Custom Knives...ordered or off the table?

Dale Baxter

Dale Baxter

Joined
Sep 16, 2003
Messages
171
Based on my own experiences as a custom knife maker, I find that the most prolific makers have a niche or tag that separates them from other makers...you can tell who made it by the way it looks. To me this makes sense to collectors who plan a turnover on their investments in the future and to the dealers that can count on a second, third or tenth knife from the same maker, in the same design. On the other end of the spectrum are the wildcat makers who need to experiment with new designs continuously.

Unfortunately I fall under neither category. I make mostly what I like to call "True Custom" knives. Knives made for a specific person or use. I have made knives with unusual designs, from knives for use with prosthetic hooks to using cremains added to flux to make Damascus. In a previous thread, I read that collectors tend to be specific in their desires. Either waiting for maker "X" to fill an order or waiting for something to catch their eye.

The question is: With similar fit and finish, which do you prefer?
1) Knowing what your looking?
2) Waiting to be tainted?
3) Ordering something specific?


Dale Baxter
www.baxterknives.com
 
Hi Dale,

Here's how it works for me. I know what I like and why. At any given point in time I have knives on order from makers who make "my" type of knife and do so exceptionally well.

But my taste in knives is neither so specific nor so unusual that it can ONLY be satisfied by a custom order. So I keep an eye open for knives that may become available from a number of sources (in no particular order):

1) makers (either at shows, or otherwise. Some makers who are very much in demand periodically make knives available on their web sites on either a first-come first-served, or on a lottery basis. Fisk and Fogg are examples. I wish others would do likewise. )

2) Other collectors / enthusiasts - offered on the forums, on e-bay or through specific contact with friends with similar tastes.

3) Dealers.

Some don't feel "connected" to a knife if it wasn't built specifically for them with their input. I can understand this and it is certainly my favorite way to acquire a knife. But it's not an all or nothing proposition with me. Some designs come along that absolutely knock me off my feet that I would never have dreamed of. The makers would not have benefitted in any way from my input, and frankly, neither would I. Fogg's "Yakuza" bowies and the big bowie Tai Goo had at Blade come to mind.

Cheers,

Roger
 
"cremains added to flux to make Damascus"

Well, I guess that we know, how old Danbo is going to end up. :cool:
 
Hahaha
Danbo is a good guy...He will probably live forever and visit our graves to show us his new knives...saying Nee ner nee ner nee ner :p

I have studied with Don Fogg for years and have seen the look in his eye when a knife comes to life. He is a great man.
 
I've done both. I've picked up some off tables, and I've placed orders. I'd like to add a third category though.... waiting for Danbo to sell off some of his collection! ;)
 
I've done both. It is not unusual for me to place an order, set a ballpark price and tell a maker to do what they want with or without loose guidelines. (Some of these makers know a lot more about knives than I do. :D).

Sometimes you just see a knife that hits a "sweet spot" (Tai's bowie that Roger mentioned is an example for me) and if it works out that funds are available you pick it up. Like Roger I enjoy the ordering knives, but every once in a while it is also fun to just "stumble" onto an unplanned purchase. Tai stayed at my house during Blade and we had a blast. So much so that Deb and I hope to go visit him at the end of November. Even though I did not order the bowie, it is one of those knives that will always be special for many reasons.
 
My preference is to hand pick a knife off of a maker's table. But, I also love to place an order and see how close to my dream knife the maker can come.

Cremains as part of a damascus billet? Hmmm. ;)
 
Danbo selling off his collection....hum?
I think it would be easier to get him to sell off his family. lol

We (my wife and I) have a small collection of custom knives, Jerry Fisk, Mike Williams, Don Fogg, Alex Daniels, Adrua Draper, Howard Clark and Jim Guardner...But we have a close bond with these people. So I guess we are the type to buy from people we like and each knife we have has a story behind it, we will never part with them.
 
Each knife has a story:
Well, for example the Draper knife. I was forging in a demo with Audra when the blade got loose of the tongs while I was hitting it with the hammer, the blade popped up and hit me dead in the mouth. split both lips and burnt me real good. We asked Audra to finish the knife and it now sits nicely in our collection. The Williams is a prototype, the Clark is a Journeyman Knife, The Fogg is part of the many lessons he has given me. All of them have a story.
Make sense?

Dale Baxter
www.baxterknives.com
 
I also like both. Sometimes a knife will just speak to me and I have to have it.
However, I do like to talk to a maker and come up with something new and interesting. The Burt Foster Bowie in my avatar is one example. I have another knife on order with Tai Goo, a bush bowie with a ring pommel, that is another such design.
 
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