Makers Mark Idea, Opinions, comments PLEASE !(Update)

Battle Creek Knives

Battle Creek Knives

Joined
Feb 23, 2010
Messages
4,355
Guys need your opinions on the Mark I came up with, my computer has been down with a virus so I'm very limited to its use so I sketched this out..

I'm looking for brutal honesty, ideas, comments and criticisms, I can take it.. :o I hope:p The verbiage isn't included in the mark..

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Tell me what you think..
 
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NickWheeler said:
I think they should be marked: CARPENTER :)
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to all my family I'm still Bobby so BC kinda works..:D thanks for your reply Nick... I appreciate it, now my wheels are a turning again, I had (thought about) anticipated putting 'Carpenter' somewhere on some of my blades..
 
Yep R.CARPENTER so people will know who you are,simple is always better--but that's just my opinion....and Nicks :-)
 
Who will make a makers mark stencil for you? I don't know where to get one. Sorry for getting off topic.
 
butchesforge said:
Yep R.CARPENTER so people will know who you are,simple is always better--but that's just my opinion....and Nicks :-)
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my only problem with R. Carpenter is there already is an R. Carpenter here on the forums.. maybe I should start going by Bobby again... :)

keep them coming guys..
 
Emerson15 said:
Who will make a makers mark stencil for you? I don't know where to get one. Sorry for getting off topic.
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I was going to have Ernie make one but apparently he ran into some problems with mine, I'm having a company that actually does mass production engraving, etching you name it.. and their prices are CRAZY.. !! a fraction of others......and I mean a fraction !!!. look up tustech.com

awesome service and they have their own art dept.. extremely professional.. !!
 
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When I was looking at the sketch, I didn't recognize the triangles on the cross as BC at all.

Make it simple, readable, unique, searchable.
 
12345678910 said:
When I was looking at the sketch, I didn't recognize the triangles on the cross as BC at all.

Make it simple, readable, unique, searchable.
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the cross is suppose to be a knife or could serve dual purpose, and I put it there to represent a 'K' as in knife in conjunction with the 'c' was suppose to be more subliminal I guess..
 
This is what you gotta do..... lol.... okay, just my opinion...

Folks should be able to look you up easily through your mark. I started out with just my funky Japanese-esque characters until Ed Caffrey pointed out that nobody could type that into a google search. Battle Creek is a cool company but it should be secondary to your name. What if somewhere down the line you change direction or Battle Creek becomes unusable for legal reasons? You need to establish your name as a maker, FIRST and FOREMOST.

I'm not a big fan of big marks, either. Some people think the more info you have the better. I believe that if you have a simple name and a way to make it distinct from anyone else with the same name (logos, initials, etc...) you are doing just fine.

The most important thing is web presense!!!!! I do a search on "Carpenter knives", "Rob Carpenter Knives", "BC Knives" and get nothin. Only "Battle Creek Knives" shows results. If you do choose to include your name (which I highly recommend) you had better start pushing it.

Rick
 
Rick Marchand said:
The most important thing is web presense!!!!! I do a search on "Carpenter knives", "Rob Carpenter Knives", "BC Knives" and get nothin. Only "Battle Creek Knives" shows results. If you do choose to include your name (which I highly recommend) you had better start pushing it.
Rick
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battle creek knives is me.. I have yet to set it up, as I have 2 other company's in which I make a living to support 5 of us, which as we all are aware is very hard to do in today's economic times...........

so it appears so far its a battle between bc, and BC... lol

Bobby, aka bc, rc, or just plan rob....... :)
 
I've been working on the same thing for my knives. My last name is an Americanized version of a Norwegian area so I think I'm going with that. Its unique and should point anyone who tries to search to my site.....once I actually create it.

This is the design I think I'm going with. Simple and unique.

logosm.jpg
 
I knew Battle Creek Knives was you, bro...... I just meant that i had to type in "Battle Creek Knives" to get you on Google. So if you don't put Battle Creek on your knives, nobody can find you at this point. I regret starting off as Wildertools from the get-go. Wildertools isn't a person, it's a company and I have found that folks like dealing with people.... especially when it comes to custom goods. They are not buying a knife, they are buying a piece of you... like a hockey card. You can buy good knives anywhere... you want them to need a knife made by YOU. It took some major internet presense to establish my name as a maker. It would have been much better to start off as Rick Marchand.... then whatever I put my name to would carry my reputation(as small as it is... lol). In the end, you just need to be easily identifiable and accessible. When you shake someone's hand at a show and say "I'm Rob Carpenter" you want them to say "Oh... Battle Creek Knives!". Your name is just as important as your company.

Rick
 
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I'm with Rick.

When I was 18 and applying for a business license I had all these kewl ideas for company names...like Blue Ridge Knives and was gonna have a mountain logo, or Hornet Knife Co with a freaky ninja assassin wasp logo.... well, you get the idea. :o My dad asked me, "Well, who the hell, or um... WHAT the hell is Blue Ridge Knives? You're a craftsman making knives one at a time why would you want to make it sound like you're some type of factory?"

Of course my gut reaction was simply how uncool his response was.

But I'm glad I listened and spent more focus on the quality of the knives than the kewlness of the logo/name. Especially now that I think those are gay ideas. :foot:


I was just reading one of my knife mags from 8th grade.... I mean 1991, and there's a snippet in there about Bob Loveless asking a maker "What the hell do these initials mean? Put your name on the knife and be proud." Pretty good advice.... from a guy that seems to have made his presence known in the knife world. ;) :)
 
Rick Marchand said:
I have found that folks like dealing with people.... especially when it comes to custom goods. They are not buying a knife, they are buying a piece of you...
In the end, you just need to be easily identifiable and accessible.
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NickWheeler said:
You're a craftsman making knives one at a time why would you want to make it sound like you're some type of factory?"

Loveless "What the hell do these initials mean? Put your name on the knife and be proud." Pretty good advice.... from a guy that seems to have made his presence known in the knife world.
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Those are good points, especially the "piece of you" comment.

If you read some of the Brownells Gunsmithing Kinks books, it's mentioned there too.
People are going to remember you & not your business name.



In some old posts, Bruce Bump mentioned the same thing towards using your real name as a forum username too.
(...ya ya I know, but I'm not trying to sell anything here)
 
(cue "Family Tradition" by Hank Jr... "I am very proud of my daddy's name, although his kind of music and mine ain't exactly the same...")

I do have a "brand name" I'm trying to establish, or rather a specialized line that's a little different from most of my stuff... BlackToothGrin combat cutlery. But even those are etched with my real, actual last name. So if you saw one and searched for more info, you'd find me, not drink recipes, song lyrics or some crappy local metal band that put out a demo exactly four people ever heard (oh wait... that was me, too :o) Bad credit, arrest record, internet bitchfests and all, yup it's me for better or for worse. Who knows maybe it will help my street cred with the outlaw set :D
 
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