Creamy Ivory...start over, or sell?

My concern would be that it will eventually spread outward since it's so close to the edge. To be honest, a crack on any handle material is almost always a deal killer for me regardless of price. I'd be especially resistant to buying cracked Ivory--the stuff makes me nervous enough when it doesn't have cracks (on a new knife). As much as it sucks, I say redo it or use it yourself.

I'd be more prone to "forgive" if the tiny crack wasn't at a pin--which to me is a focal point. If it were that size at the outer edge, say near the butt, I'd probably notice it, but it wouldn't be as much a deal killer for me...
 
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Mide advise would be to post it on the for sale forum here so all these fine folks who love your work so much might have a chance at getting one of your beauties. Then if you have time....make another for the show ;)
 
It would be a shame to redo the knife. I can see where you might be hesitant about selling it with a flaw, even one as small as that one. It has your name on it, and after it gets in the hands of the new owner, it may or may not be brought up that this is not your normal workmanship.
It takes a long time for any craftsman to build a reputation, but a very short time to have it tarnished...

The knife is beautiful and it wouldn't bother me in the least to have it with the flaw. The only concern would be that it may get worse, but at a reduced price, that would be a risk a person would have to be willing to take.
 
I wouldn't redo the scales, they're quite beautiful and it would be a tremendous waste of material. I suggest full disclosure of the check and providing a discount, say something like the amount you spent on scale materials.
 
I say offer it for sale at a reduced price. I'm sure someone who intends to carry it would snap it up without much trouble at all.
 
Brent, I would sell the knife at a reduced price. It would be easier for you to make a new knife than to take that apart and attach new handle material.
 
Yeah, selling it lowered price as blemish would be best. You still get money and someone lucky gets that beautiful knife he can use and be happy. IMHO minor things like that ads personality into knife ( though I am anal and perfectionist in somethings)
 
I love the looks of the knife. I'm not in your class of customer so I don't know if I'd complain or not if I were buying the knife. But if I were I'd probably ask if you could discount the knife at all because of the flaw. If you found my offer reasonable, I'd have a new knife to enjoy.

I say put your usual price on the knife, unless you have several other ivory pieces, and if you're hungry on the last one or two days then accept a reasonable offer "because of that imperfection." If you do have other ivory pieces then put the "discount" out there to begin with and then when someone says why is this knife less expensive you can point out what they didn't see and maybe get a customer that way too.
 
I am a newbie to this thing called ivory checking. What is it? Where exactly is the flaw? Can someone take the pic and draw a red circle around the check? I'm just curious.
 
harkamus said:
I am a newbie to this thing called ivory checking. What is it? Where exactly is the flaw? Can someone take the pic and draw a red circle around the check? I'm just curious.
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In the first picture that Brent posted it's the small black mark just to the right of the far right pin.

Here's a picture (you can't see it until you enlarge the picture):
 

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wagglebee said:
In the first picture that Brent posted it's the small black mark just to the right of the far right pin.

Here's a picture:
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Ah. Danke. I think less versed people really wouldn't know. If I were in the market for a slippy of that material, I wouldn't mind it much, especially if checking is a natural process.
 
I think there is absolutely no reason to redo the knife! It is a beauty like it is - even with that little imperfection.
Sell it to somebody you know, somebody who is looking for a very nice knife to carry.
I think nearly everyone of us would be very happy :)

Best,
Peter
 
jivedaddy said:
I agree, sell it-the knife is beautiful, the check adds some character.
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See Brent, you only need to change your promotional strategy and refer to cracks as ARTISTIC CHARACTER ENHANCEMENTS! Let me know if this works. ;)
 
I'd leave it the way it is, and maybe discount it a bit. Anyone in the market for that knife in the first place probably knows that ivory gets cracks, whether they're there from day one or not. It would be a waste of some very nice ivory to scrap the scales and start over.
 
It's your reputation and your cash flow. Once you sell the knife, it's your reputation in someone else's hand. For most, that's not a problem, for some makers, it is. It all needs to be weighed against the financial cost. Most manufacturer's will mark a knife as a second. This may be a middle ground. Although, you can always gift it to a close friend or family member, or carry it yourself.
 
Brent, as a collector of fine knives, I would be proud to add this one to my grandchildren's collection. Take it to the show, discount it some (not much) and reveal why. It will sell. If it does not, bring it here.

Some mighty fine work you are putting out now, you have made great progress in what I have seen since that first desk knife at Blade 2008.

Just my .02,
Jim
 
KnifeHead said:
See Brent, you only need to change your promotional strategy and refer to cracks as ARTISTIC CHARACTER ENHANCEMENTS! Let me know if this works. ;)
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Is not a crack ...I'm just a very poor scrimshaw artist;)

On a more serious note. Thanks for all the feed back guys. I hope I don't regret it but I let this one go to duckman1. Maybe he'll let us know what he thinks about the rest of the knife when he gets it.
 


Got the knife today. I was really impressed with it. The fit and finish are as close to prefect as you can get in my opinion. The ivory looks better in hand than the pics. The tiny check looks even smaller than in the pics. Thanks Brent, fantastic knife. And I'm going to use it.
 
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