Sole authorship...how far do you go?

Originally posted by southriv
Kit said ".... I'm talking about personal satisfaction and achievement, and continously striving for that next level. "


Right on!!

Bob
Click to expand...

Brushfire? Heck no! An awful lot of perspective and differing viewpoints have been voiced. This is the philosophical side of knifemaking. There has been quite a bit of "food for thought". It has made me think more about what I am doing and the direction I am headed. As stated above, "striving for that next level".

Knifemaking is a journey. It is not so much the investment in equipment, it is the amount of time we spend learning this craft. That is where the true investment will be. The learning curve is vertical and it never ceases.
Whether you want to learn how to program and use a CNC machine, operate a lathe, a milling machine, learn to weld or learn to HT, you are making an investment.

A very good point was made concerning doing any more stainless blades if the heat treat is not done by the maker. Very, very good point and well taken. Sole authorship is probably one of the primary contributing factors why I started forging blades. But that's just me. I am not a "hammer snob" by any means, it is just the road that I have taken. Other folks go down different paths.

This thread has as much information in it as any "shop tip" that has ever been posted on this forum. This is a wealth of information.

C Wilkins
 
I spent 2 hours this morning making a special stainless steel screw for a "one off" application. It could have been a "long" 2 hours had I started with the attitude that it was going to be a hassle and I should just try to "make do" by finding something in one of my catalogs. I could have gotten discouraged by the first three failed attempts. Instead, the time passed by quickly because I was actually enjoying the learning process.

Having the right attitude makes a big difference in what you can accomplish.
 
Tom I know how happy you are. I spent a day making a damascus blade and grinding and heat treating it only to discard it because the pattern didnt suit me. It looked good on one side but not the other side. I spent another day on the next one. I think it will look very good and to me was worth the extra time. It dont get much better than this.

I love this thread, we will all benefit from this one.
 
did not mean to insult anyone. if you heat treat your own stainless thats great. i give credit to mr.bos for HT i logo my knives with his (flame BOS) logo on the other side from mine. let me say that i know he does a better more consistant than i would be able to do for a lot of years.:)
 
Darrell Ralph said-
"I feel we have enough governing bodies in our lives at this time.
I got into knifemaking so that I could make my own decisions.
I do not relish the fact that some feel they want to tell me how to, and what to do. Terms are just WORDS and EXCUSES that people use as labels to set themselves aside from others. If you make a good knife people will buy them . I feel this is what it boils down to.
Do what you think is right.
Live and let live."

Outstanding Darrell!
 
When I stamp my name on a knife, it is my work. I do the forging, grinding, heat treating, finish work, sharpening, and make the leather case.
 
I think the knife maker should do as much as he or she can do at the time they are doing it.
We grow in our craft, we don't just get flopped into a fully equipped shop with all the skills and talents and patience it takes to do it all and do it well.
As has been said in this thread, honesty, both with your customers and yourself is the key to staying in this business long enough to become a Kit Carson or a Darrell Ralph or a Tim Herman.
We are so blessed here at the forums because we get to see the people that are just starting out now that in 10 or 15 years will achieve the status of the makers I just mentioned!
Can you tell who they are? Who will still be making knives in 10 years and if they will have achieved the most cherished "Hasbeen" status?
What a craft we all share!
God has really blessed us by giving us the necessary talents and tools to enjoy knife making!
 
I'm not a knife maker, but I have to ask this question, do your customers WANT sole authorship knives?

From my point of view I find that puzzling, because it seams inefficient and likely you may not get the best possible overall results.

From a makers perspective I can understand this, wanting to do the work for oneself, but from a customers standpoint I just don't get it.
 
But gee, thats got to be an important issue if your in it for more "commercial" or at least finaicial reasons. I do it part-time and don't need to make a firm living from it, but many guys out there HAVE TO.

The reactions from my customers have been very positive to the whole idea that the work was sole authorship, but I must admit, many also didn't care, as long as they got what they wanted. Those people weren't too bothered if someone else did the engraving, of if someone else made the sheath. Hell, I've made sheaths for the guy at another table at my very first knife show. However, if all the work was sole authhorship - the customer was MORE IMPRESSED, and more likely to shell out the higher cost. And that some deviations from the sole authorship deal were unacceptable - such as kit knives. So obviously, some aspect of the sole authorship concept applies to the customer as well.

From a maker's point of view, I can see a couple of perspectives. I'm sure the other fellows will jump in.

For nearly all of us, this entire venture is an artistic / creative endeavour that might happen to be able to earn us a living too. Most would not have gotten started just because this was the best way to make a buck. Therefore, as "artists" most of us would be adhering to our own rules and personal philosophies about what best represents our work and our personalities in our knives.

What I am trying to say, is that most of us are knifemakers, not dealers or manufacturers. The personal agenda that drives what we do is different.

I'm a little tired, and even though I'm pretty hot on this whole topic, I'm running out of the right words to use. Can anyone else please add to this ?

Cheers.
 
Jason,
You did pretty good with your words.
Dave,
I don't think it a customer issue. More of a maker issue.
 
OK I used to do alot of gun shows. The knife that got the most attention was one I made for a good customer for $795.00 Let me tell you it was nice!! I bought Devin Thomas spirograph damascus and had Paul Bos heat treat it, I had Mel Doyles hot blue it and Tom Moro engrave it and to top it off I sent it to Mike Kneill for a custom rattlesnake skin sheath. Oh I almost forgot ....It was a Bob Loveless design.

That was the fanciest damm hunting knife Ive ever seen. My customer is still elated with it and I feel he got the best final product I could give him at the time. Since then Ive worked on my own damascus and heat-treat and can blue most (not all) of my own blades and parts. I still cant make a sheath as good as Mike though. I may never be able to. I still cant make damascus like Devin either. Some people just do some things really well and I still feel there is no shame in giving my customer the best knife I can even if it is not sole authorship.

For My next pistol/knife Im going to have Robin Severe make the holster
You should see that mans leather work. Man O Man!!!
 
DaveH, You have a very valid point, a satisfied customer,
isn't that the reason we make knives, to make the
customer happy. If I make a knife that the heat treat
isn't the best then the end user won't be happy and I
won't be either. So if to get the best possible knife
I have to sent the blade out for heat treat so be it.
Just be honest and say who did what.
Gib
 
Originally posted by DaveH
..... do your customers WANT sole authorship knives?
Click to expand...

I think this is where the terms "collector" and "consumer" begin to emerge.

Collectors care more about details like authorship.

Consumers seem to keep the "bottom line" as their main goal.

One invests in the craftsman, the other invests in the knife.

Just my opinion. ;)
 
I understand what all are saying here, the customer has the right to the best blade produced by the maker. But really stop and think about it, "produced by the maker", if someone else does the heat treat, that knife ,in my opinion was not produced by that particular maker. I didn't get into making knives to make money, I got into knifemakeing because of the mystery in it. To make something that will perform beyond my highest expectations is what I strive for, as we all should.
I test each and every knife I make after heat treating, to make sure it will perform the way I want and if it doesn't pass the tests then I do the heat treat again.I don't want to depend on someone elses ideas of what is the best for MY blades. I know we will always have different opinions on this subject and I know that there are some parts of knifemaking that might be best left up to someone else that is more talanted in certain areas, like engraving. Shoot my leather work isn't anything fancy and theres lots of things I want to learn and improve on, but I can't do that if I just send it out to someone else because their suppose to be better at it.
I'm not pokeing at anyone either, I don't care what anyone else does, but the true art of knifemaking, in my opinion is the making of a knife from beginning to end by ones self. When I do a show, people are so much more impressed by the fact that I did all the work on a particular knife, with out any help, I guess thats what its all about for me. Self satisfaction, always trying to improve and go to the next step.

Bill
 
I'm always both collector and customer.
I collect the knives and, yes, sole authorship matters for me, and I can't simply have a knife standing there on a shelf, even if it's a 1500$ knife.
I HAVE to use it somehow :D
 
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