Knife Values or Lack There Of!!!

[ace340cs]

Senor Chops, donde esta mi navaja???

[hooligan]

Thanks for the good info. I have one custom knife but buying it was the worst decision ever... Now I want more!

[Efren]

Good info. I really admire your work and hope to buy one of your knives in the near future. Do you do layaway? Lol. Keep up the good work

[Leon County Slayer]

They do make some quality knives[emoji851]



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That's funny right there!! Fat thumbs strikes again!!


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[alwaysinshorts]

eally appreciate you posting this. *I don't consider myself a knife collector, I see a collector as someone that understands the methods of making a knife, know the types of material, etc. *I just buy knives because i like the way they look or I do it on impulse, much like buying candy at the checkout line. *You don't really need that candy bar but you are there and it is there and you just buy it. *

*

I do have a couple of things that i want to say. *I have only been on this site for a short period of time and during that time I have purchased 3 Garcia knives and 11 Stic Knives, and i have one on the way from Sam Harper. *Do i know if these knives are any good, unfortunately I am not a collector of knives so i really don't know if they are any good. *I know that i like the way they looked and just purchased them. *

*

Do I think that a piece of steel from Pakistan is crap, I think it is or do I think a knife that cost $1,500 is that much better, I have to tell you I don't really know that either. *I will tell you that two years ago me and a couple of other people here at my work purchased a William Henry Knife for our boss, that was an almost $2,000 purchase for a folding knife. *

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With that said I will place a little bit of the blame of people not buying good quality stuff on you the knife makers. *I make a pretty good living and often times I buy things I don't need and when I do I sometimes do it without shopping around. *Now a days the internet has given people the ability to shop around the world for things, as long as they do their research and feel comfortable enough they will often times buy online. *The way I see it, if you are a knife maker you can produce large quantities and sell to the masses or you can do customer creations. *But if you go the route of doing custom work you have to be willing to educate potential buyers. *I will often times go to a gun show or some other place that sells knives, when I start to ask a few questions lots of people don't have good answers (or that is my feeling) and they also don't spend the time to sell their products. *When I went to purchase that William Henry knife at a jewelry store i spent about 1.5 hours talking to the person, the first person I spoke to didn't have the knowledge of the knives and then got someone that had every answer to every question that i asked. *

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In a nut shell I only believe you can change things if you do it through education as it is still a tough thing to accept a purchase of a knife that is about 4 inches long and when opened is now 7 inches long and cost $2,000 (or whatever the cost), as opposed to buying a really nice long gun, high end pistol, etc. for that same amount of money.

*

So here is my suggestion post pictures for those of us that don't know and detail out things like:

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1. *How do you tell if the blade is from Pakistan, China, where ever?

2. *How does a knife holds its edge? *Because I have purchased crappy cheap knives that you can shave with but after a short period of time they lost their edge.

3. *What goes into making the handles?

4. *Etc. *

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These are all things that educate people and solidify their thoughts that "I'm worth it to buy a nice knife". *

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Just my 2 cents. *

[SamHarper]

But if you go the route of doing custom work you have to be willing to educate potential buyers. *I will often times go to a gun show or some other place that sells knives, when I start to ask a few questions lots of people don't have good answers (or that is my feeling) and they also don't spend the time to sell their products.

I don't know what questions you're asking or what responses you're getting, but I will tell you that I sometimes have a big of internal debate with myself about how much detail I'll go into when answering somebody's question. For example, a question I frequently get asked is whether this steel or that steel is better or will hold an edge longer. The correct answer is that it depends on how they are heat treated. I could talk all day about heat treating, the properties of steel, and getting the optimum performance for a given steel, but I assume people don't want to hear all that. Their eyes will glaze over. But I realize people want more than "It depends on how well the heat treat went." They want to know what it is about the heat treat that makes a difference and why there are different kinds of steels in the first place. But I really don't know how much detail to go into in these situations. Maybe that's what you're running into. I don't know. I'm just speculating.

[chopsknives]

There are Guilds that help the consumers with these issues like The Knifemakers' Guild - I'm a voting member and to achieve that status I had to purchase a table at a Guild show and present five of my handmade knives for scrutiny by a panel of the BEST knifemakers in the world some of which get around $20,000 for a knife. After being voted in I had a 2 year probationary period. At this time I had to do another Guild show and present five more of my handmade knives to be scrutinized again to see if any issues had been bettered! I'm also a member of the Professional Knifemakers Association another National Guild. Then I'm a member of The Texas Knifemakers Guild. These are the things I do to convey the Integrity of my work to people like yourself that want something nice and worthy of the price. I do make some $2,000 folders and the last one had a full weeks work in Her and over $400 in materials. They are one of a kind Every piece Cut and Ground by Hand - MY HANDS. I also provide a certificate of Authenticity that tells you EXACTLY what was used along with the tested Hardness and cataloged number. In a world where people will lie to you for your money I think customers need all the Reassurance you can provide - afterall what I do for a living is a VERY Honorable, Honest and frankly a whole lot of blood sweat and tears trade! Oh and BTW mine hold a Superior Edge!!

[chopsknives]

Forgot to mention I first had to be recommended by 4 voting members so you don't just waltz in and buy a membership!!

[bphillips]

There are Guilds that help the consumers with these issues like The Knifemakers' Guild - I'm a voting member and to achieve that status I had to purchase a table at a Guild show and present five of my handmade knives for scrutiny by a panel of the BEST knifemakers in the world some of which get around $20,000 for a knife. After being voted in I had a 2 year probationary period. At this time I had to do another Guild show and present five more of my handmade knives to be scrutinized again to see if any issues had been bettered! I'm also a member of the Professional Knifemakers Association another National Guild. Then I'm a member of The Texas Knifemakers Guild. These are the things I do to convey the Integrity of my work to people like yourself that want something nice and worthy of the price. I do make some $2,000 folders and the last one had a full weeks work in Her and over $400 in materials. They are one of a kind Every piece Cut and Ground by Hand - MY HANDS. I also provide a certificate of Authenticity that tells you EXACTLY what was used along with the tested Hardness and cataloged number. In a world where people will lie to you for your money I think customers need all the Reassurance you can provide - afterall what I do for a living is a VERY Honorable, Honest and frankly a whole lot of blood sweat and tears trade! Oh and BTW mine hold a Superior Edge!!

Your work has come a long way also. I think the first time I bought one was around 8 years ago with a red prickly pear handle

[chopsknives]

Hey Thanx Man!! Heck now I'm feelin kinda old!

One thing about the metal Question! I ALWAYS state who provided me with the Steel! If you notice I use a lot of Alabama Damascus - Brad Vice the Owner is a good friend and I was in the Alabama Damascus Booth at Blade! Why do I use it? For One it's made in Alabama!! But the main reason is that Brad is a Master Millwright! Not a this or a that but a bonafide Union recognized Master of ALL things Metal!! He's the REAL DEAL!! In all of the tests it could not be Broken and will NOT fail under ANY circumstances! The other metals I use like CPM 154 which was originally ATS 34 designed for jet engine rotors is Crucible steel's Particulate Metallurgy or CPM and was 154 CM before it was powdered metal. Stainless Damascus by the Absolute Best in the World!! Most from the U.S. and some incredible imports from suppliers like Damasteel - the only Scandinavian maker of Damascus set forth by the Govt. for Quality control!! Or Chad Nichols - Got to chat with Chris Marks at Blade - the man who trained Chad and several others! This - all this - this is why you count on your knifemaker for knowledge and a quality product!!!

[Razorback01]

Let me throw this out, just for the sake a discussion. How do you know it's Alabama Damascus vs. Syrian Damascus? And, where did the steel originate prior to the blending in Alabama? In other words, where does steel originate, and is steel in non-US locations still steel, or is it a non-steel? Deep questions.

And in my knives, is it New Jersey steel, or is it other? Wow, maybe Pennsylvania steel?

[TKK]

I am fascinated by nice knives - however I suspect I am like most on here and other places where people buy them - I buy on how cool they look - would not dream of actually using a $100-$500 knife in the field. I give them as presents - I want good value when I buy one but I have not intentions of ever reselling them - so for me the steel is irrelevant since I will never cut a single thing with the blade -

[Artos]

Well, I would never buy any questionable custom, so really don't get this whole concern...I think you have to know & trust where your knife came from.

I've been collecting custom knives for over 20 years & wouldn't consider buying any knife not knowing who the maker was and without a mark or knowledge of it's origin.

[austinRecurve]

Great read. People don't understand what goes into custom, handcrafted work whether it's knives, woodwork or leatherwork.

[DEADEYE1]

Tim
As I always say good things aren't cheap, cheap things aren't good. Enough said
I own several of chops knives and would not change a thing. !! Thanks for the great info Tim!!!
Keep up the good work as always!!