Requests for no makers mark

Robert Erickson said:
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.
Click to expand...
the way that I see it, is that the knife I'm making is mine until I sell it to someone.
The thing that works for me now is to make what I want and hopefully find someone out there who wants to own it. From that perspective, there is no reason for me to not mark my work.
I can't imagine any time where I would do either of the following things;
1. make someone else' design
2. release a knife into the world without some permanent mark proving that I made it

obviously, there are a huge number of ways to pursue the craft, but so far my way is the best way for me.
 
Lorien said:
so, wait a minute- you're not getting paid for your work in this instance? (not that it's any of my business)
Click to expand...

It is for military guys retiring their unit.
In my mind, that's a gift for appreciating Their service?
Least I can do is make them a knife. (I'm my mind)
Although Idk who these people are? My buddy, yes. I know Him, and he's made great sacrifices..... But he asked me to.

I'm not really sure of what I'm doing Here?

I've had other makers here scold me for giving away too many free knives.

I wasn't originally planning on getting a makers membership here, I didn't think I'm good enough. But apparently I'm good for Free.
 
A.McPherson said:
I say put under the scales... Inlayed in lead, then epoxy the scales down. Only detectable by X-rays. Super secret squirrel.
Click to expand...

Tsts what he said, but still Would anyone ever Xray them? I doubt it, idk?
 
Guess I am in the hobby for other reasons...
A tool worthy of use does not need a makers mark to be a tool that is used.
I keep thinking about dropping a maker's mark altogether.
 
Crag the Brewer Crag the Brewer well, if I may- I've been self employed for a long while, and worked in an industry where everyone expects deals and was constantly asked to donate to this charity or that one. I'm hardened to this kind of stuff, so be forewarned if you decide to read on that I'm going to be real about this.

what most people don't think about, is that for a small business owner to give them a 10% discount means that business owner is likely giving them 100% of the business owner's cut of the sale. A 'free' donated bike tune up would cost me an hour, otherwise known as $100.

I would constantly give deals and donate to every charity, until I started to realize that instead of my reputation getting better, the opposite was the outcome. I want to be known for being good, not for being cheap, and because I was putting it out there that I'd give discounts all the time, I was diminishing the quality of the perception of my service that I wanted to created.

I think generosity is important, and by choosing more carefully who I'd donate to, and who I'd give discounts and freebies to, I was able to be actually generous. Good vibes were going to the right places- places that I chose- and so generosity became truer to what I see generosity as.

do most people appreciate getting the deal? Well, I'll just say that many people don't seem to appreciate much, these days. We're all happy to take it, though

I'm not going to say that you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. To my way of thinking, though, this has the feeling to me of you being taken advantage of- I'm sorry, but that's how it looks from here.

If it were me, I wouldn't even discount for these guys. I think you're going above and beyond just agreeing to make their design, there's obvious value in that to them, but you are in a sense reducing their perceived value by simply giving it to them for free. People value things more that take some sacrifice. Your time is not valueless, and people should feel privileged when you provide them with your time. Your time is literally all you have in this world!

if you want to give these guys a freebie, maybe offer to sharpen or spruce up the knives they already have? Show them your edges mean business! Convince them to buy a batch of knives from you and charge them a fair price. It'll mean more to them in the end, and part of that is getting to know who made their knife.

and that will be 2 cents please.
 
I have chosen to not purchase from makers because of their mark...only rarely have I chosen to ask them to omit their mark. I feel it is a bit of an insult to the maker; but, if I like the knife and hate the mark, sometimes I'll take the chance.

When makers have changed their mark, I feel less stigma about asking them to use their former version.
 
Last edited:
Lorien said:
Crag the Brewer Crag the Brewer well, if I may- I've been self employed for a long while, and worked in an industry where everyone expects deals and was constantly asked to donate to this charity or that one. I'm hardened to this kind of stuff, so be forewarned if you decide to read on that I'm going to be real about this.

what most people don't think about, is that for a small business owner to give them a 10% discount means that business owner is likely giving them 100% of the business owner's cut of the sale. A 'free' donated bike tune up would cost me an hour, otherwise known as $100.

I would constantly give deals and donate to every charity, until I started to realize that instead of my reputation getting better, the opposite was the outcome. I want to be known for being good, not for being cheap, and because I was putting it out there that I'd give discounts all the time, I was diminishing the quality of the perception of my service that I wanted to created.

I think generosity is important, and by choosing more carefully who I'd donate to, and who I'd give discounts and freebies to, I was able to be actually generous. Good vibes were going to the right places- places that I chose- and so generosity became truer to what I see generosity as.

do most people appreciate getting the deal? Well, I'll just say that many people don't seem to appreciate much, these days. We're all happy to take it, though

I'm not going to say that you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. To my way of thinking, though, this has the feeling to me of you being taken advantage of- I'm sorry, but that's how it looks from here.

If it were me, I wouldn't even discount for these guys. I think you're going above and beyond just agreeing to make their design, there's obvious value in that to them, but you are in a sense reducing their perceived value by simply giving it to them for free. People value things more that take some sacrifice. Your time is not valueless, and people should feel privileged when you provide them with your time. Your time is literally all you have in this world!

if you want to give these guys a freebie, maybe offer to sharpen or spruce up the knives they already have? Show them your edges mean business! Convince them to buy a batch of knives from you and charge them a fair price. It'll mean more to them in the end, and part of that is getting to know who made their knife.

and that will be 2 cents please.
Click to expand...

I agree with alot of what you say.....
I think I'm going to be sterner next year.


This is a tough racket to figure out.
Lots to learn. More importantly, lots to understand.


Thank you for your input, I have a Lot to figure out.
 
I dont make knives to profit, and either give them away to F&F or sell them pretty reasonably but
it will have always have my initials on it at least. (my free ones are more in demand)

I have a friend that served and I made him a knife b4 when he was a teenager, If requested to make
a knife for his buddies, I might charge for material cost but we all have different motivations. Cheers to that!
James
 
I have been asked several times to not put my maker's mark on a knife. All but one of them was a knife of my design so I just didn't mark them. I figured the 15 minutes I saved by not marking them was more money in my pocket (the price of the knives didn't change). The one time I was making a customer's design and was asked I figured he was going to mark it as his own. After giving it serious thought I decided to go thru with the build. I was getting paid well to make the knife so I made it.

Bottom line is there is no one right way that everyone needs to handle this situation. You have to decide what is right for you. Always go with your gut feeling. Your head and heart will lie to you but your gut will always tell you the truth.
 
Most of you have sold more knives than me, but generally speaking I would refuse to sell a knife without a mark. There are probably circumstances that would change my mind but even then I'd insist on something on the spine.

Crag the Brewer said:
It is for military guys retiring their unit.
In my mind, that's a gift for appreciating Their service?
Least I can do is make them a knife. (I'm my mind)
Although Idk who these people are? My buddy, yes. I know Him, and he's made great sacrifices..... But he asked me to.
Click to expand...

As an old Army guy I appreciate you making the knives for them -- a unit retiring is a big deal.

I don't get why they don't want your mark though. You're already doing them a big favor by making the knives, and now they want to deny you any possible marketing value too? Maybe they're intending to personalize them so they don't want anything on the blades? If that's the case you should be able to put the mark somewhere out of the way.

I would ask your friend why he wants them that way and then make a decision on it. Just my 2 cents.
 
Seedy Lot said:
Guess I am in the hobby for other reasons...
A tool worthy of use does not need a makers mark to be a tool that is used.
I keep thinking about dropping a maker's mark altogether.
Click to expand...
I agree that we make awesome tools that don't need a makers mark to be used :thumbsup:. But even large tool companies put their name on their products.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
It is for military guys retiring their unit.
In my mind, that's a gift for appreciating Their service?
Least I can do is make them a knife. (I'm my mind)
Although Idk who these people are? My buddy, yes. I know Him, and he's made great sacrifices..... But he asked me to.

I'm not really sure of what I'm doing Here?

I've had other makers here scold me for giving away too many free knives.

I wasn't originally planning on getting a makers membership here, I didn't think I'm good enough. But apparently I'm good for Free.
Click to expand...
You make the knives, if you want to give them away its nobodies business but yours.
 
SBuzek said:
You make the knives, if you want to give them away its nobodies business but yours.
Click to expand...
When you give away the knife you make it's not just a gift . That's the best advertisement you can have . The man to whom you gave that knife has friends, his friends have other friends, relatives .......
I gave away many knives , the whole street where I live has a kitchen knife as a gift from me . Many hunters got a knife from me, as well as fishermen . My daughter loves hiking , several of her hiking friends also got a knife from me . My son's friends also got a knife each .. . .. .
Today, almost all of Macedonia knows that I make knives. Neighbors ask me if I can make a knife for one of their relatives or friends, they say that he was impressed when he saw the knife into their kitchen I gave them long time ago . When hunters see what that knife can do to a wild boar, they want one too. ......................you got the picture what I mean . It takes time, but in the end it pays off more than any newspaper or internet advertisement . .. . .And there is personal satisfaction, you made something with your own hands and gave it as a gift. And most people appreciate that.................
Yes, there is no better advertisement than giving away a knife , at least I think so .

About the makers mark ........................ If you don't want my name on a knife that I made.. GTFO and make one yourself !!

​

 
There isn't a chance I would send out a blade without my mark. With laser it's far too easy for someone else to add their mark. Import Damascus knives are sold this way so the US "maker" can add their own mark. I don't see an upside.
 
I'm going to step in and clarify my earlier statement. When I commented on the marks, I wasn't talking about the maker's name, I was talking about marks - symbols or images used as logos, instead of (or in addition to) a name. There were, several years ago, a number of makers that used such marks - I won't name names or show images because my intent is not focus on any particular makers - but, I chose not to purchase knives that I liked because of those marks. I think the only maker I ever asked to not mark the knife was one who had sold multiple "sterile" knives.

Sure, some people put their names in places I'd rather not have them, or size them too large; but, overall, I don't generally have objections to professional looking makers' marks.
 
If the knife is a high quality handmade piece that you charged a fair price for, then it's not obvious what fake name they could engrave to make it worth more.
If I had an unmarked Warenski, I wouldn't put my name on it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top