Custom Knife Boom

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nealf5

Joined
Jul 14, 2011
Messages
31
Officially USA is in a recession, unemployment is at a record high ...at least thats what CNN keeps saying.
Well things must be booming in the knife making world, read below:

Recently I decided to order a custom fixed blade, I scoured these forums, found some makers whose work I liked, checked out their websites and sent them emails. Out of the 11 I contacted only 4 replied.

Heres my 1st message: "Hello I like xx knife in your gallery, could you please tell me the waiting time and price. Thanks"

Out of the 4 that replied, I couldn't afford 2 of them, so that left only 2 makers in the running. I wrote back to both of them and only one replied.

Heres my 2nd message: "Hi, thanks for the reply, do you happen to build that knife in SS. If so please let me know the additional cost and what type of SS you like to work with"

Out of the two I wrote to only one ever replied back saying they'd get back to me with details on SS version. I waited patiently, then sent a follow-up email but a week passed and never did hear back from him. So I don't expect to.

Leaves me scratching my head, here I am willing to spend $$ to order a knife, not making any outrageous demands, some reasonable requests and I can't get custom-makers to reply.

So I conclude that knife supply cannot keep up with demand ... are we in a "knife bubble"? Will there subsequently be a "knife crash" where we can buy "foreclosed knives" from all the speculators?
Am I being too picky? I thought that custome requests are what puts the "custom" into custom knife .....
 
They really are that busy. I guess you're right, lots of people are waiting in line..
 
You've reached one possible conclusion: Business is so good that your chosen makers either cannot respond to your inquiries or simply do not need your business. A couple of additional observations based on longtime interaction with custom makers: One, is that although many makers are great guys and obviously talented, their business acumen and practices are somewhat limited. Two: Many custom makers are not full time knife manufacturers. Their focus is not always on their secondary source of income.
 
I find that people interested in knives, and maybe in particular guys that spend their days working with grinders and files and so forth, aren't that good with communicating by computer which might explain the lack of responses. Also some knifemakers find it hard to be real productive let's say. I think it is a skill somewhat akin to an artist, and some people can't turn it on at will, so they can't work 8 or 10 hours a day at producing knives. I've known a few custom knifemakers like this but by no means does this apply to all of them.

The other factor is that there are certain makers and knife styles that are trendy and in demand right now. The makers providing those styles probably are very busy right now while there might be other makers that aren't so busy. There are lots of models and brands that are hot right now in our sales forums to the point where they are hard to find and when they go on sale even at high prices they get grabbed up pretty fast. I've seen other knives that aren't the trendy styles these days lay around when advertised at half what the market price should be.
 
Last edited:
nealf5.
From your OP, it sounds as if you're sending a cluster e.mail.....that's kind of like
yelling "Hey you" in a crowd.

IF that's what you're doing, try addressing each maker by name...as in, Hi (name),
then go from there.
 
svbk556 said:
Two: Many custom makers are not full time knife manufacturers. Their focus is not always on their secondary source of income
Click to expand...

I would say this hits the mark pretty well, of the custom makers that i've contacted, the ones for whom knife making is their only source of income.... They usually are pretty good about getting back or returning calls or emails. Even if it's a day or two later. If they're not returning calls or emails look elsewhere as it may be a red flag as to their business practices. Leaving a huge deposit and never getting a return call or email would indeed be frustrating.

I don't think you are being "too" picky... Communication is the key to a successful busines, they should be able to give you a yay or nay. If there is a custom knife bubble, i'm dumping my $$$ into foreclosed knives and knife derivatives lol
 
I'd recommend a South Fork, a Spyderco - Phil Wilson collaboration. Why bang your head against the wall ?
 
I think we have always has a lot of custom makers. A lot of them just took awhile to warm up to the internet . The internet also provides novice makers a wealth of information, as well as a way to communicate with established makers. I don't agree about the South Fork. I think it's way over priced and, if the OM is asking about customs, I suggest he find a maker on this sight. I've dealt with quite a few and never had any problem. With more makers selling their wares they have some really good competition to keep prices as low as possible and quality as high as they can.
 
I tend to over communicate with my customers. I have noticed that many knifemakers and also individuals in similar line of work (small business / specialty fields) are terrible at communicating in general.
 
I've only ever contacted two and both got back to me in a day or two. Jim from Three Sisters Forge and Eric from Direware.
 
this would be an interesting economic case study. another would be why the secondary market prices are so high compared to the secondary market for most other items. knives might be an inferior good, and economic term meaning that it will be a more desirable good when the economy is doing poorly, much like cigarettes.
 
I don't know if they are too busy or just couldn't care to make a truly 'custom' knife. None of them are famous big names, since I have a limited budget I stayed clear of the big guys who have known waiting lists.

Alot of custom knife makers on here make what 'they' want to make and then post it for sale ... thats "handmade" for sure but its not "custom made".

What irked me alot was that two of the makers who never replied were on the forum posting some of their blades for sale just a week or so after I wrote to them.
So they know how to use the internet.

I actually wrote to one of them on their for sale post mentioning that I had written to them and never got a reply, they still didn;t bother writing to me through this board and probably reported me as I was subsequently given a written warning by a board admin for a figurative "low blow". Go figure?!

I am just going to get myself a Fallkniven, easily available, good reviews and no need emailing custom makers and hoping for a reply.
 
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