*CLOSING MY BOOKS*- No longer accepting new orders

J. Doyle

Dealer - Purveyor
In light of some recent threads on the various forums, which were quite timely as I'd been mulling this very issue over for quite some time, I'd like to make this announcement:

Good evening everyone. I am sending this email out to everyone on my email list to announce that due to a change in circumstances and a considerable backlog, I am no longer accepting orders for knives. My books are closed indefinitely.

Looking back over the last two years, I have had a pretty hectic and unpredictable schedule for various reasons. Even though I am a full time knife maker, I have had limited time in the shop lately and have spent every available minute working on my order list trying to catch up.

Unfortunately, this has left me with no time to work on knives for shows, which are a large part of my income, and also has left me feeling stifled and stagnant and unable to pursue some new ideas and develop some new skill sets that I feel are crucial to advancing my career as a knife maker.

*IF YOU HAVE A KNIFE ON ORDER WITH ME*- first and foremost, I would like to thank you for your support of my work and your interest in owning one of my knives. Secondly, I would like to sincerely apologize for my delays in getting my standing orders finished in a timely fashion. I know for many of you, the estimated delivery time for your knife has come and gone, in some cases more than once. I understand that there is some frustration and/or disappointment that comes along with that.

Going forward, I am not cancelling any of these orders but I am unable to give any timeline for when your knife may be completed. I have asked for no money up front from anyone, so when I do get your knife completed, I will contact you and see if you are still interested and it will be your choice if you wish to purchase it or not. For my part, there will be no hard feelings whatsoever if you no longer wish to purchase the knife. Also, if at any time, anyone with a standing order no longer wishes to wait on me, please feel free to cancel at any time. It is not even necessary that you contact me to let me know, but you may contact me if you choose.

In the mean time, I will still be making knives or learning new techniques and skill sets to further refine my knives. I will keep all of you on my email list as a 'Notification List', and when I finish a knife, I will offer it immediately for sale to my list. If the knife I finish is close to something you may have ordered, I will contact you first and give you first right of refusal on the piece.

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read this and I hope you are understanding of my reasons to pursue this new direction and spread my creative wings, so to speak. I will still be active on the forums and instagram and will still be able to be contacted readily via email. Please let me know if you have any questions.

All the best,

John Doyle
J. Doyle Knives
 
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Good luck John. I am sure that it was not an easy decision to close your books. And I agree with you will be happier.
 
AMEN!!! I'm still a newb obviously, but I quickly ended up with an order list that I can't keep up with. I'm growing very weary of the pressure and weight of that list. I don't do this for the money, so the list takes the fun and creativity out of it for me. I see guys putting $600 knives up on Instagram auctions that end up going for $4000! That's got to be a less stressful method. Good luck.
 
That is great news, John. Good for both your sanity and to get your sense of freedom back. I don't think most of us set out to be an order fulfillment center. If everything you make is going to sell, there isn't much point in having that weight over your head for fear of business drying up. As you say, it's impossible to be creative and go in new directions when you have a long list of knives people are waiting on.
 
John.... you and I have spoken about these types of situations in the past..... it's a "wall" that just about every serious knifemaker faces sooner or later. Personally, I think you've chosen the right path. Any time you get so far behind that you can't "see daylight" ahead, it's time to rethink things. This should give you time to catch up on any overdue commitments, then decide from there which way to go. Personally, I find that I'm at my best when I can build the knives I want to build, and MAYBE take an order now and then on something that I find interesting or challenging.
 
Mr. Doyle, I don't know you from Adam but have in the short time I been on this forum come to admire your work. I pray you are successful in your endeavor but even more so will continue to share your work on this forum and on Bladeforum. Your work is the kind one aspires to and is an inspiration to a new knife maker like me.
Best wishes.
 
John, good for you, go forth and be happy, my friend! I have seen several seasoned makers cross this threshold and it usually means, new and bigger things!!
 
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