Snark it like you stole it!

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james terrio said:
By request, something completely different... a mountain man knife in the strawberry patch...

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There is a water-spot on the sheath because it was drizzling when Miss Angie took the picture and I prefer to let my leather breathe. Deal with it :D
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Would like to see the knife.
 
Let's see the knife Terrio! I wanna see what all you did to it!
 
james terrio said:
You are right to mention Andy Roy/FiddleBack Forge. He's putting out a lot of really good stuff, and I admire both his work and his business model, and especially the fact that he's developed a style of his own. I remember when he and Rick and I were just goofballs hanging out in W&SS, and now I've seen them both really grow into in-demand knifemakers. That's awesome!

You are also right to bring up makers who get "too big for their britches". That's BS, and it pisses me off. Makers depend on clients to pay our bills, and we should never forget that. It's great to have an ego and an attitude (let's face it, no one who doesn't have a certain level of confidence in themselves should ever attempt to make a living at something so difficult and fraught with risk as making killer knives). But that doesn't mean you get to be a dick about it.

As a maker, I have a few tips for custom clients...

A) Be as clear as possible about what you want/need. We can't read your mind.
B) If you tell us, "make it your way", you're gonna get it our way. And you're gonna be expected to pay for it.
C) Get it in writing (or at least an email). Hold the maker accountable for his quote. If a maker bids low and raises his price later, there's something fishy going on. Don't walk away, RUN.
D) Avoid deposits or pre-paying whenever possible. I have seen makers get into serious trouble by taking money up-front for knives that only exist on paper. In most cases, that ends up in a ruined career and a seriously besmirched name.

There are exceptions to every rule, of course.
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Andy Roy is a class act all across the board. I was introduced to him at Blade and we hit it off pretty well. I love his knives, the way he handles himself and his business. He has great taste in beer too, lol I think he bought me and my wife about 6 rounds apiece! :thumbup:

Your advice is very good James. however, while I do agree with you 100% on handling depoisits, I have found that in some cases, it is a nessessary evil. people dont stop to realize that when dealing with a maker, they only have to deal with one guy, that maker however, has to deal with all of his clients and thats a lot harder to do than some poeple think, as Im sure you know. Also, Im sure you know that you have ways of doing business that is a result you getting burned in the past. For example, If someone want there knife personallized I have to get payment in full up front. we all have had the customer that orders a knife, then once its completed doesnt pay. Well, If its personallized, I cant sell that knife to anybody else.

I usually let the payment be totally up to the customer, my only rules are, it must be paid in full before I send it out. the only time I demand payment up front in full is if I know its individual to the person and wouldnt be able to be sold otherwise. outside of those rules, I let the customer decide how there gonna handle it, Some people like to pay up front and have it out of the way, some pay as you go, some all upon completion, and of coarse you get the ones that order knives and then dont wanna pay for them cause they cant manage there money or squander it on junk, or cancel the order once its 3/4 of the way complete. and once I adopted those two rules that I stated above, I dont get burned anymore, I can then take the said knife and sell it to the next guy on the list.
 
TMHunt said:
Andy Roy is a class act all across the board. I was introduced to him at Blade and we hit it off pretty well. I love his knives, the way he handles himself and his business. He has great taste in beer too, lol I think he bought me and my wife about 6 rounds apiece! :thumbup:

Your advice is very good James. however, while I do agree with you 100% on handling depoisits, I have found that in some cases, it is a nessessary evil. people dont stop to realize that when dealing with a maker, they only have to deal with one guy, that maker however, has to deal with all of his clients and thats a lot harder to do than some poeple think, as Im sure you know. Also, Im sure you know that you have ways of doing business that is a result you getting burned in the past. For example, If someone want there knife personallized I have to get payment in full up front. we all have had the customer that orders a knife, then once its completed doesnt pay. Well, If its personallized, I cant sell that knife to anybody else.

I usually let the payment be totally up to the customer, my only rules are, it must be paid in full before I send it out. the only time I demand payment up front in full is if I know its individual to the person and wouldnt be able to be sold otherwise. outside of those rules, I let the customer decide how there gonna handle it, Some people like to pay up front and have it out of the way, some pay as you go, some all upon completion, and of coarse you get the ones that order knives and then dont wanna pay for them cause they cant manage there money or squander it on junk, or cancel the order once its 3/4 of the way complete. and once I adopted those two rules that I stated above, I dont get burned anymore, I can then take the said knife and sell it to the next guy on the list.
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This all makes sense to me, especially the bolded part. If it's a "stock" knife, so to speak, paying upon completion seems natural. I wouldn't expect anyone to send me an order before the balance was paid in full.

Custom orders are different. Putting myself in your shoes, I'd be beyond upset to have put my time, materials, and effort into a custom job and then have the person change their mind, come up short, or just fall off the face of the earth.

And getting things in writing, even if it's just a quick email after the conversation to confirm is never a bad thing. People remember past conversations differently, but if you've got words on print there's not much to argue about.
 
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TMHunt said:
Yeah your different Cbear, we know each others good for it. not our first rodeo right? ;)
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Oh I know... But still, I'm glad I already paid! I hate having outstanding debts... There is still two I'm waiting to get called in and I am really dreading that day!
 
CCMI said:
This all makes sense to me, especially the bolded part. If it's a "stock" knife, so to speak, paying upon completion seems natural. I wouldn't expect anyone to send me an order before the balance was paid in full.

Custom orders are different. Putting myself in your shoes, I'd be beyond upset to have put my time, materials, and effort into a custom job and then have the person change their mind, come up short, or just fall off the face of the earth.

And getting things in writing, even if it's just a quick email after the conversation to confirm is never a bad thing. People remember past conversations differently, but if you've got words on print there's not much to argue about.
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Unfortunately, like I said, the reasons makers have certain business rules is because theve been burnt before. I know I have. What sucks, is sometimes people confuse these certain business practices with being a a$$hole or "to big for there britches" When a lot of times there just trying to protect themselves from the types of people that ruin it for everybody else.

Ive been pretty lucky. Ive sold several knives the last few years, and I can only think of a 3 people that I will never do business with no matter how much money they have. Most people are respectfull and a pleasure to deal with. But unfortunately, no matter who you are or how hard you try, there are some people that are never satisfied and are impossible to please. You just gotta make your best effort at being pleasent and move on. Sometimes its hard.
 
Fascinating stuff here, and we're hearing from people who actually do it, not just speculate about it. :thumbup:


Would like to see the knife.
Me too, show the blade
Let's see the knife Terrio! I wanna see what all you did to it!
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What, y'all think there's an actual knife inside thar? :D
 
$10 Old Hickory butcher knife, $40 chunk of highly-figured Missouri crotch walnut from Don Hanson III, $30 worth of copper rivets/bolts/liners, $20 worth of top-grade leather... slimmed down and reground to nice keen convex edge... labor? Sheeooot, what's that worth? Minimum wage? :rolleyes:

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... that's why I get pissy when folks quibble and balk at the dollar value on a customized/handmade knife... trust me, you really don't want to know what it cost... just swallow hard, cough up the greenbacks and be glad that you're getting serious skill for almost free.

It was a fun project, though.
 
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james terrio said:
$10 Old Hickory butcher knife, $40 chunk of highly-figured Missouri crotch walnut from Don Hanson III, $30 worth of copper rivets/bolts/liners, $20 worth of top-grade leather... slimmed down and reground to nice keen convex edge... labor? Sheeooot, what's that worth? Minimum wage? :rolleyes:

mm02_zpseaae6082.jpg


... that's why I hate when folks ask me to put a dollar value on a custom knife... trust me, you really don't want to know...

It was a fun project, though.
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Pretty damn cool. I love those Old Hickory knives. :thumbup:
 
Haha. I know what you mean.

I really like that style of sheath. Perfect traditional looking match with that project. Good job. Did the wifey make that?
 
TMHunt said:
Haha. I know what you mean.

I really like that style of sheath. Perfect traditional looking match with that project. Good job. Did the wifey make that?
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Thanks! That's the very first one in that style that we've ever made. Y'all saw it here first! ;)

As usual, I designed, cut, poked holes in, riveted and glued-up the fully-welted sheath. Angie stitched it, because she is way better at that than I am. Then I finished and smoothed the edges after wet-forming it, and dyed/oiled it.

It's a bit outside my norm... we were in a little hardware store down in Maryville, and they had a nice display of OH knives for sale. I always loved old books and movies about the mountain-man/fur trading days, so I just had to grab it. It's my tribute to the trade knives of that period, and how someone out on the plains might have customized one, if they had the time, tools and materials.

I do not know if the copper bolts/liners/rivets are "period correct". I think they look cool with the walnut and brown leather, though :D
 
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How does the sheath ride? Is it comfy when resheathing? It looks like it would be kind of floppy. That said, amazing work man! When you and Derek were talking about it, I never expected that!
 
james terrio said:
Thanks! That's the very first one in that style that we've ever made. Y'all saw it here first! ;)

As usual, I designed, cut, poked holes in, riveted and glued-up the fully-welted sheath. Angie stitched it, because she is way better at that than I am. Then I finished and smoothed the edges after wet-forming it, and dyed/oiled it.

It's a bit outside my norm... we were in a little hardware store down in Maryville, and they had a nice display of OH knives for sale. I always loved old books and movies about the mountain-man/fur trading days, so I just had to grab it. It's my tribute to the trade knives of that period, and how someone out on the plains might have customized one, if they had the time, tools and materials.

I do not know if the copper bolts/liners/rivets are "period correct". I think they look cool with the walnut and brown leather, though :D
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Yeah that's what I like about it. I picked up on the traditional theme right away. It looks like it belongs right beside a old flintlock muzzleloader. I love that kinda stuff. Good eye.
 
Chameleonbear said:
How does the sheath ride? Is it comfy when resheathing? It looks like it would be kind of floppy. That said, amazing work man! When you and Derek were talking about it, I never expected that!
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Thank you!

It rides fairly high, as you can see, but the belt slot is wide enough to allow it to cant whichever way you like... strong-side, weak-side, etc. I'm not saying that's the "best" way to build a sheath, but it seemed correct for that style of knife.

It's not floppy at all, quite the contrary. The thick 8-9oz. full welt helps keep it straight, as well as preventing the knife from cutting through the stitching. It's formed and fairly stiff, like any good leather sheath should be. I chamfered the throat and eased it back during wet-forming so it's not difficult to guide the knife/handle back into the sheath.

I like to think of that feature as the "Easy-In Throat" design, but certain powers-that-be think that phrase is too sexual/gross to put in our advertising... :confused:

TMHunt said:
Yeah that's what I like about it. I picked up on the traditional theme right away. It looks like it belongs right beside a old flintlock muzzleloader. I love that kinda stuff. Good eye.
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I'm very pleased to hear that. That style of knife just cries out for a sheath like that, don'tcha think? :)
 
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