Market Question

[LongRifle]

Hi guys,

I have a question for everyone. How many people would be interested in a semi-custom line of forged blades?

What I am planning on offering is a series of knives of my designs; forged, hamon, excellent fit and finish, great materials, good prices. Initially I would like to offer two or three bowies, a hunter, a boot, a B&T, and a camp/competition. My goal is to offer several handle designs and material choices for each knife.

Blade steels would be w1 and 52100. Handle materials would be claro walnut, maple, blackwood, micarta, amboyna, buckeye, and possibly others.

Essentially, what I am working on is similar to Randall's process, except higher quality at a close price.

As bizarre as this sounds I have the opportunity to open my own law firm...with a small knife factory connected. Realistically, this won't happen until the spring.


Here are some pics to give a general idea of what I want to build, my current designs vary from these;

I would really like to hear from everyone on this and would greatly appreciate any input.

Thanks!

Matt

 

[CL01]

Are those the knives you've made so far? If they are, they look very nice. The quality appears to be there.

My fist question would be; what price point are you looking to hit for the various knives.

 

[LongRifle]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, those are pieces I made. My price point would be from $250 for the smaller knives to $500 for the larger pieces.

Thanks again.

Matt

 

[RogerP]

Matt,

What, from a "how it's made" standpoint, would render these to be "semi-custom".

Also, from a saleability standpoint, how much lower percentage-wise would you be aiming for on the new semi-custom line as compared with your normal pricing?

Roger

 

[LongRifle]

Thanks Roger.

Semi-custom means bench style. The operations will still be done by hand, just by several people.

The semi-custom line will be 30-50% less than my hand made knife.

I would also like to have a midtech style run of competition knives. If it's feasible I'd like to do forged 3v, fine belt finish, and a sculpted textured micarta handle. This will focus on CNC equipment. My initial price point on these will be $400-500.

This is still in the initial phase, so any advice is appreciated.

Thanks again!

Matt

 

[Kaizen1]

Beautiful work. Out of my personal price range, but nice niche.