Am I a knifemaker?

Kevin Cross

Kevin Cross

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Sep 13, 2006
Messages
863
Hi folks, I have been assembling knives for over 10 years. My first couple were "kits" and then I went on to selecting high grade pre made blades and then adding materials and finishing the knife. Now I am doing quite a bit of work with damascus blades. I add the handles (exotic wood, stag or ivory) and finish the knife. Recently I have started doing shows. People ask me am I the maker? I guess so...I tell them I am not the bladesmith who forged the blade but I do assemble all the materials and "build the knife" just like a general contractor built their house. Everyone seems ok with this but there have been some very well known makers at these shows ans I want to make sure I am not ruffling any feathers or breaking any unwritten rules by being a knifemaker. Should I be calling myself a knifebuilder? This post might be over anal retentive but I really enjoy what I am doing and I don't want to rock the boat by being a newbie that makes avoidable mistakes.
Thanks, Kevin
 
This quesiton reminds me of of a line in that movie, 'Shrek'. It's "like an onion ... it has many layers."

I wouldn't worry about calling yourself a 'maker' as long as you're not trying to misrepresent what it is you do and/or don't do to your customers or fellow craftsmen.
As long as you're free with the specifics and let your work sell for what it is, you should be fine.

I'd just tell the truth freely and in a way that is a little self dismissive. Something like, 'Well, I want to offer the best knife I can so I just leave this or that aspect of the project to the folks that can do it better than me. I just use my humble skills in a way I think results in the best product and best value for my customer.' .... something like that.


Best of luck.
 
One thing is marking the knife. If you don't make the blade, don't put your name on it. Put it on the bolsters, the inside, the backstrap, lockbar or springs.
 
I shouldn't get involved with this, but what the hay.

You don't forge the blades, but do you grind the profiles and bevels from plain stock materials? Do you drill the holes for pivot pins, thumbstuds, bolster and handle screws? Do you grind, shape and make the back spacers, liners and locks? Or is all this pre done and you just assemble? Do you place your scales over pre made/ drilled and tapped liners and then just finish shape the scales?
If you do all this I would have to wonder if I was a maker or just an assembly worker. Some might say your a maker but I feel most makers will say your not, in your own conscience what do you believe?
There's room for all of us in this profession, but titles do have a tendency to mislead the unsuspecting. Be honest to yourself and more importantly to your customers, claim to be no more then you are, otherwise you could shoot yourself in the foot. JMO

I'm sorry I throught you were making folders, anyway, the same questions apply to premade fixed blades and materials used also, but again most importantly what do you think?
Have fun,

Bill
 
I am going to follow you Mr. Buxton, with the same sentiments and the same

questions along with a couple of my own.

Do you understand the steels you are working with or do you assume

the people you purchase them from, do know?

Can you guarentee the knives you sell to do what the knife is supposed

to do?

Are you using your own designs?

I don't know of a maker who calls him or herself a knife maker who does

not have their name or logo on the blades that they produce.

I have a friend and apprentice that has worked at my shop for two years.

When he started here he was buying blades and making handles for them.

He now forges, has turned out some damascus and ground a few blades.

He does not a this point consider himself a knifemaker. He says there is

still a lot to learn. He is getting ready to purchase his blade stamp soon.

I have been doing this since 1999 and still question wheather I should call

myself a knifemaker. I take this view because I know how much there

is yet to be learned.

JMHO, Fred
 
I'm sure everyone here from seasoned professionals to weekend warriors will tell you that there is always more to learn. I think it's simple. if you have made a knife you are a knifemaker. I agree with earlier replies in that it all depends on how you represent yourself. Are you upfront with people if they ask? If so what's the harm. I think most people start out with pre made blades or kits. You really should try making your own just because it is addicting. you could still do some premade blades as well.
 
Some of the fanciest knives in the world are made by Scandinavian makers that use blades made by others and no one argues that they are not knifemakers. They all do give credit to the bladesmiths they get the blades from.
 
I have sold some really nice (and not cheap) knives made with Brusletto blades.It took no less skill than the ones that had my blades on them.The term for a knife made completely by you is "Sole Author". If you made it from a C**** M****'s blade , but made the rest of the knife yourself,....Yes you are a knifemaker.Give credit to the smith (on the paperwork say, "Blade by....") and everyone is happy.
Same goes for when you start making your own blades with someone else's Damascus, just say, "Damascus by, Mike Norris (eg)"
Stacy
 
Stephen King says this about writers, but I think it applies to knife makers too.

If someone paid your asking price for a knife you made, and you used that money to pay an overdue bill, then you are a knife maker.
 
Let's face it, the kit blades that most of us have used to build a knife are very generic and devoid of any kind of company or maker recognition. Some have factory name stamps but there are many that are mass produced somewhere by who knows who. Why no name on the blades? Looks to me like there's plenty of room on there to put your name :)

There are many examples of where a company put their name on a completed product, often times stamped on a piece they didn't make. Since shorter posts are much easier to read and ya'll are smart enough to think of some, I'll not list them.

The pride that comes with finishing a knife from kit blades comes from everything else that is added to make it a visually pleasing and usable knife. There is a market for this kind of product and it is in a nitch that is much lower on the cost/price scale than what an ABS certified bladesmith product would(AND SHOULD) be. Which reminds me, what's up with all those dang giant commemorative NASCAR folding knives anyway?:confused:

Hey KDCKNIVES, keep doin what you enjoy and if the urge to make your own blades ever bites, do that too. Sounds to me like you are an honest guy and that's what's important with this issue.
 
I forge ball bearings into blades that I file brass barstock into guards for , and then add a handle that i shape to fit the hand.

My friends, family and co-workers all say that I "make knives", therefore I know that I am thought of as a "Knife-Maker"

But when I introduce myself to others to talk about my knives, I always point out that Im not "Just" a knifemaker....

Im also a "Bladesmith"

I think that even if you are only 8 years old and can only sand the handle of a company-made knife to fit your own hand, that this means that you are also a real "Knifemaker'.

But a "Bladesmith" is a term that brings to mind the "fire" that we use to forge steel.
 
This is just me, OK?

A friend of mine in Amarillo had a piece of damascus that he had bought at a gun or knife show a few years back. I had talked to him about it over a period of 4 or 5 months and even got him in contact with a knifemaker in Dumas, Texas which is about 40 miles away. As it would turn out, they couldn't get together so I asked him to send it to me. I am working on the knife now; grinded it, heat treated, etc. I am in the handle/assembly stage now. Even though I have done this much work on it, basically the equivalent of a stock removal blade that I did, I refuse to put my touchmark on it simply because I didn't make the damascus. As mentioned, this is just me because I have no idea who's damascus this is. I know of maker's that may use Devin Thomas' damascus but they also represent it as such.

Just be truthful upfront. Never misrepresent anything and you will never have to look over your shoulder. Then you never have to worry about anyone else's opinion. Actually, if you are honest, any one elses opinion really doesn't matter, does it?

Craig
 
Kevin,
Your question is deep man...:cool:

I think you asked this question because you don't think your a knife maker....
But you want to be.:thumbup:

Start grinding more blades.....:D

I've seen your work and your handles are very nice.
I think you have the ability to make much nicer blades than the ones your using.
Just my .02
Mace
 
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