Question for Custom Knifemakers about sales.

P

Panzerred

Joined
Jan 1, 2015
Messages
8
I was curious on how dificult it is for most bladesmiths to sell quality work. I know it is far easier for folks with a big reputation. I am more interested in the lesser know makers. Guys who do it part time or have not done it long enough to have a revered name but still make high end stuff. Basically want to know how cutthroat it is in the minor league.
 
I think I would fit your description. I wouldn't say my blades are "high end" but I have strived for as high quality as I can produce. I would tell you that the "For Sale" are of this forum has made it a lot easier to sell than trying to go to shows or locally by word of mouth for me personally. I don't have a lot of spare time to do those things. If you haven't browsed that area, do so, it will illustrate that the community there is very supportive.
For me, I've tried to look at comparable knives and price mine accordingly. Initially I had a few that I overpriced and had to re post them later with a lower price but they then sold. So, yes there are a lot of fish but Bladeforums is a big ocean.
 
I would suggest watching the Knifemakers Market section of the forums.
Good quality knives sell pretty quickly. If you want to sell your own there you will have to pay for a Knifemaker subscription but that pays for itself pretty quickly.
 
Everybody has to pay their dues, and the reality is that as a new maker you don't even know what it is that you don't know. But once you have things figured out and can demonstrate you can consistently deliver quality and value, a person can sell on BF and do okay at it.

Or, if you're smart, you'll just open a hotdog cart. :D
 
I haven't sold here yet, but have sold everything I make. People pay a fair price for a custom. I mostly sell to home chefs, hunters, and people looking for gifts for those two groups. These people know about knives, and look for certain features. You must speak their language, and be able to tell them why your blade is worth more than a high end production knife. If you can't explain your advantage in heat treat, and how you can get away with better geometry than a production knife because of that, you won't have an easy time.
 
Ive sold a couple on here but I also have a table in a local market. I do get a lot of lookie loos but I have sold quite a few as well. Patience helps.. Like Willie says, speak their language. People ask me about the knives and I used to tell them what steel I made them out of until i got the blank look. Now I usually just say high carbon, not stainless. If they show some knowledge of it, I can expand on what i say but otherwise be able to explain in terms they understand. If you cant do that not only will you lose them but it will seem as if you are talking down to them.
 
I've sold a handful on here and never had any problems. They were decent quality(nothing special) and priced accordingly. I made the mistake at the very beginning of selling a couple really cheap and then took a bunch of orders for a lot of them really cheap. That can wear you out in a hurry so be careful but it was good experience even if I spent a lot of time on them at about a $3 an hour wage.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Everybody has to pay their dues, and the reality is that as a new maker you don't even know what it is that you don't know. But once you have things figured out and can demonstrate you can consistently deliver quality and value, a person can sell on BF and do okay at it.

Or, if you're smart, you'll just open a hotdog cart. :D
Click to expand...

That statement pretty much covers it.
Ken.
 
I got into knifemaking through collecting and some knifemakers I bought from asked me if I could design them CAD models for some projects they have. I have been a mechanical engineer for over 15 years and while I am now in senior management I still have a passion for design.

The knife designing was going well and after learning a lot from some really great makers I decided to build my own shop and knife, that was about 8 months ago.

I started out with some simple mods and anodizing so I could get as much experience with different knives as possible. I also was buying some of the most sought after high end knives in the $2000-10000 range. Every time I bought a knife I made sure to learn about the knifemakers processes etc.

I posted my first design on here and IG and got a lot of positive feedback and started my first knife. At that time I already had quite a few people make me offers on the unbuilt knife and also to get in my "books".

My knifemaking followed a pretty steep curve from my first to second knife, the quality and action was so much better. By my third knife, every time I posted a knife I would get 20-30 inquires or offers and I had offers for it between $1500-3000, which is pretty insane.

I still have not sold a knife because I feel I "haven't paid my dues" and I'm not at the level I want to be. From the responses of the people that got my knives for free, they tell me it's about as good a flipper as you can get. I'm not sure if this is people being nice or honest feedback.

I know one of the guys I gave a knife to got in a bad spot and really needed some money so he asked me if it was ok to sell it, I said sure and that I wouldn't take any payments. He told me it only took an hour or so and he got multiple offers, so at least that was good.

I'm going to be taking my first order soon, and plan to only take 1 order a month. At the time of this post, I have something like 400+ on a pre wait list that I just scrapped because I'll never make that many knives.

Social media is a very powerful tool, when people can see you hand make a custom knife and involve them in the process they seem to value it more.

One of the reasons I think people like my knives is that I build my knives for one reason only, to make whoever it is built for happy. I'm not doing this for a reason, nor do I take payment up front. My knives are built from passion and a desire to make a great knife. I think guys that have problems with sales fall into 2 categories: 1. guys just looking to make money and put out garbage and treat their customers like garbage. 2. guys that aren't designing what the market wants. Not that their level of craftsmanship is bad, it's just that they are not making what the current trend is.
 
To me it seems the world is a place where "for the most part" beauty sells a knife. Here on the forum, you can focus a little less of beauty and a little more on function. Im not saying knife makers dont like a pretty blade or that others dont like a functional one, but here, form follows function. In the larger market, im less sure.
 
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