selling knife blanks

ScottRoush

ScottRoush

Joined
Jan 10, 2010
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How many folks out there sell blades (mostly finished) without handles? I do a lot of forged finishes and I'm starting to get requests from people who want that look but either don't want to pay for a finished knife or want to just make their own handles. I'm torn... as it is a quick way to make some money, but, I dunno... it seems to cheapen my work somehow. Just wondering what other folks think about this...
 
I have purchased a blank in the past (before I began smithing) the same way as you specified and it came without his maker mark...I was cool with that, I can still credit him for the blank but the handle, sheath and final finish on the blade we're me.

If I were to sell a blank I wouldn't mark it to my attributed name.
 
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with selling blanks, just don't mark it.
 
Nothing wrong with selling blanks or making knives from someone else's blanks.Many Scandinavian makers don't forge their own blades.Some specialize in forging blades and some specialize in finishing a knife from a blank.

The only problem is when folks are less than honest about what they are selling.
 
You could always make a special stamp that you use for blanks only that says it was your blank.

Matt
 
I have sold them before, without my mark on it, but I dont really like it. One of my favorite parts of knifemaking is doing the handle. I love watching a couple blocks of wood turn into a handle, and selling blanks kinda takes that away from me.

Nothing wrong with doing it, I just prefer not to.
 
So far I have bought two Scandanavian blades and put my handles on them. Both of those blades were marked by their maker, and rightly so. Both makers also sell completed knives, but as noted previously I think the Scandanavian model is collaborative, wherein no one maker owns the whole process end to end. They combine specialties rather than trying to be a jack of all parts of the trade. ;)

If anyone on this board were to open a business in selling finished blades that were ready to be given custom handles, I would seriously consider their work and begin buying domestic products. I just get the sense that US makers don't buy into the Scandanavian business model for the reasons mentioned in the base post... they worry it will "cheapen" their brand.

- Greg
 
tryppyr said:
So far I have bought two Scandanavian blades and put my handles on them. Both of those blades were marked by their maker, and rightly so. Both makers also sell completed knives, but as noted previously I think the Scandanavian model is collaborative, wherein no one maker owns the whole process end to end. They combine specialties rather than trying to be a jack of all parts of the trade. ;)

If anyone on this board were to open a business in selling finished blades that were ready to be given custom handles, I would seriously consider their work and begin buying domestic products. I just get the sense that US makers don't buy into the Scandanavian business model for the reasons mentioned in the base post... they worry it will "cheapen" their brand.

- Greg
Click to expand...

I started making knives using Scandanavian blades because I wanted to work on finishing skills and it is very hard to get a good USA made blade only.Now I forge my blades but for the work that goes into one I couldn't sell them at a competitive price compared to current kit blades.
 
I do this as a hobby and work out of my medium sized apartment. I have purchased blade blanks in the past, and have had blanks water jet cut and laser cut for me. I don't see what's wrong with it...Though I would feel like I was collaborating with someone who forged something more intricate for me to do stock removal on.
 
Greg has a good point... throughout the last couple centuries, not only Scandinavian blades but many or most European blades were built in a sort of piece-meal fashion. One shop forged and/or ground the basic blades, another mounted the handles, another finished them, another made the sheaths, etc. In some cases, the "shops" were cottage-industry operations where one person specialized in a specific skill and earned his living on a piece-work basis. We'll refrain from exploring the socio-economic impact of all this. Suffice to say, it didn't generally help expand a solid middle class.

It's a different world now. I would not sell a blank or blade with my name on it unless I had full control of every step from raw stock to finished blade. That's part of what makes handmade knives more valuable. Do you want your name on a knife with a sloppy handle?

If you want to sell blanks, ask yourself if you can compete with overseas factories that crank them out by the thousands. You could kick their butt with better steel and HT. But will your blanks/blades compete pricewise? Who's going to buy them? Seems like a pretty small market compared to the already-saturated field of cheap AUS-8 (and similar) kit blades.



It IS true that some modern cutlery outfits sell darn good blades for people to finish themselves. But it's not their bread-and-butter.
 
I make and sell blades. I also forge, do stock removal, and have been around for a while.

It comes down to making sure that, when you sell a knife that someone else did the blade, you disclose that fact.

Bob Engnath was a mentor to a lot of us when we got started. When he died he had ground almost 100,000 blades. His goal was to spread knifemaking and provide the tools for beginners, or someone who wanted to make knives but couldn't have or didn't want a shop. I started doing blades after he died because there was a demand and in part, as a way to give back.

I have customers who purchase blades regularly and those who have moved on to making their own. I'd say it's working.

Gene
 
Thanks Rayban.

My biggest challenge right now is keeping up. I had my right rotator cuff fixed late last Sept and the left fixed 6 weeks ago. It will be next year before I get my strength back, so I'm working slower. I just got back to real grinding yesterday. I've got to take better care of myself, right?

Gene
 
Gene Martin said:
Thanks Rayban.

My biggest challenge right now is keeping up. I had my right rotator cuff fixed late last Sept and the left fixed 6 weeks ago. It will be next year before I get my strength back, so I'm working slower. I just got back to real grinding yesterday. I've got to take better care of myself, right?

Gene
Click to expand...

Gene, Join the club. :)
 
I think it's great that some of you are so focused on brand and quality that you insist on owning every step of the process. Such craftsmanship is becoming more and more rare in this era of globalization.

I will say, though, I think there is something to the Scandanavian model of business too. I know of some makers whose primary interest is in making exceptional damascus. Others might enjoy taking that damascus and making exceptional blades. Still others might be most focused on taking exceptional blades and making truly wonderul handles. Yet others might take delight in making extraordinary sheaths that are well mated to the completed knife.

One maker could shoose to own the whole process, soup to nuts... but the final product would probably fall somewhat short of what four specialists could produce in a collaborative effort. If the blade maker wanted to retain control of the whole process, they could still leverage the skills of others... others that they select.

That's markedly different from "cranking out blanks" marked with your name.

- Greg
 
tryppyr said:
One maker could shoose to own the whole process, soup to nuts... but the final product would probably fall somewhat short of what four specialists could produce in a collaborative effort. If the blade maker wanted to retain control of the whole process, they could still leverage the skills of others... others that they select.

- Greg
Click to expand...

I think Greg has a very good point, and it illustrates that there are 2 different scenarios under discussion. Well, maybe 3, but the scenarion wherein a person buys blanks or kits and finishes them has been done to death already.

I don't think it's possible to compare making and selling blades to the Scandinavian model.

In the OP's case, mossanimal has no control over the end product and little or no way to predict its quality. In the Scandinavian model, it is a collaborative effort by craftsmen whose skills and ethics are well-known to each other. To me, at least, they're apples and oranges.
 
I like the idea of a special mark saying: blade (or blank) made by X
That way you get credit for your part and the buyer will be able to take credit for everything he does with the blank.
 
Everyone has diffrent opinions on this,but the makers mark,, is the most questionable thing!! i say leave it off ,This day and age better get the dollars while you can!!!
 
tryppyr said:
One maker could shoose to own the whole process, soup to nuts... but the final product would probably fall somewhat short of what four specialists could produce in a collaborative effort.
Click to expand...

Well, maybe... I guess it depends. It doesn't take four makers to put a handle and blade together. However it's certainly true that some of the best bladesmiths and makers alive today don't care to make sheathes or do engraving; I doubt anyone would say they're "selling blanks".

tryppyr said:
If the blade maker wanted to retain control of the whole process, they could still leverage the skills of others... others that they select.
That's markedly different from "cranking out blanks" marked with your name.
- Greg
Click to expand...

I agree completely.

Planned collaborations between skilled makers/engravers/inlayers/suppliers of damascus, etc. are indeed in a different class from even the best-quality hand-made blade with a handle put on by wh
 
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I've been travelling (Midwest Hammer in) and didn't realize this thread was still active! Thanks for all the great posts... very helpful....
 
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