What do you look for in a Custom

Liveitloud

Liveitloud

Joined
Jul 1, 2006
Messages
2,901
This is posed for opinions sake and to get an idea in general as to why you pick the knives/makers that you do. What do you look for in a custom that separates you from your wallet?

Some people look for usefulness/looks/quality but what exactly is it in {insert your maker of choice here} that rings your bell?

I have seen some knives that are very traditional and no frills that get the job done but lack the bells and whistles.

There are knives that I see that are like works of art.

There are makers that step out of the box with unique blade shapes, handle contours and many scale offerings.

Just curious as to others opinions on the subject.
 
I look for knives that are well executed, ergonomically designed, are made of interesting and high quality materials and are very appealing from an artistic perspective yet are capable of performing to function at a very high degree.

It's also very important to me that I like the maker, he/she has the utmost integrity and they tirelessly promote themselves and their knives.
 
Last edited:
Kevin Jones said:
I look for knives that are well executed, ergonomically designed, are made of interesting and high quality materials and are very appealing from an artistic perspective yet are capable of performing to function at a very high degree.

It's also very important to me that I like the maker, he/she has the utmost integrity and they tirelessly promote themselves and their knives.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup: for me too!
And it doesn't hurt if it has killer stag on it as well! ;):D
 
Promotion is good, but I'd rather they work tirelessly to improve / perfect their craft. Makers that are constantly pushing themselves to do better tend to catch my attention and keep it.

Roger
 
RogerP said:
Promotion is good, but I'd rather they work tirelessly to improve / perfect their craft. Makers that are constantly pushing themselves to do better tend to catch my attention and keep it.

Roger
Click to expand...

Agreed. I recall a couple of makers who "tirelessly" promoted their work to the extent it became "tiresome".

I think you're right, better first to make sure tireless efforts go into the craft, especially in the current environment.

Bob
 
Last edited:
Kevin covered it VERY well, but in basic terms, one that looking at it, makes you want to hold it, and holding it makes you want to own it!

Peter
 
Kevin Jones said:
I look for knives that are well executed, ergonomically designed, are made of interesting and high quality materials and are very appealing from an artistic perspective yet are capable of performing to function at a very high degree.

It's also very important to me that I like the maker, he/she has the utmost integrity and they tirelessly promote themselves and their knives.
Click to expand...

RogerP said:
Promotion is good, but I'd rather they work tirelessly to improve / perfect their craft. Makers that are constantly pushing themselves to do better tend to catch my attention and keep it.
Roger
Click to expand...

betzner said:
Agreed. I recall a couple of makers who "tirelessly" promoted their work to the extent it became "tiresome".

I think you're right, better first to make sure tireless efforts go into the craft, especially in the current environment.

Bob
Click to expand...

I'd say it would be pretty difficult for a maker to create well executed, ergonomically designed knives of interesting and high quality materials which are very appealing from an artistic perspective and perform to function at a very high degree if they haven't worked tirelessly to improve / perfect their craft.
 
Kevin Jones said:
I'd say it would be pretty difficult for a maker to create well executed, ergonomically designed knives of interesting and high quality materials which are very appealing from an artistic perspective and perform to function at a very high degree if they haven't worked tirelessly to improve / perfect their craft.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, but not the point I was making at all. I suppose the best example that comes to mind is one maker who, when emailing his customer list with an offer to sell a knife, promotes them as investment opportunities. That is, to me, highly tiresome rather than tireless.

Let ME decide what is or is not an investment - not the maker. I have seen it happen with three makers that I can remember. Great knives, but the hype used to promote them absolutely turned me off.

Bob
 
Last edited:
Hi Bob,

Though I don't have any knowledge of your specific example of an investment pitch, I do hear where you are coming from generally. It's about priorities. Promotion is important, but it needn't be pursued "tirelessly" to be accomplished effectively. If I hear what you're saying, there CAN be too much of a good thing, so to speak, when it comes to promotion. And yes, I can think of examples where it has crossed the line into the "tiresome". On the other hand, there CAN'T be too much devotion the development of skills and perfection of the craft. If a maker were to pursue a goal "tirelessly", I would rather it be that goal.

Roger
 
I'm with Bob. In the past few weeks, I've gotten unsolicited emails from two makers on this board whom I've had zero contact with, who were trying to sell me their products. I see this as spam and will have nothing to do with that.

However, tirelessly improving one's work will have the side effect of tirelessly promoting one's work. Producing the absolute top quality product a maker is capable of producing is the best promotion. Anything else is fluff and marketing.
 
betzner said:
Absolutely, but not the point I was making at all. I suppose the best example that comes to mind is one maker who, when emailing his customer list with an offer to sell a knife, promotes them as investment opportunities. That is, to me, highly tiresome rather than tireless.
Let ME decide what is or is not an investment - not the maker. I have seen it happen with three makers that I can remember. Great knives, but the hype used to promote them absolutely turned me off.
Bob
Click to expand...

I agree Bob. Any knifemaker who is promoting his knives as "investment" opportunities is on a slippery slope in my opinion. Like you, I will decide which are good investments.

When I speak of a knifemaker promoting himself and his knives I'm referring to him promoting himself as a maker of fine knives. Marketing himself by attending shows, participating in knife organizations, getting exposure on forums, having his knives photographed in hopes of getting them in the magazines and so on and so on.

We all know knifemakers who create excellent and beautiful knives however they have a limited market because they don't promote themselves or their knives.
 
Last edited:
An accomplished maker with his ear to the ground should be able to produce knives that promote themselves, IMO. Obviously not every knife is going to appeal to every customer, but if a guy has to actively convince people to buy his product then something is probably not right, either with the product or the price.
 
I look for hard use knives. Makers that are outdoors men and know what works. A lot of the knife makers who have made knives for me I now call friends.We have stayed in contact even after I got the knives from them. I only use bladeforum makers now. Scott Gossman, Jeremey Horton and Bill Siegle.I love their works of art but the fact that I know I can count my life on their knives is everything to me.


Mike
 
Fit and finish is the deal breaker for me. High end materials mean little to me if the f&f is not perfect. More than anything, it's a reflection of what the knifemaker feels about the industry. Creating a piece of functional art versus just another job. Those that get it right seem to fill up their log books quickly.
 
Thanks for all the well thought out posts and ideas. I have noticed that some makers can't get a knife posted quickly enough before it's gone. Then I see others posted that sit for awhile before they sell and was curious why that is exactly.

Then there are others that have long waiting lists while others do not take orders/special requests at all. The things I find myself passing on sometimes are knives that seem to take on the same design over and over and knives (while different models) tend to use the same 1 or 2 handle materials over and over.

For the most part (in buying customs) up until now my purchases have all been fixed blades. A year or two back I did not even look at customs so I can see me someday expanded into the world of custom folders.

It seems that we always expand our interests (as evidenced by my own) over time so who knows what will grab me a year from now.

My own personal choices come from:

Well thought out useful designs that perform well in various situations.

Clean lines. I have not up til now found too much interest in highly tactical looking blades.

I have collected Spydero for years so while I consider myself a bit of a steel snob, I have come to really like 01 and some of the other carbon steels that I see on customs and some semi customs. Blind horse knives comes to mind.

I really like to see knives with handle contours and much thought given to the comfort of the knife in hand. As for as the investment part. I have not bought one yet for a safe queen. While I have done that with production knives, I buy custom fixed blades to use. Sorry for the long ramble but it's too early to think without coffee and these are the thoughts that came to mind. I look forward to hearing more responses on the subject.
 
Over the years I have fine-tuned my taste regarding custom knives.

On the one hand, I collect knives made for me by a handful of high-end
custom knifemakers, especially those on whom I have done a book.
Among these are Edmund Davidson, Tim Hancock and Van Barnett & Dellana,
the latter being subjects of the book I just finished.

On the other hand I enjoy the tingling feeling of excitement that I get from
knives designed with a dramatic flare like the collaborations with Joel Pirela designs.

Of course, fit and finish is not an issue with such knives as they are truly amazing!!

In both cases I am more of a folder collector, as shown below in
the two examples...

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

From my book "The Art Knives of Van Barnett & Dellana" (Summer 2011)
Van-and-Dellana_004.jpg


Three Joel Pirela design folders by Brian Tighe
Tighe_3-Pirelas.jpg
 
Last edited:
David -- with the Van Barnett book be available at Blade 2011? let me know how to order a copy to pick up there.
 
Yes, Murray, my once a year contribution to the world
of custom knives will be introduced there and then....

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top