Custom made knives vs production made knives.

herisson herisson , for some reason I skipped right over the switchblades and just grabbed some good, basic sharp tools. I do not know what possessed me.
 
You prefer basic sharp tools. That's fine. You do you. By all chances, would that be a red Tuff Lite ?
 
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Guys in Forged in Fire are custom makers correct? I dont trust many of them:p
 
JParanee said:
There is nothing wrong with a buck knife but when it comes to balance and feel and the properties a differentially heat treated blade can make in a fixed blade it is a game changer when you are comparing quality and performance

no production fixed blades that I know off offer distal taper which is what changes a big fixed blade from a paper weight to a well balanced piece

with that said no one needs a knife of such high quality for day to day use but to say there is no difference is to compare high performance sports car to a plain jane sedan
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I agree with this. Especially for bowie knives, there really aren't any production versions that can compare to good customs. And I know of course that it depends on the custom maker, because there are some customs that are crudely made. But I take it we're talking about quality customs versus quality productions. I have a few custom bowies, and they are much better balanced and quicker than anything available in productions.

There may be one or two reasons why someone would choose a production bowie over a custom bowie. If you want two of the exact same bowies, for instance. Or if you found a production bowie that you really like, because of balance or feel, it might be hard to get a custom that matches that same balance and feel in hand.
 
I agree with Joe, production fixed blades and sheaths are as a class worse than most custom fixed blades. Especially the sheaths, balance and edge geometry. That being said some of the worst knives in the world are some of the custom fixed blades found at arts and craft festivals or gun shows.

I also agree there is less of a gap between custom and production folding knives. For example, in slipjoints, Case Bose production knives smoke many custom makers work, but Tony's real deal customs are in a class alone. William Henry makes custom modern folders that out do many custom makers; even the WH simpler models are better.
 
Here's another consideration: How important is it that your $$$ go to an individual maker or a small shop, as opposed to a manufacturer (and I realize that "manufacturer" covers a range business sizes and work situations)? Why?
 
The only lock on a Ti frame lock that has ever came unlocked on me was on a custom $600 Ti frame lock. Even the old sorry ZT's have never came unlocked on me. Maybe why I carry ZT's. Lol Shirogorow's are close enough to custom's for me. Who wants to wait years for a custom knife? I don't see what would be wrong for the custom makers to get a little help and get knives out there that everyone could enjoy. But I don't $hit.
 
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tyyreaun said:
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.
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Just a quick note: To me, being custom does not mean being hand made with only hand tools. The use of CNC mills, routers, etc. is perfectly legit. For me, what makes it custom, is the fact that you can get it made to your own specifications considering the shape of blade, handle, seath (if talking fixed) along with the materials. If the artisan uses machinery to craft it, kudos for him.

Mikel
 
Mikel_24 said:
Just a quick note: To me, being custom does not mean being hand made with only hand tools. The use of CNC mills, routers, etc. is perfectly legit. For me, what makes it custom, is the fact that you can get it made to your own specifications considering the shape of blade, handle, seath (if talking fixed) along with the materials. If the artisan uses machinery to craft it, kudos for him.

Mikel
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Agreed. It's really more of a gradient, where you have Grimsmo on one end, and someone like Sergey Rogovets (no CNC at all) at the other. Where you draw the line at where it stops being custom is debatable.

Edit: actually, Sergey shouldn't be at the end of that gradient. Beyond him is someone like Wolfgang Loerchner, who doesn't use power tools...
 
Production knives are almost exclusively produced through CNC machining, the cost to quality will most often be far superior to custom made knives. What this means is to get the same quality custom (or handmade) you'll be paying far more, unless the person making it is not making a living doing it.

Setting up CNC programming and tooling is expensive and isn't used on single knives, but is of course far more economical on large scale.

Now personally, I want the sweat and blood of a craftsman in my knives and am willing to pay for it, but I don't expect a better knife.
 
Blackcloud said:
A custom is a form of artistry and craftsmanship. You can only do so much in making functional knives i:e: steels and heat treatments. Production knives pretty much have that down to a fine science. The extras in finishing using artistic skills take time and time is money. For cutting and carrying a production is on equal footing with a custom.
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If a knife buyer seeks artristry, by all means go the custom route. For simple day to day use folders, I don't see any convincing justification to buy a handmade knife. I think fixed blades are different and will continue to be different.

JParanee said:
The gap between custom folders and production folders is growing closer

fixed it’s a custom world and the production stuff is not in the running
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The cost of handmade knives has come down and if you seek a better knife, I think a handmade FIXED blade is the way to go.

JParanee said:
I disagree

like I said

when it comes to folders the gap has closed but not production vs custom fixed blades

it’s rare to get a quality production sheath for a fixed blade even

to be honest the average person has not even handled very high end custom pieces .....it’s just not in their wheel house
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Again, I pretty much agree with your assessment of the current folding knives in the $200 area. There was a time when a custom maker did not include a good or proper sheath for a fixed blade which I think is a HUGE mistake on the part of the custom makers. That time has mostly passed now. For me.... no sheath = no buy whether it be a custom or factory fixed blade knife. I am not willing to spend the money on custom sheaths for the most part and the sheath that is provided for a knife should be practical and functional. Any knife that I own that has a crappy sheath pretty much gets tossed into my knife tub to never see the light of day again. I have no time for stuff like that as there are simply too many good examples available now.
 
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