What's in a name (joining the club)

artificialj

artificialj

Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Messages
153
I know, we get a lot of these threads. Sorry to add another.

So I'm having a lot of trouble with figuring out what to do about my name, in terms of signing my knives and building a business as a craftsman. I have one of the top 25 first-last combinations in the US, with a 1st place first name, and 8th place last name (if the internet is to be trusted). I've always hated having such a common name, and in previous lines of work (as an artist, and other creative sole authorship endeavors) I have used my middle name, which is awesome and unique.

Unfortunately, my middle name happens to be the last name of one of the most well known knifemakers in recent history (arguably the most well known). I'm probably never going to be as well known as him (the truth hurts). I'm just starting out, and do not need people to instantly compare me with him (as his work was great). I don't want to seem like a foreign knockoff of his well developed name (like Nikey shoes, or the McDowell Golden Arc's). I'm not even sure it's appropriate to use MY OWN middle name.

I've been struggling with this for a while, and something about Rick's reply to Battle Creek's thread made me realize that I need advice on what to do:

Rick Marchand said:
I regret starting off as Wildertools from the get-go. Wildertools isn't a person, it's a company and I have found that folks like dealing with people.... especially when it comes to custom goods. They are not buying a knife, they are buying a piece of you... like a hockey card. You can buy good knives anywhere... you want them to need a knife made by YOU. It took some major internet presense to establish my name as a maker. It would have been much better to start off as Rick Marchand.... then whatever I put my name to would carry my reputation(as small as it is... lol). In the end, you just need to be easily identifiable and accessible. When you shake someone's hand at a show and say "I'm Rob Carpenter" you want them to say "Oh... Battle Creek Knives!". Your name is just as important as your company.
Click to expand...

Any advice?

Thanks,
James Loveless Wilson
 
So your name is statistically common in the U.S. How many James Wilson knife makers are there?
 
Kinda in the same boat as Rick, with a twist. I have been building Sunshadow as a brand since I went into business as a photographer (Sunshadow Photography) when I was 14 (30 plus years ago) so if I step away from it now I lose 30 years of equity, however Page is a much easier stamp to make, and I have signed things as simply Page since a girlfriend convinced me to use my middle name as a stage name when I was 17. Hmmmmmmm

-Page
 
you could always use a symbol instead of your name or initails. or combine the two. have a symbol with your initails under it or something.
 
If you make great knives the name is unimportant. Don Hanson is pretty generic but there is no mistaking his work. [I just picked Don's name out of a hat filled with hundreds of examples.]

Fred
 
I have a very uncommon name, but the downside to that is that it's long and people can't spell or pronounce it. Having a common name isn't all bad :)

I think using your middle inital makes sense if you want to differentiate yourself from others of the same name but feel uncomfortable using your full middle name. Like others said, if you make quality knives people will learn who you are and won't confuse you with anyone else. Good luck!
 
I would stamp my blades with "J. L. Wilson" if I were you.

If you were concerned about your name being common and another James Wilson knifemaker might come along, the chances of that person's middle initial being 'L.' is pretty unlikely.

Just my two cents.

I do think it makes sense to have your blades stamped with your name so they are instantly tied to you.

Some have had great success with just a symbol though.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, I guess I might be being overly harsh towards my name. Just have a long history of getting lost in the shuffle with it (e.g. in college, there were 7 of us at the same time, and we all got screwed on work study money; also, I have never been given an email address (based on name) that didn't end in some numbers).

So maybe J L Wilson then.
 
Fred.Rowe said:
If you make great knives the name is unimportant. Don Hanson is pretty generic but there is no mistaking his work. [I just picked Don's name out of a hat filled with hundreds of examples.]

Fred
Click to expand...

James, I am in the process of redesigning my maker mark and name. As Fred has sugested Don Hanson is pretty well know, but his website is sunfishforge.com. Maybe there is some geographical feature (Miami Valley Forge) or a scientific name that you could include in your company name. I am in agreement with the others that you should stamp your last name on your work.
 
I ran into a similar thing, my names are fairly common, and of course I was able to find knife makers named George Mason and Stanley Mason, but I never found a SG Mason so thats what I went with, and to separate my self from the other to similar named knife makers I put a maple leaf in my makers mark, they were both US citizens.
 
How about "Not on House Knives"? That's the only James Wilson I can think of. Could be worse, your last name could be Brown.

Yeah, I like "J L Wilson", it should balance nicely on a ricasso.
 
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