How do new knifemakers estimate the cost of their product?

[daily_grind]

Did not know where to ask this, and if it needs to be deleted, won't hurt my feelings.

Ok, I have seen numerous posts, pages, on how to estimate the price for product that involves material cost, your labor cost, shipping, electricity, taxes, etc. ... and for someone who can legitimately call themselves a "knifemaker" I get it. I'm a guy with an expensive hobby, and I am not good at it yet. There's a friend of mine who is teaching me how to repair/restore pocketknives, and the difference between his work and my work are night and day. His pins are perfect, his actions are slick, his fit and finish is really something to be proud of.

To be honest with you, my actions are gritty (but less so than they started), my pins are ... noticeable. I'm not bad at filework, but I really want to be more consistent.

My sandpaper, handle material and pin cost is racking up though - and I want to offset some of that by selling my student-quality work, probably at a local knife show. The knives I start off with range from semi-decent knives (Buck, Schrade, etc.) to no-name Chinese(?) stuff. All of them get roughly the same work done to them.

The following is an example, and is not for sale - it is sentimental to me, but is an example of what I am doing.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

If you mean making a profit, you will likely never do so. A very small percentage of knifemakers ever make more than they spend.

If you mean recouping some of the cost, then the deciding factors are:
1) What do similar products from similar skill levels sell for. (be honest about comparisons)
2) Does your name add any value. (probably no at this time)
3) Realistically, what do you spend on each knife in materials and the old knife. (not, what have you spent on knifemaking)
4) How many of your knives have you sold so far, not counting family and close friends.
5) What does your mentor get for the same basic restoration on an old knife.

The answers to these will give you an idea of what you can realistically expect to sell them for. You may have to start a little lower than everyone else and work your way up as you get more known.

 

[daily_grind]

Thanks Stacy, I'm doing it because I like it, I'm not quitting my day job yet. Frankly, I like knives and the more I work on them, the more I appreciate what other people do.

Right now what I'm thinking is cost of materials + a little upcharge. Time spent on the knife * some hourly rate isn't realistic at this time because I spend so much time on each one and do a lot of work by hand.

That particular knife was $5 at the flea market, Wenge scales were free (scrap bin), pins, sandpaper, epoxy and superglue were perhaps a couple of dollars. Given that I can get a fairly decent knife at Walmart for $30, I was thinking that price range? Maybe more for more filework on more springs?

 

[DevinT]

This type of work doesn’t bring a lot of money usually unless it’s restoring antique knives that already have value.

You can double the money you get by providing good packaging. A box, a padded case, a pouch etc. with a card or certificate of the work you’ve done and your signature, maybe a little bit about yourself.

It’s an emotional purchase so play to their emotions.

Move towards making your own slip joints someday.

Hoss

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

For what you describe, I think you are right on. As Hoss said, package it nice and someone will pay $20 more for it.

 

[ScarFoot]

To add to what has already been said on here, knife pricing in general can be pretty volatile. You need to pay attention to whatever market you’re in and leave yourself a little room. The market is slow this year at least in my area. Me and many of the local/regional makers I know have lowered prices accordingly.

I went through a major cost tracking exercise over the past year to know what my bottom dollar cost would need to be per knife to recover material and consumables cost. Since I’m not trying to make a living at this, if the market gets too slow I can just set them aside until it picks up a little.

 

[daily_grind]

I like the packaging advice. What I like about the thrift store knives is that someone carried this knife around in their pocket. They used them a lot and lost them? Donated them? Who knows. I sometimes wonder about the previous lives of these tools. I also like taking them apart so that I can trace the parts for the ones I like and put them in a notebook so that I might be able to try to make a copy one day. I think I might be able to try to copy a single blade, like a Laguiole-style or a larger Texas Toothpick. I'm sure that the first couple of tries will be a challenge.

Now I just have to learn how to braze on bolsters.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Small boxes are cheap. Get a dozen or so.
Add a foil sticker to the top with your name, logo, and email.
Put your business card in the box.
Put the knife in a small black or red velvet pouch and put in the box. (A nylon folder sheath is also good.)
When on display, set the pouch on the closed box and the knife on the pouch.

All the above will cost less than $4 per knife, and may get $20 more in return. All can be bought on Amazon.

 

[ScarFoot]

It’s also worth noting that there are some extremely talented knife makers that make very high quality traditional folders in Alabama. I know a few that are nice and generally willing to offer advice once they get to know you a bit. I’d recommend looking for local/regional knife shows to attend and start making some connections whether you’re trying to sell anything or not.