What do people think of the quality of this filework?

Is this filework acceptable for a $1k custom knife?

  • I DO buy custom knives. This filework IS acceptable.

    Votes: 1 2.6%

  • I DO buy custom knives. This filework is NOT acceptable.

    Votes: 21 55.3%

  • I DON'T buy custom knives. This filework IS acceptable.

    Votes: 4 10.5%

  • I DON'T buy custom knives. This filework is NOT acceptable.

    Votes: 12 31.6%
  • Total voters
    38
vanadium

vanadium

Basic Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2003
Messages
816
I'm working with a highly respected custom maker on a knife, and they sent me a photo of the filework they've done on the liners. I've never inspected hand filework up-close so I don't know exactly what I should expect. I don't expect it to look like it came out of a machine — but at this magnification I can't help but notice asymmetry (left to right) and irregularity, so I thought I'd ask for opinions. What do people think of the quality?

sfQUIXN.png
 
some of the difference may be due to the light, but some is not. I would ask the maker to try to address the symmetry and definitely the unfinished areas
 
b00n said:
Could also be quite influenced by being right hand vs left hand dominant.
Click to expand...

I was about to point out this very same thing.

Anyway. Isn't this supposed to be the beauty of a han made custom knife? If you want perfect symmetry and the closest tolerances, you are better off sticking to high end production knives. CNC machines almost always keep tigther tolerances than the human hand.

Mikel
 
vanadium said:
I'm working with a highly respected custom maker on a knife, and they sent me a photo of the filework they've done on the liners. I've never inspected hand filework up-close so I don't know exactly what I should expect. I don't expect it to look like it came out of a machine — but at this magnification I can't help but notice asymmetry (left to right) and irregularity, so I thought I'd ask for opinions. What do people think of the quality?

sfQUIXN.png
Click to expand...
I don t like it and if this is my knife I will not accepted !
 
I'm not a fan of filework to begin with...but some of that would be difficult to accept. Slight asymmetries in hand filed work are, I would think, to be expected; but the obvious OOPSes would grate on me.
 
To me, it all depends what it looks like as a whole. You will not be looking at it close up like that normally. It may well look great when viewed normally and it all will flow together nicely.
 
If it bothers you now, chances are it will do so in the future too.
What did you expect? Did you see examples of earlier work?
If he/they are well respected, you will find a solution.
All the best
 
If there are specifics you do not like, point them out now, and see if the maker can fix them. Otherwise, I agree with Mikel.
 
Not acceptable! :thumbsdown: But, as has been said, now is the time to communicate with the maker; perhaps he does it roughly and has not fine finished it yet. :confused: I have at least 8-10 knives with hand done file work that is seemingly perfect to the naked eye (important, magnification can be deceptive), so it can and should be done right. :rolleyes:
 
I'd say you're expecting too much. It's done by hand.... So, while it may be done with great care and attention it will never match the accuracy of a CNC milling machine. In a hand made knife you get something that an industrial produced knife can't give you. Are you interested in that little bit of soul or are you all about precision and stuff. Both are respectable. It could just be that you're knocking on the wrong door. Because I see nothing sloppy in the filework you've photographed. Sloppy is not OK, variations in handwork are inevitable...
 
vanadium said:
What do people think of the quality?
Click to expand...

Impossible to say from that photo, photos can make good work look bad & bad work look good.

As it's magnified & badly lit from the side in the image, it will probably look totally different in the hand.
 
BTW, not to be a jerk but... I would be more worried about the asymmetry of the grind on the blade than the filework.... And it seems to have a bit of that as well (transition between the swedge and the ricasso (?).
 
I see gap between liner and scale that bothers me more than filework, which is probably on par with other file work they have done. If not then there is a problem.
 
Sergeua said:
I see gap between liner and scale that bothers me more than filework, which is probably on par with other file work they have done. If not then there is a problem.
Click to expand...
I saw the same thing. I'm assuming it's just test fit in the pics and is not yet finished.
 
It's your knife ,why ask us?
IMO acceptability would at least in part depending on the price I was paying & how well defined the tolerance were when the deal was made. Also if I had inspected past work ,giving a expectation of a level of craftsmanship.
For whats it's worth I don't think it looks bad.
 
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