What Would It Be Called Today?

so far we got $7 for the steel, $5 for the walnut, $1 for the G10
abrasives will be minimal - say 10$ - im planning on slack belt grinding the bevels to a wire edge and then just cleaning it up on a stone.
switched the steel to .040 26c3 since i can heat treat and STRAIGHTEN it easier.
gonna use jb weld hi temp - figure $3 - i think i can knock this out fairly quick but only b/c of my comfort level on my equipment -and that has become a significant invenstment.
https://imgur.com/a/GAntWTJ
 
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Hey all,

i got kinda into this question by DanF "Can a simple knife be made today for less than a hundred dollars?"

Im the type that nerds out on these little challenges. I think its a worthwhile endeavor.
This type of format will challenge us makers to be as efficient as possible.

Heres the details on my entry. I'd love to hear more from everyone else. Either your own specs/process on a "$100 dollar knife" or comments and criticism.
I will try to be detailed on my process so that you guys might see obvious areas to improve. Feel free to ask me to elaborate though if anything seems outa wack.

I made 3 of these as a batch - I only finished 1 so far.

RECIPE:
Profile , chamfer, prepare for heatreat. mins. Tools used - portaband , northridge grinder. Time 20 mins. (3 blades)
Preheat oven to 1480. Time 60 mins. Tools used: Evenheat Kiln
While oven is heat treating, prep handles. nat. Walnut , western shape. Tang holes drilled 1/16" pilot, 1/4" drill 3" deep. 10 mins/handle
Austenized 3 blades @1480 for 10 mins, quenched parks 50 and plate quenced rest of way - less than a minute from parks to plate quench - rc65 file skating.
Temper at 350 2 hours .
surface grind on platen using magnet 60 grit VSM - add distal taper 120 grit VSM- debure choil and spine 120 grit scallop- 20 mins per blade.
rough grind (slack belt bevels) - 60 grit VSM - 120 grit VSM - a160 gator - 400 grit cubitron - fine scotchbrite - 10 mins per blade
mount handle 10 mins. shape handle 10 mins. epoxy handle 10 mins. per blade
finsal polish and sharpening/ quality control - 20 mins. per blade.

The style of knife I chose is a 26C3 carbon steel @ .040" thickness. I wanted to really cut down on grinding bevels time and experiement with flexible blades.

I think 26C3 is relatively easy to process and inexpensive as well. Awesome bang for the buck knife steel.

I chose my 6-1/2" petty chef blade length. I've made alot of these and I think it gives me the best utility vs processing speed.

I used natural walnut for the handle - it looks and functions good, i had it already, and its fast to work.

I am calling this the "Naked Feather" Its naked carbon steel ready for a patina and it weighs just under 50 grams. The balance point is @ the makers mark.

In my testing it cuts really nice - the slack belt grinding gives you an arc over the entire blade face - flat grind would be too "sticky" for a kitchen knife.

It is limited to lighter tasks and ingredients. This aint the one to break down that squash or bang through a bunch of carrots. It slices and dices regular "one meal" sized portions of almost everything just fine.

So yeah! the Naked Feather - first one is available in the exchange.

business-wise this is what it looks like:
material costs (inlude inbound shipping)= $32
shop rate $69 per hour @ 90 mins= $104 (working out of my house in the Bay state - this is sustainable)
Looks like I can offer this knife @ 136$ plus shipping.

Any knifemaker can do this and we will all have different results based on our skills. Collectors and users get some pretty aproachable prices and us makers stay challenged and engaged.

Let me know what you gus think and if anyone else wants to follow the format MAYBE we can start a whole new collectible genre right here based out of blade forums shoptalk.
 
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timos-

Thread 'Reduced. Petty Chef " naked feather " series'

Hello,

I have a new style (for me) knife here. this is my 6.5" blade length petty chef.
The steel stock thickness is only .04" (flexible filet knife type of thickness). I have been wanting to try some more knives and tules using this steel. so far so good!

1.5" wide blade 6.5" long x .04" thick
Swedish 26C3 steel hardened to about RC63-64
Natural walnut western shape handle - affixed with 500 deg.F JB weld epoxy.

price is reduced to $100 plus shipping.
this is 01 of a batch of 3. you may lay claim to 02 and 03 of this series if you like. It may take about a week to get...
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If I adjust my shop rate to $45/hr i can sell it for $100.
Everyone has to calculate their own rate based on their unique situation, blah blah blah, etc.
Now at this point I can choose to pay myself a portion of that which would be reported as additional income on my taxes.
I am curious how others handle that aspect of their business? Does my method sound abour right?
 
@timos—how did this work out for you (profit-wise and length of time to sell)?
I’m still calculating my costs by averaging them out over a 25 knife batch with varied materials, styles, and appointments. It is not pretty.

Almost 30 years ago the guy who helped me out getting started was selling every-day users (quick and dirty), for around $80 in the 1995-ish time period. He was a known maker.
Same knife today counting inflation, SHOULD sell for over $160 (not counting an increase in reputation of a maker).
There are some very nice knives being offered today (bolsters, stag handles/scales etc), barely fetching $150.
It’s a tough nut. Instead of thinking downward, and targeting a demographic of entry level, basic daily users it’s time (for me) to change my thought process.
 
the profit is ok - im glad to be getting my knives into the hands of people who will actually use them. The big surprise for me was how well the 1mm thick stock actually works. Its too limited for professional everyday use but for basic kitchen stuff - its an improvement over commercial stuff. I had to drop the AEBL offering though - way too costly on the heat treat/straightening aspect.
It has been fun to streamline my process and put some of my "discoveries" to use. the real irony though is 2014 to about 2018 i had an easier time selling in that $160 to $200 range than i do now! even though my quality has 10Xd :)

These are super basic knives though - the steel is about $2.50 ea. - handles are $2.00 ea. - my abrasives cost probably about $4 ea. - 400 grit belt finishes. i think i got my time on task down to around an hour per knife.

I guess, its working for me b/c i am enjoying it - i suppose it will get old though - ive done around 20 of em since beginning october.
 
DeadPineKnives said:
Trust me, I've been there. When I first started making knives I was disgusted by the price of handmade knives and wanted to offer them at a "fair" price... I quickly learned that what some people think of as "fair" really means "fair to me but not to you" and that I was running myself into the ground.

And if anyone ever says your knives are a "good price", you aren't charging enough.

Value yourself, and don't feel sorry for people who don't understand the value of your work.
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I think that trying to compete with factory knives prices comes from not being able to find your audience.

My favorites are the guys that tell you that you should charge more but don't buy anything at the prices you have.
 
On this note. Starting 1 January, I will have to raise my prices (slightly) due to an increase in material and service costs. I have resisted doing this for years, but now that this is full time, no choice. Anyone who has an order in before then, their cost will not increase.
 
i have found that raising prices to keep pace with inflation isnt enough. the "innovate or stagnate" mantra is equally important. Seeking out ways to lower costs (especially labor) has led to better margins for me.
things like cerakote on high wear carbon steels - can make a 120 grit finish look damn good and cost you alot less, offering a sharpening service through some local farm stands (who handle pickups and drop offs for you),
- another one was simply picking up free or low cost machines and setting them up for dedicated operations - has saved a ton of time in the shop. There is alot of things can be done to lower our costs - especially if you find sales dropping off with higher prices.
 
dfarm said:
I think that trying to compete with factory knives prices comes from not being able to find your audience.

My favorites are the guys that tell you that you should charge more but don't buy anything at the prices you have.
Click to expand...

When someone tell me I have good prices, I can't help but take it as a condescending insult
 
DeadPineKnives said:
When someone tell me I have good prices, I can't help but take it as a condescending insult
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I had a table at a gun show over the weekend. Two people told me that my prices were too low, neither of them bought a knife. They didn't seem insulting, more like they understood what goes into making a knife. I actually overheard one of them talking positively about my knives to another vendor when I was walking by.
 
dfarm said:
I had a table at a gun show over the weekend. Two people told me that my prices were too low, neither of them bought a knife. They didn't seem insulting, more like they understood what goes into making a knife. I actually overheard one of them talking positively about my knives to another vendor when I was walking by.
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Yet they still didn't buy anything... People at gun shows are weird
 
DeadPineKnives said:
Yet they still didn't buy anything... People at gun shows are weird
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You can say that again. Lol

The last show I went to I had a forged 8" chopper on the table and a guy came and checked it out 3 or 4 times and barely talked. One time he just stared at it for what seemed like 5 straight minutes and only responded to me in single word replies.

He also didn't buy it. Lol

It's still fun to put your work out for anyone to see and get to chat with people about knives. I have another one right before Christmas.
 
One show I had 6 paring knives on the table, all different handle materials. One guy picked up every one of them four times each. 30 minutes before closing he came back, picked one up and said "These are F-n awesome". Then he put it down and left!
 
I suspect they wanted a reduced price, but did not want to mention that, maybe?
And then again, some people are just weird.
 
Tom Black went to an art show to sell knives. On his table he had a fully engraved dagger.

A guy asked to look at it and then asked “how much “ Tom said 25, meaning $2500.

The guy went and got his best friend to look at the piece.

Then he went and got his girlfriend to look at it.

Then he went and got his mother to look at the knife.

The guy then asked if it came with a sheath, Tom said yes and showed him the fancy sheath.

After consulting with the group he decided to buy the knife and then wrote a check for $25.

Of course Tom was offended. Even weirder was the fact that a grown man needed to ask his mom, girlfriend and best friend over a small $25 purchase.

Hoss
 
dfarm said:
You can say that again. Lol

The last show I went to I had a forged 8" chopper on the table and a guy came and checked it out 3 or 4 times and barely talked. One time he just stared at it for what seemed like 5 straight minutes and only responded to me in single word replies.

He also didn't buy it. Lol

It's still fun to put your work out for anyone to see and get to chat with people about knives. I have another one right before Christmas.
Click to expand...

What can you really expect from the same people who want $1000 for an SKS with a plastic Bubba stock?
 
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