When are your knives good enough to sell?

J

justintyme

Joined
Oct 9, 2009
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167
Ive been making knives part time for a about 3 years and in that time ive made a quite a few knives. Enough so that i have proven patterns and received alot of feedback. However ive never sold a knife and my reasoning behind this is that i want to make a knife that i know you can put your faith in before i charge you your hard earned money for it. Every knife ive made that ive tested and thought was promising i gave to someone to continue using and testing with the request that they give me feedback. I understand peoples ambition to jump right in to full-time knife making and then they depend on the money but ive always felt you better serve yourself and your potential customers by studying and practicing the craft before you put a product out there with a price tag.
This is just my own philosophy on this and not meant to discourage or put down anyone thats done otherwise. Please post any thoughts on the subject?
 
When people buy your knives. Then you are good enough to sell. It really is that simple.
I sold the 3rd knife I ever made, Sept 08. I have sold every knife after that. I quit my Job Dec '08 to make knives full time and I am still making knives little over year later. I now make integrals knives, some of the hardest knives to make. I did that before my first anniversary as a knifemaker.


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it comes down to what kind of reputation you want.

many people's aspiration as a knifemaker is pursue perfection in their art, and to produce fine art pieces. some of these people will not allow an imperfection out of the shop and into the hands of a customer who will have influence over their reputation for a lifetime.

some people will sell any sharpened metal stick [after a manner of speaking] that they can get somebody else to buy.

i fall somewhere between the two. i've not made a great number of knives, and it seems that every knife i make teaches me something i won't try again, but if the blade is suitable for the job it is intended for, there are no major flaws, it is at least a tool. i would not be ashamed to use it, and i would not be ashamed to have another person do the same. i'm not afraid of a rough and rugged finish, though i will always keep learning to improve the aesthetics as well as gain better control of my heat treatment.

some people would caution me not to sell such knives, and some people tell me 'man, you're the only one who even notices those flaws'. i know that both of those positions fall short of realistic.

a few of my bows are ugly as sin too, but i'd hunt with any of them, and i'm not out there asking $500-1,000 for them either.
 
This is a decision that will profoundly affect how your customers see you if and when you ever do move to professional level. A hobbyist can make mediocre knives all day, this is nothing unusual. If you start a business making and selling mediocre knives, you will establish a reputation that may follow you forever. As long as you realize this in making the decision, then there is no wrong decision, only consequences. You have to satisfy yourself that you can satisfy your customers.
 
When you have happy customers, a repeat customer base, and you're not fixing
or redoing every knife you sell- these couple of things will sort things out in a hurry.
Ken.
 
You have to ask youself with as little bias as possible if you would pay decent money for your own knives. I have been making knives for over two years and have only sold one or two and they have been knives Ive made for myself and ended up being offerd money for them. Im still not confident enough to make a knife from a clients drawing. I would however sell my knives now without fear or too much negative feedback. I think thats the main thing, if you have any worries about bad feedback then you shouldnt sell them.

Jamie
 
When you're willing to put your name on it, and people are willing to buy it. If you wont stand behind your product, then dont put it out there. I dont sell knives, because quite frankly I dont kow waht im doing as well as I should IMO to put them out on the market. I will however, stand behind them IF I do later on. Ive been fixing guns for years, and I stand behind my work, but I dont advertise it.. people just call here or reccomend me. Ive only ever had one come back to me, and I fixed it the second time free of charge. He left happy and came back later with more buis. Happy customers become repeat cutomers, and advertise word of mouth for you. An unsatisfied one will do the same thing and you'll lose buis because of them. Granted not all of them give you a chance to make it right either.

This is the best I can tell you. But, I havent put myself out there as a buisness man as much of some of the other guys here. They can tell you much much more about how poeple act.
 
montana guy said:
I would not sell one til I know what the hell I am doing in each and every single step.
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I would go a little further than just knowing what I am doing. You also have to satisfied with the results you are getting. As canid said this can vary a lot from one maker to another.

I'd say the step that is crucial to get right before selling is heat treat.
 
Patrice Lemée;7974979 said:
I would go a little further than just knowing what I am doing. You also have to satisfied with the results you are getting. As canid said this can vary a lot from one maker to another.

I'd say the step that is crucial to get right before selling is heat treat.
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Agreed, I would have to look at it and be able to think yea this one is art and its done right. If I was not totally pleased with the end result I would not sell it. I had an offer from a guy here in town on my 1st knife, said he loved the way it looked. But there are way to many things I am not sure of with it, like if it holds an edge for more than 10 minutes of use (seems to so far, have not sharpened it yet, cut several things with it too, but...). Being my 1st knife also I do not think I can part with it, if I sold it for $1000 I'd still only be making like $2-2.50 an hour for my time into it.
 
I agree with much that has been said so far.
I think another aspect is the idea of an "implied warranty". To me this is the idea that a product should "do what it is supposed to do".

A custom/handmade should cut well, hold a decent edge and be built in a way that it won't fall apart.

Also will echo others here and say that when a maker is really ready to put a name on thier knives and then deal with problems in an honorable way, they are probably ready.

The handmade/custom knife is such a personal tool/experience for both the maker and user, that I feel that "putting it out there" is seious business.
 
If the knife is of a quality that I would use or buy myself, then it's good to go for the customers. When the customers like them, then the knives sell themselves.
 
Even the first knife that I ever made (a double edged boot knife) was good enough apparently for someone to want to steal it from me.:grumpy: And I never even got to take a picture of it....:grumpy::grumpy: I agree that if a knife looks like something that even I myself would buy, then I have no problem selling it.
 
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