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I have to fall back on some of my examples from an earlier post which were not addressed.
Ray, If I buy a knife from you which was made to order, it is, by your requirements of the definition, a 'custom' knife. If I sell that knife on my show table 20 years from now to a collector, it is no longer a 'custom' knife. The knife hasn't changed, so why should the description of it change?
My inclination is to be more inclusive with the terms and less restrictive.
By your definition, there is no physical difference in a custom knife and a handmade knife. The only difference is in whose sense of artistry and whose performance requirements are being met... The maker or the customer? In this senario, I would rather have the non-custom knife made to the maker's standards as he is likely to conceive a better product in every way. This could make the word 'custom' synonymous with ' wierd, far flung, knife concept, conceived by a person who knows little or nothing about art and blade design'. hmmm... This could in fact lower the value of any knife bearing the word 'custom'. It would also mean that a custom knife can never be a second hand knife, or inherited knife. Even if I say, "Hey Ray, make me a knife and bill me when it's done", it isn't a custom knife because I've indicated not specifics.
Furthermore, let's say I order your Razor design with an ivory handle and I want a portrait of my pet snake scrimshanded into the ivory. Perhaps I even want my wife's name etched into the blade next to a flower. Is this a custom knife? I have indicated no differences between your regular model and the one I want, only embellishment. This could be a production knife with a custom handle, since you could quite literally strip the micarta off of something you have in stock and dress it out the way I want it. Should a true 'custom' go right down to the very design or will we have to start identifying which parts of the knife are actually 'custom'?
I still like Nathan's definition but would submit that the word 'unique' be added to indicate that this is not one of many similar handmade knives out of the same shop. A custom knife should be one of a kind, designed and made, in whole or in part to the specifications of a individual.
As for making our defintion fit the English usage listed in MW. Forget it. There are thousands of words in specialty areas of endeavor which do not jive with the 'official' definition. If I was a cop, and made a comment about a 'forty', I'd be talking about a gun.
If I worked at a liquor store, 'forty' would be a big bottle of beer.
Or we could go with a HUGE stretch! Don't laugh too much on this one!
We can use an alternate definition of 'custom'. As knifemakers, it is our 'custom' to make one-off, handmade knives. Hence, it becomes a 'custom' knife!
Please don't let this jibe detract from the 'assumed' validity of my previous argument. lol
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