Protecting knife designs?

BladeForums.com > Knife Maker's Forums > General Knife Maker's Discussion > Shop talk - bladesmith questions and answers

Ok, are your trying to post in shop talk, like shown above? Because you should have no problem posting or starting threads there. Other knife maker subforums are locked for non-paying members, but shop talk is open to everyone.
 
It sounds as though you want your designs put in place but do not want to be involved in the manufacture. Your options are two, go the route that RAT did and start your own company than sub-contracts the manufacture. Your company then takes care of the distribution and marketting.

A number of makers have also went to existing large scale manufacturers to provide both the marketting/distribution and production. One example of a company that seems to do this alot is CRKT. They highlight their designers even in their categlogue and often have the designer's name in the knife title - e.g. Krein Dogfish. Buck does this as well (e.g Tom Mayo) but tends to pick only well established knife makers for its line up. CRKT seems a little more open to up-and-comers.

Good luck.
 
If you are worried about other makers stealing your unique designs, then no, dont post unfinished unmarketed undistributed plans over the internet for thousands to see.

If your knife design is done and ready to be manufactured and sold to the public, then buy a knifemaker membership and start selling over BF. Or, pitch your idea to another maker/company and see if you can strike a deal with them.
 
After thousands of years of people making knives, coming up with something truely unique that actually has a purpose and hasn't been done before would be quite a feat. Im not saying its not possible, but trying to secure a "shape" as your own is going to be difficult.
 
You can license your design to a great company, like Busse or Rat Cutlery, for them to produce and you recieve royalties from the sales. Unless you can mass produce them and get them to market in a timely manner; you WILL be upstaged by some cheap Chinese knockoff in due time. Best to you, and interested as are everyone to see what you have.
 
Your post here is a disclosure. It would be hard to protect unless you already have an application with a priority date. Post the photos.
 
dartanyon said:
I have made several knives and want to share them with this forum so their design can be appreciated. I believe my designs are original and I have never seen their shape before. I understand I can apply for a design registration here in Australia but I camnnot afford an international registration. I don't think its worth it anyway ... Is there any other way I can share my knives with this forum and not fear them being ripped off?
Click to expand...

If it isn't worth it then why all the paranoia? If it isn't worth it then you shouldn't be worried. A shape like a Nike swoosh and Coke's bottle is branded and it took a big $$ with a couple of commas to get and defend. Even if you go through all the expense to have the protection, you are still going to have to go after anyone and everyone that tries to produce something similar so do your thing and make your stuff. That shouldn't keep you up at night. Not making it because of fear should. Fear leads to anger which leads to the dark side.

There was a couple of discussion threads on this topic a while back.
You have done a good job marketing because you got people talking without seeing your work and if the shape is so truly unique I would question the practicality of the usability and function. Since most blades designs and functional shapes have progressed through the millennium. I have yet to see anything in such original shape as much as style and functionality combinations.
If you really break it down we have all copied the original shape of that guy chipping away at a rock and wrapping a handle on it so he could cut stuff easier than biting it or clubbing it. lol Imagine the royalties he would be collecting if he could have patented brining a surface to a fine edge. lol Money...
 
Being copied means you did it right. No one copies junk.

Look at Bo Randall and the hollow handle knife. Jimmy Lile, and John Rambo made it famous, along with Chris Reeves, and Robert Parrish. If it is worth anything, it will be copied.

Worry about your quality first, and copy cats later. Just like the other thread about cheap survival knives and how many of us bought them. I am pretty sure everyone would rather have the real thing from one of the makers above, and not some junk. Owning junk just makes you want the real thing even more, because you have had a taste of what it is.

Use copy cats to your advantage. Let them buy junk and soon the people will be saying man I want the real thing now, and they will find you. Taking your secret to the grave doesn't do anyone any good, but what the hell do I know. :confused:
 
Wow, thankyou all! Everything said makes good sense ( David, come on mate ... think outside the box ;) ) and stands to logical reason.
I am looking forward to visiting the America one day.
What I understand is that to produce an inferior product even if it is uniquely original, and present it to open market ... is looking to loose from the word go.
Approaching a large manufacturer is a way of entering my design and having a quality piece of work to put my name on ... mmmmm

I only really know maker names that I've seen on this forum ... Here in Australia I don't have an active forum like this to access ... and I'm not into doomsday theories ... I believe in survival. With that said I will look at Australian manufacturers first and turn to America second although I think in this particular market America has the superior products for bulk manufacture ... I love the damascus steel blades (bit like growth rings on a tree)

Its not unusual for me to think things through so I will. Once again, thanks all.

Later on maybe I'll post in shop talk, when I see their experience I am totally humbled.
 
I'd say the best defense against copy cats is to make the best quality knife. If you can make it better and stay within the price range..there is no need for a patent. People will know your knife is superior.
 
Making knives better than what I have seen here ... woww ... wowww ... so I have the design ... having the machinery and the skills is something I lack and where I live is not easy to access those prerequisites. A friend of mine owns a machining/toolmaking shop and he is allowing me to develop another invention of min but he hasn't got the setup for grinding blades. I wouldn't have a clue who has.
 
Hi Datanyon, It sounds like you are really passionate about your design.There is alot of risk involved with any venture. I think the only way to see if your idea will be a success is to put it out there. You can try to contact some large manufacturers, but I am sure they get solicitation all the time from people who claim to have the next big thing. If you have a few knives made presently the only wise thing to do is to put it up for view and sale. There are alot of experienced guys on this forum with alot of connections, if you get your knife in there hands and they find it to be a great user, then, well word of mouth is always the best advertising. Like others said before: your design, if its as good as you hyped it to be, will be coppied. That is not a terrible thing as long as your quality is better. The word will be out and you will prosper. The only way you will ever know is to put the blade out there for people to see. The worst that can happen is that it will not be embraced and you have to start over. At least you will know why, and have the opportunity to improve your design and try again. On the other hand if your knife is well recieved, then you will have a following, which in turn will lead you to prosperity. I wish you luck in you endeavor and if you do decide to post your knives, let us know at this forum as not all check out the shop talk forum.
 
I am afraid you are really spinning your wheels to think you can actually protect anything in this world if its a good idea and can make someone money especially. When Hustler I think it was came out with the very first zero turn radius lawn mower it didn't take long before someone copied it for cheaper or someone else modified it with a bigger motor and made it faster and then someone else made it wider and faster still. Now look around. They are everywhere, probably in the garages of many of those that feel their own designs were 'borrowed' on other markets that have a problem with this happening in cutlery yet they ended up with 'borrowed designs' in their own possesion not even aware of it. This is probably the case with many many other items in everyone's possession.

It goes on in every business with every good idea humans come up with. Patent it to try to protect it and someone will change it ever so slightly just enough to make it legal and they'll use it despite your disputes unless its so unique they can't find a way to do that and even then it will often times show up exactly as you did it in some foreign country. For example, I saw what I thought was a Rock Lobster by Jens Anso for bid on ebay not long ago only to find out it was a Taiwan copy of that knife exactly when I enlarged the picture. You see that with Emersons all the time, and others also.

On a personal level I once invented a sterilizeable sharpener for the dental industry I worked in that could be sterilized with the scalers and used without oil to prevent cross contamination. I presented it to one of the companies I actually represented and sold product for and it was rejected. About a month and half later it ended up in their wholesale catalog and then the company I worked for started selling it to our customers. Of course it was ever so slightly changed and there was no mention of me or notice that I had already been selling them successfully. And of course when I inquired with them about this it was something they had in the works all along from before I came along to meet them and present mine to them.

STR
 
Since every generation since Fred Flintsone has been making knives, there just is no design thats new. I don't care what it is, someone has made one like it in the last 100000 years.
 
STR,
My friend with the machining business had a jig he designed that was advertised in one of his retailers catalogue. That retailer then had the same jig manufactured in China and then marketed the copied jig from China in the catalogue.
I am not looking to make any large sums of money, just recognition for my work so when I have done the best I can I will show you all here so you will know its my design.
When you see the design I don't think it will appeal to all, just those that can appreciate its advantages.
 
apsilon, thanks ... that link doesn't work on my PC ... I'm keen to check it out though :)
When I said "forums like this" I was referring to wilderness survival and the member post volume. I still think bladeforums is one of the biggest and best. Do you need a drink?
 
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