To Name or Not To Name

Henry Cambron

Henry Cambron

www.worldclassknives.com
Joined
Nov 30, 2006
Messages
218
I need a little advise, should I name my knives or not?

Does a knife with a catchy name sell faster. ("Model 23" vs "Super Eliminator").

For some of you who do, what are the advantages in naming a knife?
 
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Why not just call all of them serial number 001? Just kidding. My opinion, it doesn't matter what you call it if it's not a good knife; but, a good knife, good guarantee, and good customer relations will always do you well.

Dave
 
Just my opinion but if you are making knives to sell them, especially if you are doing runs of a particular design, then I think it's a good idea to name them, even if its as simple as "Model 23." I think this helps people who have followed your work differentiate between the different designs and options that you provide. I also think that the name can play a role adding to the "attractiveness" of the knife. I know a lot of people would disagree with me here but take JT's 2nd Amendment Knife (JT, I hope you're okay with me using this as an example), to me it would sound like JT designed this knife with a purpose in mind and the name was a culmination of his thought process. I really like the name he picked and it does, I think, increase my personal opinion of the knife. Granted, I could be totally off my rocker thinking this, I'm just saying...

So, without the rambling, if you're doing individual custom knives I don't see a need to name them beyond your personal preference. If you are making knives and selling them, especially if you are doing runs of a particular design, then I think a name is more than appropriate.

Clear as mud.
 
I name the knives I make as then it is easier to talk about them. "You know- the wide blade with the curly maple that I put g10 at angles in the handle with a 3/32" CPM 154 blade" or "The Gentleman's Buckskinner". I don't do numbers well either so if a knife is only model numbered I don't remember what it is- I have no clue what number any of my Benchmades are for example.
 
Stay tuned to this local station for the "Fat-Boy II".

Actually, naming knives gets to be a pain, unless you just happen to make a real winner that nobody can live without.

I haven't made that one yet, but just like the "lotto",....... ANY DAY NOW.:D

Robert
 
I like naming them. I name the original model and work off that. Of course, I do take the easy route sometimes and just call it "Neck Knife" or "Tanto" or "Patch Knife". Some knive just deserve a better name....


Bushmoro (original prototype)
Slimmoro
Minislim

Bushpig (original prototype)
Bigpig
Piglet


Rick
 
David Stifle ...it doesn't matter what you call it if it's not a good knife; but, a good knife, good guarantee, and good customer relations will always do you well.
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You're right David

amcardon ...Just my opinion but if you are making knives to sell them, especially if you are doing runs of a particular design, then I think it's a good idea to name them
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That's what brought up this question. So far, I've only sold some neck knives, but all of the same general design. And it's hard to come up with a title other than "Another 1084 Neck Knife".

CUTS LIKE A KRIS ...I name the knives I make as then it is easier to talk about them.
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Not only talk about them, but talk to them. Especially when the blade causes you to make a mistake during the construction process. :)


Thanks for all the comments,
 
just look at the ipod vs. every other device that went by a model number and not a name...
 
Unless you are Jay Fisher, it seems kinda foolish, almost laughable to me. Naming them by classification is one thing, skinner, caper, fighter, chopper, etc. But, whenever I see a post stating "Here is a knife I like to call 'APOCOLYPSE' it makes me think of mall ninja crap.
If you indeed ARE Jay Fisher, then you are so obviously talented that you can name em whatever the hell you want and none here could question.
My point is, if you are gonna come off with some outlandish bad a$$ name, you BETTER have the product and talent to back it up.
Just my opinion though, and we alll know about opinions:D
Matt Doyle
 
It's a question of marketing and hype. I have not held a Jay Fisher knife so i cannot speak to whether the quality lives up to the hype he has generated, but there certainly is a lot of hype! I would expect from all of the Jay Fisher hype I have seen on this forum that he would be able to kick Chuck Norris's @$$.
I just went to his site and looked. He's got the marketing thing down! yet there is not a single blade I saw on his site that looked like something I would buy as a working tool or final resort sidearm. He seems to sell huge nonetheless. If you want to sell to the mall ninjas put a name on it like "terminator3000" If you want to just designate it's place in your line give it a name that describes it

just my 2 cents

-Page
 
Actually I named only one knife and it looked silly. I just make some silly model names like Ergonomic Chefs knife of abbreviated as EC, or Classic Reed Knife as RKC etc. For me to name them is to boast with your creation and you know it is not perfect but naming it as if it is your best that you can come up...

Emre
 
I really want to create names for my knives, but I couldnt come up with decent names at all. A few of my knives do have names, but any that do were named by other people (with the exception of the Halibut). Customers just started calling them something and it stuck. Other than cases like that, I end up with creative names like 1095 recurve, or cocobolo hunter.
 
I'm with Page. I just refer to my knives in the generic or in descriptive terms. For instance, my most popular knife is my EDC model. I have another model that's a small EDC. Other than that, I haven't gone very far to name things. I think something like "slayer of dragon lords" can cheapen the connotation of the knife.

--nathan
 
When I do a new style. I name it after the first person that buys it. My wife says the Mercer or Grant I know which knives she is talking about.
 
Most of my knives are named, mostly for the intended purpose of the knife, Pro Skinner for example, or Coon Skinner, which was named that because that is what the customer, that the first one was made for, was going to use it for, to skin coons. The ones that have model numbers, I can't remember what they are. But I don't think a flashy name will make a knife easier to sell. Just my 2 cents, which isn't worth much.
 
Frankly, I don't care what a maker names their knives. Names, model#'s, decriptions, etc... vary across the board from Joe Newbie to the seasoned vets. I think that whatever you name your knife, it should be appropriate, with some thought behind it. If calling it "Satan's Meat Puppet Skinner" floats your boat... go ahead... just know that it MAY affect sales for that particular model. There is no right or wrong way... just YOUR way.


Rick
 
Eddie White (Shadowknives) is a good example, imo, of a maker who uses model numbers. If you go to his website, at the bottom of his "contact us" page, are links to documents that give his rates for certain knives. Fiddleback goes by model name.

If you tend to make several designs/types of knives that you make all the time either method probably would serve you well. If you tend to make one off knives, then I don't think I'd worry about it that much.

If you were going to have a hunter, a bushcrafter, a bird and trout, a pig sticker then a catchy name that fit your particular whatever might be nice but if you post "well today I sat down with a piece of steel and this knife appeared. Its the right size and weight to ..." then maybe not so much.
 
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