Need some help picking a bunch of custom blades

A

ahenry

Joined
Sep 19, 2001
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Ok, I have a semi odd question that I need some help with. In roughly a year and a few months from now, I will be tying to knot. I was doing some thinking about this the other day and decided on what I want to get my best men/groomsmen. That’s right, a custom blade. Way I figure it; a quality piece of steel is perhaps one of the best gifts a man could ever give a friend.

Now, here is the difficulty I have. Given how many of these I will need to buy, I can’t afford the big name makers out there. In fact, since I will probably end up wanting one of these myself, I think I will be looking at 7 of these things and at even 100 bucks a piece if I get any sort of presentation box I am looking at 100 bucks or so. One thousand dollars is really higher than I would like to go, but I’m not sure just how I could get that much lower. So what I need some help from you guys on is what maker(s) should I look at? I’ll list my criteria as it stands now, but it’s not firm by any stretch of the imagination, so feel free to add your suggestions or modifications. One last thing, Can I (or more accurately, can the maker) do this in just a smidge over a year?


Custom – Unless it becomes completely infeasible, I don’t want to go production or even “semi-production”. I just don’t know what makers I should look at.
Price – LOW, I’d sure like to come in no higher than $100 per knife. Hopefully the right maker can cut his profit per knife down some and make it up on a guaranteed run of 7 knives.
Design – Roughly a typical Bowie style (i.e. clip point, sharpened swedge/false edge, 8 plus inches of blade, guard, etc, etc)
Steel – Not firm, but I am a big fan of D2.
Handle – Really haven’t decided on this yet. Any suggestions?


Thats everything that comes to mind right now. Please feel free to mention any ideas or thoughts you have on this.
 
I think you're going to have an extremely difficult time getting a competent custom maker to make an 8+ inch bowie style knife with a guard for a hundred dollars or less. (The cost of materials and especially labor on such a project may easily exceed your price range.)

The only exception I can think of is if the maker just decides to do you a favor or is looking for a little good will/publicity for doing so.

To keep this thread within the parameters of this forum, let's keep responses general in terms of any names suggested, and please, no bids or prices. Use email to discuss any such specifics.
 
The price range you are looking for is going to be hard to meet. Materials and heat treating alone are going to be expensive, then add in labor and a the cost goes up.

If you have a best man I think that maybe he should get one. Traditionally the best man recieved a slightly better gift than the groomsmen. You could also give smaller knives, something thet they could use and carry. This would cut the cost down. A simple design, like a drop point with a 3 in blade.

I am currently making 3 knives for my dentist who is getting married in sept. He has 2 best men so I am making folders for them and a custom wedding cake knife for him and his bride to cut the cake with.
Good luck on your search.
 
Sorry about that Blues, I wasn’t trying to break any rules here. I guess I didn’t realize that this was treading close to the line. My e-mail is in my profile, so if somebody has something to suggest that would be breaking forum rules, please email me instead.



I know that price is going to be super tough to come in under. In fact, like y’all I’m not sure it can be done. However, I really want to do this so I’m going to give it my best shot. If it turns out that I can’t make it then options like smaller custom knives, production knives, folders, different knives for groomsmen and best men (I will have two), etc are all possible. I just want to see if I can come up with a maker that can even come close to what I’m asking for before I change from what I really want to what’s acceptable. That's why I am asking from suggestions from y'all.
 
Nothing to apologize for, no "rules" were broken. Just trying to keep things on the straight and narrow so we don't have to "fix" it later on.
 
I did some big bowies like that a long time ago and i got around 500 for them and i felt like i got riped off becase i could have made like 4 folders in that time and got just as much or more. But good luck to you just the same.
 
Since money is tight, may I suggest checking into the Queen line-up of knives? They recently switched to D2 in their line and I do know that they make some fixed blades, though I haven't seen them. I know that they make a half dozen or more different models of slipjoints that are pretty nice. Choices include cocobolo wood, stag-like bone, and a couple Delrin handled models. They all have D2 blades and are pretty nice knives. Most of them are in the $50-65 range too.
By the way, congratulations on your impending doom... errr marriage!;) And kudos to you for giving sharp pointies for groomsman gifts!
Good luck, Mongo
 
If you scaled your knife size down a little you could give them all one of Bob Dozier's small "bowies" like the K9 Personal Utility. Seven of them would come in right around the $1000 dollar mark and he might give you a discount of some sort if you were buying that many at once. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

Even without any discount I am sure they would be VERY appreciated by the recipients and they would get a lifetime of use out of them. They are also all D2 like you wanted.
 
ahenry,

Go smaller. I love bowies, but most non-knife guys have no use for 'em.

If you could only walk the Blade Show and talk to some makers, but I think timewise it's not feasible.

Good luck!
 
Well, I'd be thrilled to get a Dozier knife as a gift!
I carry my Personal Ute everyday. It would be a gift that would last.

Or...
What about a factory folder with plain steel handle slabs, and have them engraved?
I think I saw some steel/metal handled folders at
www.knifecenter.com

Let us know how it turns out!

PS...my 25th wedding anniversary is coming up in October. Married life is great. The first ten years can be rough...but after that you'll both be broken in. Just like a comfey pair of old sneakers :D :eek: :D ;)
 
Thanks for all the responses and advice. I have been out of town for a bit and haven’t been able to respond here until now, and I have a few emails from you guys to catch up on as well (yep I got yours LH – standby for a reply). You guys are great. Any more suggestions/advice/ideas/comments/etc please post ‘em.
 
Keeping that same price, how possible are custom folders? I had always made the assumption a folder would be even more costly, but as I was thinking about it I realized I don’t actually know that’s the case. Would it be more for a folder than a fixed blade? Seems like there would be more work, but I freely admit I am a newbie to the custom knife world. As it stands right now I have never owned any customs (planning on changing that ASAP though) so I am sorta in the dark here.
 
Originally posted by ahenry
Keeping that same price, how possible are custom folders?
Click to expand...

IMO you won't be able to get a custom folder for that price. It barely covers the cost of the materials and there is a lot of extra work for a folder compared to a simple fixed blade.
 
IMO you won't be able to get a custom folder for that price. It barely covers the cost of the materials and there is a lot of extra work for a folder compared to a simple fixed blade.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That is what I was thinking, but I wanted to check.
 
I looked at his knives, and I like them. They sure seem like a possible option. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Got a question for ya. Do you posess any metalworking skills at all? This suggestion may be a stretch, but is there a maker in your area you might be able to work with? I personally love grinding blades, but hate all the hand sanding work. *Maybe* you could find a guy willing to grind out the blades for you, and send them to you for finishing? Or something? For me, the sanding takes about as long as the grinding, but doesn't take nearly as much skill. Just time. By doing some of the labor yourself, the maker might be able to keep his costs down a bit, while at the same time, you'd be giving your friends a great gift that you helped make!

Maybe you shouldn't limit yourself to sanding if you are good with your hands. Since it's over a year away, you might have time to be taught how to make a simple knife. 'Course, you'd have to find an EXTREMELY generous person to help ya.


just a thought.
 
I think you have several options really, check the following makers at BladeArt...

JR Johnson mini Bowies (pictured below @ $90 each)
Mike Irie, a little over but if you bought enough maybe they'd give you a deal.
Webb & Fisher
Arno Bernard (Mini Series)
RW Clark (Mini Aikuchi)
John Greco

Plenty of makers putting out very nice knives for at or under $100.

All of these are along smaller lines but your friends may be more likely to appreciate them if they're not knife nuts.

Good luck!
 
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