Pricing?

[ddavelarsen]

Pricing is a difficult task for me, as I haven't made all that many knives and my workmanship is still on the upward curve and a bit unpredictable. Bob Engath said to charge 3 or 4 times what the knife cost to make; that would have been robbery for my earlier knives! But I still use that approach and adjust the total depending on my judgement of my workmanship.

How do you folks do it? Do you have rules for pricing, particularly those one-off knives not part of your catalog. And on catalog knives, how do you determine the basic price and the charge for options like rare handle material etc?

I'd really like to hear someone say they have a hard objective formula for this but I'd be surprised if that happened. More likely it's gut instinct; in that case how do you ensure you can support your hobby or make a living?

All ideas welcomed.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[peter nap]

Assuming I sold knives Dave, and I don't, but I do look at pricing all the time. First I look at what I have in it out-of-pocket. Then I check the prices at gun and knife shows for something close to mine. That's going to be about right for the general market. On the special stuff, I've found that if you offer a fair and reasonable price, they kick at the deal but if you ask what I consider absurd pricing, they accept it as art. Go Figure!

 

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

The first and foremost thing you have to do is pay yourself. Take into account how much you have invested in materials. Then see how long it took you to make the knife. I set my hourly rate at $15 cause that is what I make as a machinist. The add up your hrs and add it to the material cost. You can then add maybe 5% so you have some room to haggle with a customer. Mainly a customer pays for the materials, and your time which=knowlege. They pay for the knowlege you have learned through the process of making more and more knives. As your skills grow you can charge more because your fit and finishes get better, you grinding gets better and your designs become more refined. It's tough to price knives. You base your prices on the best and worst knife that you have on your table at a show. The rest fall somewhere in between there. Sometimes you have to take a loss on the knife just to make a sale, but don't take a loss on the materials, take it on the time. You will make it up as you make more knives and get more efficient in your skills. After 2 years of making folders I can make one in 3 days.

 

[Darrel Ralph]

Figure your overhead and cost per hour with the profit and figure the hours it takes.