Everybody read = Shop Update

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
20,978
Ok.....here's how my week went:


Monday - day off after the Blade Show to work on the house
Tuesday - morning off...still working on the new house...made it into the shop, sold a bunch of stuff. :D
Wednesday - stood in one place for 5 hours getting packages ready for shipping....:o...worked on Dingos (K9 Knives)
Thursday - didn't get to the shop until 2 PM...:foot:...house stuff...washer, dryer...hitting the hardware stores for supplies and so on. Nobody told me buying a house was so much work!!! Spent more time on the Dingos
Friday - Dingos all day...had to fix the sandblast cabinet several times...:rolleyes:...but got it working fine. We finished the first K9 Dingo today...the rest will roll out Monday/Tuesday.


Weekend - Start hammerin out details on the Order Tracker


Next week:

Monday - will order steel for the Kit Knives, more bushcraft knives (3V), nessmuks in 1/8" 3V , and miscellaneous orders. Everything going to the waterjet guy. Will spend the bulk of the day working on Dingos. Have a Dr. appt to remove an ingrown toenail. ....but plan on shipping the rest of what sold this week (payments still incoming)...and spending more time finishing up order details on the Order Tracker.

Tuesday - Dingo madness continues...and hopefully comes closer to being finished.

Wednesday - playin' it by ear...we'll see what happens.

Thursday/Friday - in the shop for Koster Knives now...:D




I have 3 more work days after that and then I am going to Philmont for 12 days (plus travel...more like 2 weeks). Hopefully I return in one piece. :D

After that....a little birdy told me it would probably be a good time to initiate the production of a certain pair of 5" bladed knives...but, I dunno...we'll see what happens. :eek:



Thanks to all you guys for your support....those who came to the Blade Show...those who call in to chat...that who email just for fun (and not just as reminders...though it is definitely a tricky way to remind me of your knife order :D)....thanks to those who have been patient with me while I learn this craft....and thanks for keeping my forum a positive place to hang out and chat. :thumbup:


I am now FULL-TIME into knifemaking.

There are going to be some changes in how things operate for me....some will be minor unnoticeable changes...others will be monumental. All of them will be for the better.

I plan on restructuring my pricing. My old pricing models are out of date and no longer provide accurate results. That does NOT mean prices will go up. Just means that certain processes....certain materials...certain knives....are easier, cheaper, more efficient and more productive for me. Those items will become standard features. Everything else will be a premium.

Take cocobolo for instance. In the past, I have put it at the bottom of the materials list (cost-wise). Per knife handle, it is truly a cost-effective material. BUT.....to get it into my work process is increasingly less efficient.

For example:

micarta comes in sheets of uniform thickness. I simply cut out both sides of the handle slabs...and they are ready to drill, profile, counterbore, finish the fronts and glue-up.

cocobolo on the other hand...is best (for me) if purchased in larger pieces. This requires cutting it down first with a ripsaw blade on the bandsaw, then cutting slabs. The slabs then have to be flattened on the inside surfaces and then the outsides made parallel, and the thickness uniform and matching. Otherwise, when I drill the handles....I get crooked holes.

So, to get cocobolo to the same state as what micarta comes in naturally...takes more work. It is now no longer a cost-effective material.


Certain micarta colors are more expensive than others...and I rarely stock them (I always have natural, green and black canvas micarta on hand...rarely/never have brown, red...or any of the linen/paper micartas).

So, even though micarta is micarta...for me, one of them is inexpensive (can buy in large sizes since I know I'll end up using all of it) and the other is a premium (have to get a piece just for one order).



Additionally, I have become more proficient with the tools I have on hand...and have outgrown a few as well. Better machines mean better quality and higher production. Helps keep sales prices down, but overhead goes up in its place.


Don't worry, though guys....it's like a game for me....finding the "value sweet spots" in knifemaking. Like using 1/8" oversize 3V in smaller knives. That was a home-run hit for me. I can buy it in large sheets and cut out multiple patterns. Yes, it's 5 times as expensive. But 5 times 2 is still only 10 dollars instead of 2 for a blade...meaning only a small increase in the materials costs...but HUGE gains in performance.

I do have a few more ideas up my sleeve yet....we'll see how things pan out over the summer.


It must be past my bedtime...I fell asleep proofreading the above while at my computer.

Either that...or it's just terribly boring...you let me know, ok?


:D


'Night..!

Dan
 
You are a man on fire and that is hard to imagine after seeing you at Blade patiently answering all of our redundant questions. Good luck in going at it full time but dont forget to have fun.
Chickenplucker
 
As a problem-solving. analytical, self described knife nut myself, I find it incredible that you are able to keep your sanity having all that rolling around in your head, but bless you for doing it!
Seriously, I appreciate your attempt to keep your knives reasonably priced for us. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say thank you, it is one more reason to keep coming back for more. YOU RULE!!!
 
Thanks Dan , impressive ideas ,meeting you at blade this year was one of the highlights , keep up the the great work .
 
Dan, I remember you mentioning you teach at your local university. Full time meaning no longer teaching next semester?
 
Great information you presented there Dan..... I am looking forward to all the changes to come, as well as, getting some of your knives in my grubby paws.
 
Ok, everything sounds great, except for the details on the toenail thing. Could have done without that this morning. :barf: Good to meet you and Tom at Blade. Lets get busy!:D
 
....Either that...or it's just terribly boring...you let me know, ok?....Dan

Dan,
Definitely NOT "just terribly boring."
Maybe some of the other guys "know" you but I don't (didn't before this post). I have some stuff on order but have not held/used it - I have no personal experience with your work. Anyway, with what you just shared, it would be apparent to any outsider that you're not just an exquisitely talented dumb-ass. You know the type - someone who more than makes up for other "flaws" by being so incredibly good at something. I have been very aware of how incredibly good you are at your craft but never really had any idea about the rest of you. It is now clear to me (not that you need validation from me, by the way) that, not only are you incredibly good at something (we all know what) but, you're a hell of a guy, you use your noodle, you're smart and you look out for the guys you're making stuff for. I feel like I know you better now and don't feel like an outsider just because I don't actually have my own "Koster" yet - but I have three on order,.... and that's not a hint. Just want you to know I am not just hanging out generating hot air - I'm genuinely interested - because I have knives on order,.... and that's not a hint either.:D

Honestly though, regarding the wait - it's killing me but I'm not complaining because I am impressed at the effort you put into always improving the process. Thanks, Dan.

Jeff
 
Jeff H.....does the "H" stand for hint?

:D :eek: :p



Yours are indeed up soon....that is...when I get back on the Koster Knives stuff....:foot:
 
....I appreciate your attempt to keep your knives reasonably priced for us.........

"Reasonable???"
I personally think we're taking this guy for a ride.:foot:
I'm worried about all this "figuring out" he's engaged in right now.
What if he figures out that he could probably get more out of us?
Yep, that'd deinitely be a "party's over" moment.:eek:

Seriously though, I am puzzled at how he can sell stuff for what he does. I missed the Blade show left-overs and almost cried at the fact that I could have upgraded one of the ones I have on order for so little or could have added a Nessy for so little. That $100 to $150 price-point makes it very easy to be able to always have another one to look forward to. It's a chunk of change alright but one could very easily spend much more (if one HAD it) and not do proprtionally better value-wise.
 
Just the comment on making knifes now full time is important. Wish you continued fruits for your labor. You truly go all out for us as customers!
 
I find it incredible that you are able to keep your sanity having all that rolling around in your head

He does?

nastytaste.jpg

Thanks again to Tom Krein for that pic.


Too tempting, sorry :D:foot:
 
Great info Dan. Good luck with the money pit, er...new house!

I hope that little birdy was talking about some Bushmasters!
 
I am just starting here, been following this forum for a bit and do not even have an order in yet. I am considering putting in an order for a Bushcraft very soon though! Love that knife... Anyway, I just want to say that it is nice to see updates like this post. It makes it nice to see the maker care about the clients and the work he is putting out. Thanks for the update, though it affects me less than others on here!

Now to keep drooling over the blue and black bushcraft knifes I missed out on.... :(
 
For all of us older collectors, we have worked two jobs, done all are own repairs and put a couple of kids through college. Getting the house was not real hard, keeping it was tenative at times. Raising teenages , staying married
( 45 years ) . A few things that could only happen to others
war service etc. did happen to us !
I look at todays makers/ smiths, and have to say you do work hard for what you want and need. Maybe harder with the state of things in the world.
Rest your body, rest your mind.
 
Its great to see you going full time Dan.

If you guys think that pic was scary, you should see him use that huge ass bullwhip he has...
 
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