How big is the Custom Knife Industry?

[rfrink]

In terms of ...say annual dollars in sales including and related to custom knives.

..everything ...from raw materials, tools and machinery, knives, sheaths, advertising, show tables...everything......etc.

5 million, 20 million...1 billion...? whatta ya think?

-Rob

 

[not2sharp]

Do you mean within the U.S., the First World, or Global?

Either way it is hard to say. It consists largely of small independent entrepreneur, so no one has access to consolidated financials. Just consider how many metal workers around the world are involved in the daily production of everything from tableware , to unique industrial machine knives.

n2s

 

[Keith Montgomery]

My guess would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. This is taking into account what is generated in sales to knifemakers, the sale of knives by the makers, the revenue of the knife shows and what is spent on advertising.

This industry has grown to be very large in an incredibly short period of time. The books I read that talk about the custom knife industry in the early 70s always talk about the fact that at that time there were only a handful of full time knifemakers at that time. Now there are thousands. At the same time there only a few dozen part time makers, now there are many thousands. I find this to be amazing considering the anti-knife sentiment that prevails in out society.


[Edited to correct a spelling error.]

 

[raker]

I believe that people view knives like their children. Their children are bad and their knives are bad but mine are all good . I still do not understand how others can look upon knives as being evil when "they" have them.
Every one I know has a knife with them or had one and lost it recently. It just isn't "macho to pull a pair of scissors out to cut some string when you are in a group of your peers . That is why there are a lot of sales in the knife market and will continue to be so. Besides, they are pretty to look at and cut forever.
When I started in 88, a man that gave me some equipment to start with said there were too many knifemakers and that you wouldn't be able to make any money at it. He was right about the money part. There are several thousand knifemakers listed in the knives 2002. There are several thousand that aren't listed in the knives 2002. So if you had 5 thousand people that took their wives to 4 shows a year, that would be 20 thousand people shows (man hours type). This is only the custom knife people. Take into account the suppliers, equipment, factory knives, internet sales, web sites, adverising, etc.
I really don't think I can afford it , but I enjoy it and so do a lot of people that do it for fun.
I will go with Keith, several hundred million plus.