A potential order

opaul

opaul

KNIFE MAKER
It may not happen and if it does i’m not sure I would accept. A gentleman stopped by yesterday and wanted to gauge my interest in making 100 knives for a hunting club. (Ironically Mark has posted his 100 knife thread).
I said I would have to think about it if in fact the prospect was offered up.
It would be a years worth of work and Marks thread makes me even more hesitant.
So I was thinking about how I would go about it - hypothetically.
One option to be considered would be to design a blank and have someone waterjet cut to shape; outsource heat treating; grinding and finishing in house And sheaths would be outsourced as well.
I haven’t even crunched the numbers but i’m thinking the cost would have to be at least $350 for a 7.5 inch knife in 1084 1/8” steel. Handle material is not yet determined.
Thoughts or suggestions on this should it happen?
 
I was asked for a quote once on a job of making 10 matching knives for a guy. When I sent him my quote of $2000 he never responded. Most people have no clue what it takes to do a job like that so I would ball park him a quote early in the process. Another option would be to coordinate with another maker or three to spread the load out. If everyone uses the same template and materials you can save outsourcing costs and the knives would be very similar. That way you do not have to make 100 knives 25 or 33 is a much more palatable number.
 
So I was thinking about how I would go about it - hypothetically.
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First, when doing a job of this magnitude, my common "rules" of selling knives are set aside. Situations like that are very easy to loose your butt on.

1. Create a simple design, so that the difficulty level of the job can be minimized.
2. BEFORE buying any material, have a completed/sign contract with the individual.
3. A NON-REFUNDABLE 50% DEPOSIT

This is another of those situations that can be directly blamed on the FIF ear. I'd bet the farm that the individual who expressed interest is expecting to pay next to nothing per knife, because he wants "quantity" numbers.
My instincts tell me that when you hit him with a reasonable price (and I would not be any lower then what you mentioned), he's gona spit and sputter.....and likely run the other way. However, if not, in this situation, were it me, I'd think long and hard about it....especially if there is a deadline involved. ALL the instances that have nearly made me quit knifemaking were those where I had a large order, and a deadline to complete them in. Frankly building a large number of the same knife is just about the most awful thing I can think of. It's a situation where it ceases to be "fun", and becomes "a job".
 
If it were me I'd politely turn down the offer. as for me knifemaking doesn't currently pay my bills and all or most of your time will be consumed by this. not to mention the worrying if things go South. forget going to left field trying new things or learning new things, you won't have time. the ONLY thing you have to gain in life over this order is money, and how much is questionable until the end and everything is added up, and there's a lot of everything's to add up.

This is all on you OP, but I'd think long and hard about this before you make any commitments.
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
Frankly building a large number of the same knife is just about the most awful thing I can think of. It's a situation where it ceases to be "fun", and becomes "a job".
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Ed is right. I’m making a set of six steak knives for a Christmas present and it’s been horrible. Doing the same knife and trying to get them done before Christmas. That’s only six. I can’t imagine trying to do 100.
 
I couldn't do that.
Too much worryation about things going wrong, especially once I had a significant investment in time and materials.
My day job gives me all the stress I need right now.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I don’t have a good feeling about it either. I don’t think I could/would commit to this. I could counter with making one or two a month. That is manageable but even still I hate working under pressure.
 
I started an Etsy store and have had a ton of "LOOKS" not 1 sale, and the knives I have on there are IMO very resonable. I just lowered the pricing to try and 1) Feel out the market 2) Decide if I'm going to continue spending money so people can "LOOK". I've decided I'm not giving my stuff away just to make a sale. I think one of the biggest problems is the (on Etsy anyway) people bringing in Cheap Pakistany stuff and selling it for next to nothing. The stuff looks Great!! And let's face it unless your a builder most common people wouldn't know if it was a good knife or not. They see a Demascus hunting g knife that's 40 Bucks and one for 350 Bucks. End of story!! I'm real new to selling so take my opinion for what it's worth! I've like someone has said have had people ask me for prices and then say "UHHH OK I'LL GET BACK TO YOU UHHHH..." That means "Your pricing is way out of wack!!". But again they dont know what it takes to build a quality knife or the time involved. Some of the handle material I've gotten cost me more money than some of those cheap knives cost complete!!
 
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opaul said:
Plus.......I think i’m a long way off from asking 350$ for one of my knives :)
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You shouldn't be thinking that. Sorry to be blunt, but get over that. Your knives are great, fit and finish is excellent. If you don't choke a little when you quote a price you are selling too low. You only know what your knives are worth when you start hearing "no" more than you hear "yes". Half of the "No's" come from tire kickers and they don't count.

I agree with everything that's been said. I make it clear to people that there are no quantity discounts. Each knife is hand made one at a time. I am not a stamping plant in China.
 
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