What do you consider a reasonable wait time on a custom knife?

this thread makes me think of that charlton heston movie with him as michelangelo (the agony and the ecstasy) he was fullfilling an order for 10 or so carved marble statues. it takes him seven years to finish each one. well worth it though.
 
Had to wait 4 years for my Randall. I toured the shop and knife museum and couldnt possibly walk away without ordering myself one. At the time I appreciated the long wait because back then I didn't have alot of extra cash laying around. I just tossed all my daily pocket change into a jar everyday and when the knife was ready (exactly 4 years as promised) I had the money saved. As long as the maker honors his timeline, it's all good.
 
how does the ordering process work for randall? small down payment, then pay off the rest when the knife is almost ready? i want a model 18, but 5 years is a long time to wait.
 
I'd rather learn how to do it myself than wait 5 years. I probably wouldn't end up with anywhere near the same level of quality, but I sure would enjoy the journey.
 
Charlie Mike said:
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Just saw this. Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing with us.
 
nickortizzle1035 said:
how does the ordering process work for randall? small down payment, then pay off the rest when the knife is almost ready? i want a model 18, but 5 years is a long time to wait.
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It's 5 years now? It was a 4 year wait in 2001. I just picked my model and options, they wrote up the order and asked for $20.00. 3 years and 9 months later i received a letter that said they were going to begin making my knife and asked that i verified my option list. I was then requested to pay in full on or before the final 3 month build period was over. When the knife came i forgot all about the long wait!
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I guess waiting 5 years for knife is long time if you really need it now but for me it was all just part of that day's experience hanging out at Randall watching the makers, taking in all the history and culture of the old shop and knife museum. That was an awesome day and the knife always reminds me of it.
 
In general, 3 months is a fair amount of time to wait for a custom. But I've waited 8 months, 1.5 years, 3 years (and counting). It's a catch 22... great customs means higher demand = long wait time.

I don't mind the wait but it would be nice if makers could send monthly "updates" on the wait time.
 
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