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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Dealer discounts
- Thread starter 2knife
- Start date
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I made a $250 damascus hunter two weeks ago
Don, remember that damascus ivory fighter order I placed with you several years ago? I think it was right before a big show? Then you were busy for another show? It must have been placed on the back-burner?
You do remember, don't you?
- Joe
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2002
- Messages
- 12,297
Joe, it might be written down in that old book, you know, the one with the faded ink and brown pages. Can't read it any longer 
Just kidding, it's ready, cash is good, see ya tomorrow.
Just kidding, it's ready, cash is good, see ya tomorrow.
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2002
- Messages
- 2,125
Les,
Is this inflation? .. how does this statement jive with Jerry Fisk's comments in Blade mag. about new and old knife makers competeing for a Collector market that has not grown significantly over the past (20 yrs.?) did i get that right
It gives me the impression the prices should follow the curve.. more competition from a boom in new makers, a comparative 'stagnation' in the collecter base or lack of equivalent growth, wouldn't that serve to drive general prices down, not up.. ??
Also, Les, I'm interested to know.. in business, Do you ever find yourself in conflict, not agreeing about a maker or knives you, in turn as business, promote? .. i remember asking one Dealer Why i have never seen Loveless knives on his site. His opinion, that they were not very good knives, may have cost him a lucrative deal somewhere.
one more question.. How did you cross the line from buying knives, to where you are now? .. i suppose you were first a Collector?
..ok another question, i lied, how Do you know what to sell and what to keep., Do you end up Always rotating knives in and out of your own personal collection, or is it more of a strict business thing at this Point? ..just curious.
David
Les Robertson
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 10, 1998
- Messages
- 3,565
Hi David,
First, yes, inflation does have to do something with the rising prices...after all everything is getting more expensive.
I don't know about Jerry's statement. What I have found is that the market has expanded on the tactical side of the market do in large part to the Custom Knife Makers working with the factories. Everyone tells me the quality of the factory knives has gone up. I'll have to take their word for it. However, I know their prices have gone up. The higher the retail price (although no one pays retail for a factory knife and if you do...stop it), the more of a bargain the custom knives seem to be.
Another trend is very talented makers building 20 a fewer knives a year. Are driving the demand for the knives and the inflated prices collectors will pay for their knives in the after market. These prices will of course have an affect on other makers prices. They see there is a market and they will try to duplicate some of the "design" elements and will be able to get more money for their work.
On the forged blade side of the house...Jerry Fisk is a market maker. As are Hancock, Feugen, Dean, Newton, Fogg and Dunn. These makers extend the prices that collectors will pay. This allows the other (in theory) MS makers to raise their prices.
I think what Jerry may be viewing are those makers in the rear view mirror...the JS makers. Not necessarily a threat to Jerry but to the middle to bottom of the MS maker list. Yes, they will be taking their customers. Their main advantages...quality work at a value price.
I believe the custom knife market is expanding, primarily on the stock removal side.
The ABS will promote the craft and does absolutely ZERO to help its makers expand the market. I'll leave that be.
2nd Question...no I never find myself in conflict. Have I lost a couple of opportunities because I chose not to work with a particular maker or carry that makers knives...possibly. Like the other dealer who told you he didn't carry Loveless knives...neither do I. Why, because primarily the first time I met him I couldn't believe how rude he was to collectors. I chose to work with a maker named George Herron. In my opinion a superior maker and a far superior human being.
I have fired more than my share of known makers because they showed themselves to be men of little or no integrity. Most were whore's to the dollar and would screw anyone to make a couple more dollars. Most of this occurred several years ago.
Today if a maker is a bad "toad" they get outed pretty quick. Some to the point that it is "painful" read about as the threads seem to drag on and on.
On the plus side, there are so many talented makers who get some attention due in large part to the very poor customer service exhibited by some makers. They grow tired of delays and in reality excuses. So they look for someone else to make the knife.
I consider it a bad show if I don't find a new maker whose work catches my attention.
I don't adopt the position that you buy the knife...and not the maker. Perhaps that is a luxury that a collector can have...I can't.
3rd Question:
Actually I was a user first. I bought my first custom knife (Robert Parrish Hollow Handle Survival Knife) shortly after I got to the 101st Airborne. While going through processing for a little "trip" to Somalia. A JAG (Lawyer) asked to see my knife (we were in full gear) I showed it to him and he explained to me that the serrations on top made it against the "Geneva Convention". My Company Commander got to me before I could chastise the young Captain.
I had to retire that knife. I saw an article in a Soldier of Fortune magazine about some new maker in South Carolina named Walter Brend. But before I got that knife I was struck with an incurable disease called custom knives.
The first bout happened in 1983 while at Ft. Benning Georgia I saw a movie called First Blood. Fairly early into the film you are introduced to the real star! The SLY II by Jimmy Lile. When the sheriff asked Rambo what the knife was for and he said "hunting" and the sheriff replied..."What do you hunt with a knife"? Rambo said "Name it". I literally stood up in the theater and said loudly "YES"!
In May 1985 a fellow Infantry Lieutenant told me about a knife show in Chattanooga TN. Since we were in Clarksville TN, we got the wives and headed east after work on Friday. OMG!
Without a doubt the highlight of the show was meeting Jimmy Lile...I couldn't believe it, Jimmy Lile. I was amazed at how nice he was to me...nobody.
That was it, I had found my drug and I was hooked.
I got into the business strictly to have an excuse to go to shows and buy knives...after all the expense are a write off...right!
This same Lieutenant's wife was the one who told me about the business and the tax advantages it can give you. So in November 1985 I got my first business license.
Much like being a maker the only reason someone would become a dealer is that you truly have to love the knives. After all as I was told by everyone 13 years ago..."You can't make a living selling custom knives"....this includes my wife.
On the plus side I may be the only man who has a wife who says...shouldn't you be buying more knives!
I don't know of a custom knife dealer that didn't start out as a collector first.
4th Question:
Seldom if ever does a knife come out of my collection. Mostly because almost all of them have a special meaning to me. A few were given to me by the makers or even clients. In the past 13 years I have sold only 3 out of my collection.
When you are doing this for a living it is difficult to add knives to your collection. What I consider the premier knife in my collection is the first Bowie that George Herron ever made (1966).
I started LDC Custom Knives along with Bob Neal. I really enjoyed working on the designs of the 25 knives. Then later with my Vanguard series and its 55 different knives to date. Working with the makers on these knives really appeals to the collector in me.
As I have written before, my business plan is very different from most if not all custom knife dealers. I try to identify both makers and trends before they happen. So I can position myself to capitalize on both when the time comes.
An example of that, I tell on occasion at the Blade Show when Bob and I do our seminar. Someone will almost always ask "how do you find a maker before he becomes really popular".
I explain to them that character is as important as ability. While at a show about 20 years ago in Ky. There were only 3 people who had tables with custom knives. Myself and two makers. Over the 3 days I had a great opportunity to chat with the guy next to me. Turns out we were both active duty Army so we had lots to talk about. He had some decent fixed blades on his table. But his folders were, marginal at best. This is before Titanium and the knives had extra thick stainless steel scales for the frame. Needless to say the folders were very heavy and a little clunky. But because of his character and having always preferred fixed blades, I bought a few fixed blades from him. I have been buying knives from Kit Carson ever since.
Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
First, yes, inflation does have to do something with the rising prices...after all everything is getting more expensive.
I don't know about Jerry's statement. What I have found is that the market has expanded on the tactical side of the market do in large part to the Custom Knife Makers working with the factories. Everyone tells me the quality of the factory knives has gone up. I'll have to take their word for it. However, I know their prices have gone up. The higher the retail price (although no one pays retail for a factory knife and if you do...stop it), the more of a bargain the custom knives seem to be.
Another trend is very talented makers building 20 a fewer knives a year. Are driving the demand for the knives and the inflated prices collectors will pay for their knives in the after market. These prices will of course have an affect on other makers prices. They see there is a market and they will try to duplicate some of the "design" elements and will be able to get more money for their work.
On the forged blade side of the house...Jerry Fisk is a market maker. As are Hancock, Feugen, Dean, Newton, Fogg and Dunn. These makers extend the prices that collectors will pay. This allows the other (in theory) MS makers to raise their prices.
I think what Jerry may be viewing are those makers in the rear view mirror...the JS makers. Not necessarily a threat to Jerry but to the middle to bottom of the MS maker list. Yes, they will be taking their customers. Their main advantages...quality work at a value price.
I believe the custom knife market is expanding, primarily on the stock removal side.
The ABS will promote the craft and does absolutely ZERO to help its makers expand the market. I'll leave that be.
2nd Question...no I never find myself in conflict. Have I lost a couple of opportunities because I chose not to work with a particular maker or carry that makers knives...possibly. Like the other dealer who told you he didn't carry Loveless knives...neither do I. Why, because primarily the first time I met him I couldn't believe how rude he was to collectors. I chose to work with a maker named George Herron. In my opinion a superior maker and a far superior human being.
I have fired more than my share of known makers because they showed themselves to be men of little or no integrity. Most were whore's to the dollar and would screw anyone to make a couple more dollars. Most of this occurred several years ago.
Today if a maker is a bad "toad" they get outed pretty quick. Some to the point that it is "painful" read about as the threads seem to drag on and on.
On the plus side, there are so many talented makers who get some attention due in large part to the very poor customer service exhibited by some makers. They grow tired of delays and in reality excuses. So they look for someone else to make the knife.
I consider it a bad show if I don't find a new maker whose work catches my attention.
I don't adopt the position that you buy the knife...and not the maker. Perhaps that is a luxury that a collector can have...I can't.
3rd Question:
Actually I was a user first. I bought my first custom knife (Robert Parrish Hollow Handle Survival Knife) shortly after I got to the 101st Airborne. While going through processing for a little "trip" to Somalia. A JAG (Lawyer) asked to see my knife (we were in full gear) I showed it to him and he explained to me that the serrations on top made it against the "Geneva Convention". My Company Commander got to me before I could chastise the young Captain.
I had to retire that knife. I saw an article in a Soldier of Fortune magazine about some new maker in South Carolina named Walter Brend. But before I got that knife I was struck with an incurable disease called custom knives.
The first bout happened in 1983 while at Ft. Benning Georgia I saw a movie called First Blood. Fairly early into the film you are introduced to the real star! The SLY II by Jimmy Lile. When the sheriff asked Rambo what the knife was for and he said "hunting" and the sheriff replied..."What do you hunt with a knife"? Rambo said "Name it". I literally stood up in the theater and said loudly "YES"!
In May 1985 a fellow Infantry Lieutenant told me about a knife show in Chattanooga TN. Since we were in Clarksville TN, we got the wives and headed east after work on Friday. OMG!
Without a doubt the highlight of the show was meeting Jimmy Lile...I couldn't believe it, Jimmy Lile. I was amazed at how nice he was to me...nobody.
That was it, I had found my drug and I was hooked.
I got into the business strictly to have an excuse to go to shows and buy knives...after all the expense are a write off...right!
This same Lieutenant's wife was the one who told me about the business and the tax advantages it can give you. So in November 1985 I got my first business license.
Much like being a maker the only reason someone would become a dealer is that you truly have to love the knives. After all as I was told by everyone 13 years ago..."You can't make a living selling custom knives"....this includes my wife.
On the plus side I may be the only man who has a wife who says...shouldn't you be buying more knives!
I don't know of a custom knife dealer that didn't start out as a collector first.
4th Question:
Seldom if ever does a knife come out of my collection. Mostly because almost all of them have a special meaning to me. A few were given to me by the makers or even clients. In the past 13 years I have sold only 3 out of my collection.
When you are doing this for a living it is difficult to add knives to your collection. What I consider the premier knife in my collection is the first Bowie that George Herron ever made (1966).
I started LDC Custom Knives along with Bob Neal. I really enjoyed working on the designs of the 25 knives. Then later with my Vanguard series and its 55 different knives to date. Working with the makers on these knives really appeals to the collector in me.
As I have written before, my business plan is very different from most if not all custom knife dealers. I try to identify both makers and trends before they happen. So I can position myself to capitalize on both when the time comes.
An example of that, I tell on occasion at the Blade Show when Bob and I do our seminar. Someone will almost always ask "how do you find a maker before he becomes really popular".
I explain to them that character is as important as ability. While at a show about 20 years ago in Ky. There were only 3 people who had tables with custom knives. Myself and two makers. Over the 3 days I had a great opportunity to chat with the guy next to me. Turns out we were both active duty Army so we had lots to talk about. He had some decent fixed blades on his table. But his folders were, marginal at best. This is before Titanium and the knives had extra thick stainless steel scales for the frame. Needless to say the folders were very heavy and a little clunky. But because of his character and having always preferred fixed blades, I bought a few fixed blades from him. I have been buying knives from Kit Carson ever since.
Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 3,148
Hi David,
An example of that, I tell on occasion at the Blade Show when Bob and I do our seminar. Someone will almost always ask "how do you find a maker before he becomes really popular".
I explain to them that character is as important as ability. While at a show about 20 years ago in Ky. There were only 3 people who had tables with custom knives. Myself and two makers. Over the 3 days I had a great opportunity to chat with the guy next to me. Turns out we were both active duty Army so we had lots to talk about. He had some decent fixed blades on his table. But his folders were, marginal at best. This is before Titanium and the knives had extra thick stainless steel scales for the frame. Needless to say the folders were very heavy and a little clunky. But because of his character and having always preferred fixed blades, I bought a few fixed blades from him. I have been buying knives from Kit Carson ever since.
Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
This a great story.