Knife Names??

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RyanW

RyanW

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Does anyone one else hate coming up with names for knives. For some reason I feel the desire / need to name them, but hate doing it. What is wrong with me?
 
Nothing! I hate naming knives. I considered naming every single model by model number. I'm normally at least a little bit creative.....but can never think of good names for my knives. So, see......you're not the only loser buddy!:p
 
I am running out of acronyms.......EDT, BPK, BDU, APB, RUK.........
I think model #'s is the way to go!! :D
 
I´m on the same page as you guys. I love a good catchy name on a knife but I suck at it. Then you look up the names Fiddleback has for his knives (Bushfinger, Terrasaur and so on) and suddenly you feel better....... not!!
Maybe we should hire a contractor to help us out with this?

Brian
 
I'm guilty of this as well. I've started letting my 5 yr old little girl name them. So far just 2 models but she came up with simple bill and the squid lol. Model # are looking more like the way to go.
 
Most of my knives don't get a name, just a description. Occasionally one will demand a name.

Like the Brothers of Aggression! :D

brothersofaggression2.jpg


A lot of times I'll have a customer want something "like that one you made for the Marine a while back...". Naming would likely help, but it can also get really gimmicky really fast. I can go with a conceit for a ways, but when it gets into gimmick territory, I'm through.

Oh, and since each one of mine comes out a bit different in profile, a model number wouldn't be all that applicable.
 
after a few hit and miss ideas... ive come to the conclusion that whatever i like today, i will hate in a year. that being the case i have grown fond of the alpha-numeric system like a certain blade shape is the "a" model and sizes from 1 for small... to a higher number for larger sizes.
 
It's tricky to come up with a descriptive name that isn't gimmicky... but then again lots of classic model names for various things are pretty gimmicky when you think about it. C'mon, "Sharpfinger"? "The Road" (El Camino)? "Folding Hunter"? (OK, bad example...)

I do know that any name you come up with after midnight, or after 3 or more beers, should probably be reviewed by at least one sober person before you go advertising it. And most of the names I call knives in progress aren't fit to print or say in polite company :o
 
Some pieces really call for a name - but you're right - it's not easy to pick the right one. More often than not the maker does a better job of that than I could have.
 
It's a gimmick but it can work, although it's really BS. It's like naming cars. GMAFB!!
 
I used to actually kind of like the acronym type names till those TOPS guys came along, but that like christmas has been ruined forever.
 
On at least two occasion I let the customers name the product. Recently I went through a collaborative process with a customer and I named the knife after him. For me naming is as much of a struggle as self promotion so I look to others when I feel comfortable.
 
Sometimes a name for a particlar design will just pop into my head, and when it works like that the name usually fits well enough that I just go with it. I have found that if I have to think about it then it's probably a lost cause.
My 3 cats, Whitebread, Berry Dingle and Monkey Butt, don't think too much of my naming system but it has always worked for me.
 
I started off naming all my blades but after a year or so, it got old and confusing for me and my customers. Now, I mostly go with generic descriptions(tanto, parang, tribal, waki, puukko, etc...). Something I considered was that most folks search those generic names when knife hunting, online. I doubt someone in the market for a drop point hunter would happen to Google "Snublore Guppy"... but maybe I underestimate the serious knifenut.

That said, there are a few blades that just BEG for a name and I am not about to interfere with destiny.;)
 
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Thanks for all the comments, sounds like I am not alone! Sounds like the knives that are "Born" call for a name. the others just conform! :D
 
Im not going to be naming any knives but I prefer more of a descriptive name like "recurve hunter" or "skinner" then some of the more colorful knife names "Dragon Bane" or "Black Mamba".
 
I always thought naming them was super cheesy and I hated trying to come up with a name for knives I sent to BladeGallery (Daniel wanted them to have a name).

But on the other hand, a sort'a well known bladesmith, some guy named Jerry Fisk :confused:.....:foot: :p, told me once that naming successful knives you make helps give customers a better chance for product recognition... It was something like, "When a fella goes down to the Chevy dealer he doesn't ask for something fast and red, he asks for a Corvette." Since Jerry's Sendero hunter is ridiculously well known for both its look and name, I think he might have been on to something with all that. ;)


I tend to be extremely original... for instance my friend RogerP that posted earlier in this thread has been working with me on a camp knife. It is known as the RP Camp Knife.

;) :D LOL
 
Snublore Guppy makes me want to forge out a 3" blade with a 2" belly. You really have a knack Rick!
 
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