A Dilemer

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Phil Tham

Joined
Jan 8, 2002
Messages
849
I've got a question that's been botherin me and was hopin to hear your thoughts on the matter. Question is, what do you do with the earlier knives you made, go ahead and sell them or put em in the kitchen drawer? I'm not talkin about knives that are flawed in some way, but knives that just don't represent the quality of work you currently produce. I have a few that were made a while back that are sound knives that maybe the filework is not as crisp as I can do now or something of the sort, but at the time they were made, it was the best I could do. Is it better to keep those off the market or does the knife buying public understand that the maker gets better with each knife and the relatively cheaper price makes them ok to sell? I guess the real rub is that I would hate to send out a knife that I made 6 or 8 months ago and have the person receiving the knife think that it represents what was produced yesterday. Thoughts please.
 
Use them for shop knives, or like you mentioned, the kitchen. No sense wasting them. JMO.:)
 
Most of my early work is in my friends' and family's hands. If nothing else, I'll give them a new one later in my career, so they have a "Before" and "After" piece to show how far I've come. Who knows, maybe they'll even be valuable collector pieces, someday. I'd kill to own of the first ten knives that Bill Moran, Bo Randall, or Daryl Meier ever made--even if it was the ugliest lump o' s**t on earth. So support your local beginner Knifemaker!! The hopeless no-talent of today is the Virgil England of tomorrow!!

So, if your conscience bothers you about selling 'em, give 'em away to good homes...after all, I've never hand anyone complain about getting a FREE knife!!

:D

Kal
 
I second the opinion that they would be good gifts for close friends and family. Perhaps even to good customers with the understanding that they are earlier works that would make real good hard users. You can always make sure that there is a knife hand in the car, at the office, in the boat, in the tackle box, for the garden, etc. Just cause they aren't the prettiest knives you made doesn't mean they aren't fit for being put to work :) Everyone gets better with time and sometimes early pieces become collectable.

-Jeff
 
I think first impressions stick in peoples minds, I didn't sell my first knives till they looked good to me. Another thing is I didn't wanna give some of the first ones away because they took so long to make, my first knives cost me probable $50.00 a hour to make(haha). I use them around the shop, how many people can say they have a custom made glue spreader!!!!!
 
I keep those kind of knives stored in a box. I go through the box from time to time to remind myself of how far I've come and judge how my skills and ideas evolved. I don't touch them or use them, I guess you might call it a time capsule. Obsessive perfectionist's need all the reassurance they can get and its cool to look into the past at the way you used to think and work. The science of me. :cool:

-Jason
 
Keep them for later on.If you ever make a name for yourself,They will be worth allot of money.Give Them to the kids as keepsakes...Or Family as keepsakes....
Or you can put them up for sale and bill them as earlier pieces and will be sold that way..Someone will like your work enough to want some of your earlier work if you are wanting to sell them..
Just my thoughts...
Heck Donna has kept a few of my firsts over the years and that includes the very first one,and I don't think anyone could get it away from her..
Bruce
 
I am giving the knives I make to strangers and telling them a lie when they ask my name. Or if I know them and trust them enough I make them promise never to tell anyone who made the stupid ugly things.

Lynn
 
There isn't such a thing as a ugly knife,Just ones that are a little ruffer than you do now..
You put allot of yourself in those first knives and was proud of them as you finished them,so treat them with love and just look back at them as were you started then look were you are now.
One day you will finish one and set it down only to come back a couple of hours later and say did I just finish that,it doesn't look like one I usually do,it is to nice.
Bruce
 
i have #1 then a few kicking around the shop in diff, stages still. sold or gave away most. then at a year and a half i whent full time and changed my makers mark. not that i cant tell by just lookng :D anyway i was dead broke at the time so i had to sell to get more supplies, and that stuff called food!
 
Sounds like I'm not the only one that's had this question. Thanks for the replies. I'm gonna hang on to those earlier ones.
 
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