Steel selection and the Knife buying public?

Kentucky

Kentucky

Joined
Dec 13, 2008
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I am curious have you ever had to adjust or change your steel selection according to customer requests?
 
Not sure what you mean exactly.

Are you asking if customers ever ask for knives made from a steel you don't typically use?!?!

If so, I would presume this is a resounding yes from every knife maker....but now I'm curious as to the response.
 
Yea,basically..When buyers start saying "I like that knife, but can you make it in a different steel for me"?
 
Yes. Am working on 3 right now for the swame customer. Have the blades done and am starting on the finish of the handles. Blades were made from "misery whip" saw steel. He brought me the saw and 1 of the designs. He did not want them re HTied either. His major aim was ease of sharpening over edge holding ability even if edge holding wasn't great or even good. Mustard patina on all 3 and handled in oak burl from his ranch. He calls them the Viejo's (The Old Ones). He's had knives of damascus and stainless (440C I think) but struggles to sharpen them. His favorite knives are old carbon steel (read rusty) kitchen knives of an undetermined background and steel. But he likes them because he can sharpen them.
 
Great knife... but can you make it from a file for me? I hear that's the best kind of steel there is! :)
 
I like to use the super steels, S90V, M4, 3V, M390 and when I start talking about the advantages their eyes start to glaze and they just nod. This is at gun shows and the like. I just get asked if it is stainless and if it will hold an edge, or how does it compare to such and such knife at walmart. So I have decided to mainly use O1 for knives at these events. I guess I am going to dumb it down a bit for the non knife nuts and keep using the other steels I like for customs and what I want.
 
You mean you don't have every kind of steel known to man right in your shop, organized and neatly labeled ? Me either:)
It is common. From a customer standpoint it seems logical enough that a knifemaker should be able to switch steels without much trouble. Pity that it dosen't always work that way.
 
I have my "steels of choice" but will make a knife with any steel if the customer wants it and pays.
 
I only stock what I normally use. I have a friend who wants a knife made in some D-2, I said yes, but it will cost a bit extra and you just have to wait for my next order before I can start work.

If the customer is willing to pay and wait, I don't see why not.
 
wolffbite said:
If the customer is willing to pay and wait, I don't see why not.
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Ostensibly, you picked a particular steel for a particular blade because the characteristics are aligned. If someone comes along and requests something that is NOT so well aligned, acquiescing to their request may increase your warranty cost.

"I want a kitchen knife made of INFI." Really? You're going to do that for them?

How about a sword made from CPM154? After all, we don't want it getting stained from all the blood... right?

Some requests are probably reasonable... but sub-optimal. Will you stand behind the work even if it doesn't rise to your normal level of edge retention?

Just something to consider. The customer isn't ALWAYS right. ;)
 
Hmmm... good point greg. Hadn't thought of it like that. I guess I was looking at it too "simple-mindedly".

Come to think of it, if you dabble in steels you aren't used to working with, you might get some unfortunate results when it comes to making it.
 
Dmitry.M said:
I have my "steels of choice" but will make a knife with any steel if the customer wants it and pays.
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+1 I let them know that I order in 4' lengths tho and sometimes they will order 2 or more since Ill have so much left over.
 
Tell them that it will cut a box full of Wal Mart knives in half and still be sharp enough to use on prisoners for further testing. :D
Big Chris said:
I like to use the super steels, S90V, M4, 3V, M390 and when I start talking about the advantages their eyes start to glaze and they just nod. This is at gun shows and the like. I just get asked if it is stainless and if it will hold an edge, or how does it compare to such and such knife at walmart. So I have decided to mainly use O1 for knives at these events. I guess I am going to dumb it down a bit for the non knife nuts and keep using the other steels I like for customs and what I want.
Click to expand...
 
I had an overseas customer a couple of years ago that wanted three knives made from BG-42. I didn't know squat about that steel. I priced the steel, and after suffering a bit of "sticker-shock", we agreed on a price. I bought the steel and started making the blades. They were (to me) a bugger to grind.

Bos heat treated them, and they came out pretty nice, if I do say so myself, but I probably won't do any more (unless the customer is willing to pay for the extra costs and headaches involved.

Even though most knifemakers consider themselves "Custom Makers", there seems to be a point of "Comfort" that is a little hard to venture outside of.

We can't be the "Do-everything" maker all the time, even though in our minds, we sure would like to be.

Robert
 
Kentucky said:
Yea,basically..When buyers start saying "I like that knife, but can you make it in a different steel for me"?
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Happens all the time, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. I usually tell a customer this is why I chose this steel and most won't argue.
 
I don't believe that I would ever buy a knife from a maker that was not made of their favorite steel. There is no perfect steel for making a knife and more times than not you will get a superior knife if you let the maker use the steel that he/she is the most comfortable in using.

When I get a request for using a different steel, I usually ask the customer why they prefer it. Usually their reason isn't a valid one.

To give you a simple answer it would be "no" to the customer followed by an explaination of why. It's seldom that they won't understand. You will find that the average customer isn't well versed in the various steels and has been swayed into bias because of someone else's opinion.

I believe that you will usually get a superior blade if you let the maker use his favorite steels than if you insist on him/her using something else. :) It's kind of like asking Rembrandt, "Can you do that in watercolors?"

Gary
 
I think it was Henry Ford that said you can have your model T in any color as long as it is black. My small volume dictates I do it the same way. You can have any steel as long as it is O1. If I order a single piece of steel I will have to pay high prices for that piece, need a back up in case I mess it up, pay a high premium for heat treat of 1-2 blades. Lots of shipping costs. And have to go very slow because the belts will cut and polish differently than I'm used to. It would cost me $50 more plus any cost difference in the steel to break even. So for me, it doesn't make sense.

I know the way some people work it isn't a big deal. They might be able to afford a large steel inventory and set up for different heat treats in house and like to work with a variety of steels. There are many makers like Phil Wilson and Ban that use many different steels.
 
For me it is all about the customer. As it happens I like to work with the newer materials, and typically a customer who is also interested in these materials is rather knowledgeable and they know what they want. I do get some crazy requests that I have to turn down or recommend against but for the most part it's just stuff that not many makers will do. I am more than happy to oblige. I always test a material prior to agreeing to work with it just so I am confident in the material and spec. There are some amazing steels out there and trying them is very fun for me.
 
I'll work with whatever I can get locally... Regular, Galvanized or Aluminum. :D :D :D




All kidding aside I will use most different steels if I feel they are appropriate, it really depends on the situation.
 
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