Any interest in individual KnifeMaker forums on here?

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Honestly the difference between subforums like ones for "damascus making" or "sheath work" or "metallurgy" and a sponsored KnifeMaker forum have slightly different requirements. For the non-sponsored ones, there needs to be justifiable, sustainable traffic for it to be in place. As you mentioned Kevin, I'm reluctant to enact a forum where it gets two hits a week and is a ghost town. There's a few too many of those already.

I can't answer questions for people as to how much time it'd take up. You get out of it what you put into it. For some makers with large followings, naturally it'd take up more time. For some makers, it'd be a great tool to show off their work, take suggestions and feedback, communicate what they have in the pipeline, take orders, and in general share their specific knowledge. One maker may be known for their damascus, one for their filework, another for their forging technique. Several makers have used internet forums to leverage their status and help build a sizeable customer base; I'm trying to find out if there's a demand for such a market here.

Regardless, the Shop Talk and Around the Grinder forums are not going away.

Some people have questioned the $450 price figure. AFAIK, it's a reasonable amount for a forum for a year - it's less than $40 a month on the busiest knife discussion site in the world, and less than what other sites are charging. If you aren't interested, no worries. If you are, it's not a huge hurdle. I'm not sure how I'd handle the recurring billing on it. I'd guess it'd be a one time setup, and a smaller recurring fee. If you guys want to substitute knives for BFC support auctions for payment, we can do that as well, I'd have to consider the terms for that. Like I said, this thread is here for discussion.
 
I agree totally with Kevin's post above as far as the idea of having a specialized forum on heat treating and metallurgy. The scientific side of things gets to more people this way. Some or many who would skip a specialized forum read these threads and learn things they may not expect through the pros and cons that get discussed.
 
it would be cool to have my own forum but i dont even update my own site more then every other week most the time
 
Spark said:
Several makers have used internet forums to leverage their status and help build a sizeable customer base; I'm trying to find out if there's a demand for such a market here.
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That's me right there....and I would absolutely support this idea. :thumbup:

Spark said:
Some people have questioned the $450 price figure.......I'd guess it'd be a one time setup, and a smaller recurring fee. If you guys want to substitute knives for BFC support auctions for payment, we can do that as well, I'd have to consider the terms for that. Like I said, this thread is here for discussion.
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These are also excellent ideas.

If it goes that way.....sign me up!

I can't make any promises about traffic....but I got no problem with the upkeep. All due respect to what Kevin Cashen said...I do understand what you mean, Kevin. And I don't frequent other makers' forums much either. However....I'm not a buyer of their knives...so I'm not as compelled to go there...and I certainly wouldn't show up just to stir up the crap. For me, the forum would be a way to interact immediately with customers...yes, it will probably come with a certain bit of head-pain...but being able to have a "virtual sales counter"....nice indeed. :thumbup:


How would this work organizationally? For the $$$...hopefully that means good placement/visibility....and not tucked away in some corner/bottom/etc. ;)
 
The forums themselves would be located in this section of the site. I'd create a seperate subcategory, with the dealer name and their website and etc listed, just like the other "specific" topic forums. :) But, I'm open to suggestion there.
 
It doesn't make sense to me as you already have every thing we need ,I agree with Kevin thats what web sites and e-mail is for. But if you have $450 you dont know what to do with ,go for it.
 
I pay $425 for my table at the Blade Show. My goal this year is to have 50 knives there. I'm pretty sure I will not sell out and will be happy if I even sell half.

I'm positive I'll sell more than 50 this year here on bladeforums. ;)

And if I had a place to contact my customers directly....sales would go up more.





How about $250? ...that's the membership fee for the Guild.



The $450 seems steep...but if we are allowed to auction off our work "for the cause"....it represents just a knife or two or three...and for me, it's worth it.

(I imagine, Spark, if the price did come down a little...it would encourage more participation. However, it needs to be at least $250 to make sure those that sign up are serious about it.)



How about a $300 one time setup, $150 recurring?

And (assuming) it would replace the knifemaker membership (wouldn't have to pay both....would be an "upgrade"....another ~$100)

If it was set up like this, I'd be in...no question.


It might start small with just a few "takers" at first...with time it should catch on. And dues could go up later....if it meant allowing more folks to join up at first.



You'd only be throwing away your money if you didn't keep up with the forum...or don't produce enough volume. Certainly, this favors those that teeter between part-time and full-time in their knifemaking.
 
I know I'd participate in the Koster Knives forum.
 
I think it is a great idea, it makes it a more simple prcess to find someone specfic and to focus on certain makers and their products. It works well for HI and Buck and to me it would enhance the site.
There are a lot of people here for the production makers products however there may be just as many here for the custom makers as well.

I would go a step futher for the hobby type person who buys and sells not as a maker or a dealer and not as the adverage person somewhere in between.
A reduced fee that is higher than a gold member would be good. Perhaps up to a certain amount of sales per year, perhaps some thought could be given to that as well.

My idea on fees is that not all makers or hobby folks make a living in fact most are lucky to break even. I would think a $250 for makers, and $125 for hobby people would be fair, or maybe add a add thread fee of $5.00 per thread to that fee when they offer somehting for sale.
 
i think it would be nice to interact with a knifemaker if they had they're own forum (for those who want and can afford it). i like visiting knifemakers websites, but having them here in BFC will definitely make it easier for a fanboy like me to just click away and...walah! you're in that particular maker's home. :) just my two cents.
 
I would certainly check out individual knifemakers sites!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Heck, if a maker is willing to invest the $$- I think it is a great idea. We have specific forums for Manufacturers, why not makers?

Plenty of makers are more than willing to help people understand the design characteristics of the knives they make, sharpening tips for "their" edge profile, ideas/suggestions for new models or tweaks to old ones. This would be a great way of making that information public instead of an email matter or stuck in as a comment in a post no one will find again.
Just another nut from the peanut gallery... :)
Bill
 
I think it is a good idea for makers and consumers. Traffic will very on different makers forums, depending on their participation and consumers participation. You may have to iron out the small details but all in all, I think it is a very good idea.

Just my .02
 
I like the idea from the standpoint of quickly finding knifemakers work that I follow or want to buy. I like the makers forum as it is right now because I get to peruse everyone's work but there are only so many I want to buy from or can afford. Of course, the one's I can afford and follow might be small enough that they wouldn't feel the private forum would be practical.

Would the guys with a full time job be able to take the time to keep up with a forum? I'd hate to see a forum turn into just a grand opportunity to kick someone every day.
 
As a bladeforums member and potential customer, I think if a maker is interested in having their own forum, it would certainly be worth trying it out to see how it goes. A lot of the makers have said they don't have time, on the other hand I'm sure there are some makers who would be interested.
 
From being on BF since late last year I have bought from about 6 knife makers and keep in touch with them thru emails. On future projects and ideas.

If creating this helps me understand more, it will probably be of benifit both sides, I thinks its a great idea :thumbup:
 
Maker sites are available on other forums, why not here? I say go for it Spark. I would not want one right away but maybe later and I pay more than $450 for a table at most of the shows I attend. However, I wouldn't want to pay a large fee each year. Even though I'm not interested at this moment, I sure wouldn't knock it for those that are, I think it's a great idea.
 
I'm thinking $450 initial, then $225 for the recurring fee. If you are going to donate knives for auctions, I think it should be at least $450 worth. That seems like a fair and reasonable price point. If you are willing to pay $450 for a table for a weekend, having a forum where you can advertise your stuff 365, 24/7 isn't much at all. It's less than $2 a day.
 
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