Where can I find an asian company to produce blanks?

W

wahooone

Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
5
The title says it, I have been searching for hours looking for a link to a company that will laser cut custom fixed blade kerambit blanks out of 440 stainless at the lowest cost. I will be putting the design into CAD to send away to them. I want to make a no bs kerambit and sell it through my own site.

I have already found www.anjiang-cutlery.com it is the only company I found so far and I have no idea what im looking at in cost per blank going through an asian company.

Does anyone know anyplace outside the us that manufactures blanks at a low low cost? any links or advice would be appreciated.

I would be willing to pay $3 and up to 10$ per blank.
 
Hi Wahooone,

Welcome to the Bladeforums.

I realise that you are asking for Asian companies, but there are very many good companies in the US that can laser cut blanks and the cost will probably be lower than shipping the steel to the Orient and shipping it back.

Any Asian companies that I know of (probably 50+) will have higher minimum quantities and will not be much less expensive for laser cutting, if at all.

Unless you are just opposed to US laser companies, you are, in my opinion, better off cutting them here.

sal
 
I know I could find some good answers here, I called dave at great lakes.. and he wanted 16$ per knife out of 1080 steel not even stainless, so Im assuming a different steel will cost much more. I would buy within the us and depending on the price I may just order a hundred or more. 16+ is too much, and thats not even with grinding, and thats just 1 blank.

I dont think cutting blanks is too hard, but Im hoping to keep the cost extremely low so I can sell these knives at 30 or 40 dollars (more or less depending on how much it costs me).

I want to design a superior kerambit that is hundreds less than the competition and made of a better steel, I'm also planning on paracord wrapping the handles to save on cost to the consumer, and adding a custom kydex sheath with a small tek lock for an extra cost. I will be giving the customer the option to buy just the knife or the knife and sheath.

I'm really hoping this project goes well, and I have a few other unique and practical designs in mind for the future as well.

Thanks! Im going to be checking back in a few days.:thumbup:
 
wahooone said:
I know I could find some good answers here, I called dave at great lakes.. and he wanted 16$ per knife out of 1080 steel not even stainless, so Im assuming a different steel will cost much more. I would buy within the us and depending on the price I may just order a hundred or more. 16+ is too much, and thats not even with grinding, and thats just 1 blank.

I dont think cutting blanks is too hard, but Im hoping to keep the cost extremely low so I can sell these knives at 30 or 40 dollars (more or less depending on how much it costs me).

I want to design a superior kerambit that is hundreds less than the competition and made of a better steel, I'm also planning on paracord wrapping the handles to save on cost to the consumer, and adding a custom kydex sheath with a small tek lock for an extra cost. I will be giving the customer the option to buy just the knife or the knife and sheath.

I'm really hoping this project goes well, and I have a few other unique and practical designs in mind for the future as well.

Thanks! Im going to be checking back in a few days.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, was Dave's price just for running one blade or was it the cost per blade to cut 100 of them? Because of programming and setup costs, it is much cheaper to run a bunch than just to run one.

I suggest figuring out how much it would cost to produce the prototype, then compute a separate cost for a production run of a set number of knives. This will allow you to make a reasonable cost projection of how much you will have to sell the knives for in order to make a profit.

Remember, spreadsheets are our friends when we start out a project. They let you put different costs in different buckets.

They used to be known as The Thomas Guide when we all used printed catalogs. Now on the web they are ThomasNet. Always been a good source for finding materials and processors.

http://www.thomasnet.com/products/laser-cutting-services-metal-43277151-1.html
 
It would also help to fill out your profile so that people can know what area you are from. 50 - 100 lbs of blades can add up quickly when shipping as well as the plate of steel that you will be sending to the cutter. At your price point, it looks as though you will not have a distribution network.
BB
 
you should really keep it domestic. If you don't support local businesses, sooner or later they won't be around at all.
 
Material cost is probably the significant portion of the blank cost. You should ask for quotes that itemize the material and the cutting service. A waterjet will cut any steel in a given thickness at the same rate. A laser will cut stainless faster than carbon steel because the nickel assists the cut. So a laser quote for 440 should be somewhat cheaper than 10XX in the same design (cutting service only).

You could certainly get blanks cut for $10 or less in the US if you used 10XX steel.

Try rfqwork.com

90% of laser/WJ shops are pretty clueless when it comes to blade steel. Most of them will simply price 440 out of McMaster Carr. You may want to provide the material yourself. Getting an itemized quote will let you make that decision.

The first thing you want to do is generate a dxf or dwg file of your design. That will greatly speed up the quoting process.

If you go foreign, get ready to pay customs fees. I imported 25 little DC motors from Taiwan; shipping was $50, customs was $200, merchandise was $600. Plus you won't be able to get a straight answer from anyone as to what exactly the charges will be.
 
When someone talks about 440 stainless, it is generally 440A. This is not something I-or most others here-associate with custom knives. From the rest of your description, it sounds more like you are talking about making mass produced cheap knock offs to undersell real knifemakers.

Perhaps if you were to fill out your profile and tell us more about ypourself and what you want to do, you might get a better reception. Cheap knockoff manufacturers are a sore point with many real custom knifemakers.
 
I don't believe you will be able to make a good Kerabit for anything near $40. That's a dream in my opinion just as expecting to have the steel supplied and cut out for much less than $16. Most companies WANT your business but do know what it will cost them . The overseas sppliers might be able to cut something out of a tin alloy for you, however. Now you are getting to know what it does cost to produce in volume. Just my opinions . I hate hearing how others even having been in business for years, are out to get every one with there pricing but one knew guy is going to show them how he can do it almost for free. Frank
 
I spend my money where I make it. That's all that needs to be said.
Jon"Petie"Ross
 
I agree with Petie --- I'm not a maker but, I wouldn't ever buy a knife from anyone who sidesteped our own makers so that they and asians could profit over our American makers ! Keep our own makers busy I say ............
 
You asking this question here makes me wonder just how serious you are.

And I wholeheartedly agree with Ken and Jon.

Patrice
 
I work with American and Chinese companies for different things, and I think most moral arguments for using one over the other is frequently overly simplistic.

A 4X8 sheet of American 1095 HRPO isn't expensive, probably $200-$300 and you might could get 200-300 blanks out of it. The total cost per finished tumbled blank would be in the $2-$4 range. I use local shops for laser and waterjet and receive worldclass quality, pricing and delivery.

American blade blanks, in volume, wouldn't be expensive. This is still an area where American industry is highly competitive, it would be foolish to try to import equal value.

Decent grinds and HT, are expensive. But I would not trust China to do either correctly on a quality knife. Though I would trust China to overmold a plastic handle onto a finished blade. Probably about $1.50 each plus tooling which would be around $5,000. Double both of those numbers to have it done here for similar quality.

BTW, making a few hundred of anything is still way below the threshold of "mass producing" a product. This is called short run manufacturing.
 
The costs of waterjet and laser are two different things. Laser is way faster and will be cheaper, just not the same quality. If you are planning on having everything machined for you on CNC, then laser would be the way to go. I have a bout 15 laser shops around me that are starving so I would imagine it would be cheap. Call Halpern Titanium and get a quote for laser from Malerie. I'm a small, one man, AMERICAN specialty shop. Its businesses like mine that struggle day to day to keep the doors open because a job gets out sourced to China just to be cheap! Thats why this country is in the piss poor shape its in. If we don't support our American business, we will be out of business. You said my price was too much and thats fine. Just do me a favor and use an American company to help you. If you need a list of companies, just let me know. :grumpy:
 
This question really strikes a nerve....

If I ever have a production design done, I will not go over seas!
It will be completely and proudly built in the USA!
 
Amen Don! We have already lost enough. Time to start taking it back if you know what I mean.:thumbup:
 
I dont think an American will buy it unless its made here. If you outsource to another country you will have to sell it there.

People will pay for quality. We are tired of cheap junk.
 
yep keep it USA
andt hats not just cause im a Marine
i got a small batch of razor blanks laser cut adn while i had the steel they had charged me less then 5$ per blank and the work was great and there time line was also
that was for less the 100 blanks
if great lakes water.. can can get you inn your ball park then i say use him but if not let me now and i ll get you the infor for my laser cut place
 
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