Are there too many good knife makers?

Too many knife makers, no. Not enough money yes...

In one and a half month, I would be in Belgium for the show of Gembloux.

I am going to try to make you photos, not only of the Samuel Lurquin...:p
 
How can there be to many good knifemakers? It's a beautiful thing when you see quality go up fast. It is something to be proud of as a knifecommunity, knifemaker and collecter alike. I remember one knifeshow in Sweden a couple of years back. Everybody made puuko's, but because the knifemakers are so well organised and have training and competition, the quality is of an incredible level. Perfection comes to mind. Nobody seemed to have a problem with this.....
More collecters willing to spend high prices would be nice, I agree on that. But when you look at collectors in general, I think that over here in Europe we are pretty fortunate. Most knifemakers I know sell almost everything they can make....when their marketing is right.
 
2knife said:
Why is there so little presence here (forum) to represent the wider world market of custom knives and/or knifemakers ? The "world-wide" web.. Yet we see only a small representation.
Davif
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At the end of the day people participate as and when they want to. The number of serious US knifemakers and collectors who do not participate on forums is huge. Let alone internationals.

For many foreign makers the reason that they do not travel and market themselves in the US is for similar reasons to why STeven does not wish to purchase from outside the US. Namely the hassle.
Traveling to the US for shows is time consuming, expensive, there are massive problems with US Customs and Duties, Hotel expenses, transfers and of course the language. Because someone can type in reasonable English that does not mean that they can converse in the language.

A foreign maker traveling from central Europe, visiting Blade, would need to spend at least 3-4K to cover the trip and that is before they sell a knife. If they have an order book of two years and local collectors and shows who purchase everything they make, why bother.

The reality is that people will gravitate to their own markets especially if one is a full time maker and needs it to be a viable business proposition.

There are only a few Loonies like me who brave a 20 hour flight to visit Blade every year........:o
 
Alfaholic said:
The number of serious US knifemakers and collectors who do not participate on forums is huge.
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You are VERY correct. I often mail pieces from my dealer network directly to collectors. Names who spend a TON of money and don't post here.

It takes a good deal of time to post and do it CORRECTLY, without offense given or owned, and some makers/collectors just step away doing what they do well, and not trying to interact.

That's OK, and it won't ever change. So we are maybe a microcosm of the full spectrum.

Coop
 
RogerP said:
^^^ What he said.
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+1 I agree.

I was also thinking that the inconvenience and expense of international travel with knives (especially if any contain materials such as ivory, tortoise shell, etc.) make many people avoid it!

Even just traveling within the USA on airlines can lead to additional expense, loss of knives, or just plain aggravation.

Peter
 
Yes, there are too many good makers. May there be more on the way and God bless everyone of them.
 
Berno said:
Too many knife makers, no. Not enough money yes...

In one and a half month, I would be in Belgium for the show of Gembloux.

I am going to try to make you photos, not only of the Samuel Lurquin...:p
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I look forward to the pics Norbert!

Roger
 
It is actually easier for me to go to a show like Gembloux than it is for many makers from around the world to come to a show in the US like Blade. Our Brazilian and South African friends and anyone from a non-EU country in Europe with no visa waiver treaty still have to apply for visas and the assumption seems to be that if you want to come to the US for vacation or business, you must be a ganster or a prositute. :rolleyes:
peterinct said:
+1 I agree.

I was also thinking that the inconvenience and expense of international travel with knives (especially if any contain materials such as ivory, tortoise shell, etc.) make many people avoid it!

Even just traveling within the USA on airlines can lead to additional expense, loss of knives, or just plain aggravation.

Peter
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Most Americans have no idea how hard we have made it for foreign tourists to come here and how much that is costing us in potential income. I've heard it over and over outside the U.S that they won't be coming here until that changes.
 
That is unfortunate for the art form, but also may encourage more individuality to each area of the world..
Are there any recommended websites that someone can link featuring knives specific to countries we do not regularly see here? Thanks,
David
 
here's a million dollar idea; a global cutlery forum, complete with translator software.
I don't expect any royalties ;)
 
2knife said:
That is unfortunate for the art form, but also may encourage more individuality to each area of the world..
Are there any recommended websites that someone can link featuring knives specific to countries we do not regularly see here? Thanks,
David
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In a lot of countries (like Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Netherlands and so on) there are forums like this one, smaller yes but with lots of interesting information to be had. The only prolem is you have to have at least a basic understanding of the language.

Marcel
 
jdm61 said:
It is actually easier for me to go to a show like Gembloux than it is for many makers from around the world to come to a show in the US like Blade. Our Brazilian and South African friends and anyone from a non-EU country in Europe with no visa waiver treaty still have to apply for visas and the assumption seems to be that if you want to come to the US for vacation or business, you must be a ganster or a prositute. :rolleyes:
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Actually I don't really mind the VISA application process. I am always given a 10 year multiple entry VISA so I do it once every 10 years and it is really not so bad. By the time you have gone through the VISA application the State Department basically knows everything about your life and you are almost "pre cleared" into the US. (Bank statements, tax returns, company and employer details, marriage history, History of all travel anywhere in the past 10 years, property ownership details, disclosure of all organizations you are a member of, disclosure of military service and any specialized military/police/firearm training that you have, criminal record, full biometric info, etc.........)

No, the real problems generally start when the knifemaker stands opposite the INS agent who asks......

"What is the purpose of your trip to the US today?"

Then he has to start explaining about being a knifemaker and attending the Blade Show and then the INS agent says..........

"Knives? What sort of knives? Sales? What is the value of these knives? Natural handle material? What exactly are these made from?"...........then the fun starts.

Now I am not complaining. The US must safeguard her borders (please no political comments) but it is this that puts most foreign makers off from traveling to the US. Why go through this aggravation and stress when you can stay home and sell everything within your own market? Or appoint a US dealer and send him/her a few knives a year.

It is the reality of the modern world that this happens. I treat the inconvenience of it all as a cost of my enjoyment to attend the show, just like the cost of the airline ticket. But for many people they simply refuse, and I fully understand why.
 
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Personally, "Are there too many good knife makers?" The answer is No. Go to any knife show and look at how many knives have poor grinds, poor fit, uneven finish, etc.. That's just upon visual inspection, God only knows how some of the crappy custom stuff will perform over time. Even worse, go to a gun show, you'll find knife makers but almost never a good one...unless you don't know what good is. :)

Now if the question were "Are there too many part time mediocre knifemakers?" or "Are there too many bad knifemakers who try to sell their product?" The answer is Yes.
 
Im sure theres trillions of different steels/laminates needing to be developed for your pleasures.

Need loads more developers and companys trying to create better steels of new generations or new base steels.

I want a steel developed that can be sharpened on a wet dog turd but can process a dozen game without needing a wet dog turd sharpening.

Blade steel developement could advance faster with more companys at it.

Apart from that, theres no blade shape and material that currently woo's me beyond my imiganition.
Same goes for scale design,
 
brownshoe said:
Personally, "Are there too many good knife makers?" The answer is No. Go to any knife show and look at how many knives have poor grinds, poor fit, uneven finish, etc.. That's just upon visual inspection, God only knows how some of the crappy custom stuff will perform over time. Even worse, go to a gun show, you'll find knife makers but almost never a good one...unless you don't know what good is. :)

Now if the question were "Are there too many part time mediocre knifemakers?" or "Are there too many bad knifemakers who try to sell their product?" The answer is Yes.
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Every good knife maker starts somewhere, sometimes that means part time, mediocre, etc. Just sayin.
 
Lorien said:
Every good knife maker starts somewhere, sometimes that means part time, mediocre, etc. Just sayin.
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Yeah, I agree with this! And part time does not necessarily mean mediocre...

Kind regards,

Jos
 
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