 Forum Knife
- Thread starter justsomedude
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So true, sad but true then. I'm optimistic though, gotta have something to believe in and how for.
CoffeeCat2112
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The posts are still all out there if you dig enough. Use the forum search for "2013 Forum Knife" and when you get back to about 1/1/2013 in the search results, work your way forward from there.
A committee is chosen. Ideas are put out there. People proselytize and try to sell their choices to the masses. Votes are held, final decisions are made. Bids are sent out to the vendors. Depending on the level of unicorn horn and unobtanium involved, the pricing and feasibility is determined, as well as the minimum order that the vendor will do.
Last year, it required 50% down to start, and 125 pre-orders. That means someone else later had to pick up the other 50%, so I'm guessing that was Spark. He had to get enough pre-orders, plus follow-on orders after the order was placed, to recoup the money he had to pay upon delivery. And someone had to do the work to package and ship all of the knives. That ties up Spark and his employees, so they aren't doing their other work. So he needs to make enough profit off the venture to at least cover the salaries of his workers.
Anyone here with enough money to pony up for a SFO can have a custom knife run made, any design they want. All they then have to worry about is selling them and shipping them and getting paid. They might have to get permission to use the Bladeforum name, of course, but other than that if you have about $30,000 to invest I think you can make it happen.
A committee is chosen. Ideas are put out there. People proselytize and try to sell their choices to the masses. Votes are held, final decisions are made. Bids are sent out to the vendors. Depending on the level of unicorn horn and unobtanium involved, the pricing and feasibility is determined, as well as the minimum order that the vendor will do.
Last year, it required 50% down to start, and 125 pre-orders. That means someone else later had to pick up the other 50%, so I'm guessing that was Spark. He had to get enough pre-orders, plus follow-on orders after the order was placed, to recoup the money he had to pay upon delivery. And someone had to do the work to package and ship all of the knives. That ties up Spark and his employees, so they aren't doing their other work. So he needs to make enough profit off the venture to at least cover the salaries of his workers.
Anyone here with enough money to pony up for a SFO can have a custom knife run made, any design they want. All they then have to worry about is selling them and shipping them and getting paid. They might have to get permission to use the Bladeforum name, of course, but other than that if you have about $30,000 to invest I think you can make it happen.
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I've waded through 8pages of this, mostly intrigued with what pattern to choose. Sodbuster, peanut, and perhaps Opinel are repeated, probably in that order of popularity. I don't think the Opi is to everyone's tase, and for me, personally, peanuts are too small. Thus, a small Soddie with some flair to set it apart would be workable for me.
Heck, I was going to toss in the thought of a custom Alox SAK, perhaps built by that member here that customizes. ( IIRC, SwissB needs more than a few hundred units to get much done. ) Plus, IIRC, that custom builder uses better grade, hard-anodized scales.
Heck, I was going to toss in the thought of a custom Alox SAK, perhaps built by that member here that customizes. ( IIRC, SwissB needs more than a few hundred units to get much done. ) Plus, IIRC, that custom builder uses better grade, hard-anodized scales.
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from the BFC trad. Forum Art/label monkey…
to be quite honest last year was a rough enough ride that i won't likely go on that ride again, would take some arm twisting. already had 2 members contact me about the passing of the torch for label art, in the off chance a '14 goes forward. I really wish anybody luck if they step up to do it
Fun while it lasted
Gene
PS i had it easy compared to the guys that did the heavy lifting getting those done
to be quite honest last year was a rough enough ride that i won't likely go on that ride again, would take some arm twisting. already had 2 members contact me about the passing of the torch for label art, in the off chance a '14 goes forward. I really wish anybody luck if they step up to do it
Fun while it lasted
Gene
PS i had it easy compared to the guys that did the heavy lifting getting those done
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This has been discussed and i simply dont see the problem. Why not just require full payment up front? That's what was required with the BF Skyline last year, and 500 had to be sold. Special color, slightly modified grind, production steel, just not prod on that model. I see no reason why the people who want it should not pay up front, once you know what you are buying. If you don't like it once you get it, flip it. You wont lose money because there is SOMEONE who missed the shot and wants one. The design and what not would need to be decided upon, but FWIW, that isn't as hard as getting the people to actually send the money over first.
jakemex
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The pre-order was a pay up front proposition... The lagers-behind slowed down the process; it took forever to get the 125 pre-orders.
No, I ain't selling mine!
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Yeah this is a huge problem. Many people had a lot to say about the knife with much screaming and gnashing of teeth. But when they had to put their money where their mouth is, they quietly faded into internet ether.
Maybe an idea is to take a $50-00 non-refundable deposit before the knife is chosen and only folks who pay the deposit can have input in choosing the knife. At least then we know exactly how many will be sold and no one person is taking a huge financial risk.
Also in the past I have purchased 2 and sometimes 3 forum knives per year but I only got a single vote in determining what the knife was. By making everyone pay a deposit upfront per knife, someone who purchases more than one knife gets an additional vote per knife purchased.
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jakemex
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Now this is starting to remind me of the old brainstorming session at work. We solved many seemingly insurmountable obstacles/problems this way, with intelligent discussion. :thumbup:
jakemex
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. Those were fun then, but these are easier to stomach though. Coffee, sodas, snacks etc. are readily at hand now and a comfortable easy chair for the discussion. All I need now is someone to do the pizza run and get the popcorn popping.
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This reminds me of what flying a plane by committee is like, such as in a P-3 Orion. I never did like having to share a cockpit with anyone except another pilot.
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Yes, pre-pay for the entire knife once the choices are made. You still won't know exactly what it will be like, but you'll have a pretty good idea.
No pre-pay, no knife meaning that the total production count includes only pre-paid knives. I find that rather simple. If there aren't enough knives to place an order, money gets returned (in full). It can be stated that estimated price is based on "X" number of knives. The X is important as it gives people a feeling of rarity and so forth. Might be a little less for more and a bit more for fewer as long as the minimum order requirements are satisfied. If somebody wants to speculate and order multiples for re-sale, just pre-pay.
No pre-pay, no knife meaning that the total production count includes only pre-paid knives. I find that rather simple. If there aren't enough knives to place an order, money gets returned (in full). It can be stated that estimated price is based on "X" number of knives. The X is important as it gives people a feeling of rarity and so forth. Might be a little less for more and a bit more for fewer as long as the minimum order requirements are satisfied. If somebody wants to speculate and order multiples for re-sale, just pre-pay.
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Yep. Prepay only. I like the idea.
jakemex
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. I hope so. That's how it went down last year. That's also why it took forever for the wheels to hit the road.
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The only problem with prepay is how long it takes to get up the prerequisite monies to manufacture, we had a lot of flack when the one year the knife didn't ship till after January keeping people who prepaid for 2 or 3 content for a year till it ships could become problematic.
I like the pay to vote concept, if you've got 50% of the knife paid for odds are you'll be in it to the end.
Would I be happy with a standard pattern with a BFC stamp? Probably not, because this whole thing started with wanting to do something different each year something to set the knife apart whether it was blade configuration or a pattern no longer produced. The Canittler from '07 was a great example, it wasn't my first choice but it was unique in many ways, (pattern, blade configuration and scales the mammoth ivory was gorgeous) this knife was the beginning of what the annual forum knife
If all you want is the BFC connection we could probably do a group buy, get a break in cost and get Kevin to laser engrave something on the blade or scales, I'm sure we could get that done for well under $100 but to me that would be no different than buying a knife and going to Things Remembered at the mall and getting it engraved myself.
Here's the previous knives not including the 2013 knife (I need to do a better updates family pic), ask unique in one way or another.
I like the pay to vote concept, if you've got 50% of the knife paid for odds are you'll be in it to the end.
Would I be happy with a standard pattern with a BFC stamp? Probably not, because this whole thing started with wanting to do something different each year something to set the knife apart whether it was blade configuration or a pattern no longer produced. The Canittler from '07 was a great example, it wasn't my first choice but it was unique in many ways, (pattern, blade configuration and scales the mammoth ivory was gorgeous) this knife was the beginning of what the annual forum knife
If all you want is the BFC connection we could probably do a group buy, get a break in cost and get Kevin to laser engrave something on the blade or scales, I'm sure we could get that done for well under $100 but to me that would be no different than buying a knife and going to Things Remembered at the mall and getting it engraved myself.
Here's the previous knives not including the 2013 knife (I need to do a better updates family pic), ask unique in one way or another.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2013
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- 3,544
The only problem with prepay is how long it takes to get up the prerequisite monies to manufacture, we had a lot of flack when the one year the knife didn't ship till after January keeping people who prepaid for 2 or 3 content for a year till it ships could become problematic.
I like the pay to vote concept, if you've got 50% of the knife paid for odds are you'll be in it to the end.
Would I be happy with a standard pattern with a BFC stamp? Probably not, because this whole thing started with wanting to do something different each year something to set the knife apart whether it was blade configuration or a pattern no longer produced. The Canittler from '07 was a great example, it wasn't my first choice but it was unique in many ways, (pattern, blade configuration and scales the mammoth ivory was gorgeous) this knife was the beginning of what the annual forum knife
If all you want is the BFC connection we could probably do a group buy, get a break in cost and get Kevin to laser engrave something on the blade or scales, I'm sure we could get that done for well under $100 but to me that would be no different than buying a knife and going to Things Remembered at the mall and getting it engraved myself.
Here's the previous knives not including the 2013 knife (I need to do a better updates family pic), ask unique in one way or another.
Judging by your collection, I'm gonna' say the only thing missing is a nicely customized Sod Buster.
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Judging by your collection, I'm gonna' say the only thing missing is a nicely customized Sod Buster.
A Sodbuster with a wharncliff blade and stag scales...
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A Sodbuster with a wharncliff blade and stag scales...
....and therein lies the problem. Yes, a Soddy is good, but you're asking for something that brings the cost to the individual over a hundred dollars. I have it on good authority that my recommendation could be had for a street price of about $65.00. If someone wants to take care of the ordering and selling, then I say give him/her $15.00 per knife, costing us in the end $80.00. Don't you think that's more palatable?