I've asked this question on Bladeforums as well.

The title is not entirely descriptive of the situation. Normally, my knives are sold before they run in magazines. This one is different, and I'm curious what other's think.

This particular knife was completed and photographed a couple of years ago, and ran in Tactical Knives "Handmade Customs" and Blade "Gallery". A dealer kept it in the US for a while, and then returned it to me, and I've been holding on to it for a while.

The thing is, there are a number of things I am not happy about about the fit and finish of this knife. Normally, I'd just remove the handle, refinish the blade and do a new handle. That was my plan - until yesterday.

Now I'm wondering, does that prevent someone the opportunity to own a knife that has been published? Obviously, I'm not a big name maker, and it's not like it was a featured knife in the magazine, so it would not be like I was destroying the King Tut Dagger.

I'm curious, what is the collector view on this? As a knifemaker, I don't think I should ship a knife I'm not happy with. What do other makers think?

Matt, that's a really tough question. Wow ... let me think on that.

Alex

I am sure that most of the answers will be in favor of destruction. I have given away every knife I have finished that did not meet my standards (which keep getting upgraded). Some knives, of course, did not get finished, and found their way into the scrap pile. Folks who get a handmade knife for nothing are not critical, for the most part, and often are more appreciative than a payning custom customer.

I guess what I am saying is that I am not convinced destruction is the answer. Truth be told, I doubt if any of the knives I have given away (well over 100) will ever find their way into the aftermarket, and even if they do, I have no problem owning up to having made them in an earlier stage of my own development.

I have a couple of my early pieces in my own collection to remind myself of my beginnings. They will never be sold.

I would do like Don said and give it away or better yet donate it to a charity,like Hunt of a Lifetime(see Neo-Tribal).They are not likely to quibble too much about fit and finish and you get the satisfaction of knowing it went to something worthwhile.Just my $.02,Dave

It is ultimately your choice, but if you are not happy with fit and finish, I'd say keep it. Hunt of a Lifetime is also a worthy cause. I would probably not put it back up for sale if it were I.

Please let us know what you decide to do.

Thanks

Thanks folks,

The knife is toast. As far as keeping it in my collection, no can do. Keeping knives around just drives me nuts, I can't leave them alone.

Thanks greatly for your input!

Matt,

You missed a golden opportunity to make one of your collectors very happy.

You could have given them the knife as a way of saying thanks.

Even better, give the knife to their son or daughter. This gets them excited about knives. Plus allows dad or mom to share the love of their hobby with their child.

I have done this on numerous occasions. I have even had things like Damascus Letter Openers made for the wives of my very good clients.

Lastly, when you made the knife Im sure you were happy with the work and priced it accordingly. As your work has gotten better you are now pricing them accordingly.

So does this mean 4 years from now you will recommend your customers to throw away all of your older knives.

Matt, you are not being realistic about this. Over the course of decades your knives will improve and you will change styles more than once.

Many collectors like to have knives over a makers career, so they can document the improvment.

Bill Moran and Bob Loveless have had several of their "older" knives published. Some of these knives are horrible by their standards in their prime.

Oddly enough, these are the ones worth the most money.

Same for the Scagel guy <G>....have you ever seen his work? If it didnt have his logo on it, you would be lucky to get $50 for it at a flea market.

Matt, sometimes it's better to think like a business man than the "tempermental artist".

Amen to Les' comments.

At the Spirit of Steel show this summer, a 12 year old girl called her parents over to my table to show them my knives. She was so excited that I couldn't resist pulling out a knife from under my table that I considered viable, but below my current standards, and giving it to her. Along with my business card. Her folks were awed, and if they get into collecting themselves, I'm sure they'll call me. If not, I made a young girl very happy for an afternoon.

Les and Don make good points. If this were a utility piece I probably would have looked at it differently, then it would have made sense for a child. (Wickedly pointy spear pointed neck knives just ain't suitable, I don't think).

As far as giving it to a collector, I dunno. "Thanks for your business, here's a piece I'm not satisfied with" just feels weird.

I'm not saying that older pieces must be searched out and destroyed, far from it. I think my older work stands on it's own, and in fact, I am proud of every piece i have sold. That's starting from knife number 3. In this case, I think my problem is that this knife is not really as good as it could have been at the time.

Probably more truth to Les' comments about "tempermental artist" than I like. I think that we do need to explore the yin and yang of artist vs business a little more than we do though. Looking at things just in business terms has the danger of making custom knifemaking a corporate type of activity (ugh). Leaving it strictly artistic means nothing gets finished :) In any event, I think this has prompted some interesting discussion.

Interesting dilemma, equally interesting responses -- here's my opinion. Once that knife leaves your hands you have no control over where it goes, who will be showing it around, how your name and your reputation will be seen by others. Several months ago I was offered a Mayo fighter, really nice piece at first glance. But the grind was not symetrical (right side was about 1/8" higher than left), and the guard was slightly skewed. Offerer said it wa sgiven to him by Mayo as a tribute to his "great fighting skills". Now, months later and prompted by this topic, I believe it may have been given just as suggested here. BUT it was still advertised as a Mayo.
I brought this up with several sellers and a few makers at a small show in Colorado Springs yesterday, and the consensus was either keep it and go hunting, or blow it up. A profesional reputation (in any field of work) is hard to establish, and easy to tarnish.
MtMike