inexpensive bowie

Belstain

Belstain

Joined
Sep 17, 1999
Messages
320
A friend of mine is into civil war reenactments and wants me to make a couple of bowies for him and some friends. They want something relatively crude and rough, and cheap. I did some thinking on it and figured out that I could make them the way they want and still be in the budget but I can't decide if I should or not.
I've just started getting serious about this knife making thing and I want to do more high end stuff. from a long term perspective I don't know if I want a bunch of knives floating around with my name on them that are not the absolute best I can make them.
The blades in question wouldn't be bad quality just rough looking. Something that would make a good camp/hard use knife that you wouldn't care if it got scratched up. What do you all think I should do? I'm going to make a prototype/test blade next week so I'll get some pics up.
 
It sounds like a cool project, but I see your point. Maybe you could leave the knives sterile, or get them to upgrade a little. Since this could lead to a good bit of exposure for you, maybe you would want to throw in a little extra. Either way, good luck.
 
If you are uncomfortable with it, either don't do it, or discuss it with the customer. I have found that many people have no idea of the long term problems some of the things they ask makers to do, can cause.
Or there's trucks idea of sterile.
 
Bel, tell them to buy some Pakistan junkers, reshape and ding the blades up some to make em look old, rehandle em with some antler, and make some period sheaths for them.
I agree with what you said about the potential of them surfacing in the future.
 
First, you can't build a rustic knife and do it right without being able to build a high end knife. I use the term Rustic to describe what you want to do check out.
http://www.ckdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13419&perpage=15&pagenumber=8
I build a lot of forge finished knives Rustic, if you will and thy are not cheep or inexpensive all are meant to be used. The fit and finish are as good as I can make them. Finishing a primitive or rustic knife is a art form all it's own and nothing to be ashamed of. A Period knife done right is not a low priced item. Please check out my web site www.cactusforge.com If you need some help with your project email me. Gib
 
Gib's right - a rustic look period knife is not necessarily cheap or crude. I make a lot of sheaths for this type of knife and many of the knifes run upwards o $500.00. Along with Gib, there are many other makers of "high end" rustics or primitives including Daniel Winkler whose stuff is award winning and has been featured many times in Blade magazine amongst others. Look at Gib's site and also look at Daniel's site www.winklerknives.com and you will see that quality, high end knives do not all to have to have hand-rubbed or mirror polished blades and fittings, but they are always well made. A matter of beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Take a look around and you will see there is a big difference between cheap/crude and "Period Rustic or Primitive" so if you don't feel comfortable don't do it especially if you can't convince your friends that rustic is not "crude" or cheap. One place they can get inexpensive period knives with a rustic look that is not total junk is www.crazycrow.com. Have them get the newest catalog. Crazy Crow carries several different styles of forged rustic look knives for under a $100.00.

On the other hand show them some of the "good stuff" and then try and convince them that someday your "good stuff" will be a collector's item too.:D
 
This is an interesting post - I am also a new maker, getting into it and asking the same questions. My criteria for special projects is to ask myself two questions - will I enjoy doing this project and be I be happy with the results? if the answer is yes - I go ahead. I recently turned down a custom order because the customer wanted modifications to a design that I felt made the knife ugly as hell - no matter how nicely I tried to direct him otherwise. The bucks were good, but the design wasn't - so no go. Just the way I think -other may do it differently

I like Gibs & Wild Rose's posts because they supply (IMHO) the answers -a highly crafted "rustic/primitive" knife of value to user and collector alike or something from Crazy Crow. I would present them with both options.


Bob
 
i don't make cheep stuff. this is my livlihood. i make real working knives, not props. after i say this to people that want a pos for looks. most will decide to get a well made knife once you tell them that they will have both.
 
thanks for all the advise guys. I'm gonna go for it. I'll bust one out next week and post some pictures.
 
I recently turned down a custom order because the customer wanted modifications to a design that I felt made the knife ugly as hell - no matter how nicely I tried to direct him otherwise. The bucks were good, but the design wasn't - so no go.
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southriv - you have just taken the first step on becoming a true professional IMO. That my friend is one of the hardest things to do especially when the bucks are good. And your criteria is also IMO the only one to have. As Rhino implied it's your reputation that's on the line so don't make cheap stuff - otherwise you just wind up selling yourself short. As a matter of fact two things I learned a long time ago is 1) never sell "seconds", better just to scrap them 2) never let anything good out the door that YOU are not happy with.

And like Rhino that is the way I do all my leather gear. My replicas of Frontier gear are all using stuff first and foremost, just like the originals and I know Gib's knives are built that way as well as I currently have five of them I am working with and would not hesitate to carry any one of them as a user. So please folks don't make the mistake that thinking rustic/primitive equals cheap/crude. (as a note I'm sure we've all seen lots of very highly polished "new" look knives that were all flash and no substance. It isn't always so much how it looks as how it performs and the workmanship.) Rustic/primitive is definitely not everybody's cup of tea but neither are tacticals or folders or whatever, but quality is still quality.

I think as maker's a big part of our job is to teach as well as sell and have discovered that most people are willing to be taught - there are those that have blinders on though and it is then best to let it go or steer them, when possible, to others that can make what they want.
 
I am kinda experiencing the same situation myself. I am going through hard financial times right now. I simply do not have the money for a beautifully crafted knife that I will only beat up anyway. But at the same time, no factories make what I'm looking for, and the only things close are either junk or within the price of a handmade anyway. I have spoken with several makers to see if they would consider making a knife with the same heat treat and steel as their "high end" models, but with cheaper handle material and less blade finish to save cost. (i.e., walnut instead of ivory, 220 grit finish instead of perfect mirror finish) No takers. Now, I completely understand quality, and I can fully appreciate good fit and finish, but I just can't afford it. I have therefore decided as a knifemaker myself, that I will try to fill this niche and help out people like myself who need a solid working knife, but don't need or want perfect cosmetics. Any knives I make like this, I will clearly mark the blade to indicate it's a knife from my "lower grade" line. Or something like that. I will still make the grinds, fit of the guard, etc. perfect, so that someday if the customer so desires, the knife can still be finished to a higher grade. But no, I still would not take any shortcuts that would affect the performance of the knife.
 
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