[Andrew Garrett]

Without getting too long winded...

Think about custom cars and motorcycles. They use production vehicles and parts, so are they 'custom' or 'mid-tech' or something else?

I don't want to get too wrapped up in definitions. After all, a knife is whatever the maker says it is. If I make a 12 inch knife that everyone else would call a bowie, and I decide to call it a paring knife..., guess what..., it's a paring knife. It may be a colossaly BAD paring knife, but' it's a paring knife just the same, if that's what the maker says it is. The same is true for terms like 'hand-made', 'customized', 'primitive', etc.

My own definitions are as follows:

I make a lot of stock removal knives. They are 'hand made custom knives'. They could also be called 'hand crafted custom knives' since I consider the two terms synonymous. ***A note about the term 'hand made': If the design is original to the maker, and if every surface of the knife is created by the labor of the maker's hands through the use of tools, then it is, IMHO, 'hand made'. The use of electricity is irrelavent. The key here is to understand that if all contact between the tool and the knife is controled by the 'feel' of the maker's hands, then what could be more handmade than that. It shouldn't matter if it's a file or a belt grinder. The term 'primitive' can be used to identify a knife made without the aid of power assisted tools.

I have started forging knives too. These are 'forged hand made custom knives'.
The term identifies the process used to create it to the degree that an educated buyer can draw certain conclusions about it.

I have also just sent a design to Admiral for a quote on laser cutting some blanks. These will be 'hand made production knives' . They will all be very similar as a finished product and as such, will not be 'custom' per se'. However, these are going to be marketed to the local law enforcement and military community and may be 'customized' on request. I just wanted to have blanks available to cut down on costs, wasted steel, and turn around time for the boys and girls in uniform. It's my own unique design and every surface will be finished by me. The HT will be mine as will the sheaths. 'Hand made production knife' is as accurate a term as any and far less cryptic than something like 'mid-tech'.

***Just a quick note on kit builders: The guys at Hogue Grips (the craftsmen in the wood shop) make 'custom gun grips'. Following that example, I recognize kit builders as craftsmen who make 'custom knife handles'.

Does any of this make sense to anyone but me?