BogdanS
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2015
- Messages
- 1,089
Hello my dear friends,
I'll start this thread where i will try to add here and there things that happen into my 'honeycomb cell' shop - i am not sure it is of interest yet as i am mostly alone and have no one to share things with on this i decided to trouble you all
First things first - why 'honeycomb cell' - because even if i am a full time knifemaker for more that 10 years, with thanks good God hundreds of good friends all around the world and 100% positive feedback, as i am VERY weak in marketing i never managed to raise above the 'survival' level of the craft so in consequence i could never afford a real workshop.
My workshop is literally 3 honeycomb cells (in total 45 square feet) - and i am lucky that i am not too fat or i might get stuck in there
All work (Ti handles - that are wj cut to better use the material) is done by hand with very little tools and some mini precision Proxxon machines; i also have a desktop cnc that i use for composite milling or light engraving) and of course an electronically controlled kiln for HT.
Taking all these into consideration, i did all i could to overcome these limitations and thanks good God i managed to reach precision levels that are quite hard to meet even with high end CNC machines - am i happy - yes! am i proud - not at all but i am still happy
Told you all these in the beginning just because i was very upset for a conversation with a 'customer' to call him like this that happened lately that made me a ridiculous offer for one of my knives (the RAVEN it is); i of course never argue with anyone but i was really curious to hear why is he valuing my work so low knowing that he only buys VERY expensive knives in the blink of an eye yet he was trying to get a bargain on this.
The response left me deeply hurt: ' You are no one, hence i cant pay more than i think your work is valued! If you were a name then i might have paid you ...USD'
Now this hurts a lot for a craftsman, trust me dear friends - people are willing to pay thousands dollars for a full CNC made knife with a brand attached yet would be very happy to pay as low as to 'starve' a craftsman that invested decades of his life to learn, apply and improve, that works each and every knife with his hands from start to finish and is expected to earn less than a machine ... (please note that all raised inlays in RAVEN are handmade, cut, forged, engraved, colored and are riveted to the handle so a titanic work)
I am not saying all these to hurt someone or to open any debate but to virtually cry for what you get back for being honest, caring and devoted to the craft. Of course that there are people (and lots of them are members of this forums that are simply GORGEOUS - kind, grateful and generous and that respect the craft and all it means and more than this that can separate a high engineering knife from a handmade custom one - a BIG thank you to all these!)
Now that the 'crying' part is over and i am still making knives even in these conditions (you won't get rid of me so easily) ill present you an example of tolerances we use that makes these folders virtually non dependent of the pivot screws just because all parts are flat, parallel and the spacers are perfectly in line with the blade/washers setup - only 0.0004" (10 microns) for the blade to be easily flipped yet still have zero blade play
More to come good friends and sorry if i upset you in any possible way!
All the best, God bless,
Bogdan
I'll start this thread where i will try to add here and there things that happen into my 'honeycomb cell' shop - i am not sure it is of interest yet as i am mostly alone and have no one to share things with on this i decided to trouble you all
First things first - why 'honeycomb cell' - because even if i am a full time knifemaker for more that 10 years, with thanks good God hundreds of good friends all around the world and 100% positive feedback, as i am VERY weak in marketing i never managed to raise above the 'survival' level of the craft so in consequence i could never afford a real workshop.
My workshop is literally 3 honeycomb cells (in total 45 square feet) - and i am lucky that i am not too fat or i might get stuck in there
All work (Ti handles - that are wj cut to better use the material) is done by hand with very little tools and some mini precision Proxxon machines; i also have a desktop cnc that i use for composite milling or light engraving) and of course an electronically controlled kiln for HT.
Taking all these into consideration, i did all i could to overcome these limitations and thanks good God i managed to reach precision levels that are quite hard to meet even with high end CNC machines - am i happy - yes! am i proud - not at all but i am still happy
Told you all these in the beginning just because i was very upset for a conversation with a 'customer' to call him like this that happened lately that made me a ridiculous offer for one of my knives (the RAVEN it is); i of course never argue with anyone but i was really curious to hear why is he valuing my work so low knowing that he only buys VERY expensive knives in the blink of an eye yet he was trying to get a bargain on this.
The response left me deeply hurt: ' You are no one, hence i cant pay more than i think your work is valued! If you were a name then i might have paid you ...USD'
Now this hurts a lot for a craftsman, trust me dear friends - people are willing to pay thousands dollars for a full CNC made knife with a brand attached yet would be very happy to pay as low as to 'starve' a craftsman that invested decades of his life to learn, apply and improve, that works each and every knife with his hands from start to finish and is expected to earn less than a machine ... (please note that all raised inlays in RAVEN are handmade, cut, forged, engraved, colored and are riveted to the handle so a titanic work)
I am not saying all these to hurt someone or to open any debate but to virtually cry for what you get back for being honest, caring and devoted to the craft. Of course that there are people (and lots of them are members of this forums that are simply GORGEOUS - kind, grateful and generous and that respect the craft and all it means and more than this that can separate a high engineering knife from a handmade custom one - a BIG thank you to all these!)
Now that the 'crying' part is over and i am still making knives even in these conditions (you won't get rid of me so easily) ill present you an example of tolerances we use that makes these folders virtually non dependent of the pivot screws just because all parts are flat, parallel and the spacers are perfectly in line with the blade/washers setup - only 0.0004" (10 microns) for the blade to be easily flipped yet still have zero blade play
More to come good friends and sorry if i upset you in any possible way!
All the best, God bless,
Bogdan
