Here I go on to the big world of kitchen blades.

wall e

wall e

Well-Known Member
So my buddy was browsing my IG page before cooking class and his chef asked about a knife I made and used some of Smithy's oak he shared.
I now have been tasked to make a 8-12" bladed chef in AEBL with a wa handle for her using some of the tiger wood I got from my buddy.
I being of low confidence in pricing said "Idk hows two fiddy sound?" Ok was the response and no worries on how long it takes.
Uhhhhh am I missing something here?
Or did I just make a big boy sale?

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I'd say you made a sale.... but $250? If you've not made some culinary knives yet, you're gona be kicking yourself. :) Long, thin blades can give a maker fits... so unless you've already experienced the trials and tribulations, buckle up! :) On the other side, I know it's exciting for you.
 
Congratulations on the sale, Walt! An 8in chef is a great place to get your feet wet on culinary knives. $250 for a pro chef is a good starting point for an unknown knife. Chefs see their knives as tools, not collector's items. They fully intend to use and sharpen a knife until it's all used up. If you make a great knife and it functions as it should, you can expect that he'll come back and he'll pay even more for the next one because he trusts your work.

Now, having said that- that's a whole lot of steel to remove and this is where a 2x72 makes a world of difference. I don't recall what grinder you are using these days.

AEB-L is fantastic steel for culinary knives. Do you have a template you plan to use? Steel thickness?
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
I'd say you made a sale.... but $250? If you've not made some culinary knives yet, you're gona be kicking yourself. :) Long, thin blades can give a maker fits... so unless you've already experienced the trials and tribulations, buckle up! :) On the other side, I know it's exciting for you.
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Thanks Ed, Is gonna be the second one.
I really already know I'm underbidding this one. I think I am gonna be in for a fun new realm of headache and joy. Lol

John Wilson said:
Congratulations on the sale, Walt! An 8in chef is a great place to get your feet wet on culinary knives. $250 for a pro chef is a good starting point for an unknown knife. Chefs see their knives as tools, not collector's items. They fully intend to use and sharpen a knife until it's all used up. If you make a great knife and it functions as it should, you can expect that he'll come back and he'll pay even more for the next one because he trusts your work.

Now, having said that- that's a whole lot of steel to remove and this is where a 2x72 makes a world of difference. I don't recall what grinder you are using these days.

AEB-L is fantastic steel for culinary knives. Do you have a template you plan to use? Steel thickness?
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John, Im building my 2x72 so I am still using my 1x42.
.110 thick so is going to be a post ht as well as a lot of grinding.


I was thinking I should have went higher with the price but the rookie in this realm thought makes me under value my work. I need to work on that.
Thanks to you both for the reality and kudos.

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My only suggestion is to pick up or borrow a wide belt sander to help in this project, whether that is a 4x36 on sale at HF or a flea market carpentry belt sander that you chuck up in a vise. I know this goes against popular wisdom about not buying cheapo grinders but you really do need a wider belt than 1 inch for this in my opinion. All you need the cheapo for is blending and flattening and you can probably get by with a 120 and 220 grit belt because you're still going to do most of your work on the 1x. Obviously once you get your 2x72 done you're all set. But in the meantime, a wider belt in conjunction with your 1x is going to be a godsend.

The awesome thing about culinary knives is you don't need plunge lines (unless that's what you want to do). I would suggest you go smooth, and here's why. Your 1x grinder is going to make it hard to get flat bevels across that much real estate. A wide belt sander will allow you to go from your 1x to the wide belt and grind it lengthwise from the handle to the tip. This is going to help you two ways. It will flatten the high/low you get from the 1x and it will also help you get distal taper. Not having to dance around your plunge lines offers a huge amount of freedom and grinding along the length of the knife makes for a very elegant blend both distally and from spine to edge.

Just my .02 from another newbie who does a lot of kitchen cutters.
 
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Walt, none of my business but, I would be sure to stress the point that you are doing this knife at that price point, to get your work out there. It helps with relations to the customer and it lets him know that not to spread the word about that price.

Tell them if they are satisfied, (which I sure the will be) to let others see the knife and tell them what he/she thinks of it. However my knives usually sale for more! So if they want another at your normal price please feel free to contact me!!

Congrats on the sale!!
 
c craft said:
walt, none of my business but, i would be sure to stress the point that you are doing this knife at that price point, to get your work out there. It helps with relations to the customer and it lets him know that not to spread the word about that price.

Tell them if they are satisfied, (which i sure the will be) to let others see the knife and tell them what he/she thinks of it. However my knives usually sale for more! So if they want another at your normal price please feel free to contact me!!

Congrats on the sale!!
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great point!!
 
stress the point that you are doing this knife at that price point, to get your work out there
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That's important advice! Thinking back to my own early days making knives, I got myself into a lot of grief in similar situations..... There was a time when I had no clue about pricing (still don't have much of a clue):), so I'd undercut myself to get my work out there, and then the client would tell everyone what they paid........ and I'd end up with a bunch or orders at prices that didn't even pay for materials (at that time the thought of actually turning down an order never entered my mind) :). Of course I also got some of those "pie in the sky" folks, who wanted exotic handle materials, and expected to pay nothing for it.
 
Price point has been discussed and noted that is a "sale price" as she is the first customer from Florida for me.
The factor of setting a price when it was nap time after working all night had a lil to do with it. The rookie skills mindset also had a part in my underbid.
Is a learning moment for sure.

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I would make a 1/2 scale version first, a 4" paring knife that has the same profile as a chef's knife. you should be able to grind to about 0.5mm or 0.02" before heat treat. definitely need quench plates.
 
Whenever I talk price with a client, I visit with them extensively and nail down an exact description of what they want, listing all materials, finishes, and any embellishments that they want included. I then tell them that I will get back to them on the cost. That gives me time to mull things over, look up material costs, and even decide if it's a project I want to take on. I will then send them a project description of what we have discussed with a total project cost attached. The description can be modified to fit their budget and we can go back and forth until we are both satisfied with the scope of the project and the cost. It's important to be on the same page so that the client gets exactly what he wants and I get a price that I feel comfortable with.
 
BrandantR said:
Whenever I talk price with a client, I visit with them extensively and nail down an exact description of what they want, listing all materials, finishes, and any embellishments that they want included. I then tell them that I will get back to them on the cost. That gives me time to mull things over, look up material costs, and even decide if it's a project I want to take on. I will then send them a project description of what we have discussed with a total project cost attached. The description can be modified to fit their budget and we can go back and forth until we are both satisfied with the scope of the project and the cost. It's important to be on the same page so that the client gets exactly what he wants and I get a price that I feel comfortable with.
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Thanks Brendan.
As many have said over the last few years it is a learning process.
I like the idea of the exchange and ironing out all details to the enth degree.

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Sounds like a lot of great advice here and I know as a new maker myself that I've made the same mistakes as you have multiple times.

Now you just need to make the knife and post it on here as we're all interested in seeing the finished product.
 
LobosStyle Blades said:
Sounds like a lot of great advice here and I know as a new maker myself that I've made the same mistakes as you have multiple times.

Now you just need to make the knife and post it on here as we're all interested in seeing the finished product.
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That will happen for sure,since there are 2 in the works so far.

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