question to those that sell knives

V

vikingGoalie

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Aug 20, 2019
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So my skills are not there yet to do this, but I am keeping an eye for down the road.

That being that I'd like to be able to make knives and sell them, I don't have illusions about making a huge profit but if it paid for my blacksmithing toys and I made a little bit on it all to the good for me.
That said...

How do folks do it? Etys/Shopify/Ebay ? Is it even possible in this market to sell a knife for what it's worth? I see posts like this on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3752892263...rMPysrF98ZD1WFl+RSwZJ+6BZuDZ|tkp:BFBMpujOwYVk

while I'm sure that the quality you get on a $30 knife off e-bay isn't all that. The problem (i think) is your market, the pool of people that are willing to spend $200+ on a knife is small. So at any rate I'd love to hear some thoughts from those that do this, how do you sell, do you make a little profit on it, what price point have you found the market will bear?
 
I sell on here, in person, through word of mouth and (sometimes) as a result of Instagram. I sell small volume and try to keep prices low and give people good value for a handmade product in premium materials, using my own designs. All profits go immediately back into the hobby. Price is whatever someone is willing to pay. I don't have a widely recognized name, and price accordingly. Have been told by MANY other makers that I undervalue my knives when I sell, but I don't it that way. I see the prices as a way for folks to try my designs, provide feedback and get a knife in a high performance steel.
 
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I dont use etsy or ebay, heard too many things about them. I do have a website and while I have FB, theres no prices on it, just pictures of new items and links to my website. Im also at a farmers market every week and do other markets a few times a year. My prices are definitely below what the "other guy" was selling (we wont get into that) but still enough to pay for what Im doing and put back into it. Since I have a full time job it makes it easier to not worry about how much profit I make. If I custom make a piece, I make sure the customer is well aware of what is going into the pricing and the materials they are asking for (mammoth is a higher price than maple..)
 
Ultimately you should make what you Want to make.
Other people might want your knives too.

Ive said this before, Pricing is a very tricky subject. I wish more of us talked about it. We could have a hundred pages.....
I thick the best advice I can give is be Honest with yourself and price accordingly to what you see on the forums, competitively.

Some people here skew the price selling too low, and some sell too high for what it is...... Some people want to gouge, and make as much money as possible and some just like making knives. Everyone is different.

My personal philosophy is that I Don't want to steal sales from the hard working folks who do this fulltime as their actual jobs, so I try to price my work (if it is comparable) to their pricing. That way the buyer isn't tempted to accept a "lowball offer" by some shmuck like Me... haha. If I under priced that would be bad for the whole market. in my opinion.

Hopefully the consumer is smart enough to see through the opposite of that too, where a maker is selling cheap stock/work at higher prices...

There is Alot out there.

Just need to make a good product, and people will find ya.
I've said this a ton.... The customer isn't buying your knife, they are buying You.
If you are honest with yourself, your work, and the customer....? It will all work out itself.

*Edit to add (is there Profit out there?)
wealth is measured in many ways..... Once you know How, then the answer is more apparent

:D Good Luck, I'm looking forward to seeing your work!
 
navman said:
I sell on here, in person, through word of mouth and (sometimes) as a result of Instagram. I sell small volume and try to keep prices low and give people good value for a handmade product in premium materials, using my own designs. All profits go immediately back into the hobby. Price is whatever someone is willing to pay. I don't have a widely recognized name, and price accordingly. Have been told by MANY other makers that I undervalue my knives when I sell, but I don't it that way. I see the prices as a way for folks to try my designs, provide feedback and get a knife in a high performance steel.
Click to expand...

What a pleasant philosophy.
 
To clarify, I charge what I think is a fair price, considering a persons name has as much value as the object itself, meaning those with a recognized name can get away charging much more than a equivalent product from a lesser known maker. When i say Price is whatever someone is willing to pay, I mean, that is the definition of cost analysis. The price of what I sell is the price I charge, if a person offers me substantially less, I will not likely accept the offer, because I set the price, people either pay it or don't. I am certain I COULD charge more, and may end up doing so as my costs for materials, services and consumables increases.
 
Focus first on design, most new knife makers are not good at design, but they think they are.

Next, focus on workmanship.

Followed by performance and quality materials.

Custom knives are an emotional purchase, as is all forms of art.

The sales will come.

Hoss
 
DevinT said:
Focus first on design, most new knife makers are not good at design, but they think they are.

Next, focus on workmanship.

Followed by performance and quality materials.

Custom knives are an emotional purchase, as is all forms of art.

The sales will come.

Hoss
Click to expand...

I agree with All of this.... and I'll add that a key to help learning about good design is Using, Buying, Having Lots of knives.

Try to understand what it is, and why/if there was a reason for it's purpose? Can I do it Better?

I actually keep a bunch of horrible knives (from Other manufactures & makers) just so I can study them and Not make the same mistakes.
 
It's hard for those new to knifemaking to get a foothold into the market. I usually post on Fb groups and Instagram. I try to find the local fb groups to participate in, usually hunting or fishing related groups, or kitchen knife related or online forums. I do a lot locally to friends and by word of mouth. There are tons of "knifemakers" out there who buy stuff from overseas and re sell it as their own (and give knifemakers a bad name!), and also others who have a forge name, makers mark stamp and a ABS membership certificate (congrats, they paid the fee!), but are on the beginner forums asking very basic questions, have no idea about heat treating and grain structure, and sell their work dirt cheap and their work is obviously on the lower end of things.

I see people using the same materials, roughly same size/shape/style as what I do and asking for double what I do, with a rougher looking blade finish, but they have a name/reputation behind themselves (often FiF or KoD). I've been focusing on getting my workmanship levels up to where I want them to be, making my work look cleaner and better executed, and getting knives that fit people's hands well. I already use premium steel (as well as basic steels for a lower cost option) and have been getting the HT professionally done for most steels except the ones I am capable of doing at him with my PID kiln and Wilson Rockwell Tester.

The market is hard right now; most of my sales are for full custom pieces like Shechita (not many people make them), or my Tuna Pokers (again a niche product), or the Damascus stuff I've started making.
 
Hoss has a great point. Art is an emotional choice and value is difficult to comp. Aim for the art part and demand drives pricing. I don’t think there are any real metrics but if you guys figure this all out, I’d love the summary! 😂
 
Hoss nailed it. Most new makers try to make overly complicated and/or poorly thought out designs and don’t put enough focus on what the knife they’re making will be used for. Quality workmanship will set your knives apart more than crazy designs will.

If you’re in close proximity to any experienced/good makers, show them your work and ask them for honest and constructive feedback. Find shows to go to and get a feel for what’s out there, how your work compares, and what price ranges it sells in. Let people handle your knives. Word of mouth is all too often overlooked in the internet age but you can generate a lot interest the old fashioned way.

Don’t forget the “other stuff”. Provide printed info cards with all of your knives that tell what materials were used and any other pertinent info. There are some great computer programs that you can use for that. Work on some type of table display if you’re going to do shows and take decent pictures of everything for social media. I’d also recommend working on a logo or maker’s mark if you don’t have one already. Get a couple shirts and hats made with it to wear at shows or other related events. Get business cards made with your logo and some form of contact info on it. None of that stuff makes your knives more valuable or higher quality but I’ve noticed (at shows anyway) they do make a difference to customers and potential buyers and many makers overlook them. I’ve had people come up and talk to me out in public because they remember my logo from the local show. I’ll eventually sell some of them a knife.
 
Sales - instagram, online knife forums, repeat customers, referrals, occasional shows, also 2 day knifemaking experience workshops , dealer relationship, people you meet, friends, family
 
thx for the replies all,
D DevinT I am in S. central PA just outside harrisburg.

i'm definitely doing this more for fun then anything else. however, if i *can* fund my hobby that would be great. Also if I LLC this, since I have a full time job I can take the operating losses for the LLC/knife thingy and put against my taxes from my main job. i.e. i go get a new piece of equipment I can get my tax rate discounted off the price in the end.

I'd love to improve my skills I'm far from being able to actually sell something, and like I said, if i can fund the hobby and make a little extra on top then all is good. but realistically you can't sell a forged knife for $50 and do anything other then lose on that those ones i see on ebay have to be mass produced, I figure realistically best i'm doing is cranking out a knife in a full days worth of hours working on it. i.e. if i really bear down i can crank a finished knife in about 8 hours, really simple less. but as i get better equipment and just flat out suck less that can go down some.
 
Until I finally set up a shop on my website, I sold mainly through DM's on Instagram, a business page on Facebook, local word of mouth (and friends and family), and a couple of sales forums, such, like the one on this website for instance.

Take your time, don't try to re-invent the wheel, price it fair, and someone will buy it eventually.
 
vikingGoalie said:
thx for the replies all,
D DevinT I am in S. central PA just outside harrisburg.

i'm definitely doing this more for fun then anything else. however, if i *can* fund my hobby that would be great. Also if I LLC this, since I have a full time job I can take the operating losses for the LLC/knife thingy and put against my taxes from my main job. i.e. i go get a new piece of equipment I can get my tax rate discounted off the price in the end.

I'd love to improve my skills I'm far from being able to actually sell something, and like I said, if i can fund the hobby and make a little extra on top then all is good. but realistically you can't sell a forged knife for $50 and do anything other then lose on that those ones i see on ebay have to be mass produced, I figure realistically best i'm doing is cranking out a knife in a full days worth of hours working on it. i.e. if i really bear down i can crank a finished knife in about 8 hours, really simple less. but as i get better equipment and just flat out suck less that can go down some.
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If you’re just outside of Harrisburg you’re not too far of a drive from New Hope PA. I’m from central NJ (move out to KY last year though). There is a leather shop in New Hope, the owner is a knife guy, he sells all kinds of leather stuff but also knives made by local bladesmiths of all experience levels. If I can find the name of the shop I’ll post it here for you, can’t for the life of me remember.

It might be worth giving them a call or visit.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Fred Eisen, On Main Street?
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Yep that’s the one! Just now remembered to look it up.

I never got a chance to talk to the owner myself whenever I would go to New Hope, but when my parents went one time he was there and talked to them about selling knives through him. Seems like a pretty cool guy. My parents got me a knife made by a smith from eastern PA, small but very thick blade made from O1. The shop includes a little sheet of paper with the name of the smith who made it, if they are a little more established (have a website or business) they’ll give you contact info as well.
 
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