How much to charge

How do I figure out how much to charge for a custom knife? I'm just a beginner but I have someone interested in a custom knife already. Would I figure out how much materials were plus my time and expenses?

Yes.


I wish I could leave it there, but that is not the whole story.
Pricing is one of the hardest things about selling them.
How does one put a spicific value on the worth of something, esspecially when it is one of a kind.
Time is a depressing way to figure the worth of a piece.
Materials are often used to just jack up the price, but not necessarily the worth. Sometimes the materials are worth more than the knife.(sad but true)
A good fit up should be worth more than "what is" fit up.
The reputation of the maker has a lot to do with the price, but then again not necessarily the value.The long term value will definately be affected by the reputation of the maker.
(RESALE VALUE IS ABOUT 90% REPUTATION)
The value is not always governed by price either.
The price has to be set by the owner, the value is up to the potential buyer.
When the buyer AND the seller are both happy, that is called a bargain.
My best secret to pricing my knives, I ask myself what would " I " be willing to pay for the product.
That usaully brings the price back down from estimations on materials and time alone.
I like bargains, so I try to pass them along with the VALUE of my product vs. the price of my products.That brings me repeat business.(the gravy part)
Some makers sit with the same blades on thier tables, with the same prices, year after year.
If I keep a certain knife too long, I drop the price to sell.
I can only keep going if I sell what I have.If I get tied up in inventory, I can't afford to make anymore.
I try to price things to move, not to see what I "could" get out of it.Just an opinion from an old timer.

This almost sounds more difficult to figure out than actually making the knife! So its basically its subjective to the buyer and the seller.

Slicer,Geno is right.It is very difficult pricing,especially for a beginner.But you can throw out most formulas.When your going to your first show I probably would not charge more than $100.I think you will find out then what customers are willing to spend.There is always going to be dues to pay for learning.Reputation is alot in this industry.Hell,I still charge between $75 and $125.Hope this helps.Dave

Slicer,
You said it much better than I did.
Making the knife IS the easy part.

There are formulas out there, but I have not found them helpful to me at this stage of my knifemaking career. Yes, if I was a big name with a long waiting list, I could take everything from the formulas and apply them and probably live quite comfortably. But that's not the case. Here's how I do it. It might or might not be the best way, but it works for me, for now.

1) If you have a day job--keep it until you are in the catagory described above. That way if you underprice your work, you can still eat.

2) Ask yourself, in what market are you primarily selling? When I first started out, I mainly made hunting knives for deer hunters and utility knives for outdoorsmen who lived and worked in my immediate area. I live in a textile mill town in the south. If you live here, more than likely you are a mill worker, a laid off mill worker, or a retired mill worker. None of the three groups could afford a $175.00 or more skinner. I, being basically unknown as a knifemaker, was competing with $35.00--$50.00 WalMart, Kmart and the local sporting goods store's specials, or Bucks, Coleman's, Schrades and China specials. So, I had to price my knives based on what I thought people could and would pay. Did I take it on the chin a few times? You bet I did. But as a beginner, I got to make a lot of knives, which gave me good experience, and my day job still paid the bills. As I became known, people were willing to pay a "little" more, because my knives and my service had a good reputation.

3) I came up with my own formula based on the experience level I have achieved, past sales and the prospects of extending outside my immediate area for sales. I now price my knives by size and extras. Small knives are one price. Medium sized knives are another price, and large knives are a third price, for just a basic knife. Then there are the extras--guards, exotic materials, filework, etc. etc., which I add to the base price of the knife. I kick in a little extra for a sheath and shipping, and have come up with a pricing guide that I think is very fair to the buyer, considering the quality they are receiving, and at the same time doesn't cheat me for the time and materials I've put into the work.

You are welcome to click on my website link and check out my site. I have knives I've made and their ordering prices. Also I have a page which describes my pricing guidelines--which are a rough estimate--something to start from, and something standard so that my knives can be equally and fairly priced. You don't want to make a knife and sell it to one person for $75.00 and sell something comparable to someone else for $50.00. You'll have very angry people after you and your reputation will take a beating.

Don't know if this helps or not, but check out the website and the pricing guidelines, and perhaps you can design something similar which works for you in your selling area.

4) Another thing I ask myself is, "how much would I be willing to pay for that knife?" We all want to make knives that sell for $1,000.00 a pop, but realistically, what would you be willing to pay for it on your budget? Sometimes that can be the price that is the most accurate. It remains a crap shoot. Good luck.

Also check out Les Robertson's forum on CKD, as he advises in one of his threads, the reading of Jerry Fisk's book, which goes is slanted towards the business end of knifemaking. Anything Jerry Fisk puts his hand to is of impeccable quality, I have no doubt his book is as well.