POLL, man made scales versus price on custom slips

man made scale materials on high end slips

  • NO WAY! Premium priced custom slips deserve Stag,Pearl, Bone, Ivory!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • It would have to be a special knife, and the material would have to have special apeal to me

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Sure, why not? A premium stockman for example would be a great knife in G10 or Micarta

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
I'm not sure I completely understand the question. I believe the handle material, the difficulty of working it, and the degree of workmanship on the handles will be reflected in the asking price.

If you are asking whether I would willingly pay the same price for an elephant ivory handled custom vs. the same pattern with green canvas micarta handles, the answer is no.

If you are asking whether I would consider ordering a custom slip joint with micarta or other man-made scales, the answer is yes. I expect the price would be commensurate with the level of work that went into the piece as a whole, including the relative scarcity or availability of the materials used.

I have one of Todd Davison's linerless slip joints and it's a great knife which I've been using regularly. I have absolutely nothing against man-made handle materials or breaking away from "tradition".
 
To me, part of the enjoyment of a higher end slip joint would be the fondle factor... I appreciate nicely done natural materials.

However if someone wants to spend the coin, and wants man made materials used on it, so be it.

I think for most slipjoints, they are not going to see hard use and or abuse, so the durability factor shouldn't come in to play, like it would with some sheath knives. To me there is no warmth or character to the man made materials.

I guess if I had deep pockets, and could afford to have many customs, the thought of having one in man made materials might be different
 
Interesting thead (and thanks Ken and guys ;)).

My preference heavily leans to natural materials, but Micarta or G10 (micarta getting the edge in my head) would not stop me if I liked the knife.
 
mikeymoto said:
I'm not sure I completely understand the question. I believe the handle material, the difficulty of working it, and the degree of workmanship on the handles will be reflected in the asking price.

If you are asking whether I would willingly pay the same price for an elephant ivory handled custom vs. the same pattern with green canvas micarta handles, the answer is no.

If you are asking whether I would consider ordering a custom slip joint with micarta or other man-made scales, the answer is yes. I expect the price would be commensurate with the level of work that went into the piece as a whole, including the relative scarcity or availability of the materials used.

I have one of Todd Davison's linerless slip joints and it's a great knife which I've been using regularly. I have absolutely nothing against man-made handle materials or breaking away from "tradition".
Click to expand...

My gut feeling is that a traditional slipjoint that say sells for $600 or $700 would be expected to have a premium scale material, meaning Ivory, Pearl , Stag. I see non-traditional folders selling in this price range with G10 carbon fiber, Micarta as a matter of course. While a lot of us makers on the forum are making single blade EDC's with man-made materials, its not often that more expensive multi-blades are offered with the same. The difference in the cost of the scale material between say Ivory and Micarta, percentage wise,on a $700 dollar knife if minimal.

I do thank everyone for the opinions and thoughts expressed!
 
I prefer man made materials (G-10, paper micarta) on knives I carry daily. Premium scales might be something I'd be less willing to carry or be more protective of.
 
ken erickson said:
My gut feeling is that a traditional slipjoint that say sells for $600 or $700 would be expected to have a premium scale material, meaning Ivory, Pearl , Stag. I see non-traditional folders selling in this price range with G10 carbon fiber, Micarta as a matter of course. While a lot of us makers on the forum are making single blade EDC's with man-made materials, its not often that more expensive multi-blades are offered with the same. The difference in the cost of the scale material between say Ivory and Micarta, percentage wise,on a $700 dollar knife if minimal.

I do thank everyone for the opinions and thoughts expressed!
Click to expand...

:thumbup: Larry
 
UNLESS, the prices can be dramatically reduced to something that would other wise be unaffordable. Hope this helps.



+1 :thumbup:
 
Ken,

There are two aspects to your question, aesthetics and price.

In regard to price:

You say
"The difference in the cost of the scale material between say Ivory and Micarta, percentage wise,on a $700 dollar knife if minimal."
My question is how more difficult is it to work Ivory? (ivory as an example)
And what is the availiablity of good Ivory?

Actually the handle material will change the amount of work needed
So $700 is not a fixed price, but dependent on # of blades, steel, and handle material.
so your production cost for a simple handle material will be cheaper.
But not much cheaper.

But that is not how the market works.
A basic production knife the prices are:
Delrin is $30, Bone is $40, Stag is $50 to $60, Albalone is $60, and Pearl is $70.
And we all know there is not an additional cost to the maker of $40 from delrin to pearl.

But many of us presume the same when it comes to customs.
That there is a big price differentiation between a simple material like micarta and rare sought after material like Ivory

So:
Is this possible for you as a custom maker to have significant differencially priced knives dependent on the handle material?


Aesthetics:

If I was having a custom knife made for me, I would not choose Micarta or G10.

I would be very happy to buy one of your knives in Micarta or G10 that come up for sale here on the Sales Forum, if I had the cash, was fast enough, and the price was right.

Regards
 
As some posters have said, if you're ordering a custom knife, you can ask the maker to put any material you want on it. People who use their knives might prefer man-made scales for durability. However, Ken, if you were building a $700 knife to offer up on the forums or at a show, I would bet one with natural handle materials would sell quicker than one with micarta, carbon fiber, or G-10.
 
I have tried to put my thoughts into words about 5 or 6 times on this subject here and have decided to give up. Have a nice day :)
 
I'm in the "sure, why not" category. If I was going to break it down, though, a multi-blade knife that was not going to be carried, I would prefer higher-end natural materials. But I carry pretty much everything and have no problem with man-made materials. Heck, I love carbon fiber if only I could get makers to work with it.

After all, the steel that you're using doesn't come from buried dinosaurs either. It is completely man-made.
 
I have a sweet Alsdorf slippie that has green Micarta, that I love. But, I DO love wood on slip joints too.
 
LarryM said:
I voted No . If I am paying a premium price I want a premiun handle material. Why pay a premium price and get $3.00 worth of handle material. Larry
Click to expand...

I agree with LarryM. I have custom slip joints (single and multi-blade) with a mix of natural and synthetic (micarta and g-10) handle materials. For comparison, take 2 knives...exactly the same...put nice stag on one and micarta on the other. I don't believe the micarta knife is worth as much as the one with stag.
 
In my view the simple answer is that as long as folks get their choice of materials, everyone wins.
 
I don't have a custom slip joint yet, and would lean more towards natural material for my first one. The exception would be if its a shadow, in that case I would prefer micarta.
 
I think custom makers should push the boundaries with all kinds of handle materials, including man-made. Just stay true to the knife patterns themselves without morphing them too far from the traditional designs.
 
I prefer natural materials, but if a knife is going to be used in an environment with big swings in temperature and moisture a synthetic is just going to be more stable. There's also a lot more potential in synthetic handle materials than is currently being seen. Beyond some swirly acrylics, the options are limited to flat laminates that don't have any individual character.
 
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