Why buy factory knives?

My favorite Case knife pattern is a Large Stockman.....usually they cost in the $50-75 range.....please let me know which custom maker can make me one for that.
 
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pitdog said:
I can't really see myself ever buying another factory knife other than maybe a SAK etc if one of mine breaks !
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I'm with you pitdog, There's just no comparing a Factory Knife to a Custom Made "Work Of Art ! I do still by Factory Knive's, But I would "Never compare them In Quality and Material to a "Custom Made Work Of Art ! :thumbup:

This Knife maker say's It Best, Factory Knive's are Mass Produced, And The Bottom Line Is "Making A Huge Profit" Also In being deceptive In Marketing and deceptive In the use of Fine Steel's Just to Make Sale's, With there Outsourced Blade's with the Company Name On It ! I'll tell you straight up I cant afford a Jay Fisher Knife, But this Is a Good Read, http://www.jayfisher.com/factory_kn...Factory_Knives_vs._Handmade_and_Custom_Knives :thumbup:
 
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rayban said:
My favorite Case knife pattern is a Large Stockman.....usually they cost in the $50-75 range.....please let me know which custom maker can make me one for that.
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I guess the Best Answer Is you cant compare a McDonald's Hamburger's to a Charcoal Grilled HomeMade Masterpiece ! You get What you Pay For, I really like Case Knive's also, And your Not gonna get a Custom Folder for that Price "No Way No How ! But you Cant Compare a Case Folder In Quality to a Well Made Custom, :thumbup:
 
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protourist said:
With all the great custom makers we have around here and considering the fact that you can get customs for around the same price as factory knives, why do you buy factory?
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Actually, I find myself sometimes thinking exactly the opposite. With the huge variety of high quality factory blades, why would you buy a custom. :p

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, perhaps, but IMO these days we don't need custom knives the way we might have 20-30 years ago. From a purely practical point of view I don't know that customs really provide much if any advantage over todays premium factory knives. Want exotic steel? Factory knives have them. Want specialized or unique blade designs? Factory knives have them. Want special handle materials? Factory knives have them. Sure, there are the intangables like collectability, pride of owning something unique, etc. but beyond that? Today, the main reason for owning a custom knife IMO is simply for the joy of owning a custom knife.

Really, it just comes down to different strokes for different folks. ;)
 
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I have yet to buy a custom knife, I have made a couple of my own however. But, that was more of, watching something grow, creating something myself. It certainly would not have felt the same of someone else made it.

The big reason for me not buying customs is I dont like to wait. plus I usually dont have $100 so shell out for one that will work for me. And while I really like the F&F of most knives, there just isnt one that really stands out to me.

If I were to save up and get someone, I really like Simonich knvies, especially the salish, or kootenai.

but what holds me back from customs:

1. the wait
2. the cost (while not super expensive, anything I would use is over $100, and I dont have that often)
 
at the moment, I prefer factory mades for the simple reason that they are the only type within my budget.

in the future, custom or semi-custom knives may be a consideration, but not at the moment.
plus also, most custom/semi custom knives simply don't appeal to me.
the majority seem to either go down the tactical route, or use wood or simmilar natural, traditional matiriels.
I'm a huge fan of the moulded grips found on knives such as the mora. simply becasue they are tough, comfortable, imprevious to anything liquid, and have no mechanical fixings to loosen. you don't get them on custom knives. folders are a different matter of course.

on the points of "what do they have that productions don't" I imagine that it is the knowledge that that knife was made for you, making it a bit more special, and more than just a tool (like say..a chisel)
 
I have a hard time using a knife that cost me over $200 most of the time. That said, I have enough difficulty meeting the mortgage without buying an expensive safe queen.
 
I like both, and have several of them, does anybody go out and buy a custom made car, probably not, I like different aspects of both of them and they each serve their particular purpose, just my opinion!!!!!!!
 
Sure, there are some nice, well made custom knives out there, but that doesn't mean that there aren't equally as nice — and as well made — factory knives out there, too. When you're looking at the question of factory quality vs custom quality, you have to factor in scale: the big makers can simply afford to buy for less than the custom makers, and they often have superior tools and machinery. It costs them less to produce a good knife than it does a custom maker, they need to make a smaller profit per unit than the custom maker, and those savings can (not that they always are) be passed on to the consumer.

The analogy of a Big Mac vs a home made hamburger really doesn't hold up very well — if at all. Yes, the Big Mac costs less and, in most cases, is inferior to the home made charcoal grilled masterpiece. But the home made charcoal grilled masterpiece costs more overall, and they're both gone after a few bites. There are (in the hamburger world) a lot of solutions in the fast food/restaurant world that are as good as the home made masterpiece for less overall cost. Not everyone can afford to buy, and take the time to prepare, everything necessary to produce your culinary masterpiece. The same holds true of knives: there are a number of high quality production knives around that are of just as good of quality as many customs, and at a far better price. And hey, bonus, you don't have to wait a year to get them. No custom maker is able to produce a knife any better than my BK-2 at the price point of the BK-2 — not if they want to stay in business, that is.

I think it's wonderful that many of you have the money to support the custom makers: not all of us do. I wish I did, but I don't, so it's production knives or no knives for people like me. Which would you choose; production, or nothing?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of custom. I like unique, well crafted, aesthetically pleasing knives, and I certainly want to see the good makers flourish. I've made my living for well over thirty years as an illustrator and designer: everything I do is custom. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to hire someone like me, so they have to settle for (shudder) clip art. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford a nice custom, but right now, I can't.

It's not a question of is one [custom vs production] better than the other, it's a question of which is better for an individual, in their circumstances, and for their needs.
 
There aint nothen wrong with a Good Prodution Knife, Heck Like mentioned Case Folder's are Great, Ka-Bar's & Puma's and Buck Knive's and Spyderco's, Heck you can get a Swedish Made Mora for 12.00 Buck's that'll out Cut lot's of Knive's, But as we all Know, Hand Made Good's are Made by Craftsman, Everything Handmade Cost More, Wooden Funiture Gun's Knive's you name It, I got a TC Hawken 50 Cal. Rifle I got New for 300.00 and that was a Deal and It's a Tack Driver, But I've used a Freind's 3000.00 Dollor Custom Flintlock also And It's like a Night & Day Difference In Quality, But It dont Shoot no Better ! They all Work It's all In Personal Preference, And comparing a Factory Made produced Product that are made by the Thousand's Each Day, And A Work of Handmade Artwork that took all week to make , "Just Dont Make Sence, And Aint Worth Arguing Over !
 
There are few knives that come close to Fällkniven or William Henry in terms of design, materials or execution. I'd have a difficult task holding that another is better without an appeal to art or qualia. It would be fun watching someone else wrestle with that though. I contend that after much wriggling they might end up at the best case scenario of "well they're just different aren't they, and everybody knows it".

I shall not contribute more to this thread but I shall watch eagerly in case someone wants a good stab at that challenge.
 
Some people can afford custom art, some have to settle for clip art. No one is saying that custom knives aren't nice — many of them are — but as handmade works of art. Just because something is mass produced, doesn't make it bad. Simply because a knife is handmade doesn't imbue it with any special magic, either. What do you need a knife to do? Will a custom made knife do it any better? If it will, then buy the custom knife and you'll be happy. If, however, a production knife will perform all the functions of the custom, then buy the production knife — unless you're buying for the art. Not everyone can afford to buy custom knives, no matter how nice they may be, so no matter how highly touted a custom may be is irrelevant if it's unobtainable.
 
I absolutely love some of the custom works of art that I have seen. Some of the better bladesmiths make you want to buy a knife just for the joy of owning it, even if you never used it.

However, not all customs are of that calibre. I see pictures of custom knives that would not have left my place if I had built them. Some have defects that are obvious even in poor pictures. Even IF the knife is acceptable in terms of fit and finish, there can also be a problem with many makers heat treat. Some of that is an attempt to use supersteels that they are unable to properly heat treat, other times it is simply a lack of knowledge.

Really, if similiar knives are compared, I would buy a production knife over a custom, up until the point that what I wanted was unavailable in a production knife.

D2 or O1 steel, fixed or folder, is available with many handle materials and styles with no wait time, for less than $100 in many cases. Heat treat, fit and finish, and value will all be quite good. No grinding marks in the bevels or on the spine, well made sheath with straight stitching and finished edges, attractive designs, etc.

If I wanted a damascus blade bushcraft knife in shape of my own choosing, handled in desert ironwood with mosaic pins, with two sheaths, yep, custom all the way.

Really, it to depend on what you are willing to pay. I can count on one hand the custom knives I have seen in the makers area for less than $100 that could even be considered against a production knife. Some makers with the proper experience and tools can build and sell knives that are quite good as you get close to the $200 mark. Even then, only some are actually better than production knives in my opinion. Many still sport finish problems or poor leather work visible in the pictures at a price point over $150. There is a reason that many very good looking customs cost several hundred dollars or more, and it is NOT because the maker is getting rich. He could actually be making the same wages as someone who makes a $100 knife, but is putting in the time required to make a proper product.

A recycled steel with unstablilized wood in a low quality leather sheath doesn't compare to a production knife. Similiarly, a more complicated steel with a backyard heat treat and sanding marks do not compare. These are knives that a person makes for the joy of making them, then gives away. I have handled customs with ivory handles and 80 grit scratches in a polished blade, as well as coated knives that were stuck to the box, leaving bad marks in the coating. Some LOOKED very nice, and had a nice feel, but the maker was using lawnmower blades, and had no idea what a heat treat was. Those last ones he was attempting to sell in the $200 range, due to the time he had put in on the fit and finish. These were knives from 3 different makers.

By the time a maker buys quality steel, stabilized handle materials, leather, sanding belts and paper, pays for a grinder, forge, shop space, etc. the knives HAVE to cost more than a production version of the same knife.

Compare a simple knife like a KaBar or a Buck or a Case. Show me a custom that has the same fit and finish, attractive design, and properly made sheath as a Buck Alpha hunter, or a KaBar military knife, or a Case hunter, for less than 2-3 times the cost.

Whether a person wants to buy a custom or not, great. The idea that there is any comparison between a similiar production and custom knife of a similiar cost is an absolute joke.
 
Ive owned and handled alot of customs and productions. ALOT.

For me, I know Ill probably be thrashed for saying this, but in the end, a knife is a knife. In comparable price ranges of course.

I have come to a place where I have sold off most of my blades, and now buy blades from my friends(makers).... I like the idea of having a knife I know my "friends" put soul into, and I also like to support their craft, as many of them count on it as a source of full time income. That in itself makes for a very personal experiance. As far as the wait times on customs, its all part of the bag baby. I dont mind a wait, im patient, and it gives me something to look forward to. If I break one, I know the maker will stand behind it, and I have enough blades from other friends(makers) to rotate in while its getting replaced.

I can see an advantage to productions for a serviceman. While in the military, an unfortunate part is people will walk off with your stuff, and if something is stolen or broke, a replacement is immeadiatly needed via PX or mail order/internet shopping.

To each his own, thats just my 2 cents.
 
I'n not going to say that a custom will out-perform a production knife because it would depend on which two knives you are comparing.
For me a production knife lacks soul for want of a better phrase, when I receive a custom it always feels special to me, there has been input between myself and the maker and I enjoy giving them some feedback of their product in return.
With a custom knife if you have large hands and want the handle making 1/2" longer then that's what they do, if you want an extra fine edge because you know that food prep is high on your requirements, then that's what you will get.With a custom maker you are getting a product exactly as you want it, no compromise, and usually at a great price.
I actually feel sorry for many of the makers on here as I watch their knives on the for sale forum keep getting bumped back up with a lower price, sometimes I have to shake my head, a hand finished convexed edged knife, mirror finished with perfect maple scales going for about $80, c'mon how many production knives can compete with that ????
 
Any Cal. said:
Whether a person wants to buy a custom or not, great. The idea that there is any comparison between a similiar production and custom knife of a similiar cost is an absolute joke.
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I disagree completely. Ive had blades in the 150.00 range from makers(Laconico, Fiddleback, Koster, etc...) that totally put to shame most production knives in the same range, and more expensive.
 
pitdog said:
I actually feel sorry for many of the makers on here as I watch their knives on the for sale forum keep getting bumped back up with a lower price, sometimes I have to shake my head, a hand finished convexed edged knife, mirror finished with perfect maple scales going for about $80, c'mon how many production knives can compete with that ????
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I feel the same way Pit.... I wish I could buy em all. :(
 
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