Your Opinion Please

Laredo7mm

Laredo7mm

Joined
Jul 8, 2002
Messages
1,240
Hey all, I thought I would ask for your opinion on this one.

Since my hunter/skinner design seems to be popular (well people want to copy it anyway), from the profile stand point, do you think there would be enough interest out there for me to make and sell some blade blanks.

I would make them out of annealed C1095 1/8 stock so newbies, or people with limited equipment can easily grind/file the bevels, plus be able to heat treat them at home (or send them to Rlinger). The blanks would be complete with two holes for 1/4 pins.

I was thinking of a selling price of around $15 to $20 each. So, tell me, what do you think? Do it, or screw it? ;)


Here is what one would look like finished:

hunter1.jpg
 
Well, the one pictured above has been for sale for 12 days at $150 and over 1200 views and no takers. For that price, if it doesn't sell, then it will be an X-mas or birthday gift for somebody.

I would rather make them out of damascus, even though I like the looks of the plain steel, and the damascus ones actually sell. Just to make blanks is pretty trivial with minimal time invested, but could have the potential to bring in some extra cash for shop supplies.
 
Sounds like it should do well. 15/20 is a fair price...maybe even a bit low.

side note: I don't think Roger is doing heat treat anymore. He said he was phasing it out as soon as Bos was up and running again.
 
I would think you would be selling a lot of those blanks, given the excellent design. Your finished knife looks really nice, too. Come to think of it, I've never seen anything but really nice work come out of your shop. Maybe your marketing is flawed.
 
Laredo7mm said:
Well, the one pictured above has been for sale for 12 days at $150 and over 1200 views and no takers.
Click to expand...
Don't get discouraged. I've seen it before with new knifemakers. Collectors need to get to know you before they will buy your knives.

Rather than giving the knife away, why not send it to the pass around forum? Lots of knife enthusiasts will get to examine your work. This will give you exposure to many potential customers.

Another idea is to sent the knife to purveyors and ask if they are interested in buying the knife. If they are not interested ask them to be brutally honest about your knife. Ask what they like and dislike. Include return postage so the purveyor does not have to pay to send your knife back.

When you see a man on top of a mountain, remember, he did not fall there. ;)
 
Chuck that's very good advice. I think I'm going to copy it.

:D

Seriously, thanks, that is good advice and I am going to take it to heart.

Edited to add what I started out to say :rolleyes: : Sean I think it's a good idea but also think the price might be a bit on the low side. Just my .02.
 
I think the price seems low as well, and what about offering a whole kit too?

you could have a standard wood selection, some 1/4" brass pins and maybe even some leather with your own sheath design for that puppy.
(and why not a case of beer too! jk)

Steve
 
To be completely honest I think your missing the market with this idea. I think if your going to do it you need to grind and heat treat them. Folks who are interested in kit knives generally do it because they don't have the equipment/skill to do the heavy metal work.
If I was going to go to the trouble of grinding and heat treating and all that on my own, its really not a big stretch to cut the blade out and drill holes. And when thats the case the only way this might be marketable is if someone wants to make large numbers of these and its cheaper to have you cut them out for them.
You also have to look at what knife kits are going for right now. I know your a one man show and 15-20 is very fair for the work you would put into it. But for the buyer, another $5-$10 gets them a whole kit ready for a handle.

Just my .02
 
It dosen't hurt to offer precut blades. Money is money. But I would offer a small selection, Maybe 2 or 3 knives. If you have marketing challanges give me an email and I will help you. nice looking knife. :D
 
YOu may also want to think about upping the price and including a full kit so people don't have to incur shipping charges for all the other stuff they need. Keep the choices simple, though. My start in knifemaking was with a Cetan Tanto kit from Rob Simonich. $40 got me a heat treated ATS-34 blade, maroon Micarta scales, a decent sized piece of black Kydex for a sheath, some eyelets for the sheath, a couple of 1" long brass pins and instructions on basically what to do. The choices, measurements, etc etc are daunting for people who would buy these blanks, so I think having a complete package for $40-$50 would be a better way to go.
 
Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it. I thought about the whole kit deal, but grinding and sanding to a nice finish is what really takes me alot of time. I can't compete with the mass produced kits in that respect and sell them for $40 to $50. Heck if I could, then I would be able to sell the knife above for $75.

I like Chuck's advice too. I think the above knife is a great candidate for being passed around and get some feedback.

Thanks again guys.
 
Ohhh... You're just doing straight up blanks, no grinding on them at all? I don't know if there would be much of a market for that, but then again you don't see that idea around much, so it's hard to say without doing a few and seeing what happens... If that's the case, skip all the work and call a watercutter and have an s-load of them made without lifting a finger (other than to hand your credit card to the cutter, that is)! :D
 
Hello,
gorgeous knife, especially in damascus. Just my Opinion/1 cent worth: Thinking long term, if you can find/develop/fill a niche for the damascus versions (which folks would be more likely to pay some serious $$ for) the demand for 1095 might follow. I think most folks that understand the utility of that style blade spend $20 for a schrade sharpfinger, highly useful, but not fashionable in a hyper-tactical-black marketing world.
What size would these blanks be? I noticed the 8 inch version on your web page---the size might make a difference to folks. My mind saw the knife pic you've atch'd and automatically scaled it to a schrade sharpfinger.
Just some thoughts...
Good luck, your work looks great.
 
I have often wondered why you guys don't also make and sell blanks. A lot of guys like making their own guards, handles, etc. The blanks would sure save you a lot of time, too. One of my best little utility knives is "the Sharpie" a nice little 3.5" damascus I bought from Damascus USA. A nice little knife that cost me $64. at the time. I say go for it!

Dave
 
I understand what you mean about not being able to compete with the mass produced kits. I hope I didn't come off like I think this is a horrible idea either. I just think thats not quite in the market yet. I bet if you came up with some knife kits though for a knife like your finished version you'd be able to sell at a higher price than a normal kit anyway. Most kits don't use the best materials and aren't held to real close tolerances. If you make some higher end ones, especially from a pattern like that that isn't already available, I bet you'd have some buyers. You might even go with damascus if you think you could do so economically.

There really isn't much loss in trying this idea either. I just wouldn't make any more blanks right off the bat than you think you might use yourself in a year or so. That way if they do sell, you got your money and your on the right track. And if they don't sell, you just make knives with them and sell those :)
 
Sean,

A few more ideas.

Your price of $150 may be too low. If you get back orders for twenty of this knife will you still be happy with the price? Develop a pricing structure that you are comfortable with and will also be attractive to collectors. The pricing structure should include points that define when and how much you should increase your prices.

If you have a knife design that doesn't sell, but you know is good, try iterations of the design. Maybe a different steel with a etched hamon, stainless steel, filework, different handle material or a bead blasted blade with G10 scales. You never know what will trigger collectors to buy knives.

I think a bigger version in stainless or 3V would be nice. ;)
 
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