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The Business of Knife Making A forum dedicated to all aspects of running, managing and legal operational issues relating to the custom knife making and custom knife selling industry.

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  #16  
Old 01-17-2012, 03:35 PM
Eli Jensen's Avatar
Eli Jensen Eli Jensen is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Flagstaff, AZ
Posts: 872
As a learning maker, if I'm making a knife that features something I've done for the first time, heat treating my first blade, first hidden tang, first solder job, etc, I'll "pay" my customers to try it out. If there is an obvious defect, of course I will not sell. This is manifested in a discount and understanding that there are no refunds, however I will repair any problem if I can.

This allows me to still mitigate the cost of learning the trade while getting some feedback.
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  #17  
Old 01-17-2012, 08:27 PM
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xspook2158 xspook2158 is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Maryville, TN
Posts: 234
Cool

Cpt

I once had a customer that called and wanted to return some of my flies, he went further and said they could not attract a trout if they were magnetic.

That got my attention.

Not only did I give him a full refund, I also paid for a free trip down here to go on a guided fishing outing. He was from PA.

I was Lucky that day I caught both our legal limits he caught one.

I used flies from the same sitting that I tied his from ( I tie 12 DZ in a sitting ).

We have been friends now for about 20 years.

What I was trying to say was, We Can Make a Great Product, but we don't always have the opportunity to teach everyone how it should be used.



Jeff

Last edited by xspook2158; 01-17-2012 at 08:34 PM. Reason: Forgot Bold
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  #18  
Old 01-17-2012, 09:47 PM
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Eli Jensen Eli Jensen is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Flagstaff, AZ
Posts: 872
As a college student, my price typically filters out my peers that don't know their knives. We talk about the design and I make sure they know my current abilities.
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  #19  
Old 05-14-2012, 02:14 PM
Larry Peterson Larry Peterson is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: I was born and raised in Spanish Fork, Utah. I now live between Manti and Ephraim, Utah. We built a home here about 10 year ago.
Posts: 79
If I may ad just a bit.

My knife making has spanned about 54 years now. My " bread & butter market has been the "Mountain Man" folks. I mostly sell through the Traders that circulate from one gathering to another. I have observed that most folks that wander through these gatherings have $40 or 50.00 in their pocket. When that majic moment "hits" and the "I want and must have" sets in the sale is cast in stone. The wife is the deal killer, especially if the price is too high for her comfort.

I make a lot of high end priced knives ($200 to $500 is high end for me.). I also make a lot of $40 to $90 knives. I just received 30 knives back from Steven Bailey in Colorado who performed the Heat Treat to perfection. Even though these are 440-C, they are destined to sell for $40 to $70 at our local Mountain Man celebrations. These knives will not have mirror finishes. I will make a leather scabbard for each of them. Workin' folks will have a really nice knife, made of a fine steel but will be able to afford it without having to take out a second mortgage.

When anyone starts wanting me to get a clip board and a stop watch to improve efficiency or doller to cost ratios I will probably tell them the story about the salesman.

The salesman was driving through the NorthWest and stopped to ask a farmer directions. He noticed that the farmer was holding a pig up to an apple tree allowing the pig to eat the apples hanging on the tree. The salesman ask the farmer why he was holding the pig up to the apples? The farmer replied, cause' the pig can't reach the apples, he's too short. The salesman said, doesn't that take a lot of time? The farmer replied, yes but "What's time to a pig?"

I allow every man and woman who makes knives to do it however they want to. It is a little like robbing a train. "When you are robbing a train, you can rob it any way you want to."

I love being a knife maker. It is my opinion that I am right where I want to be, Making knives and charging what I feel is fair and what the market will bear. I don't take orders, I don't set schedules, and I sell everything I make. After all, What's time to a pig!

Best wishes, Larry Peterson
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art, blade, brass, damascus, fixed blade, forge, forging, guards, handle, heat treat, hidden, ivory, knife, knife making, knifemaker, knives, leather, pins, solder, steel, stone, tang, teach


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