Advice on ugly custom order...

galadduin

galadduin

Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Messages
1,363
Hi there,
I'm working on 2 custom knives ordered by a customer, 1 kitchen knife and 1 modified yatagan...

He wants fullers on both knives. The design of yatagan is Ok with a fuller for me but i think the 7" chefs knife he ordered is ugly with a fuller. I know he is a fuller fetishist, I told him the fuller is no use with a kitchen knife. Do you guys made knives that you wouldn't put it on your portfolio?

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Doesn't look too bad but really doesn't do anything. Then you have to be careful to clean the fuller.
 
Oh, yes..........the vast majority of my knives ended up in the county dump, so they never made it to my portfolio:D As for my website, I have kinda settled on having 12 pictures in the gallery section for now, so when I get a picture of a new, better knife, one of the older, not so great ones goes back into the black hole of IPhoto;) My advice..........charge a premium for doing those fullers and laugh all the way to the bank:D
 
guess he want's a light kitchen knife.... (that's one ugly kitchen knife no offense)
 
petah said:
guess he want's a light kitchen knife.... (that's one ugly kitchen knife no offense)
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How do you tell a maker his knife is ugly, without it being offensive to him? :confused: I think if I was of the opinion that a maker's knife was ugly, I'd just not say anything at all.
 
i have been told by makers that they will no do a certain style knife i wanted or a certain design aspect of it that they were not comfortable with.....so i guess it depends if....you're comfortable doing the knife and having your mark on it....can u afford to turn down business?...etc etc....i say it's up to you...maybe talk to him and see why he wants one etc...maybe explain it's not the best idea and your reasoning behind it....ryan
 
The customer is always right unless you do not want them as a customer of course... ;)
 
Did your customer clearly ask for a fuller when the order was placed?
 
My best customer occasionally asks me to do work I wouldn't do otherwise. I tell him my concerns and then he says "go" or "no go"..... I have been given a chance to try stone I wouldn't use and styles I wouldn't do so in many ways I see this as an opportuity to see things differently.... It has worked out just fine for both of us.

He now owns some one of a kind knives and stone on knives. I got to see and cut and try to polish differnt stone that the usual and try different cuts and styles I would not have done on my own.
 
Differences of aesthetics shouldn't be a deal breaker. If the customer's design compromises structural or functional integrity its a different story. Then the burden of maker guaranty is challenged and some sort of waver-like agreements would need to be made or it'd be a no go for me. If the customer's design requests required me to make moral compromises that would nix the deal for me for sure.
 
Yarg, I keep forgetting this place can be kindergarten at times. (galadduin I always love the work you put out, but I had to agree fuller+kitchen knife=ugly as butt)

I don't think this has ever been brought up but. This is an internet forum, you come here for advice ideas and yes criticism. Here's something That I tottaly agree with:
"i think if you want any kind of exposure for your work, you need to brace yourself for any criticism you might receive, positive or negative. most of the time, negative feedback can promote growth. while i have seen some commentary here that has bordered on the insulting (i'm guilty of it, too), anyone who posts here should realize they'll need to grow a pair if they want to [grow as a maker]. this isn't modern grade school, where teachers won't even use red ink anymore, and everyone's a winner.... if you can't take a little criticism, head on over to TheHighRoad.org, that place is full of sycophants."
 
One common use of a chef's knife is for chopping and dicing by holding the blade point pinched in the fingers in one hand with the handle in the right hand and guillotining the blade up and down to chop. That fuller looks like it could almost work as a grip in itself for a hand to kind of palm the blade on one side and wrap its four finger tips into the groove on the other. Hmmmm, wonder how it'd work. Another common use is to spatula up the diced up veggies with the blade. That groove might help keep stuff from falling off the far spine side (as the blade edge is the leading scooping edge). Hmmmm, another possible benefit. Wouldn't know without trying though.
 
guess he want's a light kitchen knife.... (that's one ugly kitchen knife no offense)
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Petah, no offense taken, I already said it is ugly :barf::D

maybe talk to him and see why he wants one etc...maybe explain it's not the best idea and your reasoning behind it....ryan
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Did your customer clearly ask for a fuller when the order was placed?
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The customer is a bank manager also he is a hunter, and as usual he wants to swank for his knives with his hunter buddies. I guess they all think fullers are cool (they say blood groves btw.). I informed him about the usage of fuller and it is not blood related. Anyways he wanted this way. It was really ugly but I have used my initiative to change the design a bit. The plunge had a choil on the edge and it was perpendicular, I modified his design somewhat and made the grind plunge angled. It made the knife more lively.


My advice..........charge a premium for doing those fullers and laugh all the way to the bank
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I charged that :D

Differences of aesthetics shouldn't be a deal breaker.
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I guess so. Thats why I asked if you have that kind of knives you made. I suppose everyone has this kind of custom knives made, but they don't show us because they wouldn't want to be remembered with that kind of knife :rolleyes:

One common use of a chef's knife is for chopping and dicing by holding the blade point pinched in the fingers in one hand with the handle in the right hand and guillotining the blade up and down to chop. That fuller looks like it could almost work as a grip in itself for a hand to kind of palm the blade on one side and wrap its four finger tips into the groove on the other. Hmmmm, wonder how it'd work. Another common use is to spatula up the diced up veggies with the blade. That groove might help keep stuff from falling off the far spine side (as the blade edge is the leading scooping edge). Hmmmm, another possible benefit. Wouldn't know without trying though.
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Phil, it is a good way of thinking:thumbup::thumbup:. I tested the grip after your argument and yes it adds a good deal of functional grip help. The customers design really hinders the grip from handle while using it as chopper, so you have to hold it from the spine and that fuller eases the grip for sure. Thanks for the way of your thinking, you helped me to focus on that knife today. I was avoiding to finish that knife...

Thanks guys for your comments...
 
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Im surprised it even matters...


Taste varies, what is pretty to one may be ugly to another.... is it your responsibility to force your taste on another willing to PAY you to build something unique?


if its what he wants after you express your concerns, and its not structurally damaging... why not?

In his eyes, it may be EXACTLY what he wants.. :D
 
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"
I think it will look good if you do a good job on the knife. To me a fuller is icing on the cake because of the PITA it takes to make them symetrical and matching on both sides let alone the clean hand sanding required for a decent finish. I would charge extra if I can make a fuller correctly or decline if I couldnt. Just do your best work and this knife will look very cool.
 
Great points Bruce, thanks! Emre, now instead of worrying its looks will make you look bad, you can know its looks show what an superbly amazing craftsman you are to be able to have done those spot on fullers!
 
Agreed it may not be pleasing to the eye,but I can see where it may come in useful in the kitchen,for some fine work.
 
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