Knowing when to sell

M

mitsaru

Joined
May 15, 2013
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63
My question is when did you feel comfortable selling your knives you make. I'm still very new to knife making and I'm not particularity proud of the looks just yet. I do not compare my knives to some of the masters on here and do not expect to make money on them, but it would be nice if this hobby of mine was semi self supporting. My knives function well and hold a great edge, but they are somewhere between ready to put my name on them and the scrap bin.
 
I believe you can sell if your prices are not much more than the cost of the materials if you see there interest in people wanting to buy, and your knives are functional. If what you see is not too much interest but more smiles and thank you anyways then I'm sure you will realize you may have tried too soon. Of course, that's to say you expect to make better ones each time and then slowly your prices will reflect that. Don't let a couple of friends talk you into big prices. They are friends and are showing that. Start off low and increase slowly. Lots of sales, Bud. Frank
 
I sold my first knife when somebody actually asked to buy one from me. I figured if they thought my knives were good enough that they wanted to have one, then I could sell them one at a reasonable price.

Now I will say, that by this time I was already relatively comfortable with my heat treat, and also to a point that I felt comfortable putting my name on the knife. As Frank pointed out, I also priced accordingly.

Now, if you're at all hesitant about putting your name on something, then I'd say you are NOT ready to sell. In some cases, you may want to leave your name off and just give the knife away for somebody to test and use. Get their honest feedback and criticism. That's often worth much more than any money you would receive.
 
This is how I've been doing it. I have 10 knives out as testers now, and the feedback is great. No chipping, razor sharp, and they hold an edge better than anything they have used so far. I am still not selling, as I need longer term feedback, and I need a rockwell tester to verify HT. My grinds are now even, I have a decent handle on the HT and the equipment to control temp and time. I can do a good scratch free finish and don't have to explain anything away when I hand over the knife, except that I am quite new at leather work, but that is getting better too.
 
Very good advice all. Anyone can buy knives better or worse than your knives
at any price. If they want one with your name on it they will pay your price---
---or not. Without your name on it what is it?
Ken.
 
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I am having the same dilemma myself. It is an incredibly complex problem. I've been trying to solve it myself these past few weeks. I'm still not ready to officially sell my knives yet, although I think I am close. I've sold a few to close friends and family that wanted to have my early knives as keepsakes. Great advice already in this thread, btw.

I think the bottom line is, you do the very best you can at any point. If you feel you have made every possible effort to deliver your best, then you should have a clear conscience IMO. The customer could love your knife for any reason, so in a way it might be wrong to not sell a knife that could potentially make someone very happy.

In my last batch of knives, I made up a weird little EDC out of a piece of scrap. I didn't really put much thought into it, just kind of free-formed it. It was just an experiment that I was planning on using as a beater around the shop. I showed a friend my latest work in a group photo, and immediately he pointed at my ugly duckling and said "what's that one?!" with an excited look on his face. I proceeded to tell him that it was an experiment and I was just going to keep it because I didn't think anyone would be interested in it, and he absolutely insisted that he buy it. I told him he could have it for cheap (basically materials plus a few), and he insisted on paying twice my asking price if I finished it out very nicely for him (which I would have done anyways).

I guess my point is, we can try to predict and second-guess what our customers want, but what makes them happy is what makes them happy. :)
 
Thanks everyone for answering. I think I will follow Knife To A Gun Fights advice and wait until I'm feel proud enough to put my name on it. Till then free testers to my buddies, and cheap camp knives for me! I guess I still win. kc custom, your right, without my name on it people might as well be buy mystery ebay knives.
 
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