I'm writing this reply as I scroll through the site, I'm assuming someone else will post before I submit this, but if I double post, bear with me:
first impressions: nice background, simple and plain. I could live with that all day.
Winner "best new maker" best new knife maker? add a link to blade show's website, so people see that it's truly a legit award.
"American Bladesmith Society Journeyman Smith" honestly, what the hell is that? Add another link, taking you to wherever on the internet american bladesmith society journeyman smith is explained. At the very least put a link to the american bladesmith society's page.
Bernie from em brand has a link to the australian plaiters and whipmakers association on his page. he is a proud member and willing to show what that means.
final impressions of home page: not bad, but place the knife in its environment, sitting on a tree stump or the like. Knives that awesome don't live on dining room tables (they live in display cases) but are pictured in the woods, maybe just superimpose the knife over a picture of a stag in the woods. Add the contact link to the main list, don't make it look like you're hiding from contact in any way.
Bowies and Fighters:
The knives over the gray background look more professional than those on the kitchen table. Watch out for reflections of the cameraman in the blade. Hands are not photogenic, unless you're specifically pointing out the superior ergonomics of the knife.
Again, learn from Bernie, see how he does his pictures?
the whip is isolated in an environment that shows only the whip, on a plain, undistracting background. Look at the caption he inserted in the picture. If you don't already include a hand signed note numbering the whip, and telling how special it truly is, add one. I'm sure writing up a 1-page note and signing it adds little to the overall construction time of the knife.
What is a bowie/fighter? Is there any distinction between the two? What makes your bowies/fighters unique? Why should I get a Matt Roberts instead of a Ka-bar? Even more importantly, what makes your knives better/different compared to other custom bowies/fighters?
Final impressions of Bowies/Fighters:
BIG POINTS OFF!!! What happened to your menu??? i was planning to go on to the next on the list, but the list is gone! There's barely a link to the home page! And even that looks like it was put in as an afterthought, since it's about 20 lines below the last picture.
The home page had a great menu, develop a solid sidebar (logo at the top, then the menu, maybe a picture or two below it) and put that on EVERY page.
Camp Knives:
Same critiques as the bowie page. The link to the home page is larger here, but still too far down. Consider moving the "back to home" link to the top, just under camp knives, or just after the description of your camp knives when you write one.
which is the bowie and which is the camper? they look damn similar, which makes the description all the more valuable.
INSERT!! when I went back to the bowie page to collect a picture, I accidentally left-clicked on a picture. Lo and behold, it took me
here. I didn't know if I clicked on an image it took me to a description of the knife! I assumed that, like most sites, clicking a picture took you only to a larger version.
I will rewrite this page in a manner that I see more fitting:
ORIGINAL:
This piece is done in my "fighter" style, mid size piece 8" blade, forged
from 1065. The handle is stabilized spalted box elder burl. The guard
and pin are 416 stainless.
This piece was (handcrafted? forged? personally assembled?) in my "fighter" style. It is a mid-size blade, 8" by (1/4"?), forged from (corrosion resistant? ultra tough? heavy duty?) 1065 (Steel? stainless steel? aluminum? pieces of tree bark?) The handle uses (my signature?) stabilized and spalted (i love the picture, but what does it mean?) box elder burl, reknowned for its (longevity, beauty, beautiful intricacy?). The finger guard and pin (pin? what pin?) are (corrosion resistant? ultra tough? heavy duty?) crafted from 416 stainless steel, to protect the user from accidental harm.
There's not a link back to the bowie knife page OR the matt roberts home page!! BAD!!
Camping knives:
We'll start
here, since everything else you should know already.
This piece was modeled after my competition bowie from the
fall. The blade is forged from .375" 1065, 9.25"x 2" blade,
416ss fittings, and a sculpted black canvas micarta
handle.
Now then, my friend, that is quite well written compared to the previous description I read. A link to the comp. bowie would be nice.
The hamon on this piece turned out pretty well.
EEEP! Turned out pretty well? That makes it sound like you have trouble with that! I'm not buying a knife from someone who has trouble making quality hamons! (Whatever the hell a hamon is, link to a pic maybe? Especially important if you're proud of this hamon thing) Rephrase it, On this particular knife, the hamon is easily the equal of any (camp?) knife.
The now available page is fine, but it needs a menu
The construction page is nice, and it appears that the key distinguishing feature of your knives is not the blade, but the handle. maybe toss in a few pictures of the handles being refined more. In the main description of both yourselves and your knives, include a phrase like "Matt Roberts' knives are renowned not only for their world-class blades, but are prized by collectors for their intricate, beautiful, handcrafted handles.
Bowie construction page:
I'm sorry, it appears that you handcraft your own blades? PLAY THIS UP! Have someone with a nice camera come in and take pictures of you working in the shop, sparks flying, hammer swinging, red hot fires, PLAY THIS UP. Also, while skimming through, explain this process more to the uninitiated, and why certain steps are so crucial to the formation of a world-class knife. Especially at the end of page 2, why is softer steel better? That seems counterintuitive. Toss in some facts, when the blade is at temperature, is that 200*? 800*? 10000*? On page 5, try to get pictures without the drain, the sink walls without the drain in sight will appear very state-of-the-art.
" As it sometimes happens knives don't turn out the way I expected. This
piece and project has taken another direction. However, the end result is
still promising.
First, I had to radius the choil. I was overzealous with forging the choil; I
over forged and left a mark that couldn't be removed. I prefer to reserve
radiused choils for fighters, so I revamped the blade. "
this is a little worrying, since it leaves the impression that you don't always have control over your work. Remedy this by editing previous postings to say the blade is a standard "bowie/fighter style blade", which is especially believable since you group the two together as is. Then simply state that the blade has come out in a more fighter style, so that will be the final direction of the knife. Or, put in a remark that the handcrafting process can throw a wild card on any custom knife maker, and it took your unique skill to take this originally "blemished" blade and still make a beautiful knife from it. and AGAIN!! LINK TO HOME!!
Reviews:
I want to see the verbatim review in Stephen Foster's words. You may consider leaving out the review page until you have enough to warrant a scroll bar. You could ask those who bought knives from you to send in reviews, especially ones that highlight your knife in comparison to other custom fixed blades they own. NO SMILIES. NO "PRETTY GOOD" it's excellent, or it's excluded.
About Me:
Excellent, but you might want to rewrite the collection of worthless knives. Do you mean priceless? Or do you actually have a collection of crap knives? If you're not using high-quality knives, why should I buy one of yours?
Updates: leave a running tally of your history of updates, so we can see how you've improved and refined your process.
Finally, on the price page give a closer expectation to what prices will be. what handles are more expensive, what blades are more expensive, how much for each blade size, etc.
for class, when you ship the knives, ship them in black foam, and cut an outline of the knife into the foam, so it's a semi "custom" shipping container.
That's all for now.
edit: In regards to the comments by others, it appears that in-hand shots are more valuable than I first thought, but try to make them in-action shots, even if it's only cutting cheese. Adding additional shots of the knives in more picturesque settings is definitely a nice touch, but the lightbox shots are valuable in demonstrating the quality of the knife in a nondistracting environment.
Regards, ss.
