any custom knife makers out there who can produce a nice folder for $100?

V

=Voodoo=

Joined
Sep 6, 2003
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522
i have seen some nice one-offs for $100 but always get beaten to the deal. would like to get a folder for my father in-law with some nice handles and a 3" blade. anyone got some ideas, or places to look?
 
Where the heck are you seeing custom folders for $100.00, ebay? I don't know of any makers that can do one for a price like that.
 
I saw a nice one on knifeart.com by Mike Sanders

y do all customs have to be expensive?

what about new up and comers, do they dictate high dollars...
 
There may be a new guy out there willing to sell his work for under $100.
This is a makers perspective and is "Just for Education"

Please consider this: A new maker with a begining setup can have at least $2000-3000 in just basic equipment.

A folder takes longer to make than most fixed blades, my guess about 10-15hrs min--- longer for a new guy.
$100, minus cost of materials and grinding belts Etc, divide by say 12hrs (If he is fast) = around $6-7 dollars per hour for a Semi-skilled craftsman.

Is that a fair wage for a Custom handmade one of a kind item?

Not trying to start anything just trying to be realistic.
 
Originally posted by =Voodoo=
I saw a nice one on knifeart.com by Mike Sanders

y do all customs have to be expensive?

what about new up and comers, do they dictate high dollars...
Click to expand...
They sure try too. No one wants to start at the bottom anymore you know.
 
Titanium-$15-20 lb
S30V [precision ground]- $50 lb
Standoffs-$1-$2 each
Pivots-$3 each
Stellite-$150 lb
Carbide Endmills-$15 each
Carbide Drill bits-$6-8 each
Cobalt Drill bits-$1-2 each
Cobalt Jewelers Saw-$35 each
Premium Band Saw Blades-$40 each
Belts-$3.50- $7 each (I use about 6 or 7 on each knife I make)
$40,000 worth of equipment-priceless.

$100 folder??? Yeap........it costs about a hundred bucks for me to make one!
 
Consider looking outside the box (!) and at custom knifemakers in countries with weaker foreign exchange rates . . . like South Africa, or Australia. Contrary to popular belief it isn't such a bad world out there and it is easy to do business across borders and over seas.

$100 is approximately R700 in South Africa, and you can get a very decent fully custom folder for that here made by a Guild member.

Check out www.kgsa.co.za

Look for guys like Graham Sparks, or Andre Thorburn. You could even try Mike Skellern for his "Exkelibur" model.

Regards, HILTON
 
Yeah....and try doing the deal for that. S.Africa is very difficult to deal with. Shipping costs alone are $100. I know from personal experience. You cannot get a postal M.O. for S. Africa, and wire transfers are around $30. They appear to not have gotten into Paypal yet. Although there is excellent value in custom made knives from S. Africa, it's best to go through a dealer here. BTW, Brian Geyer builds a nifty flipper folder, designed by Des Horn in the $150-250 range. $250 gets you a carbon fiber handle, with small abalone inlays and a stainless damascus blade. You can find these at shows being sold by Des Horn, and some of the online dealers. AZCK and Bladegallery have both had the in the past.
 
marcangel . . . Maybe a bit unfair saying that South Africa is "very difficult to deal with".

Sure, postage and money transfers are involved but that's not unique to SA. I'm in the throes of doing a purchase with Germany and it is a huge mission. They do not appear to use any form of credit card payment system, and this is a 1st world country?! The bank charges are making up 25% of my bill. PayPal is a very American system, it doesn't operate effectively outside of the USA.

Regardless, the SA foreign exchange rate of R7:$1 still makes an SA-made custom knife a very worthwhile proposition, especially given the very high quality of workmanship and materials. Added to that is the fact that many of the SA knifemakers exhibit at US shows, so you might well be able to skip the shipping and bank charges and take delivery directly from the maker!

P.S. . . . Larry Conneley at KnifeArt.Com also carries a number of South African knifemakers work, including Des Horn, Mike Skellern, Andre Thorburn and Brian Geyer.

Regards, HILTON
 
The materials do not get any cheaper in a weaker economy, these materials are traded on the international market so the price of stellite or titanium remains the same.
 
I'm in the throes of doing a purchase with Germany and it is a huge mission. They do not appear to use any form of credit card payment system, and this is a 1st world country?!
Click to expand...

Aww, I´ll have to defend my country now. :)
Credit cards are available here in Germany, but for most people they won´t be necessary.

Bank transfers within the country (and as of this year within the EU) are either free or cost an insignificant fee.

Anyone who has a bank account also gets a bank card from the bank. This was originally intended for operating the bank´s money machines, but nowadays it can also be used for payment in most places.

And if you mail-order things, then you can pay the postman at your door once the goods are received.

So, here there are cheaper and more comfortable ways for doing what credit cards do, and hence their market appears to be limited to frequent travellers and overseas dealers.

Kristofer
 
george . . . The cost of materials can vary considerably, not so much for mammoth, m-o-p, etc, but certainly for steel, titanium, belts, drillbits, etc. The cost of damascus, mokume, hardwood, bone, horn will always be cheaper here, and labour/profit lower in $ terms.

Kristofer . . . I'm not making a purchase inside Germany, I'm doing what marcangel is talking about, purchasing an item from another country, and I incurred charges of Euro17 just to do one transfer today. If I use mailorder then I also incurr tax and duty (credit cards avoid both of those). Postmen, what are they?

Regards, HILTON
 
HiltonP,
I was just explaining why there is not much of a credit card system here in spite this being a "first world"-country. It was rather off-topic, and I realize that this does not help you with your problem, sorry. :(

Postmen... maybe I translated that wrong. Mailmen, that´s what I meant.

Kristofer
 
Sorry to hear you're having problems with buying a knife from Germany. I have not had that experience. I've purchased from dealers, makers, and collectors in England, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Austraila, New Zealand, Poland and Italy, and I NEVER had an experience that was even close to the aggravation I had getting a knife directly from a S. African maker, while he was in S. Africa.

[Rant on]

Shipping even collectible knives out of S.A. is technically an issue since they are not allowed to export "weapons", but "art objects" are O.K.

You cannot get an international money order to S.A. from the Post Office, if you don't believe me, try it some time.

UPS only ships out of S.A. from about 5 shippers located in the major cities, and charges $100 for a 500gm. package.

The first bank check I sent was stolen in the mail. The maker received an empty envelope.

Back to my origional comment, I believe the man was looking for custom folders in the $100 range. The one I described, I have only seen on BladeGallery and AZCK, and at the ECCKS, being sold by Des Horn himself. True, KnifeArt has probably the best assortment of knives from S.A. on the web, or anywhere for that matter, but most are in the $400-$800 price range, which is well off the mark.

Also, PayPal is increasingly used by overseas merchants to avoid the whole exchange rate isssue. You can select pounds sterling, euros, yen or whatever, all you have to do is cruise over to ebay to find that out.
[Rant Off]

Now, other than the one custom folder I know of in that price range, and considering Dick Atkinson as well, my best suggestion would be to scope out eBay very carefully. I've gotten some incredible deals there and a few clunkers as well, but for the most part it has been a very cost effective means of enlarging my collection. But beware...Dealers and Purveyors do this as well. Probably the best way of scoring a nice knife at the best price is to use some form of a "sniper software" or a sniper service. You can also find some good deals on the forums, but the $100 price point is limiting. Cliff Polk makes some very nice slipjoints at around $150-$175, and they are quality pieces.

If you are willing to go to a "factory" custom, the field opens up quite a bit. Wm Henry is dumping the Evolution series and there is some pretty good value there. My favorite in this area is Moki, but they are EXTREMELY difficult to obtain. Do a seller search on eBay under "Sunblades", he has the most reliable source, at the best prices that I have found in the U.S. Also, there are some very nice pearl and abalone knives made by G. Sakai that can be had in your price range, but availability is also a problem.
 
BTW, if you call KnifeArt and ask the the best way to get knives out of S.A., the reply is "go over there and get 'em.":rolleyes:

Although they did tip me off to the "art object" deal. Please don't take this the wrong way. I LOVE knifeart.com specifically because they carry so many S. African knives!:p
 
marcangel,

It seems you had a bad experience, but judging from your wording it was one experience. If the success of SA knifemakers and knifemaking is anything to go by (and a very large proportion of their business goes to foreign buyers) your experience was both unfortunate and unusual.

Not being able to get an international money order to SA is an issue for your banks, there is no holdup here. There are alternatives to UPS, like Fedex or PostNet. We shipped in seven copies of David Darom's book recently (weighing in at MANY kilograms) and the cost was less than $100 for 2-day shipping.

I'm sure Larry at KnifeArt.Com is saying "go over there and get 'em" because that is exactly what he is doing, three times this year alone he has visited SA to purchase knives. Surely added testament to their inherent good value.

As for the "weapon" concern. There is no way in hell I'd ever describe a knife for shipping as a "weapon". I wouldn't even use the word "knife". Far rather use the word "cutlery", or "metal objects".

P.S. . . .
- I have a Moki m-o-p / stainless folder, and you're right, it is a beautiful piece of work, comparable to many custom pieces.
- I also have a plain micarta handled Cliff Polk springblade which I purchased back in 1990. It's the finest working folder I own, cuts like crazy!

Regards, HILTON
 
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