Do we over pay for custom knives?

It's like anything some you pay too much for others you get a deal. Being smart and paying attention helps make the difference. Craftsmanship counts for something having something a little different than factory replicated means something, and if you are lucky you find one or two that has a personality that is compatable with your own.


Then again look at art now those prices defy all logic.
 
This is always an interesting topic.Some makers due to their name are able to command top dollar and get it. Why,in some but not all cases they have earned it with experience and quality of product and to a lesser extent by limiting volume.I agree,no one forces me to buy at a set price I choose to.I think one of the hardest things for a maker would be to put a price on his work.I know for myself it would be.I think you can make this comparison with most things in life.If you as a buyer are happy with the product and the price you have paid it's all good.
 
here is the following makes and styles of knives listed on that auction
1pc red junk
2pc blue junk
5pc green junk
3pc yellow junk
2pc tactical junk

why must china insult us by trying to sell us this sh**?
 
Steve,

I don't know what you are reffering to as "soft items", but I do know I couldn't eat on a 1 to 3.

My first two years in business were a huge loss. I made $1000 each year....on my tax return! My total gross income was a whopping $14,000. Obviously I had a two income home, or I wouldn't be making knives now I am sure. That was back when I sold a single blade slip joint for $150, and a lock back for $225. I won "Best New Maker" at the '98 Blade show with one of those $225 lockbacks. My business partner in my Whitewing venture taught me a huge amount about running a business. He showed me how to price my work based on what I had invested in it both in materials and time. The base per hour of shop time you can charge and make any reasonable profit is $35. Last time I figured it up, that paid me about $15.00 an hour. The other $20 covered materials, consumables, electricity and so on. $15.00 an hour doesn't go all that far these days.
 
ashtxsniper said:
here is the following makes and styles of knives listed on that auction
1pc red junk
2pc blue junk
5pc green junk
3pc yellow junk
2pc tactical junk

why must china insult us by trying to sell us this sh**?
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China is not selling this stuff to us. American companies are getting them to make this stuff and the american companies are selling it to us. If US companies were not having it imported, you would not see a lot of it over here.
With the amount being brought into the US, there must be someone buying a lot of it.
 
I haven't spent any time with knifemakers, but I have done custom woodworking. I finally got tired of hearing people tell me how rich I must be getting and went back to a regular job that pays a heck of a lot more. A friend of mine who also did custom woodworking full-time for a while also gave it up. He got a job as a high school janitor because it paid better.

It takes a lot of time to develop the skill that is represented in these pieces, and there must be a significant amount of time involved in turning them out. Although I don't own any custom pieces, I have absolutely no complaints about folks charging enough to keep the lights on and food on their tables.
 
RogerP said:
As for resale value - some knives will hold their value fairly well, some will increase and others will decline. If return on investment is a primary consideration in your knife purchase decisions, then it is up to you to do your homework to ensure that your purchases fall into the first two categories.

Roger
Click to expand...

Well said Roger.

You can make a return on a custom knife collection, however you must be as diligent in your research and execution as you would with any other investment.
You have the blue chips and the ones that are a little more risky.
You have to be selective in the type, style, timing and maker of the knives you chose.
Your top stock pickers chose sectors and learn everything about companies in that sector, they don't attemp to cover the broad market. I expect there are very few collectors who know enough about ALL types of knives to successfully invest in all expecting returns.

However, there's one BIG difference; custom knives are much more fun to handle that investment certificates.:D :D
 
RogerP said:
Since nobody has every forced me to buy a knife, I can't say that I have ever overpayed. By that I mean that I knew the price going into the deal and voluntarily decided to make the purchase. Therefore, the knife was worth the asking price to me at the time I bought it....
Click to expand...

Same here. I will state without hesitation that I have never overpaid for a custom knife - from maker, collector, or dealer. Production knives? Yes - once or twice, before I discovered BFC. And I don't worry about resale value - in 8 years of collecting, I have only resold one custom and two production knives.
 
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