taken an order for a knife to find out later that you hate making it. I did just that and the knife is something I would never choose to make on my own. The style, proportions, and materials are just wrong but it's what the customer wants. I find that I am very uninspired by this build and it's affecting the quality of my work. I can't wait to be done with this thing but it seems to be taking twice as long as it should take for this type of knife. I am almost at the point where I contact the customer and tell them that I'm sorry but I can't stand to spend one more minute working on that awful knife. Have you ever been there?
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Have you ever......
- Thread starter squawsach
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 4,076
Making something you don't even like makes for a loonnnnggggg day. Hopefully you''re getting paid well for your time.
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2007
- Messages
- 2,655
I made a bowie for a guy I work with a few months ago, and I hated everything about it, but it was a custom order so I made it, but I sure as hell did'nt want to. In the end the guy loved it, and I was just glad it was over!
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2005
- Messages
- 580
I've done it once. The customer was really satisified when he got the knife, but I hated every step. Promised myself I wouldn't do it again because I think it will show in my work I didn't like it. If I ever got to go full time that might be an area I have to reconsider if I'm trying to pay bills.
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
Moderator
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2004
- Messages
- 38,522
Funny that this should post right now.
At work (goldsmith) I had a gentleman come in last week with sketches of a ring he had designed for his fiancée. That is nothing out of the ordinary. However, there were several things in the design and materials that I did not think were a good idea, looks-wise. It was going to be a complicated build and I thought it would be strange looking when shrunk down to ring size ( the sketches were about six inches round). He had several things drawn out of scale, especially the stone sizes. I pointed all this out to him and re-drew the ring in a slightly modified style that would work and look better. He was insistent that this was the ring he sees in his dreams, and has wanted to make it ,when he found the right girl ,for many years. I reluctantly took the order, with a large deposit and the statement that there was no refund on deposits for rings of the customers designs.
I made the ring exactly like the drawings. It was superbly done, but still so wrong. I even gave him slightly larger diamonds than he had asked for,at no extra cost,so it would look like the pictures (He had drawn the diamonds out of scale). When he came in at first he was impressed, then he started realizing that the problems I had pointed out would truly make wearing this ring every day unsuitable. He suddenly wanted to change the design and start over...with the basic same design , but more workable. I told him I had said all that and he had insisted on the exact design he had. Then he started thinking of making a different ring. I handed him his deposit back and said I was sorry, but I didn't think I would be able to help him.
It was better to cut my losses at a bruise, before it was a festering sore. I rebuilt the ring and will find a buyer for it sometime.
Lesson, in retail you often have to do jobs that you don't like....for people you don't like. That is part of being a good tradesman. However, in a hobby/part time business ( like knifemaking is for most of us) or when the job is just plain wrong - you are better to say no in the beginning ,or as soon as it becomes apparent that it will not go well.
Stacy
At work (goldsmith) I had a gentleman come in last week with sketches of a ring he had designed for his fiancée. That is nothing out of the ordinary. However, there were several things in the design and materials that I did not think were a good idea, looks-wise. It was going to be a complicated build and I thought it would be strange looking when shrunk down to ring size ( the sketches were about six inches round). He had several things drawn out of scale, especially the stone sizes. I pointed all this out to him and re-drew the ring in a slightly modified style that would work and look better. He was insistent that this was the ring he sees in his dreams, and has wanted to make it ,when he found the right girl ,for many years. I reluctantly took the order, with a large deposit and the statement that there was no refund on deposits for rings of the customers designs.
I made the ring exactly like the drawings. It was superbly done, but still so wrong. I even gave him slightly larger diamonds than he had asked for,at no extra cost,so it would look like the pictures (He had drawn the diamonds out of scale). When he came in at first he was impressed, then he started realizing that the problems I had pointed out would truly make wearing this ring every day unsuitable. He suddenly wanted to change the design and start over...with the basic same design , but more workable. I told him I had said all that and he had insisted on the exact design he had. Then he started thinking of making a different ring. I handed him his deposit back and said I was sorry, but I didn't think I would be able to help him.
It was better to cut my losses at a bruise, before it was a festering sore. I rebuilt the ring and will find a buyer for it sometime.
Lesson, in retail you often have to do jobs that you don't like....for people you don't like. That is part of being a good tradesman. However, in a hobby/part time business ( like knifemaking is for most of us) or when the job is just plain wrong - you are better to say no in the beginning ,or as soon as it becomes apparent that it will not go well.
Stacy