three months for me because the knife maker is a good old customer of ours and he's doing me a favor for a almost free custom knife he's going to make. But on the other hand regarding this post, if your knife maker does not respond in a reasonable amount of time to questions and what not, also if he's not willing to make what you want, for get him! There are many other knife makers out there that is willing to make a knife that you want!
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Ordering a custom knife frustrations
- Thread starter Buffalohump
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Just to update this thread, I have since been in contact with the one gent and he is busy working on the drawings. I guess I was impatient in this regard and felt that I had been forgotten, but I dont think that's the case. I think we will get there eventually, but yes it takes time.
As far as my location is concerned, believe me I am aware of the obstacles it places in my path, but this is not the first custom knife I have ordered direct from a maker. In fact, the majority of the customs I have owned have come direct from makers.
In any event, we are getting there, by hook or by crook....
As far as my location is concerned, believe me I am aware of the obstacles it places in my path, but this is not the first custom knife I have ordered direct from a maker. In fact, the majority of the customs I have owned have come direct from makers.
In any event, we are getting there, by hook or by crook....
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Hey, South Africa is not Nigeria, actually think of all the great makers from SA that are pretty well known in the States: Andre De Villiers, Arno Bernard, Andre Van Heerden and I am forgetting many more...
Anyway, what I learned during the rather short time I have been collecting custom knives (all your fault in the first place, Mark
) is that no two makers work the same way. Some makers have great websites, which reduces the need for exchanging e-mails back and forth to figure out what model you want.
Some do not have websites at all but will go to great lengths to understand what you really want. I have been dealing with one of the aforementioned South African gentlemen and he has been sending me drawings of what he thinks corresponds to my needs on a regular basis. It might lengthen the order process, but then I feel that the knife I am going to get in the end will be uniquely mine.
Others do not even bother to answer e-mails, or if they do they soon lose interest when they feel that you are not interested in any of the knives they have readily available at the moment.
Finally, there are those very popular makers who are virtually unreachable for the average buyer but who run their own forum. There they will post updates about their work, WIP pictures, virtual shop tours and from time to time, if you are lucky, some of their knives will be posted for sale for the forum members.
In the end, with some makers you can really unleash your imagination, with others you have to take what they have and still consider yourself lucky.
Then there is the category of makers you cannot order from, either because their communication skills suck or because their order book is closed.
I try to avoid the former, for the others luckily we have exchange forums and dealers. Les Robertson has helped me get on the list for knives that I could never have gotten on my own.
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I have put in orders and waited years before I realized that I had been forgotten.
In one case, the maker simply decided not to finish my knife after 5 years of waiting. The finished blade was hanging in his shop and just need handle scales. He let many orders out the door before emailing me that he was not going to deliver the knife at all. However, after I alerted the maker to the fact that I should not have waited five years to get cancelled, he finished my knife and sent it off to me.
The other two custom makers that I placed orders with simply forgot about me.
So patience, is sometimes a good way to let yourself be forgotten.
I have two custom makers that are coming due according to their backlog, I don't know if I am still on their list as I placed my order 2+ years ago. I think a lot of them just figure that I forgot and probably won't fulfill my end of the deal.
So for me, I no longer believe in the line, " You're in my book. I will call (or email) you when it is your turn."
RogerP had it right, the third and most crucial ingredient is "LUCK".
In one case, the maker simply decided not to finish my knife after 5 years of waiting. The finished blade was hanging in his shop and just need handle scales. He let many orders out the door before emailing me that he was not going to deliver the knife at all. However, after I alerted the maker to the fact that I should not have waited five years to get cancelled, he finished my knife and sent it off to me.
The other two custom makers that I placed orders with simply forgot about me.
So patience, is sometimes a good way to let yourself be forgotten.
I have two custom makers that are coming due according to their backlog, I don't know if I am still on their list as I placed my order 2+ years ago. I think a lot of them just figure that I forgot and probably won't fulfill my end of the deal.
So for me, I no longer believe in the line, " You're in my book. I will call (or email) you when it is your turn."
RogerP had it right, the third and most crucial ingredient is "LUCK".
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This has been my experience also. I've placed orders, agreed on price, waited years, exchanged a few how we doing emails, when its close or past time for delivery and then been totally forgotten. I figure it's their loss. It's not like me to forget that kind of treatment and there are allot of makers that will appreciate my business.
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South Africa = quality knife people. This location has no bearing on my perception as fraud.
Some of the most gratifying knives I own were made by makers from So. Africa: Rob Brown, Lourens Prinsloo, Louis VanDerWalt (RIP), William Burger, Bertie Reitveld, and more....
I've had disappointments in ordering a custom knife, too. Knifemakers are independent souls first, and businessmen second.
Coop
Some of the most gratifying knives I own were made by makers from So. Africa: Rob Brown, Lourens Prinsloo, Louis VanDerWalt (RIP), William Burger, Bertie Reitveld, and more....
I've had disappointments in ordering a custom knife, too. Knifemakers are independent souls first, and businessmen second.
Coop
South Africa = quality knife people. This location has no bearing on my perception as fraud.
Some of the most gratifying knives I own were made by makers from So. Africa: Rob Brown, Lourens Prinsloo, Louis VanDerWalt (RIP), William Burger, Bertie Reitveld, and more....
I've had disappointments in ordering a custom knife, too. Knifemakers are independent souls first, and businessmen second.
Coop
Contract Law should be mandatory for those in Business. There would be a lot less lawsuits and a lot more satisfied customers otherwise.
However, I agree that this business landscape leaves a huge opportunity for those who can deliver on their agreements, promises, and promises to enter into agreements at a future date.
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Unfortunately it's true. Some knifemakers couldn't show/tell you whose due knives from them if their lives depended on it. You can usually immediately tell who these makers are when speaking with them on the status of your order. I suggest speaking with a maker when inquiring about a pending order rather than via e-mail. Send a back-up e-mail after your conversation.
Others keep meticulous records and some can even recite their next 8-10 orders right off the top of their heads.
Last night I stopped at a major fast food restaurant to get a grilled chicken sandwich, took one bit :barf: and threw the rest away. Knifemaking businesses (yes business) are no different from other businesses, some are run well and others are not.
There's much more to choosing a knifemaker than just the knives they make.
Others keep meticulous records and some can even recite their next 8-10 orders right off the top of their heads.
Last night I stopped at a major fast food restaurant to get a grilled chicken sandwich, took one bit :barf: and threw the rest away. Knifemaking businesses (yes business) are no different from other businesses, some are run well and others are not.
There's much more to choosing a knifemaker than just the knives they make.
As a maker we try hard to keep up with our orders. We have pretty much stopped taking orders for a while until we can get our delivery time back to a length of time that we think is reasonable. That was a hard decision to make, but one that we think our customers will benefit from in the long run.
One thing I think is important for both the customer and the maker. That is to get as many different means of contacting that person as you can. That means e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, (home, office and cell) street addresses for home and business. Our first choice for contact would be e-mail because it is going to be there until we see it (we check them several times a day), we can tell that it was responded to and we have a record of what was said.
It also doesnt hurt to find out the best time to contact a maker or customer. If we have machinery running we might not hear the phone ringing, but things start to slow down about quarter to twelve every day and also about five. Seems like sometimes the only information we get is "don't call the house" or "only send the notice to the office". We like do like to get as many different ways to contact a customer as we can and will try them all before we give up.
Something we really appreciate is the customer's patience. It just makes your day when you talk to a customer that appreciates what you do and wants you to take your time to get it right. I had one recently that had been waiting for a carved Bowie for about two years. He asked if I would like to keep it a couple of months longer so that I could take it to the Little Rock Show. A lot of people are like that thank goodness.
One thing I think is important for both the customer and the maker. That is to get as many different means of contacting that person as you can. That means e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, (home, office and cell) street addresses for home and business. Our first choice for contact would be e-mail because it is going to be there until we see it (we check them several times a day), we can tell that it was responded to and we have a record of what was said.
It also doesnt hurt to find out the best time to contact a maker or customer. If we have machinery running we might not hear the phone ringing, but things start to slow down about quarter to twelve every day and also about five. Seems like sometimes the only information we get is "don't call the house" or "only send the notice to the office". We like do like to get as many different ways to contact a customer as we can and will try them all before we give up.
Something we really appreciate is the customer's patience. It just makes your day when you talk to a customer that appreciates what you do and wants you to take your time to get it right. I had one recently that had been waiting for a carved Bowie for about two years. He asked if I would like to keep it a couple of months longer so that I could take it to the Little Rock Show. A lot of people are like that thank goodness.
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:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
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Since you cannot tell the difference between South Africa and Nigeria perhaps you should refrain from posting.
Buffalohump is a long standing member of BF with an excellent rep and a huge knife collection from all over the world. I am sure his location has no bearing on the lack of customer service from makers.
Poor communication from makers is a problem everywhere and it is often brought up in GBU and the custom forum.
It may interest you to know that along with many of the fine South African makers already mentioned Chris Reeve is also from Durban.(If indeed you actually know who he is)
I would agree as long as you don't wait 3-5 years before you move on. Afterall, how many 3-5 years do you have to wait for a knife?
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Interesting thread and responses. I don't know if my experience is similar or not. I'll bet I've ordered from 16 makers over the years. I've only had 4 that actually filled the orders. 25% is not a very good rate in my opinion yet I still order a couple a year from different makers. I'll never list the makers that have stiffed me but I'll never forget either. It really is a strange business.