natural handle material cost reflection on traditional knives...

okbohn said:
Another factor in cost from the perspective of the dealer. More cost in photography. More time answering customer inquiries. Many, many, many more returns. They are probably 50-75 to 1 when you consider anything with a natural handle material to something like a Spyderco.
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Just the cost of doin business Derrick.
 
okbohn said:
Yes. It is a cost. That is my point. Let that trickle up to distributors and manufacturers and that cost increases the end price of a knife.
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I think you missed my point. Most of the GEC Distributors sell at MAP pricing. If you add up every little thing it takes to market a piece, you price yourself right out of business.
 
I think that given the cost of US labor, materials, marketing and other factors, todays traditional knives are a bargain compared to other items on the market with similar criteria.
 
Hate to make this a GEC thread but Im hoping that some of the other manufacturers take a few queues from GEC and up their game. I like all the manufacturers out there but they need to tighten things up so to speak.
 
Let's keep this about natural handle materials and not manufacturers please.
 
From the perspective of the donor, stag is a lot cheaper than bone. Considering that antlers represent a few months work for a deer, whereas cow bone is a lifetime commitment for a cow. :)
 
jc57 said:
From the perspective of the donor, stag is a lot cheaper than bone. Considering that antlers represent a few months work for a deer, whereas cow bone is a lifetime commitment for a cow. :)
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I'm with you, brother!
 
To the OP's question first you have to ask yourself how long is a piece of string. Well, it is from end to the other. Not to be hateful here but it really is that simple. I want a car; how much do I have to spend, how fast do I want to go, how much luxury do I want, do I care about pride of ownership, blah, blah, blah. I want a stag knife; do I want popcorn, what about color, do I want it 2" thick at one end and 1/2" at the other or appropriately fitted, how about texture……How about ivory; well now that could get interesting.

Buying production knives with natural handle materials is going to be a crap shoot. Always has been to some degree really. Some will always be nicer than others. Some won't even be acceptable. If you really want your moneys worth with natural handle materials work with a custom maker. Not to say you won't get disappointed here as well but they are your best chance at bang for the buck. If you don't want the extra cost or wait time stick with synthetics, bone or wood. Disappointments won't be as big or costly.
 
It it funny to watch the way a factory that actually prices their knife by cost + margin instead of by what the market will bare. For example, GEC jigged bone costs generally the same as smooth bone. It takes longer to jig the bone, but longer to get a perfect finish on the smooth bone or wood. The price of the scales do make a difference, but in the end the work required to finish a slab is the determining factor with many makers. You know a huge sheet of acrylic is cheaper than a natural bone / wood; but it costs about the same once a mirror shine is put on it.

Although most makers do torch their stag to get some depth to it, much of the rich caramel is put in it by a potassium permanganate bath before assembly. Stag was ridiculous 15 years ago and then got more plentiful and now is getting ridiculous again. Working with pearl and abalone on a large scale is like a death wish, as many old knife tinkerers have died of lung issues; thus I am surprised it is not more expensive.

GEC buys their leg bones fresh and do all the cutting themselves. They buy their Genuine stag in racks and cut them to order as well. The Natural and Burnt come thru together and if they don't feel the need to burn it - it is Natural. Queen buys most of their slabs and it seems like most bone comes from Culpepper; they don't have as much control over quality, but no investment in producing it. And the only knives with less pin cracks that Queen in the last 15 years - is GEC.

Several years ago there was a fellow in Australia that "embellished" knives. He once made slabs from superglue impregnated kangaroo dung - called it RooPoo handles. It became obvious to me at that time that beauty is in the eye of the beholder on knives just as with women. I sent half of my first batch of primitive bone knives back due to the lines; once it was in the mail back to the factory I had several customers calling me for "the most cracked up mess you got".

So, although there are 1000 different reasons for price variations; one thing is for sure. Don't ever try and figure out what the next guy is going to want!
 
knifeswapper said:
I sent half of my first batch of primitive bone knives back due to the lines; once it was in the mail back to the factory I had several customers calling me for "the most cracked up mess you got".
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ME TOO! And if I had it to do all over again, I would get it all back. That stuff is so beautiful, it just took a little bit of time before people realized it. :)
 
Peregrin said:
Let's keep this about natural handle materials and not manufacturers please.
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And above all, please do not talk about the ins and outs of selling knives at the retail level.
 
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