Question about specialization.

Sam Salvati

Sam Salvati

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Aug 6, 2007
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Had a conversation with a friend, about specialization and being a do-all, according to a collector/customer. It basically went, as a buyer would you buy from a guy that only makes one thing, completely specializes in that style and rarely if ever ventures out of that style, or from a fellow that works very well in many styles hardly staying in one genre long but nails it out of the park on them.
 
I guess it would depend on what level of quality the consumer is willing to pay for.

Myself if I was going to go all out and pay top dollar for a certain type of knife (or any other type of specialized equipment) I would probably go to a specialist in that regard.

At the same time if I was just browsing and find something that I like I might spend the same amount of money for a different reason.

Hope that makes more sense to you than it does to me lol.:D
 
As a maker type, I think I should try and master it all as a way to develop my skills.



As a buyer, I tend to recognize a maker based on certain stylistic elements,

If you can ID a knife maker by seeing the knife from a distance, but not the mark; I think that's a good thing.
That maker has created an identity.


However if he ever fulfils all the demand, or trends change and no one wants that anymore, that's a bad thing.
 
If you want something that nobody currently makes than the diverse guy can probably do it better than a specialist being pushed out of his element. If you want specific item that has been made well for ages, go to the specialist.

-Sandow
 
I find that I'm more interested by makers and artists who branch out and try many things. I know that personally I enjoy making quite a wide range of edged items. Keeps it from getting too routine.
 
I would imagine that you would get more repeat customers if there was a greater variety of well executed tools.

My dad really liked the marking knives you did that were written up for a woodworking magazine... And that lead him to talking me into making him some of them and some other stuff as well...
 
When I pick a maker to do a custom knife for me I like to be able to order at least one if not two other knives from. Sometime's it is of the same style sometime's not. Also being a contractor in my day job I have tried both aproaches. If making a living is a priority you have to be able to go with the flow and do whatever it take's. If you are a good craftsman you should be able to adapt any style and do it well in time.
 
The answer is... it just depends!

I get a lot of custom work simply because no one else wants to do it. I make little B&T knives and hunters and bushcrafty stuff and kitchen knives and zombie-choppers and EDC's and and... it seems to be keeping me pretty busy so far, and I'm definitely not bored. Most of my repeat clients want somethign different than they ordered the first time. How cool is it to have a hunter and a chef's knife from the same maker? If I had to just crank out DP hunters day after day I'd go completely bonkers.

Really though, you should ask in the Custom Forum too; your responses might be quite different.
 
That is a question I've pondered. I can understand the appeal of the specialist, for instance that guy in the video who had been forging blades all his long life and could forge a blade in one heat, there is something to be said for doing one thing and doing it very well. In the Japanese tradition, among others, one man forges, rough grinds, and heat-treats the blade, then sends it on to a polisher, who sends it on to a habaki maker, then the scabbard maker, etc... each craftsman a specialist and a damn good one at that. We American makers are an exception to the rule in this regard, and this is also a good thing. We come at it from a different perspective, seeing the whole knife as a unit, working on every detail of the piece and in some regards turning out a better knife in the process. It just takes longer to master the skills, working on each element that goes together to form the whole.

Then there are the makers who specialize in a certain style of knife, made a certain way, with a certain style. The maker who goes this route becomes very, very skilled at that one style, doing things that way. For myself, I want it all...:) I want to be able to make a knife in every way there is to make a knife. For such a simple object there are an amazing number of ways to go about making one, and I want to try every method I can. Full-tang, through-tang, hidden-tang, rabbited tang, multi-blade folder, frame handle, claymore, katana, you name it, I want to be good at it. Life is just not long enough to do everything I want to, but I'll never get bored doing it this way.... This may not be the most logical or most efficient way to go about it, and I don't really care because I'm doing what I love.

That said, I seem to be becoming a specialist despite my best efforts. At least I can make something completely different every once in a while just to throw people off.

If I had to just crank out DP hunters day after day I'd go completely bonkers.
Click to expand...
Exactly!
 
Whether a maker specializes a specific type of knife isn't that important to me, in terms of seeking the maker's work out. However I am much more strongly attracted to makers who developed a style of their own that shows through all there knives of whatever type.
 
I think most important is where your heart is.
You can see if something is made with care and love or just made to be turned out.(just production)
If you get bored making the same style, make something else.
If your thing is honing your skill at making a certain style to perfection, do that.
Do what you love and IMHO it will show
 
I suppose it also depends partly on the skill or type being mastered. Some are harder and take longer to learn, require specialized tools etc., some you can turn out a salable item pretty quickly if you already have a generalist level of competence. What the market rewards is not always the most difficult item to master. A lot of factors are involved in the specialization decision.
 
I have made just about everything and it keeps knife making interesting and exciting for me. Variety is the spice of life.
My current resume includes:
Single and multi-blade slip-joints
Lockbacks
Liner/frame locks
Balisongs
Automatics with various release mechanisms
Friction folders
Forged and stock removed fixed blades including hunters, fighters, bird and trout ect.
Kitchen knives
Japanese Wakashashi's and Tantos

The only thing that I have not made is a button lock folder and I will make one eventually just to say I have.
 
Hengelo_77 said:
I think most important is where your heart is.
You can see if something is made with care and love or just made to be turned out.(just production)
If you get bored making the same style, make something else.
If your thing is honing your skill at making a certain style to perfection, do that.
Do what you love and IMHO it will show
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better. :thumbup:
 
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