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How much would commissioning a knife cost?

S

Skytorn

Joined
Jan 22, 2010
Messages
110
Hi, I'm thinking about commissioning a knife maker to make a large fixed blade knife for display. This is all VERY, VERY hypothetical. I'm wondering how much would a custom job cost, with the below requirements:

-follows my design (technically the design of a videogame, but still :P)
-16" long, 11" blade, 0.20-22" thick, about 1.75" wide.
-no steel or heat treatmenet requirements, since it's a display piece.
-comes sharp.
-no coating to knife surface, but thoroughly polished.
-no sheath, no requirements re: handle scales material.

A quick estimate will be enough, thanks! I just want to know how many hundreds :)
 
You want it to be sharp, but you don't want it heat-treated? :confused: I can't really think of a maker that would go for that. If a guy is going to put his name on a knife, he probably wants it to be an actual knife.

Roger
 
If a guy is going to put his name on a knife, he probably wants it to be an actual knife.
Click to expand...
:thumbup:

Without some kind of idea of the design you are thinking of, it would be very hard for a knifemaker to give anyone an idea of the cost of the knife. It could vary from a few hundred (sounds like a big knife) on up.

A lot would depend on the maker too. A similar knife made by two different makers can vary widely in price.

If it was me, I would find a maker whose work I liked and find out if he did work to customer designs. I would then send him the design with all the specifications and let him make me a quote that included the cost and estimated delivery time.
 
I said no steel or heat treatment _requirements_, not that I didn't want any heat treatment, haha. I guess what I mean is the steel & heat treatment can be the cheapest, fastest, easiest to work with available, and I'd have no qualms about it. I won't be able to tell the difference between 440 or INFI or 1095 Cro-Van with it sitting on a shelf, anyway.
 
Skytorn - I could follow that criteria and make you a fine knife that would look great as a display.... but, so could any number of the members here. However, even if I followed your design, I'd make it in my style and charge you my price. There are on this forum, quite a few extraordinary craftsmen representing an enormous range of both style and price.

Have you looked around the forums a bit to get an idea of which maker's style you like and in what price range your comfortable with?
 
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Speaking for myself only, there is insufficient information supplied to even give a guestimate.

How much grinding, shaping, possibly awkward corners and such is involved?

What handle and guard materials are to be used?

Details are what are needed to get a decent estimate.

George
 
My recommendation would be to make a knife show and see the knives and prices of a number of knifemakers. You can have preliminary discussions about the knife you have in mind. I have found these discussions beneficial. This is how I commission most of the knives I acquire. I tend to be specific in my designs.

Generally, I have found knifemakers willing to provide a rough idea what the knife I had in mind would cost. If you have specifics on the materials you want then you may be able to get a firmer estimate on the cost of your knife. You can, at the same time, ascertain if the maker's delivery schedule is convenient for you.

Paul
 
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