Custom vs. Semi-Production vs. Handmade Knives: The name battle rages on...

Spark

Spark

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Since we first opened up the Custom Knife Forum, we've seen a multitude of posts, threads, and proclamations about just what "is" or "isn't" a custom knife.

Personally, I have to admit that I agree with what Les has to say: The Guild's definition pretty much sums exactly what a custom knife is.

But, there are numerous examples of semi-production or full production, yet hand made knives out there. Randalls fall into this category, as do Chris Reeve knives.

I'm sure that you Randall collectors would love to have a place to chat about your babies, as would many of the others who fall into this middle ground.

So, do we need another forum for these knives? If so, what should it be called? Who is a subject matter expert that is willing to moderate such a forum?

Post your replies, I want to know.

Kevin
 
The production, custom and auto discussion forums seem to be a sufficient number to me. I think the less forums the better, for example, in the old for sale forums I didn't have to move around as much as now.
 
I don't know if we really need another forum, but maybe one called Benchmade Knife Forum, with a description saying that it is for knives that do not fall into the catagories of custom or production would be usefull.

Things seem to OK right now except that Randall knives do not seem to be getting the coverage that they should. I would love to see a Randall forum, but could we get someone from Randall to moderate the forum?

As far as interest is concerned, I think there are a lot of members that would love to be able to discuss and learn more about Randall knives.

If we were to have a benchmade knife forum then we would not need someone from Randall to moderate adn we could find someone that had a great deal of knowledge in that particular part of the industry.

Some probably think we are getting to many forums, I would agree, but I think that either of these forums would be of much more interest than some of the others we have now. We could probably do a little house cleaning of the forums that get almost no traffic.

So what do the rest of you guys think? Do my ideas have merit or do you think another forum would just be a waste of space?
 
Spark,
I believe that Randall Made Knives are unique enough to justify a separate forum. I say that as a collector of over 250 Randall Knives and a former custom knife maker. As far as the "custom knife name game", my opinion is that most of the so called CUSTOM knives are really semi-custom in that the customer has a limited choice of standard models to choose from with a laundry list of available features for each specific model. When I was making custom knives, I refused to make the exact same knife twice. My customers could choose the style of blade, type of steel, handle material and know that although there may be a similar knife around, the knife that I made for them was a true one-of-a-kind CUSTOM.
Bubba
 
Originally posted by Keith Montgomery
I don't know if we really need another forum, but maybe one called Benchmade Knife Forum, with a description saying that it is for knives that do not fall into the catagories of custom or production would be usefull.
Click to expand...

I do not have the requisite faith in my fellow man to believe that he would read the description and place his posts regarding knives made by Benchmade Corp. in the proper place. That would be one busy, thread movin' moderator there.

Just like I accept the common parlance definition of "custom" (ie. single maker) over it's actual meaning, I believe that the term "benchmade" has now taken on a common meaning other than it's actual definitions.

Ultimately, and this is no reflection on quality, but simply my interests, I do not wish to read about the virtues of a Model 1 or Model 14 ad nauseum, and I don't think that they belong in the forum of my particular interest, which is knives made by a single maker. I don't really care about a Busse that has a different blade finish than the other hundreds of the same model. I don't care about William Henry's new International Line. I don't care that this Sebenza has a squiggle to the right where all of the others squiggle left. Again - these are just not my interests, and I think that there are enough people who ARE interested in them that they should have their own forum, whatever it's called - and until the Guild changes their definition, it shouldn't be "custom".
 
I think we could call a new forum the "Small Shop Forum" to differentiate it from large scale producers and custom makers. This forum would focus on premium priced, limited production cutlery. I think that this is an important niche of the knife world; one that is usually the gateway to custom knife collection. Even though most major producers also have limited run, high quality knives, it is important to recognize that companies like Randall, Chris Reeve, Whitewing etc. are perceived as different from larger manufacturers like Spyderco or Buck. I think that it is important to establish small shops as a different category so we can eliminate constant wrangling over the status of Randalls and others.
 
I'm relatively new to both Blade Forums and Knife Forums. Could somebody give me a brief history of why there are two? I am interested in both custom knives and Randalls and when I feel like reading about or discussing Randalls, I simply go over there to the Randall Forum. Randalls do need to have their own forum because Randall collectors (and I am one) are a little different. We like to discuss spacers, butt caps, thong holes, stones, snaps, etc. Hell, we are even interested in what Bo's favorite food was and what day he trimmed his mustache.

Question is...why does Blade Forums need a Randall Forum when Knife Forums already has one that doesn't get that much traffic?
 
We don't need to have MORE forums, we have so many already.

How about we just move on to other subjects.:)

Late,
FLY GUY
(FLY FISHING + KNIVES = HEAVEN)
 
Kevin,

No, I don't personally think we need more forums....I think we need to relax and/or tighten the bylaws of the current forums.

There is a wonderful RMK forum over at KFC that is terribly underused. I'd made a case for that forum over here, but would it really get the "foot traffic" to justify the expense? Not likely, highly paid "professional" moderators aside... ;)

I also think the "Custom" forums should be for listing true "Customs", dependant on the meaning de jour. I further think that a more relevant forum would be a "Handmade" forum.

That's my .02 worth...keep the change ;)
 
Hi TAH, welcome to BF. You wanted a brief history, here it is. First there was Knifeforums and it was a pretty decent place to be. The current owner of this forum and the previous owner were both moderators there. Over time, things got pretty ugly. There was alot of fighting going on, certain moderators thought they were gods and edited or deleted posts made by members they didn't agree with. It also wasn't that hard to get banned from there is you differed with some of the leaders there. I should back up a minute and state that the owner of Knifeforums at that time wasn't the owner there now. Anyway, one thing led to another and Mike Turber and Spark left KF and started Bladeforums as an alternative. Eventually Knifeforums closed down and ceased to exist for a short time until it was purchased by the current owner, James Knowka, who happens to be one heck of a nice guy as is the owner here, Spark,AKA Kevin Von Something or other.
So there you have it. Just remember that these forums are privately owned property as we tend to sometimes take them for granted. It is a privelege to be able to speak our honest opinions without being censured so as to further someone's agenda. If I've omitted something or am in error about any of this, I'd be glad for someone to correct it, without flames.

Dave
 
Hi Dave,

Thanks for taking the time to give me some history. By the way, I like your style when replying to these threads. You have a very polite, gentlemanly manner.

Thanks again, Tom
 
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