Hey, you butt in line?

RogerP said:
1) I was not aware that forum "guru" status existed or that it could be attained by self-appointment.Roger
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Roger surely you jest. You've been on this forum long enough to know what I'm talking about. By the way i have always admired your posts of the knives in your collection. You do an excellent job of explaining why you like your knives and stop short of explaining why i should like them or else I'm an idiot. At it's upper end knife collecting can become a cork sniffing affair. That kind of puts me off. In a one man one vote world i don't expect everyone to agree on any topic. My favorite business model would be Galatoire's a restaurant in New Orleans where Kings and Queens wait in line in the order of their arrival just as you or i would. First time customers recieve the same food and service as a person who has been there a thousand times. The reason for this is that when a person comes in and sees another patron recieving any type of preferential treatment they are unlikely to come back. Again Roger i have the utmost respect for you as a collector and look forward to you posting more of your knives.

Johnny
 
Johnny - I thank you for your comments. I do realize that for some makers, success can go to their heads - rock star syndrome, for lack of a better expression. But I don't see it either as an inevitable consequence of success, or as a definining characteristic of successful makers in general. My experience as a buyer has been pretty good overall at all levels from low to high(er) end.

Roger
 
There can be an infinite amount of opinions, guidelines, standards, etc, as evidenced by what this thread contains up to this point.

In MY opinion, FWIW, it is VERY simple...just do what you say! and in the event of unforseen circumstances COMMUNICATE.

I don't see how anyone can fault a maker, OR customer, if they are a person of integrity, that values "keeping their word".

Peter
 
I really need to compliment you guys!
I mean that.
I've seen threads similar to this, you know, those that really cut to the core of knife making and collecting, and I have seen egos and opinions inflate to the point of EXPLOSION!, and this just hasn't turned out that way.
I see a lot of varied and conflicting philosophies on the subject at hand, yet everyone is keeping a lid on their emotions and are rather willing to accept all other points of view.
Seems as if we matured some as a group.
And that is pleasing to see.
There have been times when I've seen smoldering pots of opinions erupt into offensive and hurtful dialogue, and when I got up out of my chair in front of the computer, I've walked to my shop and looked at my work in front of me and wondered what I was doing this for!
Not this time.
It seems to be a collective desire for understanding, and that's nice.
I, as a knife maker, have my own personal philosophies, and they do not seem to have hurt my reputation any - yet!
I saw my name mentioned here maybe as much as 7-8 times in reference to my previous post of making a knife "out of order".
Considering the circumstances, it didn't take me much time to make the decision to do it.
I was reminded of a business quote I once saw, that, paraphrased, equated to something like "if policy gets in the way of unselfish service to the public, then to hell with the policy!"
Mentioned many times here has been the more than a few different categories of knives we as makers are required to make.
Knives for shows, knives for customers, knives for "inventory" for the web site, and like my good buddy Bill Buxton says, those knives when we just want to "play" some and keep the business of knife making more enjoyable.
If you collectors want new and groovy knives from "us", then you should almost be insistent that we "play"!
To end off, I would like to say that I'm proud to know a bunch of you guys.
I'm proud to rub elbows with a LOT of fantastic knife makers.
There's a bad apple in every bunch, and they make themselves known and we all know who they are.
I'll try my darnedest for each and every one of you.
Even if you don't hang out around my hotel door.
But, if you don't come to my table and shake my hand at a show - (and I know some of you intentionally avoided me at Blade this year! Shame on you) - I will come and hunt you down.
I offer this page on my site to make a feeble attempt in describing my payment and production philosophies.
If you have a few minutes, it's worth a read.
Thanks for letting me take up your time.
http://www.andersenforge.com/paymentandcontactinfo.html
 
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Karl, great post.
:thumbup::cool:
 
First, I want to echo Karl's compliment to forum members for their well thought out responses to a topic that could very easily get out of hand. For myself, I tend to collect knives of relatively modest cost. And being of an age that forces oneself to admit his mortality, I would not place an order for delivery more than a year in the future.

I understand delivery schedules and expect maker's to be professional enough to be able to stick to them quite firmly or communicate with me when something unexpected arises. After all, it is the maker that establishes the schedule.

I would be interested in hearing from makers on whether a customer's preference for certain materials affects the maker's schedule. For example, if I want a particular knife with a particular handle material that the maker does not normally have on hand, are you as the maker, less likely to accept my order or do you include acquisition of the material in your delivery schedule? Does it affect my placement on your delivery schedule? For example, there are many nice woods used on knives and it would be unrealistic to expect makers to have on hand all of them.

Paul
 
I am working on a handle right now that is being made of a piece of stag that took three knife shows to find. It delayed the order some, the customer knew it was going to be hard to find the stag and didn't have a problem.

If a customer requests a particular handle material that we don't have in stock, the only option is to wait until we can get it. A lot of materials you can't just order through the mail, you need to see them and put your hands on it to know if it will work. That doesn't mean that other work on the knife is going to wait until we have all the components in hand, but it can cause delays if suitable material is hard to find.
 
blad5 said:
First, I want to echo Karl's compliment to forum members for their well thought out responses to a topic that could very easily get out of hand. For myself, I tend to collect knives of relatively modest cost. And being of an age that forces oneself to admit his mortality, I would not place an order for delivery more than a year in the future.

I understand delivery schedules and expect maker's to be professional enough to be able to stick to them quite firmly or communicate with me when something unexpected arises. After all, it is the maker that establishes the schedule.

I would be interested in hearing from makers on whether a customer's preference for certain materials affects the maker's schedule. For example, if I want a particular knife with a particular handle material that the maker does not normally have on hand, are you as the maker, less likely to accept my order or do you include acquisition of the material in your delivery schedule? Does it affect my placement on your delivery schedule? For example, there are many nice woods used on knives and it would be unrealistic to expect makers to have on hand all of them.

Paul
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Paul, just speaking for myself it doesn't make any difference in my stated delivery schedule. I'll inform the customer that I'll have to check on availability of desired material then if its available we'll proceed, in the mean time any other incoming orders will be added after. If that particular material isn't available or won't be available to accommodate the specified delivery date, then I'll ask the customer if he/she has another material they would be interested in, if not, then that delivery date will be moved up to the next order.
Now my delivery time isn't as long as many others, but I still feel I have ample time to locate most desired materials, I figure if I can't get it in a few months, I probably won't be able to, so that leaves the final decision up to the customer as to where we go from there. Again this is how I do things, but I figure most makers have the same policy.

Bill
 
After trying to follow a rigid customer order schedule for a long time I pretty much gave up on that method. I admire those makers that can do that, but it just didnt work for me.

What I try to do is keep several blades on hand, and when I get inquiries I can tell them what blades I have that are similar or spot on to what they are asking about. From that point I let them pick guard/handle material, final finish, sheath etc.... I try and fill one of these a week and also make 1 "available" knife per week for those that want something now. I dont make my available knives like anything that some one has ordered.

I fill more orders now using this method, by far, than simply haveing a strict list and attempting to fill orders from that list. I stopped taking "official" orders in the traditional method when I got way, way behind. I whittled down on that list until it was 3-6 months and try to keep it about there (with some exceptions, just ask Roger;) )

Soon (next week hopefully) im going to have a page on my site with blades, then another section with available handle material. I want to have it set up that a customer can come to the site and pick there blade, there specific block of wood etc.... from actual photos on the site. This will allow a direct connection between the raw materials and the customer.

By no means am I saying this "hybrid" way is best, its just what works best for me.
 
I still love ya Matt - and I know our project will be worth the wait.

I've never had a specific request for handle material delay an order. Then again, I don't have any real unusual requests - wood, stag and ivory being the bulk of it. Usually there is enough lead time to source the material.

I have had orders emerge from a particular piece of handle material - as in "Put my name on that piece of stag and make me a knife to match when you're ready."

Roger
 
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