Knife pricing

kungfumo

kungfumo

Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Messages
533
Howdy fellow makers,
I was wondering how every one prices their knives? Being new to the game and wanting to be fair, I was thinking that I would start pricing by the inch. I was wondering how your guys do it?

I understand that some knives are going to be more expensive due to the cost of matirials and such. As of yet I have sold about 10 knives and I have been pricing them by looking at what other people are selling something similar at and pricing accordingly.

Thanks,
Jake:D
 
I understand that some knives are going to be more expensive due to the cost of matirials and such. As of yet I have sold about 10 knives and I have been pricing them by looking at what other people are selling something similar at and pricing accordingly.
Click to expand...

Exactly the right method. Value is based on market expectations.
 
I good way I have found is to take what you want to make per hour then double it. That should cover materials. Then you can add the cost of any over the top materials that you bought just for that specific knife. If you find that the price is a little too high or too low you can make adjustments from there, but I find this to be a good way of doing it.

Every post in this thread will be different form the last, everyone does things their own way. Its one of those things, you just have to find what works best for you.

-Josiah
 
This is one of those questions that gets asked alot but never can be answered one hundred percent because there is so many ways to do it. I think one of the bigest factors in pricing is how well known you are. I mean you can make a knife that is as good as some of them from some of the more famous names but you wont get what they do. Your name and reputation is everything in this game. There are also so many ways to figur price its not very funny. Like some people do dubble the material cost. And others have a shop rate per hr and add materials to it. Others just add materials cost to cost of time and leave it at that. I feel that is a catch 22. You have to be aware what the market can support and what you will be happy to get for them. I most of the time i look at the knife and say what would i be happy with getting for this. Keeping an eye on the market is a good idea as it goes up and down. others will post ways to price a knife but it comes down to you not being selfish and being happy with what you set.
 
First I think you have to have a goal in mind, I am building a business and buying tools to support that business. Each year I plan purchases, expences and income and try to match those goals. this allows flexibility in my pricing but sets a lower limit where I would not meet my goals. For example if my budget is 6 knives a month for $900 then I need to make knives worthy of fetching $150.00. By the inch does not really capture the cost of materials and time of making a knife. I keep my materials moderate since I know at my personal level I cannot get big $$.
 
JT aren't you supposed to be on vacation? lol

I have heard many charge by the Inch, and have heard anything from $30 to $500 an inch. I have also heard of people charging flat rate for a blade then adding the materials and a percentage. I try to look at what others at my skill level are getting for their knives of similar design and try to stay in that range + or - the cost of the materials that are used.
 
Great thanks for the help guys, I guess I'm doing in a good way then. I just don't want to charge too much but I still want to make some money so I can buy new tools and fun stuff like that to make more knives faster.:D
 
I was once told by an old timer that if you're too busy making a type of knife raise your price, if demand drops off too much, lower your price.

I usually just base it off what people I think I'm comparable to sell a similar knife for. I have a rough idea of how much time I invest in a knife and roughly what I expect to make an hour and kinda have a "shop rate" for stuff around the house. Like yardwork, it's cheaper for me to pay a guy to do our yard because of the time I invest doing yardwork I could make and sell a knife and still turn a profit. At least that's what I have the wife convinced of.

One other thing I picked up along the way. Never sell a blade with regrets about the price. Like you have a knife you are sure is worth $150, don't get dickered down to $90 and sell it with regrets.
 
The hardest thing is to set the price for your first couple of sales. I priced my first knives at a discount to friends, and they seemed very pleased with the price I set and happy with the end products. After those initial sales to my friends with good responses, I raised the price a little bit as I started selling to those outside my circle. The price I set initially was determined by looking at what others of similar skill/finish were selling. I don't have a problem asking for money for my knives any more, as I try to pay extra attention to the detail, fit and finish, and quality of any knife that leaves my shop. I find that in doing so, each additional knife I make gets that much better (maybe not better, so much, but definitely easier to produce the fit and finish I desire).

There are guys and gals who are selling hand made knives for $40-$70 a pop that are well made with excellent usability, but not made to win any fit/finish pageants. No one ever said a knife had to be all dolled up and pretty to work extremely well, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, my own philosophy is to spend a bit more time with each knife to get that quality feel of a custom, hand made knife. Kind of like the difference in driving a 91 Geo Prism vs. driving an Infiniti G35 or better.

So take what level of fit and finish you are producing and take that into consideration when pricing your knives. At this point, I know what a basic style of knife I produce will sell for, and I can adjust my price based on increased or decreased size, extras, or difficulty from there.

--nathan
 
Mostly good advice.

The hourly rate thing doesn't work all that well. First ,you don't usually put in a dedicated work schedule on knives, so the actual number of hours to finish a knife (or batch of knives) is hard to determine. Second, if you wish to make $10/Hr. and work on a knife for 10 hours that would be $100. Doubling that would give you $200. The second $100 would be materials and supplies ( plus a little for reinvestment in the equipment). That would be a good price for a nice drop point hunter that took about 10 hours to make. Now if you were more skilled, and made a batch of ten of those at one time, it may only take you 40 hours to do the batch. That will work out to about $80 per knife.....not so good.

On the converse if you spent 100 hours working on a sword, would $2000 be a likely price to fetch for a new maker? Maybe...maybe not?

Price them at what they are worth.You are a new maker, so that will be lower in the beginning. Show them to some makers who know what they are doing and ask for advice. Post good quality photos here and ask for opinions. Have a thick skin, knives are evaluated by looking for the errors and shortcomings when judging a knife. Any problems will detract from the knife sharply, regardless of how nice the material is or how well the rest of the knife is. Make every knife to your best ability. There is no real place for good enough if you want to fetch a high price.
Stacy
 
Being a new maker I started out selling my knives fairly cheap. $50 to $100, I did not keep track of my time. It was a hobby that I enjoyed. It also pretty much paid for it's self. That kept me going and helped build my shop. As my knives got better and demand for my knives got better I raised my prices. The most common comment I get from customers now is " You should get more for your knives" usually after they pay me. I started making knives because I wanted to be able to make a good custom knife with a reasonable price. I guess what I'm trying to say is I look at the knife and think "What would I pay for this?" I do think about materials but never time spent. The price of your knives is something only you can decide. The above is only how I do it.
 
I find the best method is to get out my check book and the calendar.

I find my knives go up in price at the end of the month?

Funny how that works, ain't it?

Shane
 
That's funny, Shane. Mine do the opposite. I'm willing to hold out for a high price at the beginning of the month when I have other money, but by the end of the month I'll let them go cheaper just to get the cash.
 
See there...we all got a different system....sometimes mine depends on if I have talked to the wife that day.

It was a tough question.

Everybody got a different system.

I honestly don't believe in "market value" because market value is what you can get for it, when you can get it. That's how come no auctioneer really knows what a thing is worth until it sells. But that statement will get a fight started...and I ain't much for going into a battle of wits unarmed...

Since I frequently get whooped by 98 pound intelectualists what can't even pick up a itty bitty claw hammer.

So if'n you was to ask I would say..if you're a purty much unknown maker...try to get a feel for what other guys like you can get away with...and then see if you get laughed at when you answer the "HOw much?" question.

If nobody laughs...add 10% to your next sale.

Hey..that ain't bad.

I might try that some time.

Shane
 
I have found the shop rate + materials method works great for me, I have been using it for years and I started out at min wage, and increased it as my skill level increased. Your first knives take forever, or so it seems, but this worked out great for me. I do occasionally fudge the #'s a bit on a knife that turns out espescially fine.
Thanks,
Del
 
I agree with Silver Pilate in the fact you need to decide what type of knife gives you the pleasure and satisfaction to make, a factory knife in general will never have a tapered tang, dove tailed bolsters, file work, mirror finish. The things that take time, and a fit finished custom knife with a good well built sheath like Paul Long and many other make prices should start where the factory leaves off. But that takes time and help from people that you find here in the fourm. I've asked many stupid questions, but at the time did not know the answer, Sometime I did things wrong on purpose thinking hay thats cool, not so cool. Figure out where and what you want to be in 10 years, File work and tapered tangs engraving sheaths take some time to learn, just don't get down on your self. I am going to learn to forge this winter with another maker just to save all the steel I have messed up trying to learn.When you make a knife you do not care if it sales or not then ask a higher price, if it does not sell you did not want to sell it anyway. It ends up a funny thing in a group when someone needs a knife I'm the only one that does not have one. There is a place for all types of knives, makers and prices. The question is, when you turn your grinder on does it do the same for you?
 
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