What do YOU think when you hear "Custom"? (Traditional)

[calm]

Thinking about this for a while.
I was ordering from a site and I was able to choose the knife specifications I wanted (covers, steel, decoration, size etc.) so I was able to customise the knife to my specifications, but it will still be a lower cost knife (handmade, think of GEC size operation or smaller).
Lets say 80 to 140 USD/EUR knife, though it can get close to 1000 if you start adding damascus, fancy file work and expensive covers, for the same basic knife model.
I doubt many will think of that 100EUR/USD knife when they think of Custom.

Additionally, anybody can order the exact same knife.

I also see knives where you basically get what the maker makes or has in stock being called Customs, as they are lower volume and expensive. You get zero input in the process, but the knife may be an one-off and expensive.

Additionally, you see knives that were made to order for a specific person, customised for them, being sold, as customs. Which they were, but as a buyer I am again not getting an input and the seller hopes that we have identical tastes in knives.

If I put different covers on a knife, does that make it a custom? It I customised for me.

Some say a knife is "close to a custom" so I get the idea that Custom to them means attention to detail, rather then being able to choose the knife they want, exactly.

Just thinking aloud, if anything.



Do you expect a custom to be expensive or limited edition or limited supply, or what.

 

[rishma]

When I think custom, I think super high fit and finish and build quality. It never occurred to me it should be unique. Big disclaimer on my opinion here…I don’t own anything close to a custom by any definition.

We’d all enjoy seeing your custom/semi-custom/near-custom/made-to-order knife when it arrives.

 

[Alex.Y.]

Originally custom meant made for one's specific order. Nowadays it seems to mean something that was made by an individual (skilled) craftsman at best. But very often it's just some limited edition production knives that manufacturer decided to put on some fancier handles, or blade steel. When I hear "custom knife" I think of something fancy, well-built, 300+ bucks. Don't have any, but hoping to make some myself one day.

 

[Hyesouljah]

When I think "custom traditional knife", I think... quality, craftsmanship, impeccable fit and finish, the best examples of chosen materials used, hand finishing (like custom file work, hand satin blades, etc) and I think made to my chosen spec. Although I consider all of the above at makers choice just as fine too. A true handmade custom IMO would be really close to a 1 of 1 type of thing too, given that other knives of the same pattern will be made but no two knives are ever really time same.

 

[Will Power]

It's a really valid point to consider. Like a lot of other things the word has got somewhat debased - particularly outside the knife arena. Bespoke too.

Not all Customs are equal, some are more Custom than others.....

Some Customs are breathtaking in form, execution and authenticity others can be a breathtaking & expensive disappointment Anybody CAN call themselves a Custom maker but I think you have to have been making knives in some capacity for some years , ideally working near a master or mentor and then branch out on your own offering your signature work or taking specific orders. But there's a lot more to it

 

[kamagong]

The term "custom" has a couple of meanings when it comes to knives. The first is that a knife is made by an individual craftsman. The second is that it is bespoke. While I have a dozen knives that meet the first definition, only five of them meet the second.

For example, many would consider this Finnish puukko custom, as the puukkoseppa did everything. He made the blade and fittings, as well as the sheath. However, this knife is a typical model he offers. I simply contacted the maker and asked him to make me a Tommi. No other input.

On the other hand, when I placed the order for my Sardinian resolza I asked the maker for a specific size and material for the handle. As it was my first experience with the type, I gave him artistic license and relied on his expertise to make me something representative of the design. He ended making two knives, and allowed me to choose the one I wanted. Though both were made with the same impeccable craftsmanship, one of the knives made the decision easy as its lines immediately drew me in. This knife is what I would consider custom as it fits both the first and second definitions.

 

[calm]

Thank you for the comments.
To clarify, the knife shop making my "Customised" knife is Barry in France, I do not want to add more contact details as this may be considered advertising. I even changed my mind on a "customisation" I ordered and emailed them and they had no issue making the change (They had not started making it yet). I also expect the knife to arrive to me reasonably quickly, not in a few years. I assume, based on what I read here, that it will be an OK knife.

 

[kamagong]

I am familiar with Du Barry. As a matter of fact I own a laguiole from them.

Laguioles are a strange case though. Although there is great variety in covers and aesthetic flourishes, I think they fall mostly within my first definition as most laguioles are made from parts, which are only supplied by a couple of existing companies. I think that applies both to the Du Barry pictured above, as well as this incredibly finished one by Dauvillaire.

Very few laguioles these days are bespoke, a notable exception being this one from Jerome Latreille.

View attachment 1473078

This just in!!!! Left France on Monday and arrived in Maine on Saturday - by post You would have thought it was hand carried by @Âchillepattada himself. Though he did help me obtain this beauty, alas he was not also the courier. Thank you very much  for your help!!!

Jérôme LATREILLE is very eager to hear your response and he encourages you all to contact him for your very own JL custom - Laguiole or otherwise.

More photos on Black & White - don't know where to stop Enjoy!

View attachment 1473088

I threw this into Jérôme's lap asking him to make a beautiful & unique Laguiole. I specified only -
• carbon blade • 11cm handle with a 9,5cm blade • mammoth tusk scales • and I asked for the awl which I did describe with a sketch. Should evoke a bees stinger, I suggested.

View attachment 1473227

His engraving is well regarded by all who have visited this thread. Elegant and detailed as I could have hoped. The bee has a STINGER.

L'abeille avec le dard et les fleurs ~

View attachment 1473099

View attachment 1473228

Man - the blade and awl are snappers. I almost skewered myself setting up the shot above, of the blade and awl open. One is sharp and the other very pointy - could hoit!

Notice the notch in the scales for getting to the tip of the awl?

View attachment 1473101

View attachment 1473229

 

[black mamba]

To me a custom knife is a hand-made, one-off creation. The term "sole authorship" comes to mind. Every part and feature of the knife should be from the maker's imagination and skill. Being bespoke is another level of satisfaction for the owner, but to me does not have any bearing on its custom-ness. Regardless of who ordered the knife in the first place, a Tony Bose knife is still a custom knife. I've owned close to a dozen custom knives, but only two have been bespoke.

 

[calm]

How about the Bose - Case collaborations?

 

[black mamba]

Definitely NOT customs.

 

[meako]

Waiting list.

 

[mrknife]

its like the tag line in the customs for sale, customized knives are not custom knives. when i hear custom, i think a maker and a client took the time out to carefully design a knife to specifications, which results in a specific cost level. some makers are more affordable than others due to now that is the big fun question, hype, following etc.

 

[kamagong]

To me a custom knife is a hand-made, one-off creation. The term "sole authorship" comes to mind. Every part and feature of the knife should be from the maker's imagination and skill. Being bespoke is another level of satisfaction for the owner, but to me does not have any bearing on its custom-ness. Regardless of who ordered the knife in the first place, a Tony Bose knife is still a custom knife. I've owned close to a dozen custom knives, but only two have been bespoke.

Even that is an incomplete definition. For example, when this khukuri was forged, it was a hand-made, one-off creation. Others saw it and asked for similar knives. It is now a regular model.

Does that mean my khukuri is a custom knife? What does that make the khukuris just like it that came after?

 

[black mamba]

An interesting distinction, Christian, and I would say that yours is a custom and the ones to follow may or may not be depending on the level of individual creation. If the parts are still made one at a time by the one maker, then custom. If several workers do different tasks in batches to increase volume, so that there is no longer sole authorship, then no longer custom. A good example is the proliferation of Lanny's Clips. Hundreds if not thousands made, all very similar, but as long as they are still made one at a time, then they are custom knives to me.

 

[kamagong]

The thing is, that khukuri, while handmade, was not offered nor ever described as a custom. It was produced in a workshop environment, one employing multiple artisans. The workshop was very cognizant of the different craftsmen however, and gave them credit for their creations. And though the workshop offered specific models, it also encouraged the smiths to let their creative juices flow. This knife was the result of one particularly creative session.

Thought provoking discussion.

 

[Hickory n steel]

This is an interesting question that got me thinking.

I often hear custom used to describe a hand made knife or " custom knife maker " ...etc and I often associate "custom" in that way because this usage I suppose is common to my generation , but saying it out loud doesn't really feel right.
when I actually think about it Custom means special to a person, made specially for them or customized by / for them as they desire.

If I ever buy a custom it's definitely going to be having a specific knife I desire made for me, and I think I've already got the sketch around somewhere.

 

[afishhunter]

"I'll never commission or own one."?

 

[black mamba]

Christian, thanks for the enlightenment!

 

[prairie.dog]

Yeah I definitely think more quality rather than customized when I think custom. That quality would go both for materials, and fit and finish. So for example, I expect a custom to have carefully selected and matched high quality stag, 'rare-ish' micarta, old bone, exotic tusk, etc. More than anything when I think of a custom I think of a slow, careful process where a maker is usually focusing on one knife at a time, rather than making them in batches. Along with that, I think of a high attention to detail, because their focus is on that one knife, and getting that one knife right.

With all of that being said, I don't think the above is the only thing that technically makes a custom. It's more what I think because that's what I want.