Makers - what would you like to hear from collectors?

[Rick Marchand]

Some like vanilla, some chocolate, some strawberry and some all three. Thus it always has been. Thus it shall always be.

Roger

This is very poetic and feels as though it should be inscribed on a ring forged in the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom.:thumbup:

 

[Dan Pierson]

Good idea. I've thought about giving that to a knifemaker, but I might end up unhappy with that. If I ever won the lotto, I would like to do that with several makers. Buy one of each of their knives, with their preferred steels/handle scales for each model.

I have yet to commission a knife (all my knife money goes into my shop)
but have commissioned multiple pieces of jewelry. First rule is that I only
request commissions from artists who's work I really like. This may seem
so obvious that it doesn't need mentioning, but IMHO it's fundamental. If I
like their work I should let them do their work.

One of the more successful commissions a few years ago consisted of me
handing a very nice piece of chatoyant malachite to the jeweler/stone seller
when my wife stepped out of the room and saying "something floral?".
The jeweler did (very quickly) respond with a design sketch but the point is
that I trusted her and was very happy with the result.

 

[delbert ealy]

Roger,
How important is name recognition to collectors. If you see quality work from an unknown or no-name maker, how willing would you be to buy the piece?
Thanks,
Del

 

[james terrio]

Our very own Bruce Bump is a guy that has a lot going on in his pieces, yet they are well thought out and work in conjunction with each other so that when he's all done... your eye isn't fighting on where to focus.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Bump is exactly who I was thinking of when I said some makers can include a lot of elements without overdoing it. You absolutely nailed it with the "focus" comment I put in bold.

If you just throw a bunch of fancy ELEMENTS into the knife, with little concern or understanding to how they'll work together... then you end up with a greasy used car salesman wearing pink and green striped pants, a poka-dot shirt, lime green blazer, and a clown nose.

I agree completely. Thanks for the excellent examples of how it can be done well.

 

[RogerP]

Roger,
How important is name recognition to collectors. If you see quality work from an unknown or no-name maker, how willing would you be to buy the piece?
Thanks,
Del

Del,

I'll give you some quick thoughts on that because it is an issue I feel strongly about.

I have been collecting knives for roughly 25 years. Throughout that time I have ALWAYS bought quality knives at different price points from makers at varying levels of recognition because I DON'T believe that quality, value and solid investment are the exclusive province of high end knives from superstar makers.

While it's true that at the outset my purchases were budget-limited to more modest offerings from less established - or at least less famous makers, I still today purchase a range of knives from $150 to $3000 in price. I once heard the position advanced on these very forums that collectors shouldn't support "lesser known makers". All I can say to that is that I couldn't possibly disagree more.

In 1989 or so I bought one of my very first forged blades from a maker I had never really heard of before. It was a beautifully balanced large camp knife that really captured my imagination and helped set me on a path I still travel. It was made by some nobody named Jerry Fisk.

So back to your question - I most certainly have and will continue purchase knives from lesser known or "unknown" makers (though the latter term is one I don't generally use as it implies that because I haven't heard of them, nobody has). As with any knife at any level, price is a key component of the overall assessment of value.

Roger

 

[RogerP]

Nick - that was no thread drift - that was a great post. :thumbup:

Roger

 

[jdm61]

Somebody had to say it but I thank you for going here. I have Darom's books on my bookshelf, and most artists and designers who visit and want to check out my books have the same complaint. about a quarter of the way through any one of the books, they stop, look up, and ask me why so many of the knives are so "gaudy" or "tacky".

I usually just talk about the difficulty or skill level it takes to do the represented techniques so well. That's when an architect friend of mine hit me with a line from a movie: "It looks like they spent so much time wondering if they COULD and never stopped to ask themselves if they SHOULD. Some of this stuff makes Fabergé look understated and classy."

I don't entirely agree, but I didn't really have a ready response.

A good response might be that many of these knifemakers are reviving the old craft of artistic embellishment whereas guys like you have been dumbing down art for over 100 years with your minimalist, abstract, industrial crap. Or you could just say different strokes. Would your friends say the same thing about say furniture for pre-Revolutionary France?

 

[delbert ealy]

Del,

I'll give you some quick thoughts on that because it is an issue I feel strongly about.

I have been collecting knives for roughly 25 years. Throughout that time I have ALWAYS bought quality knives at different price points from makers at varying levels of recognition because I DON'T believe that quality, value and solid investment are the exclusive province of high end knives from superstar makers.

While it's true that at the outset my purchases were budget-limited to more modest offerings from less established - or at least less famous makers, I still today purchase a range of knives from $150 to $3000 in price. I once heard the position advanced on these very forums that collectors shouldn't support "lesser known makers". All I can say to that is that I couldn't possibly disagree more.

In 1989 or so I bought one of my very first forged blades from a maker I had never really heard of before. It was a beautifully balanced large camp knife that really captured my imagination and helped set me on a path I still travel. It was made by some nobody named Jerry Fisk.

So back to your question - I most certainly have and will continue purchase knives from lesser known or "unknown" makers (though the latter term is one I don't generally use as it implies that because I haven't heard of them, nobody has). As with any knife at any level, price is a key component of the overall assessment of value.

Roger

Roger,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply, from this answer, and the others you have posted here I now understand why you will be speaking at ashokan this year. I will look forward to talking with you there.
Thanks,
Del