Handmade Knife Pricing Philosophy

A

Ardent Knives

Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
7
Hi All,

I've been thinking a lot lately about custom knife pricing. Right now sales are definitely meeting my low "it's summer, and my trip to ___ left me broke" expectations. I've been making some nice little knives that I think are really competitively priced, but it's not driving sales the way I expected and I'd like to hear what you'd expect to pay for a similar knife. (Some of you may be asking why I didn't post this in the knifemaker's discussion forum... Simple, I want to know what the buyers of handmade knives expect to pay, not what other makers think handmade knives are worth)

Here are the pics. These are little EDC knives made from O1. I've oxide coated and tumble finished them. Asking price is $120. Please let me know if you think that's reasonable for a little EDC/neck knife. You're the experts; what is fair for these? Thanks!

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well those look like pretty cool knives. Ive been selling here for about 4 years. I havnt sold that many knives but ive sold most of the ones ive made. For me it has been more like selling artwork than a product. The market is huge at that price range, size, materials, etc. It is really going to be about how you engage your potential customers than just having a good product. Marketing stuff, getting involved, product testing, videos, etc.

edit: whoops sorry , i actually thought this post was in shoptalk. Im also curious to hear what the knife buyers think :)
 
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To the OP, - I am an ordinary knife loving "Joe" and I think knives you presented are definitely worth your asking price for someone, who like or find small knives usefull.I personally love crazy big O blades :) but pictures you presented are very nice, great job and wish you bright future in knifemaking
 
I feel like that is a very fair asking price. I feel it is all about the market and how you advertise. If you post knives up here you will reach more people that are in to knives, and for the most part know what a handmade knife costs. Locally you will probably find the "Walmart" shoppers who think " I can go to Walmart and by a knife for $29.99". To those people they simply look at a knife as a tool. They don't see the time, materials, and the artistic flair to a handmade knife. Or you sometime get the person who is only interested in how a knife looks, and don't care about materials, how well it holds its edge, etc (mall ninja types). Another thing that most people automatically think is Stainless steel is better than carbon steel.

Forgot to add, I like your designs!
 
I think $120 for the knives you're showing is a very fair price, assuming a decent heat treat. (I have purchased some inexpensive knives with not so great heat treats in the past). As a buyer, I'm always interested in knowing as many details as possible about a knife - dimensions, steel, Rockwell hardness, handle materials, etc.

I also look very closely at the attention to detail a maker has shown. In this price range, you obviously can't use very expensive materials and or put large amounts of effort into the knife and still receive a fair return. It seems there has to be a fine line between building a quality, well finished knife (which yours appear to be) and not working for pennies per hour. Even in this price range, if I see a nice design that has a hurried looking, lopsided finish and appears to done at 36 grit, I'll stay away.

What catches my eye first is presentation and design. If the design appears to my liking, but the photo(s) are so lacking that I can't make out the details, then I usually form the impression that the maker is in too much of a hurry and his/her business practices may be lacking also. There are knifemakers that I've done business with in that catagory and I won't do business with them again, even though they are talented. In this day and age, a decent picture taken with an iPhone or similar is often just fine for me. Though I'm sure many makers will suggest professional grade photos if possible.

Given decent pictures - profile, spine, handle, a view highlighting the joinery and finish, the design of the knife is what grabs me first. There are plenty of well made knives that I might not be interested just because the overall design does not appeal to me - admittedly, I am picky. As Tim stated, it's a wide open market for this price range. It seems to me that the key for makers that are most successful in this range, is to have found a niche or piece of the market that appeals to a certain segment of the knife buying population. Purpose built, traditional hunters, "tactical", Japanese influenced, your own unique design, are all possibilities. Maybe keep an eye on the "custom knives for sale" subforum of the exchange and observe who appears often and who makes the most frequent sales. Having an idea of who you're building for can help a lot.

Hope this helps a bit. Mike
 
Assuming you wanted honest opinion and not smoke blown up your skirt.....for my buying dollar you are just about at the top with your $120 price tag. You handles are just a little "blocky" for my taste and look like they might benefit from a little more finishing. That would raise the perceived value quite a bit in my eye as a buyer. (The handle shape and appearance will make more sense to you if you decide to make leather sheaths for your knives).

Your designs are "okay" as shown but a nice little drop point would probably help round out your offerings and could appeal to even wider group of buyers.

Keep in mind this is just one man's opinion and I never thought of myself as a trend setter. Good Luck

Paul
 
Yes, 10 minutes with a bastard file, then fine file, then 220 grit, then 400, then 600 grit along the top/edges of the handle would add a lot. You can see, on the knife with the black handle scales, what appears to be the marks from the contact wheel in the repetitive scallops going down the side. Go over that transition with a couple of files, and then a few grits of paper, and it would all be blended and smooth, and take away what looks like a shortcut.

You are in a quandary, because if you drop the price much more, people will just ignore you assuming an inferior product. So, you have to find a way to put something out in this range that doesn't appear to have any shortcuts taken, though it obviously doesn't need pattern welding or a fancy bolster or guard at this price. I put bolsters on mine and sell them for $175, and do pretty well. But, everything is hand finished, at times with hamons (those are $200, and they are often drop points).

What I mean it, you are trying to do what is essentially calculus with your pricing and time. A little more time and a little more money may work out to be a good choice (you probably already know this, but it is often helpful to tell people things they already suspect to make them more confident). At least, that is what I hope I am doing.

Just a little more time, even if it means a slight increase in price, is likely to help you. I don't think most people care a lot about the difference between $120 and $135, but I could be wrong. I don't make knives without bolsters, except by special request.
 
Good stuff. I like the designs, but the 'competition' at this price point is against well-made productions. So ^^^ these guys points are valid on F&F.

Your designs are good. Nice variety.

Chamfer the holes, especially the thong hole. Probably :30" per knife.

Does every knife come with a sheath? Kydex like the last one? If so, make sure that's shown and known. Nicely done.

For the future: Image quality needs improvement. NEVER show enlarged grainy photos like these; they do nothing to enhance the work, especially at this level. Dust and defects are distractions and become deterrents to sales. Downsize to 1024 wide max.

Cell phones are perfectly suitable, but you need to be regularly shooting them on a consistent background. Instagram is filled with good examples.

Change that usergroup! Good luck. I wish you well.

Coop
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Please go to http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/profile.php?do=editusergroups and select your Knifemaker membership, to update your displayed title and color.
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Ardent Knives said:
Thanks Esav Benyamin, I'm new to this and appreciate the help. Cheers!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Please try again. Posting as a Registered user can lead to members reporting you if you post material requiring the paid membership. Dealing with this makes unnecessary work for the moderators.
 
Esav-- I got my usergroup changed. Thanks again for the info, I had no idea that could happen. :thumbup:

Timos-- I appreciate the input, I think you're right on about the concept of involvement with customers.

Seriousbladeno1-- I've done some pretty big blades in my day, but want to start small here on BF and work toward the larger stuff. Honestly, knives under 9.5" OAL are what keep me afloat, but I'd definitely spend most of my time making large knives and swords if I won the lottery tomorrow! :D

V8r-- You're right; people that want a simple commodity will probably not want to buy a handmade knife from me anyway. Thanks for the kind words.

Mike157-- I'll definitely keep my eye on the FS forum. I'm trying to carve my niche out and the advice definitely helps. :thumbup:

Paul-- Thanks for the reply. I definitely have trouble rounding off my handles when the scales are thin. So far, the only effective techniques I've used are very time consuming. I need to find that happy medium. As for the drop point design, the little harpoon in the pics started life as a (slightly) modified drop point, but I found that the shape of the spine didn't feel good under my thumb when I really choked up on it for detail whittling. My solution was to hog it out a little and make it the same shape as my thumb and gimp it for grip. It worked!--the knife became much more comfortable and usable while retaining the same actual edge shape of my drop point prototype. Nevertheless, I understand the nostalgia and aesthetic appeal of a traditional drop point and will definitely consider making one in the future.

Kevin-- Thanks for the kind words :thumbup: You're points about the contouring of the handles and my potential ability to pass the slight increase in price on to the customers are very much appreciated.

Coop-- I'll be the first to admit that the photos I posted need work. Truth told, I know absolutely nothing about how pictures get formatted/sized when I upload them from imgur (where these are hosted). Your size recommendation is very interesting and I plan to implement it immediately. I got a cheap light tent on Amazon that I'm going to play with in the very near future, and I expect improved photography/media presentation coupled with a higher degree of finish on the knives (and the subsequent slight increase in pricing ;) ) to yield better results for me. I'm following your IG feed and enjoy seeing your posts.

Thanks All! --Tim
 
Lots of good advice here.
I think it's easier to sell very small knives to people who have already been following your work rather than to complete strangers, but that's a subjective observation.
 
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