Quality Slip Joint and Lock back ??

Since I have to save up and budget for my knives its probably out of my range. Right now I have custom slips on my want-to-buy list that are barely into your low end figure.
 
A. G. Russell said:
Eric:

That is why every body in this business from Smokey to Tony Bose has lots and lots of business. Ain't it great?
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Good point.

I think it's a great idea for those willing to buy the knife. I'm just not one of them. If it were of great quality and </= $150 then i'd give it serious consideration.

Good luck though, A.G.
 
AG I've been thinking about your price point and I think it's
a nearly untapped market. Currently the market has a lot on the low end, generally under $100 like Case and Queen. Then there's the custom market where prices for a slipjoint with 2 blades starts at $500 and seems to ramp up exponentially after that. I think smack dab in the middle lies a market for people that like to collect and also use high quality traditional knives but just can't pull the $500+ trigger.

The only higher end non-custom 'traditional' that I know of are made by Moki, you, and Buck Custom Shop. I'd love to have a Tony Bose/Case collab. knife but $400+ is just a bit too steep.

I'm not an expert collector so I couldn't give collecting knife advice but what I would personnally buy with little hesitation would be the following:
1) Gunstock jack knife, spear point main blade, sheeps foot small blade.
2) Double locking muskrat or moose, clip and wharncliffe blades
3) Equal End Stockman
4) Locking Whittler
5) Railsplitter Stockman
6) Sunfish

Also, bringing back old patterns that are unique and aren't so
ubiquitous (e.g. serpentine stockman) would make them more
collectable.

BG-42 would be my first choice of steel, second would be 154CM/ATS-34.
Handles in various wood, bones, micarta.
Something like Sambar Stag can get too pricey.
I'd rather have the focus be on the execution of what a knife should be good at... not just the scales.

Also, an easy way to seperate yourself from others is to actually ship
the knives sharp. So many slip joints I get are dull, then I have to spend time re-profiling the blade to get them to my standards. Spyderco and Buck are good at executing this. Thinning out the edge at ~30' makes them easy to touch up.
 
There will be people who won't bat an eye at the $300 figure, but my own high end is about $225 or so. If you did decide to use rucarta (in any color except black!) you may consider pricing those at the lower ~ $200 end of the range, and finer materials up to ~ $300. If I could get a really nice slippie or lockback with rucarta/micarta at the lower price range, I'd probably buy it. But that all depends on what the design and look of the product is.
 
What interests me the most about this is that it sounds like when others are shutting their doors, there is an American company that is strongly looking into becoming much more active in the manufacture of high quality knives. This is very good news, and I hope it all come to fruition.
 
msiley said:
AG I've been thinking about your price point and I think it's
a nearly untapped market. Currently the market has a lot on the low end, generally under $100 like Case and Queen. Then there's the custom market where prices for a slipjoint with 2 blades starts at $500 and seems to ramp up exponentially after that. I think smack dab in the middle lies a market for people that like to collect and also use high quality traditional knives but just can't pull the $500+ trigger.

The only higher end non-custom 'traditional' that I know of are made by Moki, you, and Buck Custom Shop. I'd love to have a Tony Bose/Case collab. knife but $400+ is just a bit too steep.

I'm not an expert collector so I couldn't give collecting knife advice but what I would personnally buy with little hesitation would be the following:
1) Gunstock jack knife, spear point main blade, sheeps foot small blade.
2) Double locking muskrat or moose, clip and wharncliffe blades
3) Equal End Stockman
4) Locking Whittler
5) Railsplitter Stockman
6) Sunfish

Also, bringing back old patterns that are unique and aren't so
ubiquitous (e.g. serpentine stockman) would make them more
collectable.

BG-42 would be my first choice of steel, second would be 154CM/ATS-34.
Handles in various wood, bones, micarta.
Something like Sambar Stag can get too pricey.
I'd rather have the focus be on the execution of what a knife should be good at... not just the scales.

Also, an easy way to seperate yourself from others is to actually ship
the knives sharp. So many slip joints I get are dull, then I have to spend time re-profiling the blade to get them to my standards. Spyderco and Buck are good at executing this. Thinning out the edge at ~30' makes them easy to touch up.
Click to expand...

There are some great ideas here. Would you please send me an email so we can talk about them?

thanks for the input. A. G.
 
I'd pay $200-$300 for a well made slipjoint or lockback. It would have to have very good blade steel (not necesarily a new wonder-stainless, high quality carbon steel would be fine), appealing natural handle material like stag or some superb wood (no plastics, no matter what you call them), and of course excellent fit and finish.

The country of origin is important as well. USA, Germany, France, Japan any democratic country with a tradition of quality knives is OK with me. Americans would probably prefer an American product, but I'm fine as long as it isn't Chinese or something like that.

Warranty is another important point, IMHO. I like my working knives to have good warranties, it tells a lot about the manufacturer's trust in their product. If a $20 Swiss Army Knife has a lifetime warranty, a $200 knife should have something similar.
 
Franciscomv said:
Warranty is another important point, IMHO. I like my working knives to have good warranties, it tells a lot about the manufacturer's trust in their product. If a $20 Swiss Army Knife has a lifetime warranty, a $200 knife should have something similar.
Click to expand...

My guarantee is known to most of you, if you do not know it, go here: http://www.agrussell.com/about_us/a_great_guarantee.html

In all fairness for others in the knife industry.

a lifetime warranty on a $20 knife that costs .50 to make and the same on a $200 knife that cost $100-$150 to make are not the same thing.
 
I would be interested in a slippie or lockback in that price range, if it had a quality handle material and BG42 or CPM154 blade. Its definately my highest end price, but if it had all I wanted I would go to the lengths needed to get one.

Are you considering multiple frame styles, or just one? I'd be very interested to learn more about this venture.

schiesz
 
schiesz said:
I would be interested in a slippie or lockback in that price range, if it had a quality handle material and BG42 or CPM154 blade. Its definately my highest end price, but if it had all I wanted I would go to the lengths needed to get one.

Are you considering multiple frame styles, or just one? I'd be very interested to learn more about this venture.

schiesz
Click to expand...

Both steels are being considered. email me at agr@agr3.com and we will talk about it.
 
I want to thank all of you who have told me what you think. Is there anyone out there who can tell me how to do a survey? I would like to ask about :

blade shapes 1st 2nd and 3rd choices
handle patterns, as above
handle material, as above
blade steels, as above
choice between sunk joints and blades that fill the handle

What other questions should I be asking?

Many thanks, A. G.
 
A. G. Russell said:
I want to thank all of you who have told me what you think. Is there anyone out there who can tell me how to do a survey? I would like to ask about :

blade shapes 1st 2nd and 3rd choices
handle patterns, as above
handle material, as above
blade steels, as above
choice between sunk joints and blades that fill the handle

What other questions should I be asking?

Many thanks, A. G.
Click to expand...

AG,
The simple way may be for you to set up a google spread sheet and invite different folks to share the ability to post and edit the sheet, you can invite discussion among those online and also allow whomever YOU want to edit or post answers. We use the spreedsheets in our business all the time, I am currently laid up at home with broken ankle, but can work on company spreedsheets with nothing other than signing into it.
Set up the Form with Blanks for user id (blade forum handle if you wish) then rows or columns for the three choices. After you decide when to cut it off. You can then sort by the choices. I would allow folks to pick from your list the choices. on each of the items. This spreedsheet would work by invitation only and the invites are sent to their email addresses. Good Luck
Jim
 
If I could get a lock back made by Chris reeve, I would stop looking for the perfect knife. F+F is everything to me.
 
I think you are going for a very narrow niche in the market. I think it may be a matter of capturing traditional knife buyers that are willing to pay more, as well as current buyers of custom/high end folders.
I would be more than satisfied with traditional knives of the quality of the japanese slipjoints in ATS-34 you used to offer --i have three of them and really like them. These knives would fill a nice niche of being high quality traditional knives with modern materials, but at a price point below the Case/Bose collaborations and the Scagel repros.
I am a huge fan of quality traditional knives--there are not nearly enough of them. However, I wonder how many people who are willing to pay $200-300 for a knife would do so for a traditional design-particularly since people who are willing to pay this much for a knife have a number of choices by custom makers. I think you may find a good market for them in the $100-$200 range.
 
davmgt said:
I think you are going for a very narrow niche in the market. I think it may be a matter of capturing traditional knife buyers that are willing to pay more, as well as current buyers of custom/high end folders.
I would be more than satisfied with traditional knives of the quality of the japanese slipjoints in ATS-34 you used to offer --i have three of them and really like them. These knives would fill a nice niche of being high quality traditional knives with modern materials, but at a price point below the Case/Bose collaborations and the Scagel repros.
I am a huge fan of quality traditional knives--there are not nearly enough of them. However, I wonder how many people who are willing to pay $200-300 for a knife would do so for a traditional design-particularly since people who are willing to pay this much for a knife have a number of choices by custom makers. I think you may find a good market for them in the $100-$200 range.
Click to expand...

Yes, there are still three makers that con do our quality and we have new designs with all of them but they are all over booked. The others have gone out of business.

If you will email me at agr@agr3.com we can talk. Thanks for you input it is well recieved.
 
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