Question for custom makers and customers

A small deposit - say US$ 50,00 - asked at the moment of the order will drive most irresponsible buyers away from you. Of course, old customers or people you know you can trust for some reason can be excluded from this rule.
 
Matt, I am willing to take one for the team here. So anytime a customer backs out of an order for one of your knives, just drop me a line and we can transfer the knife over to my possession pending a small payment plan :p
 
TheBadGuy said:
Matt, I am willing to take one for the team here. So anytime a customer backs out of an order for one of your knives, just drop me a line and we can transfer the knife over to my possession pending a small payment plan :p
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Oh no you don't! Matt, would you want a "BadGuy" to own one of your knives? Put up a pic, & one of us "GoodGuys" is bound to buy it.
:D

Is there a knife that lead to your original post? If so, get that picture up here ASAP!!
 
Pontiaker said:
Thanks for the input guys, its good to hear all the sides of this.Iam still learning alot about the business end of Knifemaking.
Thanks
Matt
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Just a note to add, make sure you know your steel supplier very well I can rest assured at least we know what we are getting from Sheffield Steel. Alot of time goes into turning bar stock into a performing knife only to find out what you beat your brains into turned out to be in our case ATS34 cold rolled and not the hot rolled we ordered.On complaing to the company we were told "oh, most people bead blast that" Really? 3/16'x2" isn't what we had in mind for a satin finish. It's gone now but the headache it brought was unmeasurable. Even the invoice said Hot Rolled ATS34. Hoo boy.Cavelady
 
You should be pissed if a customer backs out after the knife is started. He/she should let you know immediately if they've changed their mind and want to cancel the order. Sending an email before you start the knife is a great way to make sure the customer is still interested. Having said that, if the knife is being made on the timeframe you quoted and the customer has
every reason to believe it's in process, he/she should feel obligated to go thru with the purchase.
 
from a buyer's perspective:

- I'd like to have a rough indication when the knifemaker will begin work on the knife;

- it would be nice to nail down specs, or, have the option of nailing down specs before work is carried out on the knife;

- it would be nice to have the maker contact me before he begins to confirm specs,or, fill up the blanks if not yet filled;

- it doesn't take a lot of effort - just an email / phone call from the maker - it's all part of the custom knifemaking process;

- if I have a problem making payment or need to back out, I will inform the maker as soon as I know, or, as early as possible. however, problems sometimes arise suddenly;

- I only order from knifemakers whom I take a liking to, besides their wares. As such, I would like them to be my friends and likewise, for them to treat me as a friend. Friends try to accomodate one another but sometimes, things happen.

- if I cancel on an order, it doesn't mean I don't want the maker's knife - circumstances may force that situation, and I really may want a knife from that maker in future. I don't think one "uncompleted" deal should sour what may be a very rewarding experience in future for both.

I have paid money in advance to knifemakers before (weeks before the work was completed) - if I treated them as strangers, I wouldn't do so. But there's that element of trust. I believe it's a two-way street.

Bottom line, communication is a two way street and a continuing process. Clear communication before ordering, during ordering, before making, before shipping and after shipping (follow-up). It follows that a buyer should also inform the maker if anything unforseen crops up and thank the maker as well for a job well done.

I've had some hiccups before - sometimes makers remain silent after taking the order, and the next thing you know when you're informing them that you would like to change some specs, they tell you that the blade is almost done and it's too late. Thereafter, strangely, you only get the knife weeks/months later.

Hope the above does not offend anyone....
 
This has happend to me a fue times as well. I can't stay up with my orders sometimes and people get upset about it. I have finished knives and called the people to tell them they were done and they tell me they dont want them. It does bother you but not much you can do about it, only time it realy gets to me is when they order something that will not sale becase of something they wanted. Most of the time you just have to let it role off of you if you can and hope you sell it at a show. But that dont make you feel any better when you dont have any money for all the work I do understand that.
 
I do emphatize with the maker about not being able to get paid for work done. There's a caveat in what I said....if it's a special order / special materials, then, as a buyer, I'll try my very best to help with the situation - maybe look for another buyer, pay some part of the monies first, then the remainder later etc etc.

like I mentioned, I want the maker-buyer relationship to be more than a mere commercial one....
 
spyken said:
like I mentioned, I want the maker-buyer relationship to be more than a mere commercial one....
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Interesting that you should mention this point. As a buyer, I couldn't agree more. Buying something that is very special deserves a good relationship. It makes "owning" the knife (or whatever... I feel the same about my hand made violin) even more special and treasured. Any feeling of hassle or sourness in a deal sours the ownership and the pleasure one has. The maker has put soul into a good knife. He/she is proud of it, and I want to share in that pride too.

For me... its as if the maker really still owns the knife.... and .... by parting with it to me, I am being *allowed* to use it!

Cheers
Rod
 
Hi, Matt. As a buyer, when I order a custom knife, I mentally put that much of my savings (ok, my credit line :) ) aside for its purchase. I don't feel right about backing out of purchases, so you don't have to worry about collecting from me for the Poncho I'm in line for. If, say, someone ahead of me in line feels differently, I would be overjoyed to mail you payment at a moment's notice. ;)

That being said, I think its just good business to contact the buyer to confirm their order anywhere from 1-3 weeks before you begin it, especially with longer waiting times. If a buyer orders a knife and gets an email a year later saying that it's been started, there's a good chance that, since a year has gone by, the buyer (1) may have let the exact date slip his mind, (2) may want to change or alter the final design in some small but significant way, or, at the very least, (3) may want a confirmation of the exact specs and details to make sure that he and the maker are still on the same page after all this time.

I agree with those who have said that the maker/buyer relationship is something special. I started buying custom knives for their quality, but also because a one-on-one transaction is a lot more meaningful to me than a purchase from a company. As a rough analogy, the bookcase that I made and the bookcase that my father spent weeks building me in his spare time have a value much beyond their function, while the one I bought from a store is just another piece of furniture to me. If someone is going to take the time to make something personally, I think a little more communciation between me and them can only be a good thing. It's not something that a maker needs to do, but it make the experience that much more personal for the buyer, which encourages repeat business and positive referrals.

Chris
 
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