What Style Of Knives?

JK Knives

JK Knives

Moderator
Joined
Mar 6, 2001
Messages
28,225
What style of knives do you guys want to see in 2009? I`m planning on dropping some of my current line due to little or no interest. The Scout, EWOK, Budget Hunters, Tin Knife, and possibly some others will be gone. I just thought I would get some input from all of you here on what you think would be some usefull designs. You guys seem to get out and use your knives a lot, so I need your help and advice.
 
the main ones that id like to see you keep are: the budget models with the oak handles, the pocket fixed blades, your regular 4-5'' fixed blades with the kephart, bushcrafter or hiker blade styles and the baby kephart.

a scandi type of blade would be cool if you are looking for a new design.
 
Last edited:
I like this forum but Im not really the survivalist type. Im more of an outdoor enthusist. Fishing, hiking , camping, canoeing...A thin knife with a 4 inch blade would be to my liking. I like the look of your hiker. An Osage handle would be sweet.
 
it's a shame to see the EWOK go that the best small knife in its class IMO...

.I'd like to see a large knife witha 7-8 inch kephart or bowies style clip blade with a full choil so you could choke up for whittling,..a bulbous pommell so you could grip the very end for chopping and still have a secure grip, and an exposed tang for hammering with a lanyard hole, also some thumb jimpng on the lower spine, and a sheath witha leg tiedown, and a pocket on the front.
 
While I haven't held any of your knives before, the ones that draw my interest are the Bushcraft and the Hiker. I think those and your keppy are classic designs that most folks could imagine using.

That said, your little knives are really cool as well. I'd love to try a Baby Kephart one day.

Why are you scaling back or ending certain models? How many do you make ahead of time on spec?
 
Whoa. Hold on kemosabe, RR is letting me play with his EWOK and it hasn't come yet. I might have to get one. We will know soon.
 
Personally, I'd like to see something with a 4" handle and a sub-3" (closer to 2.5" to be honest) blade. Around 1" to 1.25 in height.

The only example I can think of right now is the Landi PSK. I'm just mentioning it as a reference point. Something like it with a more classic/JK handle shape.
 
i am a fan of small to medium sized fixed blades.. i think that you have a fines selection to choose from, that definately fit in that category... i wouldn't mind seeing a few more knives in the 3-5 in. range..

i also don't think that you should do away with The Scout, EWOK, Budget Hunters and Tin Knife... instead keep them in your line as options...:thumbup: i'm sure that folks will still want them... this is hard economic time's we're living in... people are holding back on spending for sure...
 
Last edited:
PB Wilson said:
Why are you scaling back or ending certain models? How many do you make ahead of time on spec?
Click to expand...

I`ve learned the hard way not to make much ahead of time. The models I`m ending have had very little interest, only 1 or 2 even sold.
 
The main advantage that you knifemakers as independents have is that you don't really have to produce 'models' of knives. If a knife you are making should happen to be a hit then keep producing it. On the other hand, if the odd experiments aren't fully working out then set those projects aside.

Basically, as much as we admit it, we are a bit of a fickle group and our tastes change with the direction of the wind. Last year the Nessy's were hot as hell, then this year you did incredibly well with your Kepharts and the smaller versions of the kephy. I think you just have to stay flexible with the market trend.

Hollowdweller made a strong case for the year of the full tang scandi bushcrafter. That still seems to be a market with relatively few folks making. Couple your existing bushcrafter blade with a scandi grind and you probably couldn't keep them in stock. Imagine some of your smaller pocket knives with a scandi? Then all of a sudden, people will get tired of scandi's. But now you will have experience with all of the different grinds and be able to pump out what the market wants.

I don't know what the best marketting strategy is. That seems to be the difficult nut to crack. Everybody seems to have a different model. Bryan is mostly an order by e-mail guy. He never offer's one off blades in the for sale area. Koyote uses a mixture of the two, although I think he has shifted more towards orders. Andy doesn't even take orders, he creates market demand via lack of availablility and then offers a bunch up all at once.
 
Actually John,

I think you should put up one of these kit knives up for a passaround. A bunch of people seem to be freightened away by the short handle. I don't think they realize how comfortable and secure a properly executed three finger grip can be. Plus once you put this thing in your pocket, it is difficult to understand why anybody would want a folder - unless of course you want a 4" blade and still keep it for pocket carry.

DSC_0002-1-6.jpg
 
kgd said:
Actually John,

I think you should put up one of these kit knives up for a passaround. A bunch of people seem to be freightened away by the short handle. I don't think they realize how comfortable and secure a properly executed three finger grip can be. Plus once you put this thing in your pocket, it is difficult to understand why anybody would want a folder - unless of course you want a 4" blade and still keep it for pocket carry.

DSC_0002-1-6.jpg
Click to expand...

That`s a good thought, plus I have some thin slabs of white corian that would be sweet on one of those.
 
Stomper said:
That`s a good thought, plus I have some thin slabs of white corian that would be sweet on one of those.
Click to expand...


I love Corian on knives. Nick (NWA) did a few when he first got into knife making that I thought were gorgeous. It has its drawbacks like being more brittle than G10 or wood, and it scratches easily but I like it.
 
A mid-length scandi with a decent-sized handle would be great. And how about something unusual, like a small wharncliffe designed for the outdoors / bushcraft market? Maybe a thin 'bird and trout' model?

Lots of possibilities. I really like your knives Stomper, and - economy willing - I'll be purchasing a few this year.

All the best,

- Mike
 
John --

Sent you an e-mail about that EWOK we talked about. Don't drop it from the line up quite yet. :D
 
Any chance of kydex for the neck knives?

Also, I like your Hiker, Bushcrafter and camp blades(not the only ones, these are just at the top of the list). Don't kick those out just yet.
 
Last edited:
I love that kit knife. I also hope you never stop making the keychain knife. I need a couple of those the minute I can buy some!!!
 
Something else. I've been thinking about all of the different heritages of all of the different makers. I would like to get a custom sgian dubh, a Polish shamshir type knife, and an American Indian style stone knife (Blackfoot preferably). However, I'd like to see makers interpretations of the blades of their heritage. Profitability is of course an issue, but something I'd like to see.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top