Question for the knifemakers

A

aj1985

Joined
Nov 3, 2005
Messages
1,029
Hey guys how are yah

I'm a student and therefore can not afford a lot of money at one time for a custom knife. Would it be disrespectful of me to ask a maker if I could pay in monthly installments for one of his knives, and that he keep it till i have paid it off. I don't want to offend the maker by asking him this question and is there a proper etiquette for this sort of thing.

take care

aj
 
I wouldn't say disrespectful at all. The only problem I see is that very few makers will accept $$ up front. I would say get a piggy bank ;), start your "stash" and place your order. Chances are that about the time its done you'll have the money. Most custom makers will not be able to take an order and ship the next day. More like about 3 months to 10 yrs later, depending on what it is you want. That should give you the time to save for it :)
 
I agree with David. Make your installment payments to yourself. Circumstances and your desires can change so that way you keep your options open.

rmd
 
It's just i love piggy bank idea, but so many things come up and it ends up being used. Atleast when I know i have already sent the payment atleast I can not use the money some where else:D

thanks for the reply take care

aj
 
aj1985 said:
so many things come up and it ends up being used. Atleast when I know i have already sent the payment atleast I can not use the money some where else:D
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I know what you mean. ;)
 
aj1985 said:
Hey guys how are yah
Would it be disrespectful of me to ask a maker if I could pay in monthly installments for one of his knives, and that he keep it till i have paid it off.
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Unusual? Somewhat.
Possibility that the maker will say no? Definitely.
But rude, disrespectful, presumptuous, cocky, out-of-line, bad manners... I don't think so.

The reason a maker would tell you no, is just to keep himself out of trouble. Doesn't want to have your money in his pocket in case he trips and breaks a wrist and can't make your knife for two years after the promised-by date. But nobody's going to say "You big jerk, no way can you send me less than all the money at once!"

If you asked for the knife up front and THEN pay for it, that's a different story. But you explained clearly that you know better than that!


Heck, I sold a guy a knife earlier this year on an installment plan. It was just two installments, two weeks apart, but the point remains :p

I'd say no problem asking. Answer may be yes, answer may be no, but no skin off anybody's nose for asking.

Good luck!
Mike
 
I'll give you some advise (that you didn't exactly ask for):

The biggest problem for 95% of students is discipline.
If you can't develop it now, you never will. Decide you want knife A from Maker X. Discuss price with him.Tell him your projected purchase date. After you have all the figures, set up a savings schedule. If it will take six months to save $400, then you need to put away about $15 per week. First look at your budget, if the money is there, no problem.If not think how you can earn, or save, $15 extra a week. For example,Giving up your Starbucks every morning will do it nicely. Put it in a can ( or deposit it in your account) and DO NOT TAKE IT OUT !!! If a great deal comes along on a Nintendo XX32 Starblaster, pass on it until you have paid for your knife. This will teach you three of the best habits you will ever learn. Patience,Discipline, Saving.

Do this and you will thank me when you are 30. When you are 60 and can retire comfortably (due to regular savings) you will thank yourself.
Stacy
 
I'm sure some would not want to go there but others may as long as you don't expect the knife until the final payment is made. Kind of like a layaway.

STR
 
another take on it could be
you wouldn't get a knife from me for about 3 years or more (unless it's one of my semi's,) anyway. I have had guys pay payments up to the date of finish..
so ask away , but you'll do well to save your money and gain what ever interest on it that you can.. there are
makers that struggle and when come time to make your knife the money could very well be spent,( some times)
you could be setting on the back burner for a while longer in the name of feeding the family comes first.
..:( just food for thought
 
Thanks for the advise everyone. I truly understand that I do need more will power, but alas you were all young once and were probably just as impatient as myself.

I'm 21 & do have a lot of responsibilities money wise, but then i look at I don't have the wife and kids yet. So i might as well enjoy this community the best I can, because in a few years it will be tough to buy whatever you want, because then i will be thinking about others needs more than my own.

Plus you only go around once right :D

appreciate the help and take care

aj
 
Work through your budget like Stacy described then set up a separate savings acount at your bank, preferably with low or no service fees. Many financial institutions have some feature that allows you to set up recurring automatic transfers. That way you wont have to worry about the cash tempting you by being too close at hand. It also cannot be stolen if someone breaks into your house. Learn to do this and you can start saving for bigger things in the future. It will take a lot of coffee cans of spare change to make a down payment on a car or house. Post a picture of the knife you want on your fridge as a daily reminder of what you are sacrificing for. This will help you learn delayed gratification.

What part of Ontario do you live in? I used to live in Ottawa and Toronto.

Phil
 
pso said:
Work through your budget like Stacy described then set up a separate savings acount at your bank, preferably with low or no service fees. Many financial institutions have some feature that allows you to set up recurring automatic transfers. That way you wont have to worry about the cash tempting you by being too close at hand. It also cannot be stolen if someone breaks into your house. Learn to do this and you can start saving for bigger things in the future. It will take a lot of coffee cans of spare change to make a down payment on a car or house. Post a picture of the knife you want on your fridge as a daily reminder of what you are sacrificing for. This will help you learn delayed gratification.

What part of Ontario do you live in? I used to live in Ottawa and Toronto.

Phil
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I think you and Stacey are very much right on. I live in Brampton and this is all R.J MArtin and his Havocs fault. :D

take care fellow cannuck

aj

P.s if anyone getting rid of the below knife and doesn't mind a payment plan let me know :)
http://www.martinsite.com/havoc.shtml
 
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