Vendor Forums > Turning Outdoors Knife and Tool

Any interest in a low-cost alternative blade line?

<< < (2/4) > >>

Highlife:

--- Quote from: Saintnick001 on November 28, 2012, 01:47:54 PM ---As a guy with very little cash I can get behind the low cost movement. I do think however, that if I could come up with that kinda of money I would just save my pennies a little longer and buy a 100% TOKT knife.

--- End quote ---

I tend to agree with this mentality. If a semi-custom knife is $100-$150, and a full custom is $175-$250, you're catching the same demographic. If it's not below $75, it might as well be $175...

Just my opinion.

Buckskin:
I might be interested in blanks only.  I can handle the handle portion.  My blade grinding skills are left to be desired though. 

PetrifiedWood:
Well there is always the fleur de lis logo... :D

I hear what you are saying Nick and I apreciate it!

Mostly I think this is me itching to make some knives but not having the the time to make them from start to finish. :doh:

THB, that is a difficult price point to hit when you consider time and consumables, in light of the fact that materials costs for pre made blades are about triple the cost for raw materials. Of course this all depends on the knife size, design, complexity, etc.

My Bushpick knife is a good example. If I could get the blades pre ground and heat treated for about $40 each and then add scales and hardware, plus grinder belts and sandpaper used, solvents and adhesives, rust preventives, sandblast media, shipping and packaging tape and bubble wrap, printer paper and ink, respirator cartridges, gas to drive to and from the post office... the cost per knife would be close to $55.00 and thats just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head. :D

If I charged less than $75 for the knife it would be about $20 or less for 2 to 3 hours of work.

I was charging $125 or thereabouts for a basic bushpick and that was a very reasonable price for an entirely handmade knife. But I did some seroius reexamination of the time and materials cost involved in producing them and though I was making a profit, it was not enough to justify the time that goes into producing one. I still like the design but I think it needs to go in a different direction, like a full flat grind and the tangs need to be drilled to balance better with the material a full flat will remove. A flat grind bushpick would be reminiscent of a kephart blade shape with woodlore inspired handle ergonomics.

In any case, the original $125 basic bushpicks are a thing of the past. I dont regret making a single one of them at that price, and I am grateful to the folks that bought them and proud that they are out there being used. But I cant let them go that cheap in the future.

It may well be that semi customs are not really a desireable option, but thats what this thread is all about... testing the waters. :)

beanbag:
Carbon steel.....

Highlife:
I understand the price point isn't achievable as a hand-crafter, I was just stating my opinion that a sub-$75 production knife would get my $$$ before a $100 semi-custom with a production blade. Just my mileage.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page