What do you guys think about CUSTOM KNIVES..

This is a hard one to explain. I appreciate beautiful custom knives and quality, but I personally just don't find them to be that exiting. Sometimes(!) in life I believe that more choices = more uncertainty.
Totally see the appeal and maybe I would get one if I got to meet the maker or more likely just change my mind:)

Remember not every custom knife is made equal, bad knife makers surly do exist.
 
bpeezer said:
I have a few assumptions to make before trying to answer your question:
1. A custom knife will be ergonomically superior over any other knife for me
2. It will have unique features that serve a purpose. An example of this would be the Emerson Wave or the HRD
3. It will cut better than my other knives
4. The mechanism will be exactly the way I design it to be
5. The knife should be attractive

Now, onto the things that would help get me into customs, based upon these assumptions.
1. For ergonomic superiority, I want to be able to meet with the maker. I would want measurements taken from my hands, and I would want him to take note of the way I use my knives and work with me to design the curves of the knife to fit me flawlessly. I would likely want a flipper, and I have a very specific set of wants for the flipper protrusion to be perfect for me.

2. As far as unique features, I would want to work with the maker to make the action of the knife better than perfect. I want to do engineering analysis of the design to make sure that every force is balanced flawlessly, and I want every piece of the knife designed to contribute to the robustness of the balance. I want to use a unique bearing system, I wouldn't want the pivot designed around available caged bearings.

3. The cutting performance should be easy for any custom makers. My tasks are very light, so I would just need a knife in a good steel with a fairly thin edge.

4. This is the biggest problem. If I want a custom knife, it will be everything exactly how I want a knife. That means no liner locks or frame locks, no back locks, not even an axis lock, my lock design will fit a very specific set of needs (more wants than needs, really ;)).

5. Similar to 3, pretty much any good maker can make a knife attractive. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so if I work on the design I will probably find the knife attractive :p

I don't need the knife to be handmade, in fact I would be quite satisfied with many CNC parts, perhaps just with hand finishing to ensure excellent fit. The biggest problem is that I have no reason to buy a custom knife that isn't perfect for me, and I've never seen anyone make a knife that is even remotely close to my kind of perfect.
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Now, I know that I stressed that good communication with the custom knifemaker was important, but are you serious!? (especially in the light of you wanting a potential custom knife for 'light cutting').
 
Only customs I have are JK handmade knives. They aren't very expensive, can choose from his lineup or design your own and he will make it. Typically takes a couple months to get it. He makes a fine knife. I asked him about his warranty when I did a shootout involving one of his knives. He told me if it breaks under normal use(batonning is normal use) he will replace or refund your money. That's a pretty good warranty IMO.
 
evanPGH said:
Yeah...um...stick to production knives.
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I plan on it, at least for quite some time :)

BladeScout said:
Now, I know that I stressed that good communication with the custom knifemaker was important, but are you serious!? (especially in the light of you wanting a potential custom knife for 'light cutting').
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I don't need better cutting performance than I already have. In fact, for my EDC tasks I have never needed anything more than my mini grip. This is exactly why I don't have any customs :rolleyes: I would be spending an exorbitant amount of money for a glorified toy, because I have absolutely no need of ridiculous cutting performance. I would probably spend more time just flipping the knife and playing with it than actually cutting stuff, so I doubt I will buy a custom anytime soon.
 
bpeezer said:
I don't need better cutting performance than I already have. In fact, for my EDC tasks I have never needed anything more than my mini grip. This is exactly why I don't have any customs :rolleyes: I would be spending an exorbitant amount of money for a glorified toy, because I have absolutely no need of ridiculous cutting performance. I would probably spend more time just flipping the knife and playing with it than actually cutting stuff, so I doubt I will buy a custom anytime soon.
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I meant your requirements - do you really mean going through with that in case of ordering a custom knife!!??

IMO you are painting yourself into a corner by stipulating those outlandish requirements. It becomes a 'glorified toy,' because you make it so, but it doesnt have to be that complicated.
Some production knives work fine, but a custom knife can be a simple highly efficient tool - one that has the added bonus of bringing a smile to your face every time you use it (if done right).
 
BladeScout said:
Thats horrible to hear and something one should not have happen - let alone not once but several times.
Sounds like you were extremely unlucky - how many different knives and makers are we talking about?
Amazing, that you had the bad luck to run into not one but several sloppy 'custom' knives. Almost unheard of.
Are we talking several established makers (without naming them) or are we talking someone calling themselves 'knifemakers?'
If you take a chance on a custom again, Id venture to say, that you can easily have a knife made without the problems you mention.
Look around, there are breathtakingly beautiful knives out there in all kinds of finishes and price ranges (and many many many satsified customers).
Go for it! Bring a little sunray into your life!!:D
Yes, MORA knives work fine, but there are other knives out there.
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All of the makers were prominent people on this forum. Let's see if I can remember all of them. We're talking 5 people I bought from and one maker I was able to get a hands on view before buying which saved me some cash. All members of this site. All told about 6-7 knives. Not the biggest pool to draw conclusions from and I'm sure there are makers out there that are perfect but I'm not a rich man nor do I collect knives so I'm just off of them altogether. Too much cash outlay to replace working knives that cost 1/10th the cost. I like cool knives. Just not that much. :D
 
bpeezer said:
I would be spending an exorbitant amount of money for a glorified toy, because I have absolutely no need of ridiculous cutting performance. I would probably spend more time just flipping the knife and playing with it than actually cutting stuff, so I doubt I will buy a custom anytime soon.
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I think if a lot of people took a long look inward on their knife buying habits they would all come to the same conclusion. The thing that really killed custom knives for me was when I actually put them to work. Good on paper, bad for cutting.
 
Shotgun said:
All of the makers were prominent people on this forum. Let's see if I can remember all of them. We're talking 5 people I bought from and one maker I was able to get a hands on view before buying which saved me some cash. All members of this site. All told about 6-7 knives. Not the biggest pool to draw conclusions from and I'm sure there are makers out there that are perfect but I'm not a rich man nor do I collect knives so I'm just off of them altogether. Too much cash outlay to replace working knives that cost 1/10th the cost. I like cool knives. Just not that much. :D
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Again, horrible for you.
Im flabbergasted, that you had five different knives be duds in your opinion.
I mean, what are the friggin' odds!!!
Especially in the light of my own experience with custom knifemakers and considering how many customers voice their satisfaction here on the forum.
I would be tempted to ask to see the knives, but that would end in tears.
 
bpeezer said:
I have a few assumptions to make before trying to answer your question:
1. A custom knife will be ergonomically superior over any other knife for me
2. It will have unique features that serve a purpose. An example of this would be the Emerson Wave or the HRD
3. It will cut better than my other knives
4. The mechanism will be exactly the way I design it to be
5. The knife should be attractive

Now, onto the things that would help get me into customs, based upon these assumptions.
1. For ergonomic superiority, I want to be able to meet with the maker. I would want measurements taken from my hands, and I would want him to take note of the way I use my knives and work with me to design the curves of the knife to fit me flawlessly. I would likely want a flipper, and I have a very specific set of wants for the flipper protrusion to be perfect for me.

2. As far as unique features, I would want to work with the maker to make the action of the knife better than perfect. I want to do engineering analysis of the design to make sure that every force is balanced flawlessly, and I want every piece of the knife designed to contribute to the robustness of the balance. I want to use a unique bearing system, I wouldn't want the pivot designed around available caged bearings.

3. The cutting performance should be easy for any custom makers. My tasks are very light, so I would just need a knife in a good steel with a fairly thin edge.

4. This is the biggest problem. If I want a custom knife, it will be everything exactly how I want a knife. That means no liner locks or frame locks, no back locks, not even an axis lock, my lock design will fit a very specific set of needs (more wants than needs, really ;)).

5. Similar to 3, pretty much any good maker can make a knife attractive. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so if I work on the design I will probably find the knife attractive :p

I don't need the knife to be handmade, in fact I would be quite satisfied with many CNC parts, perhaps just with hand finishing to ensure excellent fit. The biggest problem is that I have no reason to buy a custom knife that isn't perfect for me, and I've never seen anyone make a knife that is even remotely close to my kind of perfect.
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No problem sir that will be.... 5000.00. :rolleyes:
 
Shotgun said:
I think if a lot of people took a long look inward on their knife buying habits they would all come to the same conclusion. The thing that really killed custom knives for me was when I actually put them to work. Good on paper, bad for cutting.
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I will agree that I have had customs that got shown up by sub $100 folders, but this is not always the case. My only custom folder cuts better than ANY other knife I've ever owned.
 
sechip said:
No problem sir that will be.... 5000.00.
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At LEAST. There are only a handful of guys that I can think of that have the talent/resources for such a project and their knives are already insanely expensive.
 
BladeScout said:
I meant your requirements - do you really mean going through with that in case of ordering a custom knife!!??

IMO you are painting yourself into a corner by stipulating those outlandish requirements. It becomes a 'glorified toy,' because you make it so, but it doesnt have to be that complicated.
Some production knives work fine, but a custom knife can be a simple highly efficient tool - one that has the added bonus of bringing a smile to your face every time you use it (if done right).
Click to expand...

That's the thing though, I have no desire to go through the process of getting a custom knife if it's not EXACTLY what I want. Someone already made the distinction between custom and handmade...I can get a very nice, high performing handmade knife without the headache of trying to design something for myself that I think is perfect. Everything will always be less than perfect to me, I could revise the design hundreds of times and still not consider it perfect. Custom makers put their heart and soul into each knife they make, and I'm sure those knives deserve an owner that will consider them perfect.

I genuinely appreciate every knife in my collection, and I always get a smile from using a select few of them. My "requirements" are basically my way of saying that I can never find something perfect, and IMHO custom knives should be perfect for the owner. Even if something did check all the boxes, my brain would find a way to consider it flawed. As long as I don't buy knives expecting perfection, at least I'm never disappointed :o
 
bpeezer said:
That's the thing though, I have no desire to go through the process of getting a custom knife if it's not EXACTLY what I want. Someone already made the distinction between custom and handmade...I can get a very nice, high performing handmade knife without the headache of trying to design something for myself that I think is perfect. Everything will always be less than perfect to me, I could revise the design hundreds of times and still not consider it perfect. Custom makers put their heart and soul into each knife they make, and I'm sure those knives deserve an owner that will consider them perfect.

I genuinely appreciate every knife in my collection, and I always get a smile from using a select few of them. My "requirements" are basically my way of saying that I can never find something perfect, and IMHO custom knives should be perfect for the owner. Even if something did check all the boxes, my brain would find a way to consider it flawed. As long as I don't buy knives expecting perfection, at least I'm never disappointed :o
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This absolutely fascinates me as I'm the exact opposite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi
 
evanPGH said:
At LEAST. There are only a handful of guys that I can think of that have the talent/resources for such a project and their knives are already insanely expensive.
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I know :( If I ever tried to approach a maker I would consider G&G Hawk, simply because of their constant exploration into unique lock mechanisms. I don't really need a "perfect" knife, so I do just fine with some really great production knives. At least I know that dealing with me would be too much of a hassle for most makers to handle, so I don't try to force it on anyone :p
 
I prefer tried and true productions, ESPECIALLY kitchen knives.

I know there are good customs, but I need to use them before purchase, which is next to impossible.


I see many custom kitchen knives here, but waay too expensive to compare to legendary smiths in japan.
 
Hello!

I'll chime in on the topic a little later with more time, just for now because I just read that part of the discussion.

Bladescout, count me as No. 2 who has had so-so experience with more than one custom maker over the years. Then again, others did surpass my expextations by far. That's part of the custom fun for me - looking for great makers - not that they can't have a bad day as well. My last so-so experience was with a knife from a JS maker this past year. Beautiful looking knife which arrived with uneven, off-ground bevels and dull as can be. Returning it for a workover is less practical when buying from overseas. We did find a workable solution though.

The most common "issue" I have experienced with custom makers is having a knife arrive badly sharpened. I have learned to how to sharpen myself quite some time ago, so this is not an issue for the knives I use, but to me this is not something I want in knives that cost more than 1000$.

Regards,
Alex
 
For me custom knives don't offer me anything I that I can't get in a production knife except for uniqueness. However to that point, there a lot of "unique" things in the world and few of them have value because of it. Knives in my opinion don't have a lot of added value just because they are unique. It also seems that there are a lot of "custom" knife makers who are technically making custom knives, but they aren't really unique. Not bashing anyone here, but there seem to be a lot of simple fixed blade knives with simple micarta or wood handles that all look the same and even look a lot like some production knives. My ZT limited edition knives seem to be more "unique" than the tons of fixed blade "customs" I've seen. Personally I love folders, and there are very few "custom" makers that make them (non-traditional folders that is). Within the few that do, an even fewer amount make folders that I like. Those that do make folders I like, demand a pretty high premium that I just can't justify. So for me, customs knives just don't seem worthwhile.
 
I have some nice custom fixed, which I never have occasion to use. I've had a couple of nice custom folders, in the $700-range, and my nicest one was the cheapest. It was a used Jim Burke Rockstar folder, worth about $250 used. I was broke and had to pay a bill and sold it. Bad mistake; was one of the most solid titanium-slab folders/CPM154 I've ever had; reminds me of my Grayman DUA folder. All my folders show wear. Titanium does get marked up; doesn't both me a bit.
Wish my buddy up in New York would sell it back to me...if he's tired of it by now.
:)
 
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