What do the knife purveyors know that the rest of us don't

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
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I understand that dealers or purveyors have this special skill of zeroing on knives that are not only saleable but also have great potential as a winner.

Such skill in identifying a good product comes from years of experience and wheeling and dealing.

Most good knife dealers also have a special relationship with custom knife makers.

The rest of the knife flock probably just skirt on the surface and hope for somebody to send up some flare signals when a great knife hits the market.

What are some of the signs that we knife collectors should look for?

Purveyors, pray do tell. :)
 
There is more to it than just spotting a well made knife. The value of custom knives over time depends a great deal on the reputation of the maker and his ability to stay in business over time. It is not just the knife that is of concern. The maker himself (herself) is a major part of the equation.

There are a lot of folks who make really great knives who drop out of knifemaking because it is a very tough business in which to earn a living. Purveyors consider a whole bunch of factors in choosing which knives to sell and which makers to represent.

Is the maker striving to improve his art? Is is a member of the KMG and/or the ABS? Does he take the time and expense to travel to shows in order sell more knives and improve his name recognition? Does he have a firm understanding of the business of making and selling knives? Is it likely that he will still be selling knives in ten or twenty years and his name will be widely recognized? Does he have the right business ethics and people skills to sell his work? Making knives and selling knives are two different skill sets. Not all great knifemakers are good businessmen.

I have a number of well made knives that I love which I bought for relatively low prices from newer makers. I will be very lucky indeed if any of these are worth significantly more in the future. It is not only the knife that must be considered. And sometimes there is a bit of luck involved.

Buying knives as an investment is a very tricky business. So I buy knives that I like from makers I like and don't worry much about what the resale value of the knife will be in the future. A purveyor has a whole different set of concerns when he is buying and selling knives. Making knives for a living is a very tough business. I think selling knives for a living may be even more difficult.

Para
 
People like Les Robertson, Jay and Karen Sadow, and a few others have done very well as purveyors of custom knives. I have known an individual or two who thought they could make some money buying knives and hanging on to them until the value went up. That's pretty unlikely. The casual, or even fairly serious collector isn't apt to finance his retirement with his knife collection.

Personally, I hardly give any thought to what the knife I am buying today will be worth in 10 years. For one thing, I am probably going to sharpen it and use it.

For another thing, I don't want to take the joy out of knife collecting by commercializing it. If that is what someone enjoys,fine. I don't.

On an unrelated topic, I raise and train Bluetick Coonhounds. I do it strictly for a hobby. I'm pretty good at it. When my wife and I were first married, I had a female that may have been my hound of a lifetime. A wealthy man in another state heard about her somehow and drove all the way down into the hills of northeastern Oklahoma to my house to go hunting with her. After she blew his dog out of the woods on several coons, he offered me a very large sum of money for old Belle. Several zeroes were involved. We were so poor we couldn't even pay attention. My wife, being a practical sort, wanted me to sell her. I agonized long and hard, and turned him down. I told him that I would just spend the money, and then I wouldn't have Old Belle or the money either.

I have never regretted it. She died wearing my collar.

The point is, for me, I don't allow the eventual value of a knife to have much bearing on what I buy. I buy what I like. That is value enough for me.
 
Coonskinner, you made the right decision about old Belle because that's the kind of man you are.

:)
 
Coonskinner,
The same sort of thing happened to a man that I had asked to go squirrel hunting on his property. He had sold his dog and bought a savings bond with the money for his son. After about a month of the boy's mopeing around, he bought her back. Then his son had both :). I hunted with her and she was very good. That was about 40 years ago and I would imagine that she also was his till the end. On knives, I never thought about the collectability of the item but if it was said to be hard to find, of course I needed it then :). I have sold very few knives and they were the ones that wouldn't hold an edge. That was always the primary concern of a using knife to me. I have probably lost more knives in the woods than I ever sold.
Paracelsus,
Makeing and selling the knives is indeed seperate fields. In my particular instance, if I were better at selling, I would have to work a lot longer hours. Since I am part time at the present and it will be June, 2004 when I retire from teaching, I enjoy the freedom of not having a lot of knife orders and can still enjoy the creativity of knife making. I rarely have a lot of creativity, but I draw from all the knives I have used and try to get the one made that is "just right". That in itself is a never ending quest.

I would like to take this moment and wish every one on the forums a "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year". God Bless You all.
 
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