Knife maker and sheath maker thought experiment

I am not taking it personal at all, sorry if it seems that way

I am just trying to say that the name game happens everywhere, and only picking an example that involes someone that folks around here don't have alot of love for, is very onesided , now if you would have started a thread like "are names worth as much as we pay for them" or something along those lines it would be different this opens it up to all names attached to knives as opposed to another I hate Bear thread,

personally I would pay over material cost for a fix blade, Thats why I make them.

cheers
jimi
 
Talfuchre said:
This is an example of where a name adds price - but does not add value - in my opinion.

TF
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I agree, and worth is different than value

I'm however glad that many of the makers here don't charge up to the price that the market would bare. I'm sure that I couldn't afford any of Stomper's knives if he charged the maximum price that anyone would pay, as his knives are an amazing value in my eyes. The same can probably be said of many other makers too, but I totally agree with the ones who charge a little bit more, and if I could afford to pay those prices I would.
 
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J.Wade said:
I am not taking it personal at all, sorry if it seems that way

I am just trying to say that the name game happens everywhere, and only picking an example that involes someone that folks around here don't have alot of love for, is very onesided , now if you would have started a thread like "are names worth as much as we pay for them" or something along those lines it would be different this opens it up to all names attached to knives as opposed to another I hate Bear thread,

personally I would pay over material cost for a fix blade, Thats why I make them.

cheers
jimi
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Jimi makes a valid point.... we shouldn't be focussing on one knife here...
 
Okay - so - I realized too how I have come off insensitive here. I don't know the maker of this knife - I am sure it is high quality - Let me amend my original post to not be so negative.

TF
 
I am a pussy. I often have a tone in my head that does not come across on page. The LAST thing I want to do is put a funky mood on this forum. I love this place.

Amending is easy if it clears the air.

TF
 
A suggestion:
If you amend your original post, it makes the following posts appear out of context.
Why not just add your amendments here instead?

I agree with not wanting to put a funky mood on this subforum.
It has come a long way in recent months (year?).
 
I like the design but I am cheap so I bought the cheaper AK6. I know it is a copy of the "Bear" knife but who can actually pay $500 for that knife? It would make a guy sick to lose it or scratch it up.
 
Never mind "worth" or "price" in the larger world. The question for us is, were this one more offering alongside the makers we have here, where would we expect the price to fall? What is the value of the knife as a knife as a W&SS tool?

Personally, I wouldn't take it as a gift until he rounded the butt. I don't need sharp edges jabbing me in the palm. The sheath as someone pointed out is second-rate. That's an insult to the buyer willing to spend good money, even on a souvenir knife.

When we spend money on a name knife, we spend it on the maker's name, not the celebrity's who endorsed it.
 
When we spend money on a name knife, we spend it on the maker's name, not the celebrity's who endorsed it.

bingo!
 
As a maker who works once every 15 years, I have following opinion personaly.

+ the sheath looks good, if it could be in cross-draw position, even better (have no idea if it could)
+ the blade and handle shape looks good enough. I like it.
- the handle may be little short for the use in the extreme cold condition seen in the show, better had more 1/2 inch.

I don't want to talk about the name on it.
 
Well then, to be honest, I think it's a BAD idea for a knife to wear his name on.
I think only the name of the maker or the owner should be on.

I also think it's too expensive for me because I can make one for myself.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Never mind "worth" or "price" in the larger world. The question for us is, were this one more offering alongside the makers we have here, where would we expect the price to fall? What is the value of the knife as a knife as a W&SS tool?

Personally, I wouldn't take it as a gift until he rounded the butt. I don't need sharp edges jabbing me in the palm. The sheath as someone pointed out is second-rate. That's an insult to the buyer willing to spend good money, even on a souvenir knife.

When we spend money on a name knife, we spend it on the maker's name, not the celebrity's who endorsed it.
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you bring up a good point, and maybe i should stress it a bit- i would be perfectly happy to modify what i think of as a regular bushcrafter to suit in materials i work with and a design i am comfortable with for a fairly regular price (figure 125-175 depending) but even though i have the stainless and could be talked into the handle design as a custom, there'd be a bit of a premium just because it's not what a Koyote feels like to me.
 
koyote said:
would be perfectly happy to modify what i think of as a regular bushcrafter [ ... ] there'd be a bit of a premium just because it's not what a Koyote feels like to me.
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This is exactly why we pay for the maker's name, because the maker has a vision of how he can make a knife work better, no matter what standard pattern he may use as the basic design.

When the major selling point is the endorsement, not the function, all bets are off.
 
Talfuchre said:
The consensus is that this knife can be made, with a decent profit margin for about 200 to 250 dollars.
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That seems plenty reasonable. "Bear" in mind that in the Bayley knife, you have two people wanting to make a profit. It does appear at first glance to be a decent knife made with good materials. But there's really nothing special about it in any way except the etching. (name) Honestly, any one of you guys could probably buy a decent kit knife of slightly-less high-end steel, put a handle on it, buy a sheath from TF or Koyote and be well-served for maybe 25% of that cost...

I could copy it (not that I would, I have serious misgivings about some of the design features), give you a wide range of options, pay someone else here their going rate to make a better sheath, have Paul Bos HT it, and still make a small profit at $250. But no one knows who the hell I am, LOL.

Talfuchre said:
Is a name worth 200 dollars? If so, to whom.
TF
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Not to me. MAYBE to a collector. Well, not the Grylls name, anyway. If we were talking about Fisk or Moran or Bagwell, it's a WHOLE different story.
 
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Here is a thought I had. Everyone on this thread said they would not own this knife. I know we are defending this knife on principle, and NEVER did I say that Bayley did NOT make a quality knife - but none of us have endorsed that they would own this knife. That, I think helps make the point that 200 dollars in a premium for the signature - is not worth it.

With that said - I should back off one other point, made to me by my best bud (he posts under Techna on this board) - I don't know if Bear even wanted this knife to have his name on it? He could have signed a contract that owns his 'name' for a certain amount of time.

I don't know this.

TF
 
Talfuchre said:
Here is a thought I had. Everyone on this thread said they would not own this knife...
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That pretty well sums it up. Then again, it's not marketed towards guys like us. I think the target market is people with a little extra cash who have no inclination to research and obsess over the things we all love to debate.
 
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