Olive wood + O1 hunter/utility

Nice catch Rick! I was actually eying that one but you beat me to it. Happy Thanksgiving you and your family!
 
Nick you may just need to stick with YOUR niche. That market is tough, a lot of non metal guys buffing out scales. Hell some of them may be buying your blade's halting them and selling against you.

Personally, I don't like domed pins, so they offer no value to me.

Dude you make some great stuff, I would stick to that if I were you.

Randy
 
Nick, I'm glad you posted this question. It's something that has bugged me for quite a while. Although I'm just a beginning maker, I've watched the exchange for a long, long time. Personally I'm not sure why your knife didn't sell before it did.

I'm betting I know which maker you're talking about. Well, there's two that come to mind and I've often felt that when it comes right down to it, (at least in this price point), a flashy/exotic handle get's the nod over a similar knife with an average looking handle. More and more I'm believing that if you have two similar knives, one with an average heat treat with flashy exotic handles and one with an over the top heat treat but with average handles, the one with the flashy/exotic handle will sell for more and sell quicker than the other. Heat treating is something you can't see, but a exotic handle material is. I don't blame such people, I love exotics also. (by the way, this Olive wood of yours is awesome)

What some of these makers have done is create a following for the niche their knives are in. Look at Ray Lacanico (I hope I spelled that right!) In my opinion, he doesn't offer flashy knife handles and his designs aren't flashy either. His followers know he turns out quality blades made from the best materials. His $600 folders will generally last only a minute or two on the Exchange. Sometimes LESS than a minute! It's unreal how quickly some of them are bought! He has developed a Super Group of followers. I wanna be like Ray when I grow up!! ;)

I also hear lefties complain that makers don't make left handed sheaths. I've offered two knives in the last year (an EDC and a Bushcrafter) with left handed sheaths and no one has scooped them up. It was only after I made a right handed sheath that they sold.

Personally I wish you made more users like this. It's a beautiful knife that I'm sure can get the job done when called to do so. But I also understand your frustration over a knife sitting here in the exchange while others seem to get snatched up.
 
Hey Nick,
Please don't stop making knives at this price point. Your workmanship is second to none as far as I'm concerned.
If you only sold knives above a grand I would most likely never own one.
EVERY single knife I have seen from you goes stright into my inspiration folder.
 
Not robbing the thread,I feel im one of the {ONES} You all maybe speaking about. Aswell as the {{ Edited }} part you removed from your post when it was first made. Im just one of the guys who don't bother anyone and would give another maker the shirt off my back.An would help anyone,Im by far not as good as you Nick in all respects.But my anexity has kicked my A$$ since the thread had been edited.I wanted to post then but kept my mouth shut. Because I actually didn't know if it was pointed directly at me.We can discuss this in the GBU forum or elswere if this pertains to me.If not disregard my post. BTw~Added leather would make a sell a lot quicker.Imho
Have a good one.

Mudbug~ If you are pertaining to me? I think ive been very kind to you.An your acheivements as a new maker. Maybe im not one of the "ONES" You are pertaining to,But you kinda make it plain of who your speaking about.
 
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EldoEsq said:
Maybe next time don't put it up for sale 3 days before Black Friday and the holiday season.
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My point at "any other time of year" - By late November, all funds (aside from small stuff) are accounted for (and pre-spent) until mid January. I also have enough knives I don't carry because I have not yet sourced or made sheaths for them - if I'm buying a user, it needs to be ready to go (with leather).
 
If you want it to sell quicker, it has to have a sheath. I've passed on several knives because they didn't come with one.
Also, don't stop making knives at this price point. Otherwise, I'll never be able to get one of your knives.
 
Personally, I have not seen such perfection since I bought a Corbet Sigman Trout & Bird knife back in the '80's. I looked that knife over from every possible angle and could not find the slightest hint of a flaw. This piece reminds me of that knife...

Beautiful work.
 
Bill, no brother, I was not meaning you. I had one of your knives and loved it. And yes, you've been Super helpful over the years and it's appreciated!

After re-reading my post, it sounds like I'm down on the two makers, but I'm not. My point was that people can see a nice handle and a nice sheath. Yet, they have nothing other than previous customers to go on when determining unseen qualities like heat treat and blade performance.....hope that is clear....but probably isn't... :|
 
Thanks for all the responses guys. :)


I'm really glad you guys understood what I was asking, and didn't think I was just bi***ing. ;)

I don't doubt the knife would sell easier with a sheath... Part of this thread was a curiosity I had to see if a knife like this would sell without a sheath. I know it needs a sheath (unless it just got used as a desk knife) but there are a lot of sheath guys out there these days, and it would allow me to sell the knife for less $$$.

Bill- I promise you none of this was directed at you. I actually contacted the maker I was thinking of, so he knows about this... I just didn't want to use his name and drag him into my query since I wasn't sure how it would turn out if a lot of folks mistook my post.


As far as what I edited out of the OP... that wasn't directed at anyone in particular... just a general "vibe" that seems to be floating around the exchange quite a bit lately. Obviously I don't have selling knives in the current "user market" figured out anymore (which feels ironic and frustrating since I made only hunting/utility knives for many years)--- but some of the posts hit me like the old infomercials of the guy shouting about Oxy-Clean.

THIS IS AWESOME! IT'S AMAZING! YOU'LL LOVE IT! THE WORK IS SUPERB!!!

Maybe that's what it takes to sell knives on the forums now, IDK. I hope not. Maybe I just got it hammered into my head too much as a kid not to boast because it's off-putting and the quality of your work will do the talking for you. Maybe that's a 35 year old guy being too old fashioned... IDK.

I do understand that at the end of the day, each of us gets to decide how to handle ourselves, and it's really none of the next guy's problem.



There were a lot of great posts added to this thread, and I really appreciate that. Thank you. :)
 
I liked the knife .. a lot .. and thought about buying it even tho it's on the higher end of what I can personally justify spending on one knife just so I could say I owned a true-blue Nick Wheeler knife - but I hated the pins you used. I will never be able to afford one of your high end knives and I havent seen you offer any finished mid-range user knives before .. but those pins .. ugh. It's a personal opinion and trying to figure out what your buyers want is definitely a talent all in it's own.
 
Hello!

Nick, it may have to do with your name's high standing for more sophisticated builds - I know a lot of people who would rather buy a Minivan that is labelled Toyota than a Minivan that is labelled Porsche (even if there is a Porsche engine inside). And also a street-legal F1 racer that is labelled McLaren rather than one that is labelled Citroen.

Regards,
Alex
 
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bonafide said:
I liked the knife .. a lot .. and thought about buying it even tho it's on the higher end of what I can personally justify spending on one knife just so I could say I owned a true-blue Nick Wheeler knife - but I hated the pins you used. I will never be able to afford one of your high end knives and I havent seen you offer any finished mid-range user knives before .. but those pins .. ugh. It's a personal opinion and trying to figure out what your buyers want is definitely a talent all in it's own.
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Okay, that's not the first mention of not liking domed pins, so......

What don't you like about the pins? A domed and polished pin is a lot of extra work and IMHO adds a lot of character to a knife. It takes a straight pin like most guys use (which is pretty much pointless) and turns it into an actual mechanical fastener. And it won't move in the handle and cause sharp edges like most guys flush straight pins will.

Grinding something flush is "second day of class" type stuff... But if that's the preference that's good to know.

If doing NOT doing something that takes 30 minutes to an hour would help a knife sell faster, then that's an hour I could use somewhere else. :)

Thanks guys :)
 
Hello Nick!

I'll stick to my theme above and think of it as a body-kit for a Minivan (sort of)... ;)

That said, the Pins you used do work for me.

Regards,
Alex
 
NickWheeler said:
Okay, that's not the first mention of not liking domed pins, so......

What don't you like about the pins?
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User knife .. not a purdy-display-on-a-stand knife. If I'm going to use it for an EDC then I want it for feel, fit, and performance as well as what drew my eye to it visually (esthetics like shape, size, design, wood or micarta, etc). The rounded pins .. like putting fancy rims on a work truck - some people dig that-some dont.
 
Thanks guys- I appreciate the input! :)

First off, I want make sure everybody knows I wasn't directing anything at Bill. I wrote him privately about it, but I just want to make that clear.

Since it's hard to know someone's mood/intent with written words on a computer screen... I should point out that NONE of what I wrote in this thread was meant as pissy, whining, complaining, snappy, snarky, etc... Just trying to better understand selling this type of knife nowadays.


Alex- Thanks for replying, and for the car analogy--- I can wrap my mind around that easy enough. :)

bonafide- Thanks for the pin analogy of fancy rims on a pick-up... :thumbup: That made sense to me. But doming a pin, to me, is ultimately about function since it makes the pin a mechanical fastener. Until you made that analogy, it really never dawned on me that domed pins would seem like pointless flash to some guys. :foot: I also (just personal likes) like how a domed pin feels and acts as an indexing reference to the user.

I have quit using regular straight pins, because when the materials shift... and even Micarta, G10, etc can shift a little with temperature extremes... you either get a sharp raised pin edge, or a sharp material edge. We have a kitchen knife I used stabilized Redwood on that is a perfect example of this, and is what ultimately convinced me to quit using regular/straight pins. It's also why I quit using mosaic pins.

I'll take this lesson to be that I should either use Corby bolts or maybe even micarta rod on these instead of domed pins. Thanks guys, that will mean a lot less headache for me. :cool:


I really do appreciate all you guys taking the time and effort to reply here. The irony is a good friend of mine has recently been "pushing" for me to move from $1000+ knives to the $2k-3k market. But part of what makes me drag my feet on that, is I genuinely like the idea of a guy buying a knife that has had an optimal heat treat and thin grinds, and using it. :cool:


Thanks fellas! :)
 
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Nick- Don't stop doing what you are doing! It's what makes you and your knives unique. I will never be able to afford one of your bowies, but someday I will own one of your hunters or edc knives. It makes me happy knowing that you can get some of the same badass features on a 250$ knife, that you put on your 1500$ knives. In my eyes that's like getting a fully loaded Cadillac for the price of a Honda. Who wouldn't like that!? So please bro, PLEASE DONT STOP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING!! I would have snatched that knife up in a heartbeat if I hadn't been doing my X-mas shopping the week before.

You can't please everyone. I love the domed pins personally. They are classy and I like having the back up mechanical fastener. Straight pins are useless. They have to be peened in some way to be to my liking. Just my preference.
 
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Domed pins are great. Indexing and extra strength are both huge benefits.

Regarding leather and price point - Even if adding leather adds to the cost, there is a huge benefit to providing with. Psychologically, there is a lot to be said for $350 and I can use it right now, versus, $275, but I still need to send it out for another week or two after I get it, add another $75 (or more) before I can finally use it. Even if the cost is the same, or less, to have leather made, the benefit of getting it all at once (and as intended by the maker), should not be underestimated.

Some people who make their own leather, may prefer the other way around, but those of us without time or talent to do so on a regular basis, will pay more for the convenience.

Just my $.02.
 
liamstrain said:
Regarding leather and price point - Even if adding leather adds to the cost, there is a huge benefit to providing with. Psychologically, there is a lot to be said for $350 and I can use it right now, versus, $275, but I still need to send it out for another week or two after I get it, add another $75 (or more) before I can finally use it. Even if the cost is the same, or less, to have leather made, the benefit of getting it all at once (and as intended by the maker), should not be underestimated.
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Quoted for truth.
 
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