When to put your name on it ???

M

mudmarshal

Joined
Mar 28, 2001
Messages
40
I'd like to pose an ethical question if I may.
How much of a knife does a person have to manufactor before he can say he made that knife and stamp his mark in it?
I have been "playing" in knife making for several years, but have just recently gone as far as producing something sellable. To generate some income for equipment I have been buying blanks from knife suppliers and finishing them out with guards, handles, and/or sheaths and selling them. The blade blanks come tempered and,for the most part, finished. I'll usually buff them a little better or sometimes may change the guard or finger grove to suit me. I have had pretty good luck selling them for usually twice the investiment. Most have turned out right nice.
Several of the buyers have mentioned why I have not put my mark on them or numbered these knives. I usually reply that I haven't been able to afford that "toy" yet.
Soon, I hope, I will be turning out knives I hollow grind myself. I have flat ground and sold a few.
What I recon I'm asking is when can you call a "made" knife "yours"????
I don't want to do anything that is not generally accepted in the knife making arena.
 
You will get a lot of criticism for putting your name on someone else's blade, mainly from people who do not make knives.

A point of fact, making the blade usually takes less than 20% of the total time of making a complete knife with a guard or bolsters. Finishing the blade and handle is the difficult time consuming part.

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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
Hey Mud,

You might want to check the Knifemakers Guild guidelines.

George is right. Most of the people who will tell you that what you want to do is not a custom knife. Are those who do not make custom knives.

They are just the ones who buy them.



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Les Robertson
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
 
If you are going to put your name on this type of knife make sure that everyone knows that you did the finishing and handle only. Take credit proudly for the work that you have done and give credit for the blade to the person who made it. It is not much different than other collaborations we see on the market. Some organizations insist that the person showing knives at their shows grind their own blades, do your homework and avoid these shows until you make your own blades.

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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
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