How much input on custom collaborations?

When a custom knifemaker and a production company decide to collaborate on a knife, such as Bob T. and the Spyderco Starmate, how much control does the custom maker have? Are they usually involved in the whole process? Do they have to approve the final product? Or do they simply give permission to make something resembling their design? Also who usually approaches who?

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Dennis
 
Sal Glesser

Sal Glesser

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Dennis - I don't know about what other manufacturers do, I can only speak for Spyderco. We generally give the custom maker full go aheqad to do anything they want as long as the hole and the clip work.

We have made adjustments where we felt a problem might exist, but always with the makers approval. The maker always gets prototypes for approval before we begin production. We have produced models that we questioned for the general market, but went ahead anyway.

It is very interesting how the sales curves differ for the custom collaborations vs Spyderco general use designs.
sal
 
Sal -- if we may ask, how does the sales curve differ? I assume that with the numerous collaborations Spyderco have been going into sales are good/better than expected?

[This message has been edited by Titan (edited 04 June 1999).]
 
Titan - The reasoning for our having done so many collaborations is more a case of providing opportunity for the maker and variety for the ELU. The custom pieces generally ramp up very quickly (difficult to keep up with demand). Then they generally taper off quickly and find a level. Some find a reasonable sales level which means that the ELU in the general market find them desirable. Some don't. I'm not sure why of either.

Spyderco's "in house" designs usually start off slowly and ramp up continuously for several years.

I think it has something to to with the collector market for custom collaborations.
sal
 
Ramping off very fast in sales maybe has something to do with the long wait and thus the build-up of excitement and surge in sales.

After tapering off (like the Khalsa and Viele), instead of discontinuing it maybe you can stock some and offer them thru Ironstone/Factory Direct? This way some ELUs can still get hold of them after discontinuation.
 
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