Do you buy your own handle material?

M

Mhael

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May 25, 2001
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480
Hi,

So this topic involves both collectors and makers so hopefully we can get all the sides to check in. So with certain exotic materials I know it can be hard for a maker to find the material the customer wants, in the quality the particular knife demands, at the right time and place. Also, I know it is also hard for certain knife makers to have so much money wrapped up in handle inventory when ivory costs multiple times what a nice wood handle would cost. So what do you collectors do? Do you try to buy with a specific maker/design in mind? How do you learn about what to look for and how to buy the various ivory types, stag and any other type of hi-end handle material? Also as a maker what are your thoughts? I don't know what the markup margin is on handle material so I don't know how much that weighs into it.

Thanks for the help, any advice or other sources to read would be greatly appreciated.

Trevor
 
I like sourcing my own handle materials. Usually, I have a very specific concept for what the scales should look like. Plus, I like to shop around for cool materials... :cool:

TedP
 
It depends mostly on whether we're talking about a field-grade or presentation-grade knife. For field grade stuff like micarta, G10 and basic woods, I keep enough in stock, or will order enough of a different color/species that I'm likely to use again, that there's no need for a client to source their own. (For instance... "I only have green, brown and black canvas micarta... but you want burgundy? Yeah... someone else will probably want that too one of these days... I'll just order a full sheet, eat the extra cost and inventory the balance. No extra charge.")

If a person wanted something off-the-wall like orange-and-black-layered G10, I wouldn't be quite as eager to order a whole sheet of it.

For presentation-grade stuff like highly-figured/burl stabilized woods, it's important that the client really enjoy the handle material. I either send them pics of what I have on hand and let them pick from that, or they supply something they found somewhere and fell in love with. One time I did a matched set of two knives for a client who had some lovely stabilized bubinga, cut sequentially from the same board... they came out really cool :)

The potential problem with client-supplied materials is that sometimes they will get a "great deal" on wood that looks lovely, but isn't properly cured or stabilized. In one case I had more labor into fixing voids and machining bushings to hold the corbies in a piece of supplied "stabilized" buckeye burl, than I did into actually making the handle out of it. That was only a real problem once, though.

I have yet to make a stag-handled custom; in that case I would really prefer that the client pick it out. It can vary so greatly in shape and curvature, that a piece that feels wonderful in my hand might be really ungainly to someone else.
 
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In collector grade knives the natural materials are the most popular. I try to keep a good selection of mammoth ivory, mammoth tooth and pearl on hand. It is often a real troublesome thing to chase down these scales when the need to have is there. Very often a customers wants have been decided by a knife that has been seen. I enjoy trying to put together the materials, patterns and colours that are asked for. As for pricing of these materials, I'm very willing and pleased if the buyer will go to the suppliers web site and order for me what he wants used. Sometimes, buyers are surprised by costs. A common mistake is to price out Damascus by the inch when it will only be sold in a certain length in that pattern. As well the materials grow in value quickly when size, quality, and availability are considered. I have found that there are very few potential knife buyers who do not let this create a problem with these characteristics but will just ask that the price be kept at a certain amount and that the maker then respond with what he or she will present. Frank
 
Thanks for the thoughts so far. As far as ivory and stag I would imagine there are more potential problems because of the possible voids and other natural flaws in the material. Beyond knowing what type of starting dimensions are needed for the handle style desired how does one pick a good piece of ivory? Obviously you have to like the colors but what other things can you look for? Thanks for the help.
 
Sorry I was strictly referring to high end specialized material like certain woods, ivory, Stag.
 
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