I've got knife designs on paper. . .

dayuhan13

dayuhan13

Joined
Feb 20, 2003
Messages
415
Through the years I've taken the time to put a bunch of personal knife designs on paper. Earlier today, I came across about two dozen "finished sketches" that were "one of these days when I've got some money to get 'em made. . ." designs. Well, I still haven't got that mound of cash I thought I'd have back when I was young and hopeful, but I would like to get a few of these made. The questions to you forumites are. . . "Do any of you know of a maker/s willing to look at personal designs and make a knife exact to specs for a reasonable amount of money?" And, "How would I protect my design from being copied by the maker?"

All of my designs are fixed blade, daily use knives. I'm not looking for high end materials. 1095 and micarta slab is fine. I am flexible with the specs. The maker/s may see flaws in the design or have ideas I didn't think of. I don't mind sharing my designs with others but I would like some of the credit, especially if one of my designs might be able to make me a little extra wallet fodder! :D

I decided to post this here rather than the custom forum to get a perspective from the demand end rather than the supply, though responses from makers are welcome and well appreciated. All comments, ideas, and suggestions will be helpful. :D

Maraming Salamat
Dayuhan

x:cess: I will also be posting this same thread in the Practical Tactical forum as well. D
 
Originally posted by dayuhan13
... fixed blade, daily use knives ... 1095 and micarta slab is fine.
Click to expand...
I imagine a few knifemakers will contact you. Your specs look straightforward. Good luck!
 
Dayuhan,

I've read good things about Bill Siegle:
http://www.geocities.com/siegleknives/
The prices on his site seem very reasonable. Here's another example of his stuff:
http://www.survival.com/Siegle Blades.htm

Dave R. Beck has a reputation for quality:
http://www.beckknives.com
Here is an example of a design he executed for a forum member:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=281619
I have one of his knives on order, though not one of my design.

As for protecting your design, I dunno. Seems unlikely that well established makers would rogue your design. Good luck. Please post pics when your ideas have taken form in steel.

Diablero
 
"How would I protect my design from being copied by the maker?"
Click to expand...

You can ask the maker to sign an agreement not to reuse your design without your permission.

A smart maker will probably decline. Why? Well, what is a knife? It's a piece of metal, sharp on one side, got a handle of some sort attached to it. Unless there's something just truly unique about your design, it'd be difficult to say what might make a knife that he might subsequently make a violation of that agreement.
 
copy of my response to this query from from other thread on Prac Tac:

To date, I have had two of my own "personal designs" made by custom makers. One wound up being part of the maker's catalog and was used in his ads in the knife mags. The maker was Bub Worrell (now sadly deceased) and he used my design (with my permission of course) as one of his "BodyGartz" knives. my knife also wound up in Knives 2000 in the Tactical Knives section. I was pretty proud of that. I didn't make a penny on the deal, but I made a friend.
The second knife I designed was made by Rick Ludwig, though not very well known, he makes a hell of a nice knife. He lived nearby and I was able to follow the knife (through Rick's patience and generous nature) and make subtle adjustments through the entire process. It was a real eye-opener to see what work goes into a true custom and to see other projects in the works. Unless someone is either a well-known edged-weapons guru, or has an earth-shattering design, the chances of actually getting paid for your designs is pretty thin. Find a maker who does work somewhat similar to your design. A guy who does mountain bowies may not be the right choice for a super-slick tactical folder, for example. Add extra points if he (or she) is within a few hour's driving distance. Give them a call- most makers will be happy to discuss projects unless they are swamped with backorders (don't call Ernie Emerson or Bob Loveless or some other super-well-known makers & expect them to be able to help).
Bottom line I guess is that the pride of having "your" knife in your hand will outweigh the slim prospect of getting paid for your design. But then again, who knows?
Good Luck.
 
I've got 2 knives being made by custom makers, off sketches and then done to specs. one ran me 280cdn, other is 80usd. both are reworked age-old designs(skean dhu and skinner).

just took email to see if they could make me one to specs and sketch, then emailing the rough sketch for tweaking. Will Leavitt(BadBamaUmp on bfc, Will46r on aol messanger) is pretty open on what he'll make though he does more of the traditionals... around the 80-100usd mark
 
There's a guy on here named Michael Burch. Try searching on the word "Ladyfinger" to see one of his knives. He uses a simple setup and simple steels, but gets great results. He also does both hollow and flat grinds, so he's pretty versatile. Send him an e-mail and see if he'll do a knife for you. He seems honest and friendly, so I wouldn't worry about him stealing your design.

Another choice would be Lynn Dawson or her uncle, Barry Dawson. They are both very nice and 100% trustworthy. Lynn made the little knife that is pictured in my avatar. Its sort of a blend of mine and her ideas. Both she and her uncle favor 440C and can get it hard and tough enough for sword applications. Not wall hangers, but real blades meant for using.

Another excellent choice is Glenn Parrell at Viking Metal Works. Same situation - great smith, fantastic heat treat, and very reliable. He's doing a custom sword for me right now. The guy does wonders with the simple steels. Like Jim Hrisoulas once told me, "Its all in the heat treat." Glen made a leaf-blade for me earlier this year that is fantastic - hard edge, tough, flexible body, and well-balanced. I pulled it out when we were doing cutting exercises at the dojo and a line quickly formed to try it out. Everyone liked it.

The nice thing is that there are still a lot of trustworthy and friendly knifemakers out there. Good luck in your search.
 
I've gotten some great suggestions through the replies to this thread and in my email. Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. I was going to post one of my designs for comments and suggestions but can't figure out how to do this for the life of me! Anybody know what incantantion is used to include an image into a post? I know it's gotta be magic or something!

Dayuhan
 
Here's instructions I recently came across --

You can post pics as a basic member, you just can't attach them. attaching a picture means that you are using bladeforum's server to store your picture and show it on the web. Posting a picture is easily accomplished by using the vb code buttons at the top of the Post Reply screen. First you need the url of the picture you want to post. It has to already be stored on a server somewhere, for instance another website or a photo hosting service such as www.villagephotos.com. From there just follow these instructions, which I found by clicking the little 'help' link next to the vB Code title in the Post Reply box.

Adding Images

To include a picture or graphic within the body of your message, you can simply surround the address of the image as shown here:

[i m g]http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/images/bfc-logo.gif[/i m g] I added the spaces so the formatting won't actually take place. i m g should be typed img

Note that the [u r l]http://[/u r l] part of the image URL is required for the [i m g] code.

You can even create a thumbnail-type hyperlink by surrounding your code with a [url] code like this:

[u r l=http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/images/bfc-logo.gif][i m g]http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/images/vb_bullet.gif[/i m g][/u r l]

Hope this helps.[/color]
 
Esav,
Thanks for the help. Here's an example of one of my designs. Your comments, suggestions, criticisms are welcome. It is 8 years old but still has great appeal to me. Anyone who sees similarities to work done by a maker, please let me know. They just might be the person I'm looking for. Planning on posting another design in a day or so.

Dayuhan

Sabong I

5160 or 1095 HC steel. Integral guard and handle. Micarta or wood slab handle material. Torx or Allen fasteners.

Blade length: @7.25"
Handle length: @5.50"
Blade thickness: 0.25"

Knife is a "modernized" Filipino gunong with a Kakatua handle as found on a barong. This design actually has a 23" big brother which is a "modernized" version of a barong.
sabong3.JPG
 
Try DMKnives , he has done all my recent stuff and recently help make Dialex's design. Both of our stuff can be seen here on the forums.

S/F,
CEya >>Ceya Knife DESignz
 
Dayuhan13,

I think you should round of the bird's beak on the handle, make the thickness 3/16th .

S/F,
Ceya..Ceya Knife Designz
 
Dayuhan- anything like This? These are Bram's Designs, I believe they were realized by Rob Newton.--Joe
 
Originally posted by Dijos
Dayuhan- anything like This? These are Bram's Designs, I believe they were realized by Rob Newton.--Joe
Click to expand...

Dijos,

If it weren't for the ramp on the CSSD-SC knife, the designs are scary similar. I'm starting to see a common denominator, FMA. SO much for my "original" designs. :p Maybe I should've got them made when I first put them on paper!:)

Dayuhan

x:cess: I have contacted one maker thus far and awaiting a reply. Keeping my fingers crossed that he'll be interested in doing my design and it doesn't cost me a fortune.
 
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