Market Research/Requesting opinions

JParanee said:
In the price range you are speaking of I am in the minority here. In my experience a knife with a 5 to 7 inch blade is a compromise it does not have the power for the big cuts and is to big for the small tasks.

If I am reaching for a knife it usually a 3 inch caper style or a 9 to 10 inch blade

In yout price range I would go with a 3 to 4 inch tapered tang knife with a natural handle material
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I'm totally in agreement with Joe on this!
 
Kevin Jones said:
I don't find it odd but more expected as one can get more of the "bells & whistles" (perhaps a more premium handle material for example) in a smaller knife than a larger at $300 or less.
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:thumbup: Gotcha. To me the classification of "hunter" evokes a certain blade type and overall format. Since I'm not a hunter (more of a varminter, if anything) I lean more towards the "utility" use of a small fixed blade. I'm not sure if that necessarily demands a different format from a hunter or not?

Maybe my mental image of a "hunter" is mistaken. :o
 
Kevin Jones said:
I don't find it odd but more expected as one can get more of the "bells & whistles" (perhaps a more premium handle material for example) in a smaller knife than a larger at $300 or less.
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Excellent point. JParanee mentioned the Crowell/Barker knife; I have one and like it very much. Anyway my point is, at this price point such a knife could be built but as Mr. Jones said, it would be probably without "frills" and fancy wood, etc. The budget would be taken up by the extra steel and more importantly the extra time/skill required to properly craft the larger blade. Butch makes a very good point about blade finish, too.

Thanks again to Wayne and all the posters; this conversation is fascinating and very helpful to me.
 
Jarrett Knives said:
THE TALLY SO FAR IS IN THE MOST RECENT POST/UPDATE

If I may, I would like run a little informal focus group here. I know there is a way to add a "poll" to a thread but that really limits the way the questions are answered. And I know there are a ton of friendly, yet opinionated folks on here which will work to my benefit regarding getting answers. ;)

For the benefit of all custom makers, I'm trying to determine what attributes are most popular in the eyes of buyers of custom knives. The best way to do that is by asking those who use and/or collect them. Please think about your preferences and what you would have if you were able to roll them all into one affordable fixed blade knife - let's say a max of $300 value. I guess I'm saying that we're not talking about a D'Holder here but more so a better than average user or a nice mid-grade collector piece.

Size?
Steel?
Style?
Grind?
Bolster or no bolster?
If bolster, what material?
Handle material?
Thong hole with tubing?
Pin material preference?
Filework or no filework?
Tapered tang?


There are eleven selections and some are a yes or no answer but feel free to elaborate. I think this will be of service to all custom makers. Yes, we like to put our spin into the artwork side of the piece but ultimately, the preferences of you the buyer, dictate "why" you buy one piece over another. I hope that Keith and Kevin will lead the charge. :)


I really appreciate the quality of folks that hang around here in BF... so thanks in advance for your answers.
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3.5" blade
D-2
Drop point
Hollow
Satin
Bolster
NS
Micarta
Yes
SS
No
Yes
Above all: VERY SHARP
 
Great stuff guys! :thumbup::thumbup: Keep the information flowing and I'll put it together on Friday and report back.
 
Thought I would bring this thread back to the top in hopes of some of you regulars here who have not weighted in may do so.

IMO, this is a very worthwhile thread Wayne has put together.
 
Size? 7.75-8.5"
Steel? Forged 52100. Stainless ATS-34 or 154CM. D-2 is also fine.
Style? Hunter
Grind? Flat
Bolster or no bolster? Bolster
If bolster, what material? Stainless
Handle material? Premium wood. DI, cocobolo, and bocote. Stabalized black ash and California buckeye burls.
Thong hole with tubing? Yes
Pin material preference? Mosaic pins. I don't like Loveless bolts.
Filework or no filework? Filework
Tapered tang? Yes

The $300 price is what I feel comfortable spending on a knife. Obviously, this limits my choices. But I like lined thong holes, filework, and mosaic pins, in contrast to the majority of the previous posters. Also, in contrast to the same majority, I don't feel as strongly as most about tapered tangs in a knife of the size I tend to collect. I like to have some heft in my knives.

Paul
 
Wayne what a great thread I have really enjoyed this one and thanks to all that have contributed. I have noticed a trend to no thong hole tubes, any of you collectors care to elaborate why you do not want one? As a maker to me it looks unfinished. I would also like to hear about thoughts on stabilized wood or not.
 
Mike Turner said:
Wayne what a great thread I have really enjoyed this one and thanks to all that have contributed. I have noticed a trend to no thong hole tubes, any of you collectors care to elaborate why you do not want one? As a maker to me it looks unfinished. I would also like to hear about thoughts on stabilized wood or not.
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IMO, thong holes are more associated with stockremoval hunter/utilities.
Perhaps the lack of interest in them here is a result of the strong following of forged knife collectors on this customs forum.

Again IMO, stabilized wood is a given or expected on a $300 custom knife so was not one of the questions thus was not discussed here.
 
Jarrett Knives said:
THE TALLY SO FAR IS IN THE MOST RECENT POST/UPDATESize?
Steel?
Style?
Grind?
Bolster or no bolster?
If bolster, what material?
Handle material?
Thong hole with tubing?
Pin material preference?
Filework or no filework?
Tapered tang?
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3-5" blade w/4.5" handle; A2 or O1; Kephart/bushcraft/DP hunter; convex or flat; no bolsters; ironwood or cocobolo; thong hole; decorated pins; filework; untapered tang.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Thought I would bring this thread back to the top in hopes of some of you regulars here who have not weighted in may do so.

IMO, this is a very worthwhile thread Wayne has put together.
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Kevin, thanks for the follow up bump. I hope the other makers are taking notes. Something I took from my many years in the corporate world :barf: was a term that large corporations are starting to use. That is the "Voice of the Customer" or VOC. I think it really applies to knifemaking and thus, knife collecting, using, loving. etc. Many companies fail to do this and thus, they fail. Some talk a lot about it but they stay on the same track expecting different results...and they fail. This translates directly to knifemaking because without the customer, makers would be lost. Okay, done preaching. :D

Mike - thanks for jumping in with another attribute that needs defining. This should be treated exactly as you have done - makers participating but then standing back to listen to the customer.

Let's keep the information flowing.
 
Kevin Jones said:
IMO, thong holes are more associated with stockremoval hunter/utilities.
Perhaps the lack of interest in them here is a result of the strong following of forged knife collectors on this customs forum.

Again IMO, stabilized wood is a given or expected on a $300 custom knife so was not one of the questions thus was not discussed here.
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I found Kevin's response interesting. I never associated a thong hole with the way a particular knife was made, i.e., forged v stock removal. Now that Kevin has mentioned a reason, I tend to agree that I have seen fewer thong holes on forged blades than on stock removal knives. I would like to hear more from the maker's perspective on this.

With regard to stabalized woods, I like most if they are not dyed. Box elder, one of the most prevalent ones used, is the exception. It raises a question that I have been unable to find a definitive answer. I have used box elder as a handle material and have found working it unpleasant. I don't like the smell. I have not had this experience with California buckeye or amboynia. Consequently, my inclination is that the stabilizing solution is not the cause. I have been told otherwise. While I don't mean to sidetrack this informative debate, I would be curious to know if any maker's have had a similar experience with box elder?

Paul
 
A lil bump to see if anyone want,s to add anything.

I found this thread very informative and would like to see more opinions.
 
OK, let's add mine preferences yet:

Steel? - D2, 154CM
Style? - Utility or bushcrafter
Grind? - flat
Bolster or no bolster? - no bolster
If bolster, what material? - - -
Handle material? - canvas micarta + liners
Thong hole with tubing? - yes, stainless steel
Pin material preference? - stainless steel
Filework or no filework? - no filework
Tapered tang? - yes
 
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