Who sells the most custom knives?

fracmeister

fracmeister

Petroleum Engineer
Joined
May 26, 1999
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not the most prolific maker, but the highest volume dealer(s) I presume -- I'd limit this question to knives in the 500$ and up range to eliminate the "riff raff" --- I'd just like to know who really sells a bunch and who does not. I have looked at what appears to be 80% static inventory on several custom purveyors and concluded that selling custom knives wasn;t likely to be their full time job ... other seem to be buying abd selling constantly.... thanks for the input...
 
I get the impression from what I see that the current market is pretty slow for custom knives.

I may be wrong, but I have noticed what you have noticed about the apparent custom knife low inventory turnover rate.
 
RWS, What do you base your impression on?

fracmeister, I know Daniel at Blade Gallery. The number of knives he sells is impressive.

I think a problem purveyors have is keeping the websites up to date. The amount of time spent photographing can keep a person busy not to mention getting the photos and data on the website.
 
I think that Chuck has the answer, web sites take time to maintain and some people don't stay on top of it.

The market is pretty busy right now from my point of view anyway. Almost all of the bowies I make have customer names attached to them before they are completed. The occasional one is earmarked for the showcase at the store. At the moment there are two in the showcase and one in process.
 
I know some like Bladeart get so many calls looking for certain knives that alot of their inventory never even gets posted on the site.
I'm pretty sure Les Robertson and Bob neal do some pretty brisk business too.
 
I think, and it is only an opinion,that the custom knife market is real soft right now, with the exception of forged blades from the big boys.
Slipjoints are not doing well, and custom autos are in the toilet.
Knives are moving but it is a buyers market right now.I wish I had a bit more liquidity right now.There is some nice stuff out there.
Of the dealers I think Les Robertson,Bob Neal,and Knifeart are all holding their own.
 
Chuck Bybee said:
RWS, What do you base your impression on?
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Seeing the same inventory at purveyors' sites for lengthy periods of time.
EDITED TO ADD:
Also having discussions with a couple knifemakers about this very topic to help formulate my possibly inaccurate opinion.

Do you feel the custom knife market is pretty strong or not soft right now?
If so, what do you base that on?
 
nifrand said:
I think, and it is only an opinion,that the custom knife market is real soft right now, with the exception of forged blades from the big boys.
Click to expand...

My opinion but better stated.
 
RWS, when I read my question to you now, I understand how I might might come across as an a$$. I apologize. My question was was just curiosity. Next time I'll be more careful when writing questions at 2:30 am. ;)

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I am lucky enough to spend everyday talking to knifemakers. Some makers frequently order lots of materials. I ask them what they are making and where the knives are selling.

I've also noticed that sales of materials has increased substantially over last year. Particularly at knife shows. We've been selling at a show for five years. The first three years we didn't make enough to pay expenses. Last year we made a little money. This year it was one of the best shows we've ever had.

If all custom knife sales were graphed, my opinion is sales are going up.
 
Chuck Bybee said:
I've also noticed that sales of materials has increased substantially over last year. Particularly at knife shows. We've been selling at a show for five years. The first three years we didn't make enough to pay expenses. Last year we made a little money. This year it was one of the best shows we've ever had.
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I suspect that this has a lot to do with hobbyistes. I think that either there are more hobbyistes nowadays, or they are doing better work, that warrants better materials. The reason why it could be the later is that people have access to better and better information (books, kits, tutorials,...), and that more good tools are available.

In my segment of interest (high quality forged blades), I have noticed rather more activity than less recently. Also, I note that while you used to be able to make a killing on eBay, it's not really the case anymore.
 
Chuck Bybee said:
RWS, when I read my question to you now, I understand how I might might come across as an a$$. I apologize. My question was was just curiosity. Next time I'll be more careful when writing questions at 2:30 am. ;)
Click to expand...

The apology, although quite unnecessary, is appreciated. Thanks.
 
fracmeister said:
not the most prolific maker, but the highest volume dealer....
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Volume? How would one be able to measure that - short of asking the dealer outright? And he/she probably won't give you a straight answer anyway - what business owner is actually going to say, "Naw, my business is in the toilet right now. If sales don't pick up in the next month I'm going to have to close the business!"

A long time between website updates? As someone mentioned, that's not always a true indicator - the dealer may be selling dozens of desirable knives through previous inquiries before he/she even has the opportunity to take photos of recently acquired knives and add them to the current online stock.

I check out the websites of most high-end custom dealers on a regular basis. I don't for one moment believe that just because no new knives have been posted in the last month, that the dealer hasn't acquired any. If I'm interested in something specific, I'll send an email inquiry. If a knife has already been sold to someone else and it means I don't get to see it on that dealer's website, so what - they're running a business, not a gallery.

Personally, I think the sales of higher priced customs (say, $600 to $1k+) are on the increase as more and more novices are becoming better educated as to why those knives are worthy of those price tags.

BTW, I can't believe that no one has mentioned True North Knives yet as one of the leading high-end custom dealers in North America? Purveyor Neil Ostroff always offers a constantly refreshed selection of high-end customs with wonderfully explicit descriptions and professional photographs. And the personal service is outstanding!
 
I am certain these are all subjective guesses, as the numbers and revenues would be priviledged information from any better dealer.

As was mentioned, the better dealers are going to pay close and constant attention to their websites and photo work. It's a two-dimensional world on the net, and you'd best have clear photos and active text to grab the viewer's appeal.

Lazy inventory is a clue about perceived values or poor promotional photos and text. No buzz.

I am certain Les Robertson's site is a top selling dealer, as is Neil Ostroff's True North Knives. Both are pros. :)

Coop

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Holger (Cockroachfarm), we posted at the same time, and with similar comments! ;)
 
I agree that a soft knife market is starting to pick back up, I think it hit rock bottom about the time of Blade '04. I know I was able to pick up some real nice knives the past couple of months. As far as dealers go, especially ones that keep their sites up-to-date, you can't leave out Classic Guns & Knives for high-end inventory and pretty constant inventory turn-around.
 
This year the spring market was off from last year but the summer has picked up a lot. I also have found that the more expensive knives are selling better then the less expensive knives. That's my 2 cents.

Gary Levine :)
 
Gary Levine said:
This year the spring market was off from last year but the summer has picked up a lot. I also have found that the more expensive knives are selling better then the less expensive knives. That's my 2 cents.

Gary Levine :)
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I have to agree with Gary, this has been a very busy summer for me.
Also I know for a fact that Gary sells a lot of knives, he has sold 3 or 4 of mine in the last couple of weeks.

Don Hanson lll sunfishforge.com
 
I love visiting the inventory of many of the Custom Sites (though I rarely can afford to purchase). I notice that there are some that update weekly and others that update once a month or so, I agree that more frequent updates are probably time consuming but it makes a much better draw for visitors.

One site that has a great amount of turnover is Arizona Custom Knives, I think one thing that helps Julie do this is that she has a wide range of knives (from inexpensive knives from new Makers to the hottest makers in the market today). Often she will post pieces that last only Hours before it is sold!! (As was the case with a Custom Emerson and a New Jerry Hossom Chainsaw knife recently).

I agree that the market seems to be picking up but I don't think any Maker that went to the Blade Show this year had a bad Show, there were more people there this year than I have ever seen before. I think some Makers are just making more knives than usual thus affecting the Supply a bit, also buyers are just being more selective due to the slower economy. Just my Opinion though.
 
Question,

If all these dealers are selling all these knives, some within hours of posting. While others sell many knives before they even make it to the site.

What are some of you basing your claims of "soft sales" on?

The two don't seem to go together.

Also, do you really know how many knives these dealers are selling or are you just making an "educated" guess?
 
I also think many of the custom makers in that price range are back ordered for many months if not years. Call a few and ask when you can get a knife, some of the answers you get will suprise you especialy if you want a custom and not one of the few if any knifes they have at home or at a dealers. There was just a thread on one of the forums where someone was complaining about the lack of available knifes from custom makers at a show because they had all been spoken for. .

Ropes
 
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