What is it you Don't want on a Custom Knife

Thick edges and/or fat secondary edge bevels. Makes the knife much less of a cutting tool.
Dull knives. If you're going to put a multi-hundred dollar price tag on it, it should at least shave hair. Period.
Uneven plunges. Most folks aren't perfect, myself included, but to leave one way out of line just shows inattention to detail.
Wonky handles. Like Kevin said, design flow and handle shaping can be an immediate turn-off. Again, few of us (and not me) can make a perfectly flowing knife, but there are some knives that just scream that the maker never thought about flow.

Mismatched sheaths get on my nerves. Not every knife needs Paul Long, and the Loveless tradition has fairly utilitarian sheaths, but IMO the quality of the sheath should match the quality of the knife.
 
I frankly don't want brut de forge. I don't like it on $75 commercial Puukkos. I sure wouldn't care for it on a knife of custom price. Nor am I a fan of hammer marks or pits/voids left in the blade. I know it gives the knife a sort of "unearthed Seax" feel but I don't care for it.
 
Alright.
I'll be the first to say it.
Maybe the only one…


"Harpoon" blades.



There.




:)
 
It's fairly easy to list things that will lead me elsewhere..

Serrations
Stainless steel (with rare exceptions)
Thick blades
Bad grinds
Dull edges
Gaps
Poor communication
A "gaudy" look to the knife
Damascus (with rare exceptions)

It's far more difficult to explain what leads me to buy a knife (especially in the price range you're talking about).

At that price chances are excellent that I won't actually use the knife: so it has to be a work of art. It must speak to me in some fashion, but it cannot be some gaudy trinket. I like simplistic beauty - flowing lines of perfection. I am drawn to wood handles that remind me of fine furniture - warm and inviting to the touch. I like the contrast of cold steel and warm woods. Done right that combination is almost impossible for me to pass up.

But that's me - and my tastes are quite different. So much so that many of the knives that seem to sell very well, wouldn't sell at all if every would-be customer was just like me.

I think Coop gave the best advice. Follow that and I'm certain you will have many very happy customers.
 
My turn-off list:

Brass: just personally don't care for it on knives.
A miss on "detailing": I am a car and motorcycle enthusiast also...others who fall into this category understand what I mean. It's the difference between "nice" and "great".
Dyed natural handle materials (not including amber stag and nature infused color in ivory!)
Hot spots in handles
 
Keeping it simple here, major turnoffs are:

1) NO knives that look like your typical Bowie (ruling out lotsa knives)

2) No brass

3) No Damascus (a very limited number of exceptions here)

4) Almost forgot, I don't care for sheephorn handles, either
 
Last edited:
I dont like pretentious art knives that look like they could only be worn by the King of England on his coronation day.
David
 
Last edited:
how bout if it were the Queen of England?
 
Stay on topic gentlemen... thank you
In a week or so we should do a tally of the most frequent Turn-Offs
Believe this will be helpful to many makers new and established Hardest thing to get is Candor sometimes
Turning out to be a great thread
 
bad handles -hot spots and or just silly.
bad sheaths - I think it is better not to include a sheath then sell a poorly made/uncomfortable sheath.
way to thick edges - busse style
scandi grinds - period.
serrations - unless very well done.
no flow.
strange for the sake of being strange.
 
One of the things I don't like to see is "marketing". We've all seen the tables of T shirts, hats, and toys but no knives. I like the extra stuff, but too many times the marketing trinkets show more thought and effort than the knives. Get your grinds, handles, and sheaths done right, then work on the branding.
 
Well, to me form follows function.
What I don't like in a custom folder?
Here's what was wrong with my latest purchase:

Heavy handle, makes for a less usable knife in actual use.
Blade crashing into the metal inside when closed, leaves for a very dull knife very fast...
Blade play while the edge rides on Damascus inside the knife adds to that.
Poor fit and finish on the scales.
Excessive etching, a clean bevel unobtainable untill half the blade stock is gone..
No washer or bearing on the pivot, I cringe every time I open the disaster of a knife.
So does those within 10 yards, the grinding noise is awful.
Uneven grind.
File work that has small burrs and grades, it sticks to fabric when pocketing the darn thing.
Pivot loosens after about every 4 openings, the knife needs to be disassembled to be re-tightened..

I was sceptical to the custom hype before this purchase, it has not improved after.
At well into 4 digits price wise, art is NOT the word that comes to my mind when thinking customs..
 
I am no expert. There are quite a few things that bug me.

Dyed wood in bright, glaring colors. I don't like green/blue/purple/red burl wood. I don't mind a wood that may be darkened or colored with natural colors. (If I look at a nice burl, and can't tell it has been colored, I am ok). Some exceptions here for Bone. On a traditional knife, a brightly colored bone is often eye pleasing. Red, Yellow, Orange, etc, bone can be fine ( I usually avoid blue bone for some reason?).

I have come around to naturally colored Mammoth, however. The bright blues etc used to be distracting to me, but after exposure, I now like the natural colors.

I don't like broom handle knives. I don't like square handles (I make exceptions for certain designs like coffin handled bowies, or dog bone handles, but they still need some contouring).

The primary grind/edge has to be even and I don't like a wide edge bevel. By that I mean, I don't like looking at knives that are left too thick behind the edge. Very often, the edge is the thing that looks out of place on an otherwise good looking knife. If it looks to me that there is too much meat behind an edge it is a deal breaker. I will make allowances for heavy choppers, that will experience impact and torsion while chopping. They need to be stout enough to survive, but even with these styles, they are often too thick behind the edge.


Gaps. No gaps in handle material, liners, guards, etc, etc. It just looks sloppy. This is true for folders and fixed blades.

Smooth pivots, no slop and no rub, and no edge smacking the innards when closed.

For slip joints, a strong spring. No soft weak pulls. No wiggle open or closed, and no spring smack. No gaps anywhere.
 
Great points Mr Big... no one else has touched on folders here?
Birnando you really have peaked my interest in trying to guess who the Folder maker is>>>
 
Hankins said:
Great points Mr Big... no one else has touched on folders here?
Birnando you really have peaked my interest in trying to guess who the Folder maker is>>>
Click to expand...

My post was not an attack on the maker, that's the reason I did not name him.
It simply ticked most of the boxes for me on what I'd hope not to see in a custom..
Any knife I buy will be put to good use, be it a folder, fixed blade, kitchen knife or straight razor.
At that, this particular specimen failed miserably.
Who knows, it could very well make a stellar safe-queen to someone so inclined;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top