What can custom knives offer over production knives BESIDES individuality?

Something that has already been hinted at is ERGONOMICS!
Palm swells, and rounded wide heel butts are rarely, if ever offered on production knives. Most production knives have relatively flat handles, which is cheaper, of course.
 
Walking Man said:
Something that has already been hinted at is ERGONOMICS!
Palm swells, and rounded wide heel butts are rarely, if ever offered on production knives. Most production knives have relatively flat handles, which is cheaper, of course.
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That is an excellent major point that hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread. The overwhelming majority of production folders, including the really nice ones like Sebenzas and William Henrys, don't come close to many custom folders in terms of handle ergonomics.

There are exceptions, of course. The Strider RC is pretty nicely contoured, and the Kershaw Spec Bump has probably the best handle contouring that I've ever seen on a production knife; in my opinion it actually beats out that of most custom folders that I've handled, in terms of ergonomics.
 
Custom knives give me the opportunity to get a knife exactly the way I want it, not the way the manufacturer tells me I have to take it. I also get to interact with some of the nicest people around when working with knifemakers.

Besides that, I consider the individuality of custom knives to be a good enough reason for going that way.
 
Why do you wear one watch over another. Why do you put a blue shirt on rather than the green one. A custom knife is a piece of jewelry for your pocket. When you take it from your pocket and the guy next to you says,"Wow, Whats that? Can I check it out? What's it made of? I've never seen anything like it". When you That gives you a sense of pride. It makes you feel good about who you are.
As a maker I feel great pride creating a piece of functional art. I rarely build more than a few of the same pattern. This is my way of expressing myself.
If I built the same knife over and over, I'd feel I was just producing a product not expressing who I am through my craft. It's not a painting that just hangs on your wall because it goes well with the sofa. It's more personal than that. It's something you keep close to you. It's part of what represents, who you are.
So stop making excusses. You don't need any.

Just that you like it is all thats important.
 
I would say customer service, the makers i buy from are more than willing to go out of their way to take care of MOST ISSUES
I have had a few prodcution Co. (will remain nameless) That have drop the ball on the customer service.
Not the only thing you get from custom, but a big one for me
 
IMHO, Custom knives have "soul" that is transferred from the maker to the knife as it is turned in his hands over and over. Especially so if that maker is designing that knife specific to how YOU want it....it may sound like hippie-talk, but theres just something about knowing what goes into the process that makes them special.

In additon, ive yet to see many production knives with features such as clay treated differental treating, handrubbed high grit finishes, sculpting or filework, etc....
 
Aside from the things that have already been mentioned, there are some designs that simply aren't made by any factories.

Sure, they've got every concievable pattern of folding knife or hunting knife just about covered. But how many factories offer a Kindjal? Or even anything at all with a blade over 14" long? (excluding machetes and Pakistani crap) If you want a well made European sword, the *only* real options are the custom smiths and "semi production" small workshops. How many factories even offer our beloved Bowie Knife with a blade over 12" or so?
 
A custom knife as a user- should you misplace or break it- will give you the sweet, sweet desire to repeatedly bash your head into a wall in a way a Buck 110 never could. It gives you deep, sleep depriving fear of silent rust working its magic should it ever be left in a sheath, or put it away improperly oiled. The joy of cringing every time you scratch the blade. The wonder, with everything you cut, of whether or not you should go get another knife so that you don't mess up this great knife with that particular thing that needs to be cut.

Custom knives are not for the faint of heart...
 
Patapsco Mike said:
A custom knife as a user- should you misplace or break it- will give you the sweet, sweet desire to repeatedly bash your head into a wall in a way a Buck 110 never could. It gives you deep, sleep depriving fear of silent rust working its magic should it ever be left in a sheath, or put it away improperly oiled. The joy of cringing every time you scratch the blade. The wonder, with everything you cut, of whether or not you should go get another knife so that you don't mess up this great knife with that particular thing that needs to be cut.

Custom knives are not for the faint of heart...
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I don't think so. I have a $700 knife in my pocket. I do none of what you mention. And I DO use my Custom knives.
 
yep I used a $1800 Blackwood Curr and never worried one iota about it because I could always have it refurbed if it got to bad looking. Although I did worry about losing it a time or two.
 
I have to agree 100% it all boils down to... is this a tool or a work of art that can be used as a tool. A William Henry knife is a work of art that works as a tool( and feels like a custom) and a production knife like a Spyderco or Coldsteel is a tool, with and exception of there premium high end knives that are the same price as a custom because of material quality and attention to detail. But you dont get that same kind of satisfaction when you spend big bucks on a William Henry cause you dont get to speak with William or Henry. These custom makers are celebrities to me and when I get to speak to one over the phone about a piece they are making just for me...It's like talking to Samuel L. Jackson on the phone and talking about the movie he is making just for me:D
 
A lot of people are buying customs, especially folders, on the secondary market and never ever contact the maker of the knife.

I think we really need to seperate this thread into different componets. Many of the wildly popular custom tactical folders do not give a lot of choice of materials, design, etc... They make a knife, you like it you buy it.
Obviously this market is a whole lot different from that of the fixed blade market, where many of these knives are made to specific customer requests.
 
Since there can be a lot more work involved in a folder, makers have a hand full of designs you can choose from and will often let you play around with the choice of materials, so you end up with a knife that is unmistakably that artist but also a unique piece that's got your name all over it.
 
severedthumbs said:
A lot of people are buying customs, especially folders, on the secondary market and never ever contact the maker of the knife.
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I don't know about anyone else, but for the most part, I don't shell out the kind of money that custom folders bring unless I've had some kind of contact with the maker. I buy customs from people I like and respect, so if I'm going to pay that much money, I'M going to have the knife made for ME.
 
SpyderJon said:
I don't know about anyone else, but for the most part, I don't shell out the kind of money that custom folders bring unless I've had some kind of contact with the maker. I buy customs from people I like and respect, so if I'm going to pay that much money, I'M going to have the knife made for ME.
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I agree, especially with the 1st part -- I don't buy a custom knife w/o meeting the maker and buying in person. The interaction / experience / relationship with the craftsman makes having the knife a much more rich experience. Additionally, it gets me out to knife shows, and throttles my purchasing so I can have some semblance of fiscal responsibility . . .:o
 
I have purchased custom knives from a secondary market, mostly because 1) the maker is no longer taking orders, or 2) The maker is no longer making the knife. BUT, I have usually HAD some interaction with the knife makers in the first place, which got me interested intheir work. I have talked with and or met some of the knife makers, long before I had purchased any of their work.
 
I just don't have the money to make a lot of shows, AND there's some really great makers who just don't need to attend too many shows! So.... I only talk to most of the makers on the phone, but I've never really had a bad experience.
 
Factory knives are not heat treated properly -often too soft. Should be 3 or 4 HRC harder. Custom knives can afford to have individual attention applied to them -so theoretically heat treat, fit and finish, etc. should be better.
 
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