Custom made knives vs production made knives.

A

AshesFall

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Jul 16, 2019
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Now in my mind I'll always feel custom made knives are way better then production made knives and most of you will probably feel the same way, but maybe there's some people out there that feel some production knives are better then or at least equal to a custom made quality knife and would much prefer them over a custom for whatever reasons.

So this thread is about just that. Who out there prefers productions over customs and why?

Also which production knives do you feel are close, but not quite at the refinement level of a custom? Or does anyone feel there are production knives out there that match or exceed the quality of a custom?
 
One can't just claim, that a custom will be better than a production knife.
Believe me, there are a lot of crappy custom knives out there. And there are lots of people, who will claim that their knife is superior, just because it is a custom.
That is not to say, that there aren't a whole lot of fantastic custom knives to be had. There is.
 
Rasmus speaks the truth. I have some production knives that are better than some customs and vice versa. My very best custom is about equal to my very best production. Only difference is there is only one of the custom and it was made entirely to my specs for me. There are bunches of the production out there.
 
Recently paid only $100 for a BNIB Cold Steel AD-10 . Great knife and not so expensive that I feel inhibited to use it . :):thumbsup:

Custom version from Andrew Demko would, I'm sure , be nicer ; but MUCH more $$$ . I'd never feel right hard using it . :(:thumbsdown:
 
1. I prefer production since customs are out of my price range. $150 is my self imposed limit. I can get plenty of knife and quality at that price.

2. It's just much easier to buy production knife. I've read too many horror stories on this forum about people dropping $ and waiting years and not getting a knife. I'm totally content on buying, for example, a PM2 from one of our site sponsors and have it at my door in a few days.

3. Not to poo poo on custom buying. I'd just rather spend my $ else where. YMMV.
 
DocJD said:
Recently paid only $100 for a BNIB Cold Steel AD-10 . Great knife and not so expensive that I feel inhibited to use it . :):thumbsup:

Custom version from Andrew Demko would, I'm sure , be nicer ; but MUCH more $$$ . I'd never feel right hard using it . :(:thumbsdown:
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Exactly what I was thinking, except with the AD-15.

Only started buying custom fixed-blades in 2019 (and doubt I will ever get into custom folders), so 99% of my collection is production. Overall I think it would be pretty hard to beat a "good" custom, especially when it's made to your own specs, but many may not be able to justify the cost, and consider production good enough for their purposes.
 
High end production - CRK, Shirogorov, Koenig - will be as good as, if not better than, most customs. It's the difference between having computer-guided precision vs. tolerances achievable by the human hand.

Really good custom makers can match the precision of high-end CNC, but you're paying a lot more for that level of craftsmanship.

Two big advantages of custom (IMO):
  • Finishing touches: there are some things that a machine just can't quite do - or, it's not economical to do by machine. A thin grind with a mirror polished edge, or smoothly polished chamfers on the handle, still need to be done by hand, and craftsmanship shows through.
  • Uniqueness: the custom part of custom knives. A CNC can spit out the same knife over and over again, maybe with a slightly different pattern milled into the blade. If you want your choice of blade shape, handle materials, etc., you're going to need to go custom.
 
DocJD said:
Recently paid only $100 for a BNIB Cold Steel AD-10 . Great knife and not so expensive that I feel inhibited to use it . :):thumbsup:

Custom version from Andrew Demko would, I'm sure , be nicer ; but MUCH more $$$ . I'd never feel right hard using it . :(:thumbsdown:
Click to expand...
About 700 more if you get carbon fiber :D
 
I make Custom Culinary Knives. In my set patterns, I can offer a choice of steels, A choice of handle materials & a custom sizing to the customers hand of the handle. That is what’s custom about my knives. After the HT of my Stainless steels, which I have done by Paul Bos at Buck Knives. The steel & HT is on par with their fixed blades..
 
Momma said... custom knives are like a box of chocolates,...

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In my opinion customs are better in the way that you can make it to your own taste, besides from that it really depends on the maker for fit and finish
 
Grandmaster said:
In my opinion customs are better in the way that you can make it to your own taste, besides from that it really depends on the maker for fit and finish
Click to expand...

But that is not what the OP is claiming. He is saying that customs are made better.

If I know a guy who will custom make my favorite mustard and mint ice cream, it does not mean he is using better materials and techniques than, lets say, Häagen-Dazs does to make their vanilla ice cream.

Saying "customs are are way better then production made knives" is not, in general, true.
 
Some are better, some are worse.

I'm currently carrying a sub $25.00 dollar Buck 112 slim. I've also been playing around forging metal. At this point I'm sure I could make a knife looking thing out of metal. It'd be custom, but it would be leagues behind the $25.00 buck in my pocket right now.

All custom means is 'custom', not better or worse.
 
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