George,
Part of this difference may be due to the fact you are in Canada and aren't as well known down here in the States. Once a maker is
discovered, there is usually more demand for their knives then they can possibly deliver while keeping quality up and prices reasonable. After all, it was only a few short weeks ago that I discovered you and your knives.
Once you get away from local "Gun and Knife" shows and small knife shows and start hitting major knife shows, the clientele in the aisle changes.
When the public at large sees a knife in
Blade or similar publications, the maker usually has a name among people who don't flinch at spending ~$200 (US) and up on a single knife and will call to order one, sort of an impulse type buy.
When people travel from other states (or countries) to a knife a show, the people in the aisle are seriously looking at your knives. They will usually have enough money to buy something other then the local sporting goods store production knife. For myself specifically, I was going to be at Atlanta Blade looking for kitchen knives
but, you have taken care of that.
I am certainly not the only person who has reservations about buying a knife they have never held. If I look at things from a businessmans perspective, I would say something like "for the ~$1800 and eight days I will spend traveling to and attending Atlanta Blade, I could buy 5 to 15 knives and use that same week breaking them in." Reality says, I still want to hold the knife and examine the grind lines, polish, etc. and put a face and personality to the makers name. After all, buying a custom knife isnt always about a cold analytic search for the best shape, steel, etc. Does that make the purchase an impulse buy? Yes and no. I have made impulse buys but, most are a combination of the knife itself (quality), the maker (personality, character, etc.) and, price (value). If any of the "good" qualities (knife quality, maker character, value) are beyond the norm, the impulse part of the buying process is easier to accept.
Prior to my posts on this forum about kitchen knives, your knives certainly were not among the ones that came to mind when I went web surfing. Much to my good fortune, you and your wife, Carol, saw my post and began emailing me. You took the time to build customer confidence and a customer relationship that made for a very good knife buying experience. Over time, you will certainly reap very good word of mouth from customers like myself but, that builds the base of buying customers slowly. When I started my search, I hit the websites of all the makers whom I had met at past knife shows (recently, Las Vegas Classic, Little Rock Arkansas, and past Blades at Atlanta).
To go from a regional maker to a national/global name with the back orders to match, takes an investment in time and money to attend shows with the right audience in the aisles. You will not make a profit directly from the show itself, it is an investment in yourself. How many makers go from making a few blades a month to all they can make (while maintaining quality) after attending a few major shows? I would suggest contacting a few knifemakers off-line (and Les Robertson) who have been down this career path and see what their experiences have been over the long run (a few of them have gone from part-timers to full-time knife makers).
Stay Sharp,
Sid
p.s. I still hope you dont get too far backlogged
[This message has been edited by Sid Post (edited 11-22-2000).]
