Just makes me cringe

kc custom

kc custom

Joined
Apr 20, 2005
Messages
2,356
Here's a moose a customer sent me to have 2 crescent nail nicks cut into
the blades, and notches cut out of the sides of the frame for access. The knife
is in great working shape though it looks like someone warmed it up a bit on the
edge of the clip. Best I can come up with is it is a Kansas Cane Cutter- my book
says it cost $1.50. The guy is a great customer so its going to happen. The knife is
4 3/8" closed.
Ken.
102_1080_edited-1.jpg
 
"I appreciate your business and confidence in my skill, but have found it unwise to undertake work that makes me cringe, personally and professionally."

~ P.
 
With what I put up for a thread title it pretty much describes how I feel----- maybe
I will have to call him.
Ken.
 
ummm...sometimes the customer isn't right.
 
I agree with you guys on the point of leaving this old beauty be, but it's not my knife and it's future doesn't affect me.
Knives are made to be used and enjoyed and if this one can be improved for the customer to make it more user friendly, than I hope he can get his wishes.
 
I guess you can look at it a couple of ways. I wouldn't mess with it because I like it as it is. But it's not my knife. The owner wants something and apparently bad enough to pay someone to do it. If I were you I would do it. Why? Because if you don't, someone else might. You know your skill and ability to add something in the best way functionally and aesthetically. I'd rather see a mod done right on a nice looking blade over someone with a dremel and no plan.
I guess what I'm saying is, if it's going to happen, it might as well be done right rather than haphazardly.
 
Ken,

I think you should not do it. If it is a good customer they should not be hurt by the decision. If you are passionate about this, there should be no question about it.

Someone will do it if the customer is hard set on it. It does not have to be done by you. I would think as a knifemaker you would not have the time to take on mods. A lot of knifemakers I have seen started doing mods and then strictly making their own knives. They made it a point that they wanted to focus on knifemaking and not modding and I can't see how anyone could be upset by that.

The only thing with this is if you already accepted the knife for work and now your saying no. That may seem a little odd, but again, you said you took it on because it was a good customer. I believe they should understand.

Kevin
 
Last edited:
johnny twoshoes said:
I agree with you guys on the point of leaving this old beauty be, but it's not my knife and it's future doesn't affect me.
Knives are made to be used and enjoyed and if this one can be improved for the customer to make it more user friendly, than I hope he can get his wishes.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
johnny twoshoes said:
I agree with you guys on the point of leaving this old beauty be, but it's not my knife and it's future doesn't affect me.
Knives are made to be used and enjoyed and if this one can be improved for the customer to make it more user friendly, than I hope he can get his wishes.
Click to expand...

Paradiggum said:
I guess you can look at it a couple of ways. I wouldn't mess with it because I like it as it is. But it's not my knife. The owner wants something and apparently bad enough to pay someone to do it. If I were you I would do it. Why? Because if you don't, someone else might. You know your skill and ability to add something in the best way functionally and aesthetically. I'd rather see a mod done right on a nice looking blade over someone with a dremel and no plan.
I guess what I'm saying is, if it's going to happen, it might as well be done right rather than haphazardly.
Click to expand...

This is my inclination as well. Though it may not appeal to us aesthetically, this customer has put his faith in Ken to do it right. Adding the nail nicks and easy-open notches out towards the end of the blades makes me wonder if this knife's owner might have some issues with weak/arthritic hands(?), and modding the knife this way will make for better opening leverage. My own father has ever-increasing difficulties like this with his hands, and I can definitely see some merit in it. If this will make the customer happy (or even happier than he might already be with this knife, which may be his favorite), then I'd not question his motivation for wanting it done. It is HIS knife, after all, and I think he's showing some respect for, and faith in, Ken's ability to do it skillfully.
 
David,

Those are very good points. To add to what I said, I was only going from a customer's perspective. I would not want a maker working on my knife if the maker is not passionate about what he is doing. I really would not want them working on it if they are passionately against it.

Kevin
 
I guess if it makes the knife more usable to the customer, what the hey. Maybe it's for someone with decreased ability to open and enjoy using knives, i.e. arthritis?
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
If this will make the customer happy (or even happier than he might already be with this knife, which may be his favorite), then I'd not question his motivation for wanting it done. It is HIS knife, after all, and I think he's showing some respect for, and faith in, Ken's ability to do it skillfully.
Click to expand...

I'm not questioning the customer's motivation, nor whether or not he is "right." Whether or not I agree with someone individual wants to do with his or her knife, it's truly none of my concern (which is different from having definite feelings regarding the same!).

My response, offered above, has to do with Ken's own reaction, as indicated in his subject header and original post. Regardless of any customer's respect for and faith in Ken and his ability, which I venture are well-placed, Ken has to be at peace with the work of his hands, and/or live with the results of his decisions, wherever his threshold for various undertakings might fall (implied in this statement: no judgment if Ken determines he wants to proceed with this project, or decides not to, regardless of my or others' opinions).

~ P.
 
Ken, The knife has been "cleaned" (probably recently) though it was not buffed to a high shine. Perhaps he bought it that way or maybe he cleaned it himself. Knives are typically cleaned to fool inexperienced buyers. But it appears he intends to use the knife and I doubt the modifications are intended to fool anyone (unlike stamping blades, for example). I also had the same impression as Corey... but I don't know the background story.

My recommendation would be not to get mixed up modifying old knives. You're a knife MAKER.

A slight modification of P's suggested reply...

"I appreciate your business and confidence in my skill, but I do not modify other people's work."
 
Best of the background story I have is someone got the knife for him and he cleaned
it with full intent of using it. He is 83 years young and I think the leverage is intentional
in the nail nick placement. I'm still going to call him.
Ken.
 
Paradiggum said:
I guess you can look at it a couple of ways. I wouldn't mess with it because I like it as it is. But it's not my knife. The owner wants something and apparently bad enough to pay someone to do it. If I were you I would do it. Why? Because if you don't, someone else might. You know your skill and ability to add something in the best way functionally and aesthetically. I'd rather see a mod done right on a nice looking blade over someone with a dremel and no plan.
I guess what I'm saying is, if it's going to happen, it might as well be done right rather than haphazardly.
Click to expand...

I absolutely couldn't agree more. First, while you can guide your customers, manage their expectations, make suggestions, etc., they are indeed for the most part right. As a young woodworker, I adopted an attitude that projects had to meet MY requirements and my standards. I turned down cabinet work and finish work that didn't meet MY standards. So did most of my contemporaries.

I was lucky enough to be around some old timers with long track records in business that helped me check my ego and realize that I was a service provider. If I didn't like the artistic leaning, they encouraged me to enjoy the craft part of the job. Since about 30 years ago I started relying on my efforts as my sole source of income, I realized that it is important to respect the client's wishes. They pay your bills. If you are a hobby guy or fabulously successful in a grand economy, you can be quite exclusive and make sure the folks around you know that your taste buds are the ones to be respected. You can let folks know that you find their request for work unacceptable and out of bounds.

Or you can take the work, make your truck/house/taxes/insurance payments and do the best you can and make sure your client gets a good job. My experience is that when a client really wants something, if you don't do it, someone else will. Besides, what better to grind and cut on than a buck and a half knife? Is there any real loss here?

Robert
 
kc custom said:
Best of the background story I have is someone got the knife for him and he cleaned
it with full intent of using it. He is 83 years young and I think the leverage is intentional
in the nail nick placement. I'm still going to call him.
Ken.
Click to expand...

My own dad is 82, as of this week, and I immediately thought of how he could benefit from such a mod on a knife, for that very reason. He struggles daily with getting a good grip on things with his arthritic hands, and often drops them. This is doubly cruel in forcing him to bend down and pick them up, as he's had 3 spinal fusion surgeries as well.
 
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