Nick Wheeler, JS ~ Ironwood Burl Bowie

Nick who?

Problem with "these" days is that arguably one of the most talented knifemakers alive has not been heard of or from in a long time.

There are select few of us who know about Nick, and gladly swap his work within "The Circle"....but outside of that...it's Nick Who?

Not good for Nick, not good for his collectors, not good for the knife world...I continually wish him the best, but also wish that he would extract his cranium from his colon!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Nick is on Instagram and has 6.1 Thousand people following him everyday.

I see lots of makers on Instagram that are not on the forums.

If you are not no Instagram you are missing a lot of what current makers are doing.
 
AVigil said:
Nick is on Instagram and has 6.1 Thousand people following him everyday.

I see lots of makers on Instagram that are not on the forums.

If you are not no Instagram you are missing a lot of what current makers are doing.
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I hear a lot about Instagram, but I have a BlackBerry, and afaik, it's for Apple and Android.

Nick makes elegant, classic forged blades....how many of "the kids" buy those types of knives?

While people like Joe Paranee and myself may consider them to be some of the BEST types of "fighting knives", by definition, they are not tactical.

I'm talking about exposure to BUYERS of a type of knife, not simple exposure.

Nick has had ONE knife that sold on AZCK, Les George has had 147, Phill Hartsfield has had 82, Jay Hendrickson has had 11.

AZCK moves more custom knives than any other online dealer that I have seen....and want to paint a little picture....I put 10 Burt Foster forged knives up for sale earlier this year on BFC(this is after asking Burt to help me sell them and being told NO!, even the knives that I did not Garssonize), and after about a month, pulled them and sent them to AZCK....of the 7 knives I sent them(decided to keep 3), to date, they have sold 6 at higher prices than what was asked on BFC.

Market position for a maker is often determined at time of RE-sale by a collector.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
"Black Berry"? does that thing have old timey buttons on it?

Instagram is filled with people spending thousands on knives and they are not kids. There are people with with big money on there, from USA to Dubai, buying knives

People get to watch a maker and get a view into their lives and knifemaking. They make a connection and when they buy they are not buying from a stranger.

Also on Instagram trolls and wise ass remarks are shut down quickly and you get to enjoy knives and not peoples rants, which is very nice.
 
AVigil said:
"Black Berry"? does that thing have old timey buttons on it?
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It does. I text a lot(1000+/month) and can invariably text faster than most people using a predictive, buttonless touch keyboard on Iphone/Galaxy......am changing to a Classic in a week or so...that has buttons too....and a touch screen.....and it runs Android apps...

Take a credit card number, ship overseas and risk getting burned....Know a lot of dealers that won't do that anymore.

Mr. Vigil, you can take the position you do, and you may not be "wrong", but the information/perspective that I am putting out there is valid as well.

I buy and sell a lot of knives.

Makers who only use the electronic forms of communication that the "kids" use ie, Instagram/Facebook....run a very serious risk of losing market position....shows are still important, as are forums....you have to reach ALL the buyers you can, otherwise, somebody who buys knives thinks you have a different career or have died.

AFAIK, Nick was only a full time maker for a short period of time.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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Kohai999 said:
It does. I text a lot(1000+/month) and can invariably text faster than most people using a predictive keyboard.

Take a credit card number, ship overseas and risk getting burned....I know a lot of dealers that won't do that anymore.

Mr. Vigil, you can take the position you do, and you may not be "wrong", but I think the information/perspective that I am putting out there is valid as well.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Of course your view is valid

But the amount of knifemakers all around the world on Instagram selling and auctions occurring bringing in hundred to thousands of dollars for knives is not an opinion it is demonstrable and measurable fact.

When you no longer see many knifemakers on the forums you often will find them on Instagram going strong, they do not have to pay to be on Instagram, deal with moderators and have 100% control who is on their account there.

Many knifemakers while "missing" on the forum are easily found on Instagram and Facebook doing just fine without the forums.
 
AVigil said:
But the amount of knifemakers all around the world on Instagram selling and auctions occurring bringing in hundred to thousands of dollars for knives is not an opinion it is demonstrable and measurable fact.
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Of course, but as someone who has been in it for 30 years, Instagram may be a trend, or it may supplant other forms of sale...time will tell.

A maker without an aftermarket is not successful in the long run, that is measurable and demonstrable as well.

I'm going to the Art Knife Invitational next weekend.

Most of those makers are not on forums OR on instagram....yet some of those makers will sell more $$$ in knives in a day than many makers will see in a year....and they all have a strong aftermarket.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
Of course, but as someone who has been in it for 30 years, Instagram may be a trend, or it may supplant other forms of sale...time will tell.

A maker without an aftermarket is not successful in the long run.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Sure it can be a trend, everything is a trend when it ends, that is why they move onto the next resource and not stay stagnate.

30 years? Pretty good. I started in custom knives 38 years ago :) The first knifemaker I met was Red Watson and the second Rick Browne and lucky enough to have knives from both of them. The benefit of growing up in Upland Ca and spending a few Saturdays as a teenager with Bob Loveless in his shop :)
 
AVigil said:
Sure it can be a trend, everything is a trend when it ends, that is why they move onto the next resource and not stay stagnate.

30 years? Pretty good. I started in custom knives 38 years ago :) The first knifemaker I met was Red Watson and the second Rick Browne and lucky enough to have knives from both of them. The benefit of growing up in Upland Ca and spending a few Saturdays as a teenager with Bob Loveless in his shop :)
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Must be an older, crusty SOB like me, lol:)

My first experience with custom knives was a buddy of mine who dragged me to the NYCCKS in 1985, but of course, had been "into" knives since I was 8 or so.

First custom knife was from Larry Page, it was a Loveless style fighter, second from Ron Gaston(1986), one of his awesome double edged creations, and at the same show, a Pat Crawford Assassin Frame Lock(1986), which I still have.

"Tactical Knives" had been around before that, but that Assassin is in all bb, and definition of.....tacticals have been going strong for the last 30 years, but there is a lot of downward trending on prices/hot selling for many but the best right now, and agree with you about trends.

I tend to focus on what the aftermarket is doing because when thinking about selling knives, it is helpful to know what is selling and for how much.

Hope to see you at a show sometime.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Nice knife, sheath and pictures of both. Whether or not I began with knives fifty or more years ago doesn't matter. Thanks for posting these pictures.
 
STeven, you know I met Nick when we all started. I also have lost touch with Nick. I do agree with most of your statements and find this an interesting discussion. I am fortunate that I have met my goals and do not have to learn all the new tech that is required in this business. Would be nice to sit down sometime and discuss collections.
 
Codger_64 said:
Nice knife, sheath and pictures of both. Whether or not I began with knives fifty or more years ago doesn't matter. Thanks for posting these pictures.
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A lot of the photography posts here lately have been stuck on the "Nice knife, sheath and pictures of both."....having a discussion about the maker's relevance and marketing methods is sort of refreshing for a change, imo.

gthouse said:
STeven, you know I met Nick when we all started. I also have lost touch with Nick. I do agree with most of your statements and find this an interesting discussion. I am fortunate that I have met my goals and do not have to learn all the new tech that is required in this business. Would be nice to sit down sometime and discuss collections.
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Love to do that Gary, will you be at Blade in 2016?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
For those of you that are technically challenged here is Nick's instagram feed (NO smartphone required to view):

https://instagram.com/nick_wheeler_knives_and_newfs/

To reach your audience and do so quickly instagram is good for that. Nick and everyone else I follow do not sell anything on instagram, they show some bits and pieces of their work, process and usually some stuff outside knives. If someone wants to buys something from a person taking orders, they are usually directed to a website or given an email address.

Instagram for knifemakers is more a form of free advertisement and updates to customers, new and old. I see it replacing blogs and website updates in many aspects. New guys to industry vets like David Lisch and Stan Wilson are on it posting some cool stuff.


-Clint

Edit: Forgot to mention you don't need a smartphone to view a feed on instagram
 
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I love it when a thread goes off topic in a good way. Thanks for the discussion, guys. That said, I think I just might look into Instagram.
 
Great knife, great pic, and a great, and IMO very relevant, discussion regarding the future of the hobby. I think platforms like instagram are here to stay, and I don't even use it. Gotta get me one of those newfangled smart phones one of these days.
 
You can get it on your computer. You can see peoples posts and follow them. Use search to search things such as "knife, knives, customknives " etc.

https://instagram.com/
 
Guys, a quick word about Nick. I have known him for a number of years now, own a few of his knives, and have handled many, many more. If there is one thing that I can say about Nick as a knifemaker, it is that he is absolutely uncompromising about the quality of his work. Some would even call him obsessive. It's just the way he's wired.

What that means for collectors, is that when they buy a Nick Wheeler knife it will be about as close to flawless as humanly possible, and will represent quite a bargain for the quality of work delivered. What this means for Nick, is that he will continue to struggle in silence.

In order to really make it today as a knifemaker, you have to be efficient, productive, and prolific. You need to have new knives posted on Instagram, Facebook, and the internet forums every week or you will cease to be "current." You will need to find ways to streamline your process, or you will fail to make money. This is where Nick will always struggle. Because he is so uncompromising, he is also inefficient, and will not be able to produce the volume and earn the profit margins required to make a good living making knives.

As I said, this is the way he's wired. Collectors who appreciate his work have to understand that you can't be simultaneously obsessive and efficient. For Nick, this means that he will work other jobs to help him cover his health insurance, mortgage, groceries, gas and electricity bills, and his knife production will remain limited.

Roger, if you are waiting for a response from him, I do hope that he gets back to you soon. If he's posting on instagram, he should certainly be able to reply to an email too.
 
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