Is it wrong to modify a custom knife?

T. Erdelyi

T. Erdelyi

Joined
Feb 3, 2001
Messages
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A question was posed by a maker on another site about modifying customs, I can see his point and understand his feelings, but I personally feel that it's my hard earned money, and bottom line, my knife.

What are your thoughts?
 
I don't think there's anything wrong with it, if someone wanted to do it I wouldn't have a problem... but I don't think I could bring myself to do that. :eek:
 
It'd be a shame if you had to go through life without the right to change things to make them more appealing to you. Go for it.
 
You've bought it, do with it what you will. You might be better off to sell it and use the money to buy something that suits you better.
 
Is it wrong? No not really, you paid for it so you can do whatever you want to it. Would I do it? I doubt it.

Just a thought, but if it is a custom knife, and you bought it from the maker, why not have him do exactly what you wanted in the first place? Just a thought, I think I would be to scared to start doing my handy work on an expensive custom knife.
 
You have as much right to tell the maker what knives he can make as they have to tell you what you can do with a knife you bought.

-Cliff
 
You should feel free to do what you will with your own property, but keep in mind that it may invalidate the maker's warranty.

I'd talk with the maker first.
 
I would not see anything wrong with it, but if someone modified one of mine they are now responsible for it!!!
 
While I can see how a maker may be offended by it, it is your knife. Plus, you may be able to build a nicer knife if you modify it. For example, you buy a knife with a nice ivory handle but the original maker was not capable of doing scrimshaw so you have someone else scrim it. Or perhaps the original maker's filework isn't anything you care for so you send it to someone else for the filework. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Just my .02

Then again, Steven brings up a good point about warranty, and I also think that it'd be a good idea to discuss it with the maker first.
 
It is of course the perogative of the owner to whatever he wants with the knife. Paint it pink and purple and skip it down the street if you want.

What has not been discussed is the other part of that thread that TE refers to.

A custom knife dealer received the knives by a particular maker in trade from one of the dealers cleints.

One of the knives had a hole drilled in it, in theory for a thumb stud. The other knife had a damascus blade which had been ground to change the look and style of the knife.

To George T. If you had made a folder, sold it. Then had a dealer contact you with this knife that he got in trade and asked you to try and fix the hole or replace the blade...what would your answer be to him?

In this case I don't think the maker made himself clear. It wasn't that he was telling the owners of his knives what they could or could not do with the knife. However, if you start grinding on the blade and drilling holes in it. Don't expect the maker to fix your mistakes...especially for free.

It is your perogative to do what ever you want with the knife. Just as it is the perogative of the maker to tell you that what you have done to the knife goes beyond normal "wear and tear".
 
If it's YOUR knife you can modify it all you want, or even break it in-half if you need to.
 
Its one of those questions that everyone has a different answer for.

Scenario 1: You buy a new car and you 'rice' it up. Is that wrong? To some it looks better, to others it looks like a Learjet stuck onto an R/C Car.

Scenario 2: You buy software from company 'X' and disregarding the EULA you still decide to backwards engineer it and modify it for your own purposes. Is that wrong?

Scenario 3: I buy a PS2. I mod it. FBI raids my house, finds it and adds charges. Is that wrong?
 
Once you buy it, you have, IMO, the right to do anything you want. However, if you modify it, you will probably destroy any future resale value, should you decide to "cash-out" and move on to something else.;)
 
What has already been stated in this thread pretty well covers my feelings on this matter. You can do what you want with your property as long as you realize that once you have modified a knife, you are now the person responsible for the cost of any repairs that need to be done to that knife. The maker no longer has legal or moral obligation to look after, under warranty, any repairs that need to be done to the knife.

Also, any modifications to the knife will have a detrimental effect on the resale value of the knife. If that is not a concern, and the realization that what you are doing will void the knife's warranty also does not concern you, then by all means, it's your knife, do as you please with it.
 
I thought you all would feel that way, if you buy it you own it, if you change it, don't expect the maker to honor the warranty, I know I don't, I change it that voids it, plain and simple.

Thanks guys.
 
I say its your knife, so its your choice, but its also you who accepts the consequences.
 
Er... isn't all about a custom knife that you have it made as per your specs? So, why in the world would you like to have it changed? Anyway, should one realize he'd made a mistake, why not?
Custom made, custom modified :)
 
I'm not sure I completly agree with the "Change it, void the warranty" school of thought. I would say that taking a grinder to steel would void the warranty but many changes would have no effect on the strucuture of the knife. If I change the cord wrap on my custom tanto would I void the warranty? What about the exapmple of adding scrimshaw given above. If the blaed then snaps due to an inclusion is the maker going to say that the scrimshaw or new wrapping causeed that. Just a thought.
 
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