Makers' views of their own work???

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
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That was a poor subject heading, sorry.

I am wondering about your views on how makers present their knives. There seem to be a lot of guys that say things like, "Check this out, it's really a drop-dead knife." "Everybody loves this knife, what do you think of it?" "This knife is going to knock your socks off!"

Now I know that in this business, "if you don't sell yourself, who will???" is an issue. But personally my folks taught me that a little humility goes a long way. So if the knife IS "drop-dead" the person looking at it will know it...WITHOUT you telling them.

So, does it come off as conceited and arrogant, or just confident and proud?

I suppose the answer is relative, but I'm interested in your thoughts.
(And no, I'm not thinking of anyone in particular).


Thanks very much,
Nick
 
I think as a artist,The artist should be appreciative to the fact that someone would pay you for your work that you enjoy doing.Just my 2 cents.



Rick
 
Confident , and Proud is how i think of it . if the "Maker" think's poorly of their work why would they have the Confidence to believe it worthy of selling it to someone who may actually use it ? don't get me wrong here Nick , some makers are full of air and other thing's , they think that only they can make a great knife. not true at all . Anyone can make a Knife . i think many maker's believe that their knife is the best just beacuse they made it i give credit to other maker's for their creative way's to do the same thing , Making a knife, remember most maker's buy the same stuff from the same people, heat treating is where the difference is . some "Farm out" to Paul Bro's or whoever, some do their own .

I Speak of no one in particular , just what i have seen , i mean no disrespect to anyone .



http://www.pinoyknife.com
 
From my perspective as a buyer, I feel that a maker's credibility is highest when he describes his work in purely objective terms.

Let the buyer decide whether or not the style and appearance suit his tastes, and leave the subjective descriptions out of it.

Regarding a maker's description of his knives' performance characteristics, for example, which is more confidence-inspiring:

1) "This knife is super-tough! You can totally depend on it! It will impress you every time you use it! It will never let you down! Special forces guys love it! It's badass!"

2) "This knife was built using [such and such] technique, which, in tests, has shown to impart the steel with greater toughness and edge-holding ability. Previous knives I have built using these methods have withstood bending and cutting tests with the following results..."
 
As you well know.........you need to put every bit of skill you have into every knife you make..........and as your experience and skill base grow your knives get better. SO.........I think there is reason to always be stoked on your product as it is a reflection of all that you know about making knives. I do know a few people who dont try as hard as they should, but they are the exception rather than the norm..............and no Nick, you are not one of them!! :p
 
I just ordered a knife from ya 'cause I thought you were so humble...


















Until I heard the "Duece Wheeler" part... then I knew I was really on to something!!! LOL!!!!:D


And I'm really hyped to hear how the show in Atlanta goes for ya!

Anybody else who see's Nick at the show... Please post what happens...He's so humble he'll keep it all to himself and I don't get to hear the good stuff!!:eek: :cool:
 
I think makers should show pride and confidence. It doesn't mean that they should be arrogant, but I have trouble trusting people who undersell themselves. If someone shows a pride level which is less than what seems warranted by the knife, it raises all sorts of little red flags in my head:

1) Maybe the knife isn't as good as it looks (hidden flaw and stuff);
2) Maybe the maker is falsely modest, which isn't something I suffer;
3) Maybe the maker doesn't take pride in their work, independantly of the quality, and it means they're not going to stick to knifemaking.

So, i don't think makers should be jerks, but the feeling I expect when I read about a knife is some kind of quiet, unassuming confidence, and dignified enthusiasm - not someone underselling their work, and not boasting either.
 
Nick,

When I look at your knives, two things come to mind.......Precision and ULTRA CLEAN. I'm not sure anyone could puff their chest out and get those two concepts to come across properly :)

Neil
 
See, Neil just gave an example of how it works.

Your BEST comments should be made from an outside source. Dealers, buyers or a fellow knifemaker are your best representatives. It's a thin line to tread upon, trying to comment on the quality of your own work without bias. Best to just state the specs and facts and be quietly confident.

Let the others speak boldly, if it deserves such.

Coop
 
Nick , Im with Neil on this....If its clean and you know its clean nothing really needs to be said other than the stats of the particular piece.

But I can honestly say that on the occasion when everything just goes right...,and the moons line up, and that knife just comes out tight & right I too have to fight the impulse to embelish or maybe overemphasize while coversing with an interested party.

Im not perfect and neither are my knives ...But Im working on it:D
 
Nick,
I am in sales, and as a rule you should never give your opinion on something obvious until the customer has given theirs. For instance if you say look how beautiful this knife is, and they don't think it is beautiful you just lost all credibility in their eyes. If you are trying to sell knives, sell them based on factors that may not be immediately evident to the customer, things like design features, quality of heat treatment, rareness of materials used in the blade, or possibly what you designed the knife to do well. Help them pick out the perfect knife for them. By the way I think your knives pretty much would sell themselves.
Kyle Fuglesten
 
I always think my work blows.. Never happy with anything.. I have people I trust tell me its good, so I keep going.. Once a maker starts feeling like he is THE MAN he starts going backwards I think...
When you think your getting good, look at guys that are better, it will humble yer a$$ up quick..

I look at some of the stuff Nick does, and it just amazes me.. And he doesnt have an arrogant bone in his body... Thats a good example..
 
Thanks for all of the responses folks :)

I had no intention of fishing for compliments with this thread, but THANKS :D

My ability to articulate my question here was poor...maybe just too general. But somehow, everybody gave me good answers anyway.

I didn't mean to say that a maker should not show pride in their work...I was thinking of the arrogant side of things. And where you see that line being drawn... Here in lies the problem with my question... where one person sees pride another may see something else.

I guess since I've been in the shop from 8am to 3am for awhile now, I'm coming up with crazy things to ask about.

Thanks everybody,
Nick
 
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