Legal?? Production Handle personal blade

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danefuller

Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
18
What are the legal issues that arrise if I wanted to take a xxxx brand folder, remove the blade, make a template and add my own blade made out of a superior metal? Ok, I know that's fine, but what if I then wanted to sell it?
 
Pretty sure you can legally do whatever you want with your own gear.

Might want to talk to the maker first and see how they feel about it.

I've heard Emerson doesn't like it.
 
There are tens of thousands of customized and modified folders sold every year. I have never heard of an issue legally. If you bought it you own it. If you own it you can legally sell it....as is or modified.
 
You bought it, do whatever you want to it . If you made a replica with there logo and started selling them as the original you might have a problem. I could make a Loveless knife to exact specs and logo and sell it as a replica , as long as stated as a replica your fine .
 
Thanks guys! I'd put my own logo on it. I just don't like alot of the "kit" handles and I don't know any cheap machinest to build my own. But I can easily grab a cheap knife with a great folding handle. Then I can simply template out the blade and do it in a much better metal. :)
 
Putting your own logo on it is questionable I think, and some of the companies might take issue with it.

Unless you logo says something like Dane Fuller Re-Blade...
 
How many are you going to sell? If you describe it as handmade xxxxmfg style blade in xxxx steel you shouldn't have problems. Production companies aren't interested in someone making knives one at a time. If you choose to copy an Emerson Wave, DON'T put it on your table at a show he is attending..... it would be bad.
 
I wouldn't make them in production. I don't have a CNC machine. So I'd just make one at a time. Maybe if someone saw one and wanted another just like it then I'd buy it and do it again, but makeing the template is the easy part. Doing the grind, rough work, HT, tempering, and finishing work is the hard part and that wouldn't be any easier to do with one style over and over again or many different styles. I guess I can just include the original blade with the knife.... I could probably make an extra couple bucks and what do I need with the cheap blade with no handle? Then I would be selling them the original knife I bought just modified. And if they wanted to stick the original blade in they could. I'm really not looking to "trick" anyone.
 
So let me see if I got this straight...

You want to buy a cheap knife because you like the handle material and replace the blade because you don't like the blade material. Right so far?

Assuming that it correct, the next question is what makes you think you'll like the other materials the knife is made of? The liner and locking mechanism, for example. If the blade is cheaply made, what makes you think the other parts will be made well enough to be worthy of a better blade?

Not saying you don't know what you're doing... just suggesting you analyze the whole product before embarking on something that you'll put your name on and sell.
 
Ok, say I take a Benchmade axis lock, G-10 handle that was only made with 440, but I want the blade made out of M390 or M4, or S30V... That's more along the lines of what I'm talking about.
 
Just look at the Benchmade 805... The 440 version when it first came out you could find for around $100. But after the M2HS sold out they were selling for close to $300. Now the M390s are selling for well over $200. Well... I tell you, I can make a M4, M2, or M390 blade for alot less than $100.
 
thats going to require some REALLY precise machining. it probably would work, but it would not be a quick project. unless you enjoy this more than making knives from scratch, then i would venture a guess that it would be cheaper, when accounting for time, to just buy the nicer blade.
 
I cannot think of any legal issue as long as you are not incorporating patented or trademarked things into the parts you make. As noted by another poster you wouldn't want to make a blade that had a wave design or a spyderco hole since those are protected designs.
When you buy a product you own that product. You cannot replicate the product but you can use the product as you wish and resell it. A lot of people use the LV pattern on things for example, I have even seen it on paintball guns. Problem is that is recreating a protected logo. But if you buy the shirt with the logo and cut it out to put on something else I don't think they can stop you.

I can see the desire though as some knives have decent handles but lesser quality blades. I have a buck knife that is made in china probably and has a 420 blade I think but I am sure the annodized handle slabs are good quality. Or perhaps you love the handle but hate the blade design?

I think the ethical thing would be to somehow note to the buyer that the blade is an aftermarket blade that is on a factory handle.

I agree that it would be a lot of work getting a blade to fit perfectly into an existing blade handle and lock. You could have it laser cut but you would still need to have the thickness matched to the original blade.
 
Yeah... This might be harder than I am thinking, but I figured I'd start out with a blank that alreay had the thickness of the original blade. Even after making a template of the existing blade, the part that would be the MOST crusial should be how it matches the locking mechanism. As far as the rest of the blade if I start out with a blank that's the same thickness as long as I'm either right on the rest of the shape or a hair smaller then it should still fit the handle. But yeah, I figure I'd have to make the blade and before I HT the blade fit it to the handle so I know if I have to grind more on it or not. So it would be a lot of back and forth from the grinder to trying to put it into the handle to see where it needs to be ground down a bit more, or what shape isn't exacty perfect.

Yes it would take quite some time though.

I just haven't made any folders. It seems like a fun task. I just enjoy it, so no I'm not looking to make tons of money off of anything I make. I'm an engineer by trade.
 
I've made a few custom blades/tools for Leatherman tools. The trick I used was to drill the pivot hole in the blank, then coat the blank with layout blue or similar, put a pin in the pivot holes of the blank and the original blade and scribe around the lock and heel of the original blade onto the blank. Careful grinding to the lines and testing the blades against each other minimized the trial fitting needed in the handles to get the lock to work
 
I don't see the problem with modding/copying one or two knives from another production company. If it's a custom maker who may very well be relying on funds from each knife sold to feed his family, THEN I take issue with it. Unless of course you get the maker's permission.

As for making this a regular source of income, I'm not sure how I feel about that. Personally, if I'm gonna put that much effort into making a part of somebody else's design, I'd rather just put the little bit of extra effort into making my own unique design.
Obviously there are "traditional" designs that nearly everybody makes, but at the same time, there are designs/features that companies are known for specifically. These I would be careful about.
 
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