Customer Requests No Maker's Mark

Another customer perspective.....I'm a collector of custom knives, and my deal is collecting knives of well known makers, then hell yes, I want to clearly show that it is a "so and so's" knife.
That too makes sense to me....I guess....I'm not a collector....:confused:
 
I don't think I've had any requests for unmarked - but I've had LOTS with a request for special etching or customer monogram instead of my mark. No problem. It has led to hundred of orders by word of mouth. Had pull my head out of my pompous butt the first time - but I'm glad I did. :)

Rob!
 
anvilring said:
A civilian wanting no mark = ?

I don't know why anyone would ask for that save one: in the event of finding a knife at a crime scene, a maker's mark would instantly lead to you and the subsequent questions as to who it was sold to in the first place.

Ed writes:
"If it's a civilian that wants the knife, they would have to give me a very good reason before I agreed not to mark the knife. "

Thats easy: they intend to harm someone with it. Perhaps an aggressor, perhaps not; harm none the less.

m
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That they [civilians] intend to harm someone, could be a reason.
But.... to say that is the only reason.... seems to be a bit of a stretch.
A big stretch of the imagination really. IMO of course. :thumbup:
 
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We've yet to hear why this customer made the request....

....although all the conjecture and postulates are fascinating and illuminating! :)

Soooooo, what was the customer's reasoning behind the request??? :confused:

=========================

Over the years I've made probably thousands of pieces of jewelry without signature or mark. It never bothered me at all. Folks always told others where they got their pieces. Business pretty much always kept abreast of what I was capable of outputting. I've got to admit, I was never in the collectors market though. These folks were users, so to speak.

Anyway, I guess to some extent it depends on what your priorities are, cash flow (the transaction) or ego presence (name brand). I say that realizing that one is almost equal to the other for the big names being collected and demanding premium purchase prices. In that case though, I suspect the unmarked knife would cost considerably more though.
 
Phillip Patton said:
If a customer wanted a knife that isn't heat treated, do you think a maker should accommodate them?
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Sure they should/could, after thoroughly explaining the consequences of no 'heat treating' to the customer.............

First & foremost # 1 consequence being... No Makers Mark ..... :D
 
Phillip Patton said:
How far would you take that idea?

If a customer wanted a knife that isn't heat treated, do you think a maker should accommodate them?
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....even I wouldn't take it that far......
The difference being......to ask for no HT, is unreasonable.

Personally, I can't think of an instance where I would ask a knife maker to leave his mark off....especially yours Phillip ....but for someone to request that, I don't see it as offensive.
 
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While I have yet to sell my first knife to a customer, I have made various kinds of art and sold it since I was in high school. I've done a lot of paintings, drawings, conceptual work, flash art, all kinds of stuff. Every one of them was a piece of me and was signed by me. I wanted everyone who ever saw it till the end of time to know that it was me who made it. I consider knives that the maker designs the same thing. I think as far as burger joints go, the customer is always right and if they have the cash, it's their money. Make it their way. However, when it comes to artwork, that design is part of the artist. It originated inside them and it is a representation of them. If the customer designs the knife and he wants no mark on it, well that's up to the maker, but if the knife from beginning to end is the makers work, it deserves his mark. Asking an artist not to sign their work is an insult. That's like saying, "I like the pretty thing you made, but have no interest or appreciation what so ever for the skill and talent that you possess that made this work possible."

Obviously the military need for a sterile tool doesn't fall into this category. For everything else, that's your work. If the customer doesn't want to give you the credit and appreciation for your skills and isn't proud to show that they have a piece of the craft, then they don't need to be a customer.

Before I started trying to make them myself, I had designed a knife that I asked Ian Van Reenen to make for me. Even in my drawings, his mark was on the blade. I made it clear to him that the skills were his and I was proud to have that represented on the blade. After all, that's why I chose him to make it. That knife design was mine from front to back. I chose the handle material, the pins, the grind, the hardware, everything. Ian made a few small suggestions that made sense and I went with them, but for the most part, that knife came from inside of me. However, it was Ian's skills and talent that made that knife a reality. For his ability to produce that piece of art, I am proud to give him credit on my knife.

Maybe I'm crazy, naive, whatever. I know I'm not yet a "real" knifemaker who sells his work, but this is what I believe. My knives are my knives. If they customer doesn't want the mark, then he doesn't need the steel it's etched in.
 
As a collector, I must admit to being a bit amused (and confused) by the initial post. I don't collect knives as an investment, but if I did, I would certainly want the maker's mark on any knife I purchased. As an investment, an unmarked knife would have little value regardless of its maker, unless its provenance could be determined by other means.

One of my hobbies is buying finished blades, preferably custom, and doing my own wood handles and, if the blade is small enough, a matching wooden sheath. I have never asked the maker to leave off his maker's mark, though most choose to do so. One maker that has made several dozen blades for me chooses to put his maker's mark on his finished blades (I guess he has faith in my ability to not detract from his work). I do not plan to sell any of these knives, but presumably at some point, at least some of these knives will be sold by my son. To some extent, this makes me a little uncomfortable, but I have tried to make clear identification of those knives that are a collaborative work between myself and this maker.

FYI, I respect, but have no interest in joining the fraternity of those of you who do enjoy grinding or forging steel.

Paul
 
How about another reason for an unmarked blade? What if you're asked to make a perfect Loveless or Moran copy with no markings and the intent is for the customer to forge a stamp or etching matching the famous makers' mark? The customer then can turn around and sell the knife as an original to an unsuspecting customer for who-knows how much profit.
Not saying it pertains to this particular case, but it's feasible.
-Mark
 
polish avenger said:
How about another reason for an unmarked blade? What if you're asked to make a perfect Loveless or Moran copy with no markings and the intent is for the customer to forge a stamp or etching matching the famous makers' mark? The customer then can turn around and sell the knife as an original to an unsuspecting customer for who-knows how much profit.
Not saying it pertains to this particular case, but it's feasible.
-Mark
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Yeah, that could happen... but again, IMO.... that is a slim possibility in the big scheme of things. ;)
 
IMO, whether the knife will be made sterile or not is simply part of the deal between the maker and the prospective customer on any particular knife order.

I think that the maker is fully within his rights to say "no"; and the customer is fully within his rights to go elsewhere.

If the customer wants to pay more for a sterile knife, perhaps the maker will think it's worth it.
Or perhaps not. In any event, it's just a part of the deal.


But I can think of several reasons why a collector would want a knife to be sterile.
For instance, there are plenty of posts here on BF where members say they just don't like any etchings or stamps on their knives.
 
I have never had this request, and I wouldn't do it if ask, except for military personel. You won't buy a Snap On wrench without there mark on it.
Just my 2 cents. Dale
 
My first worry would be that the customer is going to start selling the "blanks" in copious amounts in an unknown steel from an unknown company, probably from someplace far away.
 
Over the years I've had one customer request, on a knife of his design, no makers mark. I left it off because it was a pretty ugly design and I was fne with not having my name on it. That said, I did the knife to my usual standard and didn't hold back because my name wasn't on it. The real question will always be "Why?"

The real problem I have, doing blade blanks, is that once in a while someone wants my logo for their blade. I won't do that because I didn't make the knife. I will ultimately get a stencil made for blades only, different from my regular logo, so there is no confusion.

Gene
 
rifon2 said:
IMO, whether the knife will be made sterile or not is simply part of the deal between the maker and the prospective customer on any particular knife order.

I think that the maker is fully within his rights to say "no"; and the customer is fully within his rights to go elsewhere.

If the customer wants to pay more for a sterile knife, perhaps the maker will think it's worth it.
Or perhaps not. In any event, it's just a part of the deal.


But I can think of several reasons why a collector would want a knife to be sterile.
For instance, there are plenty of posts here on BF where members say they just don't like any etchings or stamps on their knives.
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I can see their point though... (hypothetically speaking) Like say if a customer wants a nice historical reproduction and a knife that looks truly antique, they probably wouldn't want to see some large electro-etched logo of a belt grinder motif on it.:p This is also part of the reason why I like to have my mark as simple and unobtrusive as possible. I don't like electro-etched logo's either, but that's just a personal preference...they don't really suit my frontier style knives.
 
I make it I mark it. No need to discuss in my opinion. When I painted and sculpted I did the same. When I recorded music a while I was in the credits......
 
Charlie and I don't make very many knives for the military, but those we have made have all had our mark on them. We have never had a request for one without it. I would think it would take a pretty good reason for us to leave it off of one of our regular models. A member of the military likely wouldn't have much trouble getting one from us, and he would get a discount to go with it.

As far as being asked to make a copy of another maker’s knife, we would and have declined the opportunity several times. We just don't do it with or without our mark on it. On a knife that is in a certain maker’s style like Scagle, or a Michael Price, we always do something different so that it could not be mistaken or misrepresented..
 
I recently designed a knife and had two quality prototypes made by an established maker. With a Makers Mark a comparable knife from the same maker is worth about $600.00. Without a maker's mark, I can't sell them for anything close to that. I design web sites, caricatures, logos, and maker's marks all the time. Anonymity is part of the business. I can't afford to be a primadonna artist. If I get a recommendation, that's great, but often I get paid for the job and that is it. How my work is to be used will often affect how much it will cost the customer.

Many custom knives don't stand out as being better than mid-tech factory knives or even factory knives in general. The customer has to have been convinced there is value in the maker's name. That is marketing as much as quality knives. When a good percentage of collector custom knives wind up being safe queens, ie; expensive paperweights that aren't even used to cut air, the only value they have is in what the owner perceives them to be worth and whether he can find a potential buyer who agrees.

I don't understand the paranoia involved of thinking someone wants to pay big money for a sterilized custom potential murder weapon. I can pick up a rock or a stick for free on the side of the rode or a steak knife for a buck at the dollar store.
 
I agree with most on this. I haven't been making blades for very long, but I've been drawing or painting for my entire life and I signed everything I ever did. I wouldn't let a knife leave my shop without some kind of mark. I think I'd rather just sell the blade to somebody else before letting somebody tell me I couldn't put my mark on it.
 
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