SWEET Hidden Tang Damascus Mammoth w/ Colored Mosaic Pommel...What should I charge?

Wow, you guys are all so awesome. I really appreciate the tips and long responses that obviously took some effort. I am a new knifemaker, but this is now what I consider my profession. I was discharged from the military in January, and since then reselling and customizing knives has basically paid the bills. But now I'm getting rid of most of my production knives and focusing on making my own. It is true that this knife came from a blank made by Snake River Knives. However, I did give them credit, and the bulk of the work was on my part. The reason I am using blanks is because I can't heat treat the knives yet. I actually have a few blades that I've made from scatch, but I can't finish them. I got a forge a few weeks ago, but I have yet to get a quenching oil. I am thinking of just getting peanut or canola oil . I was looking at the P AAA, but it's nearly $150 shipped.

As far as the pictures go, I don't mess with the color. I use the "auto correct" option, and then maybe change the brightness or contrast so you can see details. I am going to take the advice of the last guy who said to hold the knife up to the computer screen when fiddling with it. That totally makes sense!

I apologize for the wild knife. I am an artist at heart, so my ideas can get a little wild. I get so excited with mammoth tooth and damascus, and it's so hard for me to not throw in some blued mosaic damascus somewhere :D . And I know the finishing is not perfect, especially around the pommel. I was planning on cleaning it up before selling it. However, I have taken your guys advice. I removed the mosaic damascus and replaced it with a mammoth tooth scale that matches the guard. So now there is a little less color and more uniformity. I am also thinking of removing the pearl and abalone since they didn't turn out perfectly. Perhaps replace them with the same mammoth tooth. Anywho, I honestly love your guys responses (I read them all). You are all so welcoming to a rookie stranger. I'll be sure to bug you guys for years to come :D

God Bless,
Richard
 
richie191 said:
You are all so welcoming to a rookie stranger.
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Now there's a guy with a good attitude!
I was reading along, cringing a little bit at how nobody's comments are sugarcoated.

I thought to myself, "Man, if he starts feeling defensive, this could get a little ugly."

But good on ya, Richard, for rolling with the punches here.
It ain't easy to be honest about this stuff and keep from getting emotional, and it REALLY ain't easy to do it all typed instead of face-to-face.

I don't know you from Adam, but you just moved up a peg in my estimation. :)

Mike
 
Wow, Richard, you took that very well, you will succeed. There was great advice given. Welcome and keep up the good work.
 
I finally feel comfortable jumping in here, because of the original posters great attitude and willingness to listen! Fantastic attitude. My suggestion would be to save your mammoth tooth, mokume, damascus, pearl and abalone until your fit and finish improve. Why use the good stuff now? I'd also suggest no embellishment yet, such as filed spines and guards. Make them extremely simple and clean. Use your energies at learning how to put them together first.

The knife is definitely colorful, but the lines are going every which way. There's no flow to the knife. Keep your designs simple and basic as you're improving your fit and finish. Once you begin to master the simple straight forward knife, then you'll begin having all kinds of ideas pop into your head, but you'll be much more selective in using those ideas.

I definitely agree with your statement that you're an "artist at heart"! You just need to refine your ideas and not pour all of your artistic ideas into just one knife.
 
scottickes said:
I finally feel comfortable jumping in here, because of the original posters great attitude and willingness to listen! Fantastic attitude. My suggestion would be to save your mammoth tooth, mokume, damascus, pearl and abalone until your fit and finish improve. Why use the good stuff now? I'd also suggest no embellishment yet, such as filed spines and guards. Make them extremely simple and clean. Use your energies at learning how to put them together first.

The knife is definitely colorful, but the lines are going every which way. There's no flow to the knife. Keep your designs simple and basic as you're improving your fit and finish. Once you begin to master the simple straight forward knife, then you'll begin having all kinds of ideas pop into your head, but you'll be much more selective in using those ideas.

I definitely agree with your statement that you're an "artist at heart"! You just need to refine your ideas and not pour all of your artistic ideas into just one knife.
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i would really read this one again....i am not a full time maker by any means....but i have bought my share of custom knives.......i would much rather buy a very clean simple knife by that had pretty good finish......rather than a one-off wild mamoth damascus file worked knife.....that had so-so finishing througout.....it is much better i would think to focus on one part of the knife at a time and wait till your skills improve to start getting more creative.....please don't take this the wrong way....i'm just giving u my two cents from a buyer's view....ryan
 
Richard, You passed our little test of your attitude. My hat is off to you for that and time in the military defending our country. Thanks for the freedom we enjoy.
Making knives for a living is a tough one especially nowadays but we will help you all we can.
For quench oil you can buy simple mineral oil at the ranch and home store. Ed Caffrey uses it and has awesome blades. Under $20 for a gallon. What else do you need?
Bruce
btw I like you signature line. I agree.
 
Richard,
I am glad you didn't take my poor attempt at an short answer, and the later critique the wrong way. With your type of positive attitude, and obvious skill (it just need some honing), you will make a lot of nice knives. I will tell you that Scott is right. I still have most of those same type of "art'" knives I made years back. I loved the artistic expression and use of all types of materials. Now I know better as to what sells,and try to stick with classic lines and less glitz. Don't give up on the fancy stuff (after you have the basics down),there is always a place and time for a really wild piece. I make a gold and diamond dagger recently.

As for mammoth tooth, It looks good, but is pretty brittle, and make a poor handle for a user knife. I have a few, but there are lighter,stronger, and prettier materials.
Stacy
 
Richard,
Keep at it, develop the basics then move on to the art. In the meantime keep at customizing the production knives. There's a guy on another forum that does a lot and I mean a LOT of work customizing production knives.
 
Hey, I'm not going to get defensive if you guys are trying to help. If it is unnecessary criticism then I get offended. But everything I got I had coming to me, and I honestly appreciate it. If someone has a booger in view, FREAKIN' TELL THEM! I consider every one of your replies to be altruistic. You helped me and got nothing in return, and I really appreciate that. I'm a humanitarian, and apparently all of you are as well. Helping others is so awesome. A loving and caring community IS why we were created in the first place, so thanks for all the help with everything guys. Without further adieu, here is my NEW creation without the crazy blued damascus and with a much cleaner and polished look. The pearl and abalone is still there for "thumb bling"...thoughts on this? I still like the lines and curves because they fit a left-handed person perfectly. Functionality over artistry, but I actually like the strange curves. Gives it character. There are also a few small cracks and holes in the mammoth, but I didn't fill it with epoxy because I also thought it gave it character. I also forgot to remove a wee bit of green polish, heheh. Let's see what you guys think of this one after the "extreme makeover" :D

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Apparently my seemingly ADHD mind has run rampant again and begun making another knife, lol. I alternated and staggered Nicaraguan Cocobolo, carbon fiber, and mosaic polymer composite to make the handle. The blade came from Alabama damascus, but all they did was cut it out. I have to do all the grinds, so does it still count as my knife? Hehe. What do you guys think...guard or no guard? The handle is still rough, so I wet it to simulate polish, and I have to grind the blade now, but here it is so far:

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A symmetrical dagger needs a symmetrical handle. You would have gotten the same cool effect if you glued the pieces up squarely.

Yes add a guard, made of metal!

I would do some research and look at a lot of other daggers before you proceed on this one.

You can quench in vegetable oil or any other kind of cooking oil.

You can't polish a turd!
 
Chuck Gedraitis Knives said:
A symmetrical dagger needs a symmetrical handle. You would have gotten the same cool effect if you glued the pieces up squarely.

Yes add a guard, made of metal!

I would do some research and look at a lot of other daggers before you proceed on this one.

You can quench in vegetable oil or any other kind of cooking oil.

You can't polish a turd!
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I'm actually just putting one edge on it, so it won't be symmetrical. I'll probably reshape the top of the blade as well to make it more artsy fartsy. And the handle is still pretty rough with just a basic shape to it. It will look better when it's done. I think I'm going to make a carbon fiber guard to stick with the pattern (go ahead and make fun of me) :D . I guess I'll try to find some peanut or canola oil. I wish I had a darn Sam's membership. Walmart has that stuff around Thanksgiving don't they?

God Bless,
Richard

PS- Wow! You make some amazing knives! Very nice website and very beautiful knives!
 
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The extreme makeover looks the same to me. The handle on the new one looks like a huge catapillar. :)
 
I'm not a fan of the second one either. What's wrong with putting a regular guard on it, with a block of nice wood and one pin through the wood and tang? What's wrong with making a simple knife? You can work with stacked handles and exotic materials later, once you've gotten good at shaping a nice block of wood into a classic handle. Get fancy later!

You don't climb Mt. Everest on your first time out on a hike. You don't run a marathon without training for it first. You don't get to drive in the Daytona 500, until you've proven yourself in other racing arenas first.

What's wrong with something like this? Wrought iron guard and lignum vitae handle on a 5160 camp knife. The blade has a nice mustard patina for protection and a subtle bling. The lines flow nicely, with a sturdy guard for rough use.
 

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i only wish to have had the kind of working stock that you have to try and find out the basics

btw i see you seem to have the handle on the 2nd knife blade but there are no bevels cut yet
how are you planning to work that out
 
scottickes said:
I'm not a fan of the second one either. What's wrong with putting a regular guard on it, with a block of nice wood and one pin through the wood and tang? What's wrong with making a simple knife? You can work with stacked handles and exotic materials later, once you've gotten good at shaping a nice block of wood into a classic handle. Get fancy later!

You don't climb Mt. Everest on your first time out on a hike. You don't run a marathon without training for it first. You don't get to drive in the Daytona 500, until you've proven yourself in other racing arenas first.

What's wrong with something like this? Wrought iron guard and lignum vitae handle on a 5160 camp knife. The blade has a nice mustard patina for protection and a subtle bling. The lines flow nicely, with a sturdy guard for rough use.
Click to expand...

Scott it looks kind of plain after looking through this thread a couple times. Frankly I dont think I will ever be the same :D
 
Bruce Bump said:
The extreme makeover looks the same to me. The handle on the new one looks like a huge catapillar. :)
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Nah, it looks different. Change Ashley Tisdale's nose and she's a totally different person. Change the butt on the knife and it's a completely different knife. :D I did clean up the finish though. Caterpillar eh? I happen to fancy caterpillars, and you happen to have inspired me. I'm going to make the blade spine resemble a caterpillar and call the whole thing the "Killer Caterpillar!" . Hehe. I'm having fun with it ;) . I guess maybe I should make a regular knife maybe every other knife or so. But this crazy stuff is just so fun! :D (of course, I do have a wife and kids to support, and I don't know how many caterpillar knife fans there are out there :confused:).

God Bless,
Richard
 
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Hi Richard,

I wish you well tempering your zest, enthusiasm and ambition. Notice, I say tempering, not quenching. You seem to exude the passion of youth combined with a will to achieve. Overall, that's a pretty good combination, especially when it is combined with discipline and respect, as yours does seem to be. Now all you need to add is ______. (Fill in the blank, because only you can answer this. If it were up to me to guess, I'd say temperence* might be a possible attribute worth nurturing. Please forgive me for being so forward in presuming to discuss your character in such an unforgivable manner.)

Have you ever heard of the Shakers? They were an amazing communal Christian fellowship that achieved remarkable heights of design and handwork. I've included a couple of links that you might want to check out. Your public library system probably has a good deal more on them and their handwork. They're the folks that the song, "Tis a gift to be simple, Tis a gift to be free..." came from. Anyway, the beauty of their remarkably simple designs are immortal. For instance, many of the contempory Scandinavian furniture designers borrowed considerable inspiration from them.

Wishing you all the best, Phil

http://www.shakerworkshops.com/slegacy4.htm#to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakers#Culture_and_artifacts


* Tem·per·ance *

Etymology:Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin temperantia, from temperant-, temperans, present participle of temperare to moderate, be moderate

1: moderation in action, thought, or feeling (restraint)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restraint2: habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions
.
 
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