How To New knifemaker looking for how to sell knives

G

Gabriel Sotelo

Joined
Dec 18, 2020
Messages
1
Hello,


I'm a young knifemaker looking to sell knives on Bladeforums and I'd appreciate all the advice I can get. I've made several knifes and I love doing it. I'm going to buy a knifemaker rank to sell. Other than that I'd love to hear strategies and tips from people with more experience in knifemaking and selling.

Thank you

Gabriel
 
Hi Gabriel. I don't believe we're actually allowed to talk sales on these forums until you actually have a knifemaker's membership. I'm just a novice with no real sales under my belt, I just wanted to help you stay out of trouble :)
 
Clear, well lit pictures.
Description of the materials, method and heat treatment.
 
It is OK to discuss the ins and outs of selling knives ... just no talk about actual knives you want to sell.

OK to post - I want to start selling knives, What is the best way?
Not OK to post - I made this bushcraft knife and want to sell it. Where is the best way to do that?
 
I bring this up because you say you are young - I think there is a minimum age to sell here , dont remember what it is though. How old are you ?
 
My advice is to spend lots of attention to detail, design, functionality, and finishing. As mentioned, good photos help a lot if trying to sell online. Look into making a zero-cost light box out of a card board box for photos.

The more knives you make, the better your final product (usually). I started by gifting away nearly the first ten that I made. That gets the word out to people you know . . . and more.
 
This may seem like common sense but use the knives you make, actually use them for hard tasks that they are meant to perform, this will greatly improve your designs because you will find things you don’t like about your beginning designs. Several good rules I like to keep in mind, a knife should never hurt the user, no sharp edges where they shouldn’t be and designs should be above all about comfort and performance first in other words what looks cool may not be a good knife (this bring me back to use the knives you make for their intended tasks and if it’s not comfortable or doesn’t perform well change it) and you shouldn’t have to tell someone how to hold a knife it should be intuitive for the most part, if you have to explain how to hold it for it to be comfortable or work properly then it’s not designed well.
 
Look at what people are selling here and on instagram. Match or beat the quality and fit and finish.

Many new knifemakers settle for poor fit and finish deluding themselves they are doing "Rustic Finish" when in reality they just do not put in the time and effort to do better.
 
Gabriel,

Welcome. Why don't you start with a little show and tell? Show us some of your knives and tell us the specs.
 
AVigil said:
Look at what people are selling here and on instagram. Match or beat the quality and fit and finish.

Many new knifemakers settle for poor fit and finish deluding themselves they are doing "Rustic Finish" when in reality they just do not put in the time and effort to do better.
Click to expand...

Oh yes.

Everyone is excited about their first knives, but have no realistic vision about their quality.
 
I am a hobby maker but I would like to sell eventually to recover at least some of the costs. I have been doing this occasionally for 2 years and made about 15 knives. I have declined all sell offers for now because I feel like I am still not there.

If you are alright with that I think it is OK to sell even subpar knives (in design, fit and finish) if they are hardened properly and have a handle constructed up to the “state of the art". Especially since it might be the only way for some to continue producing and cover their cost. I noticed there are a lot of buyers willing to buy (what I would consider subpar knives) if the price point reflects this. Small edcs and kitchen pairing knives move quick at a price between 60-120 USD. If you use something like aebl or 1084 and properly finished hardwood there is still a small margin of profit on that.

Consider your production and material costs including your working hours per knife. And what everybody else already said. Good luck and show us your work!
 
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