A topic that is mostly opinion reliant, but what the heck I have two pennies in my pocket as well.
I think anybody who has dedicated themselves to the craft, in order to make sure that every blade they make has to be better than the last, even if it costs them money at times, can call themselves a knifemaker. The money part can be important because some focus so much on the money making and marketing that little time is left for the craft. There was a time that the only way to get known as a "knifemaker" was to actually make knives, but these days it is easier to cite Instagram followers, YouTube subscribers, or time on television, as knifemaking credentials, regardless of knifemaking experience. If that is the case then I guess Kim Kardashian is a Master bladesmith! If you call yourself a knifemaker, you should probably be able to make knives.
There is too much to be said on both sides of the makers mark issue for me to touch it with a ten foot pole, so I just ran out of pennies.