How is this eBay seller able to sell damascus knives so cheap???

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GrizzlyBear

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Browsing eBay I came across this seller:
customdamascus2009

I looked at what he had running and did a search for what he had previously sold. How in the world is he able to get by with only making $20-$30 (or a bit more) on a fully assembled damascus knife?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Handmade-Damasc...ltDomain_0?hash=item3a58aec14e#ht_5606wt_1161

That one, for instance, went off for $28+/-. How? Or, more importantly, why?! It looks like a nice piece...125+ layers of 1095, Damascus bolsters, buffalo horn and mosaic pins WITH a sheath?

It seems to me, that sellers like this who are obviously doing production knives advertised as 'handmade' are ruining the economy of custom knife sales on eBay.

Not that I plan on making and selling on eBay in the future...but I can see that happening to true custom builders.

I sell on eBay...but I sell novelty items picked up wholesale at other auctions and on pallets, among other things. And, often you will see someone with identical merchandise selling it for 1/4th (or less!!) of what you're selling yours for. It's very hard at that point to make any kind of headway against those other sellers because they are ruining the eBay economy for that particular type of item.
 
It's another crappy knife from Pakistan (or India, or the Philipines, or etc.)

You can sell them cheap when you pay less than $1 for them.

People who buy those don't look for quality, just price. And they get their money's worth...
 
I have been contacted several times by various Chinese manufacturers who have offered to replicate the damascus knives on my website for less than $5.00. it's easy to sell cheap when you pay your labor $5.00 per week

-page
 
eisman said:
It's another crappy knife from Pakistan (or India, or the Philipines, or etc.)

You can sell them cheap when you pay less than $1 for them.

People who buy those don't look for quality, just price. And they get their money's worth...
Click to expand...


We do not produce damascus in the Philippines & Indian damascus are also quite expensive, so most probably it's made in Pakistan.
 
sunshadow said:
I have been contacted several times by various Chinese manufacturers who have offered to replicate the damascus knives on my website for less than $5.00. it's easy to sell cheap when you pay your labor $5.00 per week

-page
Click to expand...

Page, funny, but true! :D
- Mitch
 
If you look at some of the other pictures towards the bottom you can see it is quite crudely constructed with poor fit and finish. The "money shot" looks good, but the detail shots are poor.

It says it is 1095. Okay... 1095 and what else? It takes two steels...

If the build is that crude, how is the condition of the steel? Considering the work that goes into making good functional damascus (not just pretty). and the subsequent heat treat required to correct the issues created by all the welding heats - I very seriously doubt that blade is made of good steel with a good heat treat. Not if the other visible details are so poor.

I'm pretty sure that whoever bought that knife isn't getting a good useable knife - it is just to look at. And it ain't much tool look at once you start really looking at it. You get what you pay for. We're not competing against that guy. The folks who buy our knives aren't interested in stuff like that and they know the difference.

The "made in Pakistan" knives have been around a while...
 
It is easy to say anything in an ad, but the truth is often far from the claim. The "1095" probably means "Carbon content is somewhere between .10 and .95%". These knives are junk, and generally are about Rc 50-52.

There was ( probably still is) a fairly well known dealer at shows who sells these blades and tells potential customers that he makes the damascus on his back porch and that his hammering process hardens the steel. He says you don't have to HT his blades. He is right, they don't harden, anyway.

In a conversation at Blade one year, I was talking with an Indian gentlemen with The MOP Co. ,and the subject turned to this type of super cheap damascus. He said, "Oh, him, he is my cousin. He makes his damascus out of manhole covers." In a separate conversation with Sashi Roclandi I was told that some damascus makers use any steel they can get...and have no idea what it is. Another Indian gem dealer I know said he has seen 55 gallon drums cut into strips and used for making damascus.
 
Yeah, the fit and finish look ehhhhhh in the last few. I would be ok with that as one of my first few knives that I made but wouldn't sell that to someone else.
 
If you want some good damascus from an ebay seller get it from swordman39 A/K/A Two Finger Knives. In the past when I still worked on fixed blades for folks now and then I put some handles on some blades he did that folks bought on ebay and they were quite nice for what they spent. You get just the blade and you will need to get your own handles installed or do it yourself but they actually take and keep a pretty decent edge and have a high nickel content for some good contrast in the etch for the various patterns. These are true American made forged pieces you can trust.

STR
 
LOL Wow...I didn't even look at the last couple of pics...they didn't load last night for me apparently. That sheath looks like it was made from one of my granny's purses! ROFL.

Ok, so you guys are probably right...he's not much of a threat to true, honest knifemakers. But, what is sad is the amount of people who probably buy a knife from him who think they're getting a super deal on a nice knife.
 
I agree. And, I used to be in that category years ago with the knives I bought. I just about have finished getting rid of those knives either at local auctions or on eBay too. But, I don't advertise them as something they are not.
 
Hey, I love this guy. He makes my beginner knives look like works of art.

Grizzlybear: When I gave my son the knife I made, he told me we should get rid of all the old crappy ones bought for $10 at stores and flea markets.
 
STR said:
If you want some good damascus from an ebay seller get it from swordman39 A/K/A Two Finger Knives. In the past when I still worked on fixed blades for folks now and then I put some handles on some blades he did that folks bought on ebay and they were quite nice for what they spent. You get just the blade and you will need to get your own handles installed or do it yourself but they actually take and keep a pretty decent edge and have a high nickel content for some good contrast in the etch for the various patterns. These are true American made forged pieces you can trust.

STR
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Yup,swordman's good.I bought from him before.Grand Leavitt of snakeriverknives ,out of Idaho, is also good.He specifically says he uses 15N20 and 1095 steels.
You have to be careful with damascus on ebay.If it's too cheap,it's probably junk.
 
Heh, this reminds me of the 1911 damascus pistol grips being sold. Apparently flaws and bad welds make it true damascus for only $400+. :jerkit:

I agree you get what you pay for. Even with a large power hammer making damascus is hard work. The price of good damascus isn't just hourly cost. Its the cost of good materials, a fair wage for a skilled and attentive worker, the cost of the danger the maker is constantly in, and all the "practice bars" the maker had to make before they considered their steel high enough quality to be sold.
 
By the way, sir. The seller you mentioned is from USA. & not from any of the asian countries.

Besides this, There are few sellers on ebay, that are ruining the value of damascus items, by sellling them very low price.
basically it has few reasons:
1. compitetion - they don't want other sellers or makers to strive
2. policy - they sell the items in less than the price what they had spend, only to finish their business rivals
3. expenses - as you see on sites like ebay, they use to charge 9% - 10% of the final sale fee + a certain amount before listing, & this they cannot maintain so.

it also depends that the buyers, want the same quality, but at the same time they does not want to pay much & hence the whole system ruins.

(( rules violations ))
 
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