Requests for no makers mark

Robert Erickson

Robert Erickson

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
2,864
I wanted to start a discussion to see what other makers do in the situation where a customer asks for no makers mark to be placed on the blade/knife. I've only had the request made a few times so it's not often an issue but was curious if others have been in this situation and what they did.

Is it a big deal and a deal breaker or no big deal?

Reasons for always having a makers mark:
Future provenance
Pride in work

Reasons to not always have it on the blade:
Give the customer what they want

Any other opinions or thoughts?
 
Some "tactical" knives & equipment is left sanitized in the event that it is left behind, in which case it is very difficult to impossible to trace the device back to a particular user. I'd say it's up to the maker as to whether that's a big deal or not. I don't make nearly as many knives as some on here, but the time & effort involved in each that I do make demands that my mark goes on it. If a customer doesn't want that then I would probably try to refer them to another maker.

Now if Uncle Sugar reached out to me with a contract to make hundreds or thousands of SPECOP DELTA TEAM 6 NINJA FORCE 5 blades to be used in the darkest, dankest corners & caves of the world to spread freedom then I may consider a batch non-marked blades. I'm not going to wait on that call though.
 
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I probably wouldn’t do it.

I will also get asked occasionally by people to mark their name, initials, logo, etc on my blades. I won’t do that either. I think that a knife you make is personal and should have your mark on it.
 
I could only every imagine asking that for a hand made product if a makers mark was huge and obstrusive.

Sometimes I've asked for an old makers mark (when it was more subtle / simple), but in general if I'm not a fan I just wont order.
 
I'm still new to this craft, but I can't imagine ever acquiescing to that request.
 
I would tell the buyer that in your experience a maker's mark increases the value if he ever sells it.
 
Good question.... I've just had/still am dealing with this.

A buddy asked me to help make him gift knives for some of his group of Army buddies that are retiring soon.
He asked me to make a version of a certain military knife.
He also asked me not to include my Maker's Mark. I'm not sure what I feelings are yet.
He specifically asked me Not to make them Exactly like the originals, so they wouldn't be mistaken.
But still he asked that I didn't include my mark. Actually he asked me to put it under the scales to show that it's not original. In case someone removed them to look.
I told him that That didn't make sense......

I'm making these for free, but I'd like them to know it's Me.
like Navman said, I could include a card? idk....
 
I'd try and figure out why the customer wants that. Do they want a 'sterile' military knife? Do they just like the clean look?

Maybe it could be put under the scales, or on the spine rather than the ricasso.
 
Personally I think it's generally a bad idea to not "sign" your work in some way.

However, I have done runs of different fixed blade designs without my makers mark, in one instance because I was helping someone prototype a design they'd planned to do production runs of later with a larger manufacturer.

If a customer wanted my work, ESPECIALLY something designed and made for them specifically, I'd certainly want my mark on it.
 
madcap_magician said:
I'd try and figure out why the customer wants that. Do they want a 'sterile' military knife? Do they just like the clean look?

Maybe it could be put under the scales, or on the spine rather than the ricasso.
Click to expand...
Those are two great solutions that most people should be ok with, I'd think.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
Good question.... I've just had/still am dealing with this.

A buddy asked me to help make him gift knives for some of his group of Army buddies that are retiring soon.
He asked me to make a version of a certain military knife.
He also asked me not to include my Maker's Mark. I'm not sure what I feelings are yet.
He specifically asked me Not to make them Exactly like the originals, so they wouldn't be mistaken.
But still he asked that I didn't include my mark. Actually he asked me to put it under the scales to show that it's not original. In case someone removed them to look.
I told him that That didn't make sense......

I'm making these for free, but I'd like them to know it's Me.
like Navman said, I could include a card? idk....
Click to expand...
A card or other paperwork is not likely to stay with the knife, nor is there any real way to tie the paperwork to the knife without a mark and/or serial numbers. I know the project you are working on, and those circumstances I don't see why there would be a request to omit your mark. Doesn't make sense to me. Your specific project excluded, all US contract military knives and bayonets that I'm aware of are marked by the manufacturer so a maker's mark of some kind is completely relevant and within context for a reproduction, IMO. YMMV of course.
 
A couple years ago someone offered to buy any unsold knives I had as long as I did not put my mark on them.
I declined.
 
I had already agreed to it, before he asked me not to put them on.....
It sounds like most here think I should press further with keeping it on them.
I can't imagine that being a deal breaker, although I'm not sure why he asked me that in the first place.....
 
Only reason I have a maker's mark is it provided more knife sales. For years I had no mark as I just did not care if my name was on the blade so if someone wanted a knife from me with no mark I would be fine with it.
 
I usually get told to be sure my mark goes on the knife. I’ve been asked to put it on the handle instead of the blade before.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
I had already agreed to it, before he asked me not to put them on.....
It sounds like most here think I should press further with keeping it on them.
I can't imagine that being a deal breaker, although I'm not sure why he asked me that in the first place.....
Click to expand...
so, wait a minute- you're not getting paid for your work in this instance? (not that it's any of my business)
 
Thanks for all of your responses I wasn't sure where everyone would come down on this issue.
The customer that just requested this stated that he likes to have the blade be plain. He doesn't have an issue with the maker's mark being on the spine. The steel is thick enough for me to put it there and so I'm inclined to oblige him.
A few years back I had a potential customer request one without the mark being anywhere. I declined the build because I agree with the sentiment that I'm essentially "signing" the knife and each one has a bit of me in it.
 
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