Knife show and Custom Prices...

J

jsciii

Joined
Jun 14, 2002
Messages
364
New to knife collecting I attended the Orlando Knifemaker's Guild show this weekend. WOW! What a great bunch of people and knives.

Browsing around I came upon a knife that was incredibly beautiful and artistically done. I wanted it almost as much as my next breath. Knowing it would cost more than I could justify I walked away. As the show neared the end for the day I just had to know how much the artist wanted for her knife. I went back and asked. $5000 was her price. My heart sank. Tough to justify a knife that cost more than my car.

Anyway, I'm curious to know how fixed knifemakers are in their prices. I didn't even try to bargain but instead got her card thinking that if I sold off a couple of my kids I might be able to make her an offer. My problem is I don't know how knifemakers structure their prices....Labor and materials or ascetic value?

Wish I could have taken a picture to post. This is a knife dreams are made of....

JC III
 
I'm going to guess.... Dellana? You DO have good taste!:D

Bargaining for a price is justifiable in any purchasing endeavor. Although 'bargaining' is probably not as good a description as 'negotiating' is in this instance. When you reach this upper level there is certainly an aspect of 'If you have to ask, then you can't afford it...' ;)

Yup, it's part labor, part materials, and part aesthetics that add to the total. What isn't evident to the new observer is the accreditation that THAT maker has achieved to be able to charge AND command those prices. There may have been past award-winning knives that have paved the way.

"Sure I'll let this go for $4700.00! How would you like to pay???" Gulp. Be careful what you ask for!

Coop
 
High end knives usually get priced based on materials and labour.

It is not uncommon to find that 30 to 50% of the selling price is taken up by material costs, that cost is not marked up it is out of pocket and was probably laid out months or years before the knife appears at the show. The reason is simple, if a particularly nice bit of handle material or blade material appears for sale a maker will purchase it and put it aside until a project comes up that will use that material to it's real potential. Another scenario is that a knife is started and is put on hold several times until high enough quality material becomes available to finish the knife. This time spread between purchase and sale costs money in interest charges.

Labour and overhead make up the balance of the costs. This includes outside contracting of scrim and engraving by others if the maker cannot do this themselves, again an out of pocket cost. Time taken is usually three or four times what you estimate going in on a high end project. There is no sense to rushing the hand work on a knife with a couple of thousand dollars of material involved.

So to summarize, while high end material is necessary for a high end knife it doesn't work unless the time and skill in handwork is there to compliment it.
 
Originally posted by Blade747
....If you have to ask, then you can't afford it...' ;)

Coop
Click to expand...

Coop! Ouch....and ouch again!;) This cliché is one of the biggest myths in existence - and I have made it my personal quest to eradicate it from the English language.:D

Within the confines of my shameful career (advertising and comedy writing - how much lower can you stoop?), I have had the opportunity to deal with people who have REAL money (we're talking millions and millions and millions).

What common characteristic do these people have? The FIRST thing they ask for is the PRICE!

Sincerely,

H -- President for the Society to Eliminate Misleading Clichés :cool:
 
If it is the friend who I think it was (i.e. Coop was right about the maker) she makes those wonderful knives 1 at a time from start to finish. Say about 8 of them a year with a waiting list about 4 or more years long. It takes about a month to a month and 1/2 to make each one not including the setting aside of materials.

When you look at it from the point of view of how long it takes and what goes into them they are not that expensive. They may cost a lot, but you get quite a bit. If it was one of Dellana's everything you saw on that knife was done by hand by her. That includes the pinstock and any bezels that she might have gems inlaid into. The cool thing is that you get a work of art and a knife at the same time. She takes a lot of pride in both aspects and does them very well.
 
If it was Dellana's and the one I saw, it was worth every penny.It was truly a work of art.She is an incredible maker and artist.The thing is that unless you visit alot of shows, you won't see the prices some knives bring.She is actually cheap on some of her stuff.One year at the Guild show I believe a sword went in the neighborhood of $75,000.This year I thought the prices were quite low.Dave
 
You wont find a bigger fan of high-end custom knives than me, i own, and can sadly afford but a few, but, to put things into perspective. I just found out that a late 60's Hot Wheel VW bus, yes, im talking about those tiny cars that sold for 60 cents in 1968 and were built at a cost of about a dime, went for gulp, $70,000! Yes, its a very rare example, but folks, a dimes worth of materials and "labor" turned into $70k. When you think of the beautiful, precious materials used in a custom knife, and the skill and time it takes to make one, you really are getting a lot for your money. Let's see, a 1969 1:64 scale HW car collectability aside, worth one thin dime, or about 20 beautifully made custom knives...tough choice... :)
 
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