Should You Buy a Handmade Knife?

Vargold_Blades said:
My mistake! I guess all those ancient cultures that attached sharp metal or stone to the end of long sticks should have just used a fire hardened wood spear šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø
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Apples and oranges.

They were making pole arms for war. And they probably had a knife, sword or club to go along with it.

In the survival scenario outlined above lashing your blade to a stick sacrifices one tool for another.

His suggestion is to use the first tool to create a second tool.

Two is better than one.
 
This is "General Knife Discussion"...not "let's compare our philosophies on goodness, altruism and what constitutes self-serving behavior". Move on or lose the opportunity to post further in this thread. Off-topic posts have been moved offline.
 
benchwarmer380 said:
They were making pole arms for war. And they probably had a knife, sword or club to go along with it.
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Or hunting. I missed that he said metal as well. Yes indeed as you say B benchwarmer380 , purpose built proper tools for the job vs improvised tools not worth risking when better options exist.
 
Vargold_Blades said:
Not even for a survival situation?
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Especially then. You will have immediate luck as a forager vs taking game with a spear.
Protect your knife.
As for your articleā€¦Iā€™m wrestling with that decision in a chef knife. Iā€™m using a $19 Forged in Fire Hollywood promotion knife and itā€™s very sharp. Do I really want / need to buy a ā¬†ļøā¬†ļø$ mystery knife from, ā€œa guyā€?
No offense intended, but this handmade world is all new to me. Iā€™ll learn, then decide.
 
Vargold_Blades Vargold_Blades

I read your article and looked around your website.

Your article discusses potential benefits of handmade knives, the variable definition of handmade knives, and that itā€™s a good idea to ask a maker about their crafting process to help evaluate if their products are a good value.

In the end however, you donā€™t state what YOUR definition of handmade is, or really address what YOUR process is that makes your knives a good value.

Iā€™m curious to know how much hand-work vs. CNC work goes into your knives, or if thereā€™s anything else youā€™d like to share about how theyā€™re made, or who exactly makes them.
 
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To the OP, welcome to BladeForums, and thank you for sharing your stuff. A lot of work went into your website, which I can appreciate.

Your knife designs are unique as well. Any idea on what Rockwell you are attaining?

Good luck on your business and endeavor.
 
J. Doyle said:
A sharp, fire-hardened wood pointed spear is probably preferable to that. It's more rigid and you don't risk breaking your blade (which is likely).


Possibly.....but this is vague and the likelihood of encountering that scenario is extremely low.


Terrible idea. A whittled, multi-point fish spear is far superior and again, won't damage your blade.....which is extremely likely.


See above answers. A fire hardened wood spear is a far better option than lashing your knife to a stick. You need to protect your blade at all costs in a survival situation. It is your most important tool and literally could be the difference between life and death.

Have you spent much time outdoors?....actually practicing these skills and pondering these scenarios?
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Yes to this. Plus, the possibility of damaging your knife the first time you plunged your "knife-spear" into the water and smacked the tip into a large muck-covered stone on the bottom that you couldn't see....not a great plan.
 
J. Doyle said:
No. Can you think of a legit survival scenario where tying your knife to the end of a stick is advantageous?
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Dinosaurs.


Vargold_Blades Vargold_Blades if you really want this to be a useful "survival" blade, increase the blade length to at least 4.5-5.5 inches, ditch the paracord wrap and put on real scales (my preference would be micarta) and then make a sheath that allows you to attach other things to it, like a first aid kit, or fishing stuff etc.

Also, for the black ninja version, wouldn't the mutated zombies hear the hero unsheath it because it's kydex? That's how you get your brains eaten. Maybe line it with something or have a leather sheath option
 
GmpaJim said:
Especially then. You will have immediate luck as a forager vs taking game with a spear.
Protect your knife.
As for your articleā€¦Iā€™m wrestling with that decision in a chef knife. Iā€™m using a $19 Forged in Fire Hollywood promotion knife and itā€™s very sharp. Do I really want / need to buy a ā¬†ļøā¬†ļø$ mystery knife from, ā€œa guyā€?
No offense intended, but this handmade world is all new to me. Iā€™ll learn, then decide.
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Completely understandable, and I would use the same logic in your place. Sometimes a handmade knife just isn't the best decision, and that's totally okay. You should never feel pressured into a purchase. In the end, what you pay should be close to the cost of production, and the value that you think it is worth.
 
jbmonkey said:
on abundance.......not in florida, David...rocks and stones are hard to come by here....
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Thatā€™s where the first middle men came from. There were trade routes through the Americas. Free passage in tribal lands and between warning groups was granted, so rare goods could be had. This goes way back.
Flint for orangesā€¦kidding, oranges are from China (oh boy)
 
scdub said:
Vargold_Blades Vargold_Blades

I read your article and looked around your website.

Your article discusses potential benefits of handmade knives, the variable definition of handmade knives, and that itā€™s a good idea to ask a maker about their crafting process to help evaluate if their products are a good value.

In the end however, you donā€™t state what YOUR definition of handmade is, or really address what YOUR process is that makes your knives a good value.

Iā€™m curious to know how much hand-work vs. CNC work goes into your knives, or if thereā€™s anything else youā€™d like to share about how theyā€™re made, or who exactly makes them.
Click to expand...
First, I'm flattered that you think I use CNC! All of my blades are made with a portaband, a 1x30 belt grinder, hand sanding, and a propane forge. To me, anything that isn't stamped out by robots and produced en mass in a huge factory would fall into the "handmade" category. Using CNC and CAD is fine with me as far as handmade goes, but when you start using machines to grind bevels or shape handles for you, then I'm not so sure if you can call it handmade anymore. Some day I would love to have a CNC machine to cut impossibly intricate details into the material.

"Iā€™m curious to know how much hand-work vs. CNC work goes into your knives, or if thereā€™s anything else youā€™d like to share about how theyā€™re made, or who exactly makes them."

I design and make everything, from the work on my website, to the finished product shipped in the box. Since I do not have the gear to heat treat my own stainless, I stick to high-carbon steel, and follow the New Jersey Steel Barron's recipes. Basically, they are soaked at austenizing temp for ~5 minutes in the forge before being quenched in Parks 50 that's been heated to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Then they are tempered in the oven (two cycles of two hours) at 400 degrees. I would never claim that they are a specific HRC, but using that recipe, I think its safe to assume they are coming out between 60-62 HRC. Using the Keyring Katana as an example, my process is:

- Select a steel type (now its usually 80CrV2)
- Outline the blade profile on the flat stock
- Cut/Grind out the profile
- Mark/Scribe the bevel and edge
- Pre-heat treat bevel grind
- Pre-heat treat hand sand
- Austenize and quench
- Temper Cycle 1
- Temper Cycle 2
- Soak over night in vinegar for scale removal
- Finish grind the bevel
- Finish hand sand
- Electro etch the logo
- Make the sheath
- Protect the blade with some kind of oil or wax
- Package the blade
- Ship

This can take between 3 to 5 days, depending on what comes up while its going on. I also like to update the customer with the progress and some photos to make sure everyone is happy with the final result. Its entirely a one man show with the bare minimum equipment.
 
MolokaiRider said:
To the OP, welcome to BladeForums, and thank you for sharing your stuff. A lot of work went into your website, which I can appreciate.

Your knife designs are unique as well. Any idea on what Rockwell you are attaining?

Good luck on your business and endeavor.
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This really means a lot to me! For everyone on this thread, my intent was to tiptoe into BladeForums pool, but it seems I slipped and belly flopped instead šŸ˜…. Truly, I mean no disrespect to anyone.

As for Rockwell, I can't say for certain. I don't send my blades out for heat treat, and do not have any testing equipment yet. However, I do follow the New Jersey Steel Barons recipes to the letter, and believe its safe to assume they are within the 60-62 HRC range.
 
Vargold_Blades said:
This really means a lot to me! For everyone on this thread, my intent was to tiptoe into BladeForums pool, but it seems I slipped and belly flopped instead šŸ˜…. Truly, I mean no disrespect to anyone.

As for Rockwell, I can't say for certain. I don't send my blades out for heat treat, and do not have any testing equipment yet. However, I do follow the New Jersey Steel Barons recipes to the letter, and believe its safe to assume they are within the 60-62 HRC range.
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Just for QC purposes you should have a Rockwell tester.
 
This whole article could have been about two sentences.

With most production knives being sufficient for most people's needs, a handmade blade is a luxury.
So if you want a unique, one of a kind knife... and you can afford it... buy it!

Lets not over complicate things.
 
Vargold_Blades said:
First, I'm flattered that you think I use CNC! All of my blades are made with a portaband, a 1x30 belt grinder, hand sanding, and a propane forge. To me, anything that isn't stamped out by robots and produced en mass in a huge factory would fall into the "handmade" category. Using CNC and CAD is fine with me as far as handmade goes, but when you start using machines to grind bevels or shape handles for you, then I'm not so sure if you can call it handmade anymore. Some day I would love to have a CNC machine to cut impossibly intricate details into the material.

"Iā€™m curious to know how much hand-work vs. CNC work goes into your knives, or if thereā€™s anything else youā€™d like to share about how theyā€™re made, or who exactly makes them."

I design and make everything, from the work on my website, to the finished product shipped in the box. Since I do not have the gear to heat treat my own stainless, I stick to high-carbon steel, and follow the New Jersey Steel Barron's recipes. Basically, they are soaked at austenizing temp for ~5 minutes in the forge before being quenched in Parks 50 that's been heated to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Then they are tempered in the oven (two cycles of two hours) at 400 degrees. I would never claim that they are a specific HRC, but using that recipe, I think its safe to assume they are coming out between 60-62 HRC. Using the Keyring Katana as an example, my process is:

- Select a steel type (now its usually 80CrV2)
- Outline the blade profile on the flat stock
- Cut/Grind out the profile
- Mark/Scribe the bevel and edge
- Pre-heat treat bevel grind
- Pre-heat treat hand sand
- Austenize and quench
- Temper Cycle 1
- Temper Cycle 2
- Soak over night in vinegar for scale removal
- Finish grind the bevel
- Finish hand sand
- Electro etch the logo
- Make the sheath
- Protect the blade with some kind of oil or wax
- Package the blade
- Ship

This can take between 3 to 5 days, depending on what comes up while its going on. I also like to update the customer with the progress and some photos to make sure everyone is happy with the final result. Its entirely a one man show with the bare minimum equipment.
Click to expand...
Do you have a pic of a knife you made that you feel would be a good all around survival blade? And what is it about that knife that you feel makes it such and therefore a good value or advantage over a factory blade?
 
EngrSorenson said:
This whole article could have been about two sentences.

With most production knives being sufficient for most people's needs, a handmade blade is a luxury.
So if you want a unique, one of a kind knife... and you can afford it... buy it!

Lets not over complicate things.
Click to expand...
What would be the fun in that?
 
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