old timers? have use SEEN the prices go up

marekz

marekz

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
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1,699
hello, fellas who been at this 10 years or more. was there a time when you could buy things more cheaply like wood,steel,belts etc. or was it more like you got your wood from local areas, you built your own stuff etc. I am just trying to envision what this hobby/part timer maker ( me ) can expect in the cost of of wood and steel in 10-20 years. I know many of you are full time and many are part time, and many are whenever time. It just seems like evrybody aND THEIR MOTHER ARE TRYING TO SELL DIFFERENT STUFF ( INCLUDING ME) AND ALMOST WONDER IF THE PRICE OF CERTAIN THINGS MAY ACTUALLY GO DOWN. THANKS-MAREKZ
 
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Hello Marekz, I have been making knives for over twenty five years and yes things have gone UP. When I bought my Bader B-III, it was $1895.00 for the 1.5 HP variable, now around $2295 or more. Belts a little bit, but you have to know where to buy them. It seems like everything I use has gone up somewhat, just a function of time and economy. I have rarely seen things go down. I have seen fluctuations in handle material, but mainly an upward swing. Could be because I am using more expensive materials as my knives have gotten better. Also my knife prices have gone up, so I guess it kind of evens out. I really do not see supplies, equipment, etc. dropping as long as demand is there for them and certain things become rarer, such as ironwood.

Brion
 
i started back in 1990 and didnt have much cost in equipment or supplies. i made my own belt sander which i used until i wore it out in the late 90's. i used belts that were gave to me by my buddy art and i made my knives from john deere planter discs that were free. one buddy gave me scrap neoprene that i used for my handles and another gave me shed antler from deer he raised. when i got back into making knives a buddy helped me rebuild my belt sander and make a disc sander. sometimes it helps to have good friends and its even better if they work in the right places.
 
Guess I started about 11 years ago - and sure, most things have gone up some. To be honest though, I think Knife supplies have gone up less that average wages / income.

Come to think of it, I'm earning more than double what I was ten years ago (my day job) and knife supplies have increased maybe 5 - 10%.

20 years from now, maybe it will all be free. :)

Rob!
 
what about wood like amboyna burl or types of rosewoods--are any of these seemingly going to get rarer?-marekz
 
In Japan, things surely changed since early 90's when I started making knives.
The most significant change for me is the types of available woods.
Some of my favorite woods are no longer available.

The price of my favorite steel is not changed so much, maybe gained 10percent or something.
Talking about steel, many new products came into the market with higher price tag.
I think good old steel like O1 or M2 has not changed their price tag so much.

And yes, stag horn price has gained significantly here in Japan.
 
Phillip Dobson said:
Computers. Could you have imagined ten years ago that you could get a good laptop for under $400?
Click to expand...
heck could you even imagin ehaving 5 computers in one house hold 10 years ago? The one I am on right now would have been considered a supper computer 20 years ago.
 
fujita yuji said:
In Japan, things surely changed since early 90's when I started making knives.
The most significant change for me is the types of available woods.
Some of my favorite woods are no longer available.

The price of my favorite steel is not changed so much, maybe gained 10percent or something.
Talking about steel, many new products came into the market with higher price tag.
I think good old steel like O1 or M2 has not changed their price tag so much.

And yes, stag horn price has gained significantly here in Japan.
Click to expand...

what kind of wood is no longer available????-thankz-mark
 
quality Ivory, stag, and exhibition woods are harder to get and more scarce it seems. I remember ordering certain woods, pearl, stag, etc. back in the late 80's, and most would be very good quality. Now even if you order some exhibition grade stuff it's to small, or of poorer quality than I used to get. I hardly order scales of ivory, stag, and exhibition grade wood because I'm afraid I'll just get crap that's worthless. Now when I go to a knife show I buy it in person so I can hand pick the stuff and know what I am getting. Nothing like buying a large set of sambar stag scales only to receive it so warped that only a quarter of it is useable.
 
To think when I started 25 years ago I found Sheffield Supply and order nickle silver barstock from them and because they had a $25. minimun on credit card sales I would add stag tapers at $7.50 each. They were the BIG ONES.
 
Phillip Dobson said:
Computers. Could you have imagined ten years ago that you could get a good laptop for under $400?
Click to expand...

Back around '94 or '95 I showed a friend some home video that I burned to CD and he asked about the video card I had and he chuckled about my "impulse spending" regarding the purchase of the video card and I said "yeah, I only waited 18 months for the price to come down before I bought it." I think I paid less than half of what the new price was.

My first CD burner cost exactly $500.00 and blanks were around $15.00 a piece. Now the burner and a 100 blanks can be had for about $40.00 total.

Could you have imagined purchasing a combo lathe, mill, drill for $1000.00 in the nineties?

Aside from absolute rarity of some products there are a couple of things (perhaps more) that affect the prices of manufactured products. Mass production; as a company makes profit they can develop the means to produce their product more efficiently. Competition; not only from other companies but individuals that choose to make their own product. As equipment and materials become cheaper it becomes desirable for individuals to make their own products causing loss of sales to the companies and also causing them to lower prices to make their product more desirable.

I could see stabilized wood going down in price for those very reasons I mentioned. I've personally never bought any of it because my knives aren't currently worthy of a $40.00 handle. But I can tell you that I'm interested in it and I'm also a DIY guy so I would likely investigate doing my own stabilization because there is a local place that sells sweet chunks of burl and wood reasonably priced. Perhaps I would buy one quality chunk just to compare to my own but that time is in the future.
 
Speaking of stag I think somewhere I still have a catalog of Bob Schrimshers with stag
for like the $5-6 dollar range, and 440c for $2.50 or so a foot. (mid seventies)
Ken.
 
KnifeMaker.ca said:
Guess I started about 11 years ago - and sure, most things have gone up some. To be honest though, I think Knife supplies have gone up less that average wages / income.

Come to think of it, I'm earning more than double what I was ten years ago (my day job) and knife supplies have increased maybe 5 - 10%.

20 years from now, maybe it will all be free. :)

Rob!
Click to expand...

I'll make sure to ask you in 20 years then Rob!
 
I just got back into the game after being absent since 2005. Last night, I was looking at my tool & supply receipts from back then, and it made me want to cry.
I purchased a JET JVM-836 for $2900 back then. It is now around $4650. :(
 
I have sold knives for thirty years. I think I paid $650.00 for my Wilton Square Wheel Grinder in the early 1980's.
 
LOL......In 1973, my Olympic Square Wheel was $625.00 shipped. and
Sambar stag....tapers or scales were $3-5.00 per..........but then a new
tricked out Firebird was only about $4200.00, and gas was maybe $.30/gal.
and bread was around $.20/loaf...
 
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