Whats a knife like this worth

[Garo]

Hey guys I'm new to this forum, it seems like there is a great deal of good info on this forum.

This is the 3rd knife I have ever made. I wanted to get your guys feedback.

Also I was wondering what a knife like this would be worth.

Blade: 3 3/4" 1080
Handle: Brass, Buffalo Horn, Cocobolo wood

[Ray Rogers]

Welcome to the forum! Please fill out your profile so we know where you are, it can help sometimes when trying to answer some kinds of questions.

We have had many discussions on how to assign a value to our knives although it's been a while. The real and true bottom line answer is: it is worth what someone will pay you for it.

There are many ways to 'sell' yourself as a knife maker. Go to shows, get published in magazines, win some awards, make a knife for a famous person, or simply make very good knives for many, many years and stand behind your work. These things usually take a lot of time but as you accomplish any of them it becomes easier to get higher prices for your work though very few of us ever get rich at knife making - most count themselves very lucky if they can pay their bills.

As a starting point, most of us will add up the cost of the materials that went into the knife plus the cost of the consumables we used (belts, sandpaper, etc), and then add that to a shop rate for the amount of hours spent making the knife. Your shop rate can be anything you want from $0 to $1000 per hour - whatever you want. Of course, if the rate gets ridiculous you have virtually no chance of selling the knife, but then, no matter what shop rate you use it is very likely that the price you come up with will exceed what you can easily sell the knife for.

So, once you have a price then try to sell the knife. If it won't sell, lower the price until it does - and there's the starting point for your knives. If, on the other hand, it sells easily then next time raise the price by 10% or so and keep doing that until about 25% of the people who inquire about your knives decide not to buy. That will be your upper limit for the knives your currently offering.

When i first started making folders I was selling them for $40. Some guys seem to be able to start out at much higher prices but, in the end, you just have to figure out what people are willing to pay for your knives ...

[Garo]

Thanks for the great feedback Ray.

I guess I was trying to get a feel for my progression. This being my 3rd knife, I wanted to see if I was on the right track and if I could make a blade that could be sold. I have somewhere in the vicinity of 10 hours into this knife and I wanted to see what my time produced.

The other two knives I made were from files so this is my first one made from blade steel.

[Ray Rogers]

Any knife can be sold. I read about one old fellow who ground blades out of saw blades, pinned scrap lumber to the tang, and sold them at flea markets for $5. Anything can be sold, and with the information in my last post you have the means to find out how much your knives will sell for ...

[NJStricker]

One of the disheartening things about making knives is that you end up putting a lot more time into a knife than you can ever recoup when you try to sell it. Guys that actually make a living at it have earned there way there, the hard way. The rest of us are thrilled if we can sell a knife here and there to cover supplies. If you break even, you are doing terrific.

To paraphrase Ray, you have to know your place in the market. That means, having excellent fit and finish, having a knife that some group of handmade knife buyers will be interested in, pricing your knife according to that place in the market, and finally, realizing what your name does to attract a market.

If you are an unknown maker, most buyers will pass you by until you can establish a reputation.

Who do you want to sell to? High end collectors? Hunters? Hikers/campers/bushcrafters? The sci-fi crowd?

Once you answer that question, then you direct your designs and fit and finish to that market.

For your knife in particular: The overall dimensions are good for a user/EDC/hunter. I like the selection of handle materials, but the shape of the handle is unconventional. It might fit someone (maybe you) but most buyers will likely be turned off by it. I can't tell by the pictures how the handle is constructed, but for a composite handle I would hope that you used a through-tang with a nut at the end, or at least peened the tang over a cap to hold it together in case the epoxy fails. Finally--and this is difficult to tell from your pictures, but it appears you still have some grind marks to sand out of the blade, at least in the last inch of the blade closest to the tip.

Whatever you think your knife would be worth, the unconventional handle, fit and finish, and handle construction would detract from the asking price, either forcing you to sell at a much lower price than you may be satisfied with for the time you've invested, or potentially driving buyers to another maker. Your name will be on the knife (or, it should be if you are going to start selling). You want your buyers to show that knife off to their buddies and brag about it. You want their buddies (potential customers) to see a top notch product and ask for your number. If they are shown a mediocre knife, they won't ask about your work and you will be forgotten. Whatever type of advertising you do, don't forget about word of mouth.

[jes4e]

The first knife I ever sold was to a lady at a gas station that wanted it for her son as a birthday gift. It had a stag handle and a blade made from an old masonary saw blade. the spacers on it were made using pennys and nickles. I probably had 10-15 hrs into that knife and I sold it for 15 bucks.

Slowly I have been able to raise my prices as my skill has grown. I have never atended a knife show in my life, and I belive that if I would have, I would be able to charge more for my knive then I do now.
Now almost six years later I can make a knife in 3-4 hours and sell it for several hundred dollars.
All of money that I am able to get for a knife is by skill alone, because few people have ever heard of my name, and only the ones who have bought from me know my reputation.
This is my fault for not getting on the ball when I was just starting out.

I have asked the same question you have to several pro knife makers when I was first getting started and the response that I got was sell it for what you are comfortable with.
I can also say that when you are just starting out that it is a good idea to give them away to family and friends as gifts while you increase your skill and ability.
In the end it's up to you to decide what to charge for it NHStricker has some good advise as well.

[Crex]

Good pointers given above. Get a good chuckle out of the "estimated" hours that get posted, though.
First advice I can give is get serious and honest to yourself on the actual hours spent making those first knives......most of the time you can 3x that number and still be short. Fabrication is only a small part of the time puzzle.
Second: look at, study in detail, and think about the knives you are inspired by. The ones that got you really interested in taking the next step. Find out how they were made/constructed, what it took to get them done and the real science behind what makes them quality and appealing. Lot more to it than just "looks".
Third: learn to do what it takes to get to the point where you can make "that" knife. Again, there is a lot of hidden science to learn, understand and master.
Yes, a lot of "hobbed-up" knives get sold and give a lot of would be makers a false sense of accomplishment.....but be certain that at some point quality and integrety will prevail. Understand that I am not taking "shots" at anyone here, as we've all probably sold a few knives we wish we hadn't for many different reasons. Just that "poor" product quality will haunt a long time. No one needs that. Like Ray said above reputability in name and product go a long way toward the success of a knifemaker.
Be sure that you really put in the effort to do it right, do your best, and give the best quality you can. Then there will be no regrets. Give it your honest best.

[cbsmith111]

I just sold my first knife to a friend. I would not have sold it to a stranger and I did not put my name on it. The thing is, it was a pretty good knife. However, I am not ready to start building a reputation as a maker. No offense, but you probable aren't either. If I would have priced it based on the hours I put into it it probably would have cost around $1,000. It wasn't that nice. I simply looked at the knife and asked myself what I would be willing to pay for it if someone had made it for me. Don't think of it as profit right now. If you can cover the materials fir the knife, or better yet the material for thw next one as well, then I would say you are doing good at this point. Look at it as self sustaining training. You may not turn a profit, but just being able to cover some of the expensive materials you go through while learning is very valuable.

[Crex]

Don't leave out the unwritten values of R&R and therapy......more there than meets the eye. Forging gets the stress out and rubbing out a blade is good for meditation......then you wind up messing it all up with fitting a guard and have to start the meditation process all over again finishing the handle......but the leather work really mellows things out for me.......just one more cut..........well, better go fire up the dragon and get out the hammers.......just a big 'ol circle.

[Imakethings]

I'd suggest materials cost x (1 + (years of experience/100))

[Crex]

CB, the first knife you let out of your shop/hands starts your reputation as a maker......so you've already stuck your foot in it so to speak. Now all you can do is try to do better each time. Congratulations
IMT, that include all the bad knife experiences? I worked on a commercial grouper boat once and let me tell you.......oh, guess you mean knife making.

[cbsmith111]

I'm sure that is true to an extent. Even under those restricted circumstances I wouldn't have let it go if I wasn't proud of it. I just wanted to take steps to make sure it didn't get out of hand. It ended up being the third try after I told him I would make one for him. You wouldn't believe how many friends and family members have begged for the ones that didn't turn out. Beyond appearance they don't understand what makes a good knife.

[Imakethings]

Exactly, but honestly I think being about to cover cost of materials and a bit of your time when you're starting out is pretty much all you can ask for.

[NJStricker]

Originally Posted by Imakethings

Exactly, but honestly I think being about to cover cost of materials and a bit of your time when you're starting out is pretty much all you can ask for.

Bob Engnath's suggestions for new makers was to charge enough to make 3 more knives. . .

[NorCal Nate]

Im guessing that the first few I made I had 25-30 hrs on each. So far I have sold two knives, one for 150$ and the other for 200$..not much of an hourly rate, but the the learning experiance is worth so much more. You can only get better!