Naming a "brand"

12345678910 said:
Busse
Randall made knives
Ek knives
Grohmann knives
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More knife companies with family names:
- AG Russell
- Al Mar
- Becker
- Berger
- Boker
- Browning
- Buck
- Case
- Chris Reeves
- Emerson
- Gerber
- Henckel
- Hogue
- Kershaw
- Leatherman
- Opinel
- Schrade
- Strider
- Wenger
- Wusthof

A knifemaker is selling a product they make. The product is tied directly to the knifemaker. Why try to insert a meaningless name between the knifemaker and collector? There is much confusion amongst collectors who see knives they like and have no idea who made them. Trying to come up with a catchy name ignores basic marketing principles and handicaps the knifemaker.

I think it is egotistical to expect a collector to remember a catchy name and the associated knifemaker.

In my opinion, there is nothing more important than a knifemaker's name. Knifemakers should use their name to build their brand.

Chuck
 
I didn't care for the "ring" of my name either. Just didn't like the sound of Jason DeHaan in the name of my knives so I decided to go with something that meant something to me. I had a black lab that was named Duke Harley who we put down in Nov and he was my buddy and loved to be down with me in my shop and if he didn't make it down to the shop he laid at the top of the steps and waited for me. So I named my knives Duke Harley Origionals. Some people think its stupid but it's just what I though proper at the time.

Does anyone know if we can change our user names and keep the same acct?

Jay
 
FYI, I know that my opinion of brand names is against the common opinion. The Count and Chuck make a valid point. I still think a creative brand name is better. YMMV.
 
hellspawn415 said:
I want to make knives. Im 18 and plan to go into metallurgy, so this is a lot of thing to me. Its a good source of income and part of how i will be paying for college, Its incredibly calming and I love making knives, and its also my experience. Lots people get degrees but if i have the degree and experience working metal that is worth so much more. Im a big fan of Laurence's very unique style, Haslinger is very interesting, and so are Nick Wheelers. I hate to be "that guy" but i also like the nice curves in stuff like Murray carters knives.
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My point is that you named people as your favorite makers, not companies. Put your name on your blade so people know who made it
 
J. Hoffman said:
My point is that you named people as your favorite makers, not companies. Put your name on your blade so people know who made it
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Devils advocate here, but if he had have said, CRKT, Cold steel, Spyderco etc... would this point still be valid? I agree with both trains of thought, but who says he has to go with his name? I don't particulartly want my name on everything I do... especially if I am going to turn it into a business. As stated by our Fiddly friend above, why would I want my name on people's T-shirts and trinkets, especially if I ever sell that company and no longer have an affiliation with said product? I'm not selling myself, I'm selling knives and if the product speaks for itself and has a catchy name/logo isn't that enough?

just a thought

Royce
 
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I have recently incorporated a private practice as a therapist. I have been taking business training to increase my skillset in the area, and there is a significant contrast between what makes sense in terms of business expansion and what knifemakers do. If your aspiration is to be a one man show, then your name will be fine. If you plan to expand larger, with employees and investors, or possibly sell the business eventually, your name is not a good idea. Creating a brand is different than being an artisan. Decide what you want to do, and follow the correct plan. Most knifemakers do not have a business plan, nor have formal business training. Its important to look at all options. Doing the financials will show you the bottleneck a one man show will face, and how production can never meet the demand.

Food for though. I'm undecided.
 
rustyrazor said:
Devils advocate here, but if he had have said, CRKT, Cold steel, Spyderco etc... would this point still be valid? I agree with both trains of thought, but who says he has to go with his name? I don't particulartly want my name on everything I do... especially if I am going to turn it into a business. As stated by our Fiddly friend above, why would I want my name on people's T-shirts and trinkets, especially if I ever sell that company and no longer have an affiliation with said product? I'm not selling myself, I'm selling knives and if the product speaks for itself and has a catchy name/logo isn't that enough?

just a thought

Royce
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Had he listed those company names, I would have said that he is better off not using his name. I see a difference between someone that wants to make knives because they enjoy it and want to be proud to put their name on the finished product, as apposed to someone that is wanting to start a business that they want to sell some day. There is no problem with either decision, you should just know what you want before you decide on the name.
 
i4Marc said:
Here is my take on names. I think if you have employees working for you and you are putting out production level knives then a "designed" name is probably the way to go. This is because the name represents the efforts of more than one person and you are trying to get knives out the door and draw in a certain type of audience with a cool name. On the other hand, if you are the sole proprietor and make all the knives yourself start to finish, use your own name or initials. If the work you do is not production based but one-at-a-time, handmade, sweat the details, get it as perfect as you can, heirloom quality work then you want those things associated with your name. To me, a knife with a person's name on it says that person is proud of that work and stands behind it.
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I tend to agree with this approach.

Fiddleback said:
Branding your name seems iffey to me.
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I see your point, and clearly your strategy has worked great for guys like you and Rick Marchand. But never mind the knifemaking giants Chuck and Count listed, a whole lot of the biggest and most valuable business names in history would disagree. Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Hershey's, Louis Vitton, Disney... ;)
 
I honestly think Im going to do something alone the lines of Greenberg Bladework with some sort of simple symbol. Possible the chains of Odin.
 
lessismore said:
I just went through the same thing myself and decided on using my last name with my first initial. I think your name has a good ring to it. Greenberg Customs, Greenberg Knives etc.

It could be worse, in the service I'd heard of a Private Private and knew a Sergeant Sargent. Just be glad your last name isn't Custom!
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lol, Or Seaman...
 
Used to work with a guy named Battle... he was a Major. That's right Major Battle. Were I him I think I would have just retired right there. It doesn't get any better.

As far as brand names go, I think both camps have valid points... and I really don't think one is better than the other. All choice really.

Unless you're name is Butts and you run a gentleman's club.
 
Haha! I can only imagine. I'm actually laughing at how funny that is. The irony! What a beat down it must have been for that guy.

I like my name. That's what I'm going with. The last one that is.
 
I think someone mentioned initials earlier. consider "BG"
you could make a logo out of it eventually
 
William Schrade said:
I was wrestling with the same issue and decided, what the hell, just go with my name.

What could I loose?
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I think this post wins the thread! Lol. Love it.

I went with my name. I'm not planning on selling out anytime soon. I do agree with Andy Roy, but I want my name to be my brand. Maybe it's a bit egotistical, but it's what I'm going to do. Even my logo is my actual signature. Part of my brand. If my name is on the blade, it's under the best warranty in the world.
 
Antlerhog said:
Does anyone know if we can change our user names and keep the same acct?

Jay
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Post your question in Tech Support and they will tell you how to do it. Basically, you pay a "user name change" fee and then post the transaction number in tech support in a certain way and after a while Spark will change the user name. All older posts and such will switch to the new name. Everything else (passwords and settings) will be the same.
 
Salolan said:
I did just receive my leather stamp in the mail today. It has my name across the top, town across the bottom with my horse head symbol in the center.

Chris
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Jones Town???? Ouch!!!

Forgive me if that seems harsh, but to me, when I hear Jones Town I go some place bad and with that unfortunate event, so does Google.
 
Skeaterbait said:
Jones Town???? Ouch!!!

Forgive me if that seems harsh, but to me, when I hear Jones Town I go some place bad and with that unfortunate event, so does Google.
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I'm gonna guess he means La Cygne underneath.
 
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