I appreciate the kind words about my work. I was asked on another forum why a custom knife is worth $400.00. Here is what I said.
I'm asked this question quite often. You ought to be with me at a knife show when someone comes in that has never attended a custom knife show. Twice I've had people look at a knife that was marked 495 or 395 and lay down a $5.00 bill. They turn beet red when I explain. That's why I stopped going to gun shows.
If you just want a knife to cut, you can buy a pretty good manufactured knife for less than $100.00. The people that purchase a custom knife, want something that no one else has. A "one of a kind".
My knives do NOT cut any better than a Spyderco, Columbia River Knife & Tool, or many other manufactured knives that are heat treated properly. When you purchase one of those, you are buying one of many.
It's similar to purchasing a gun from a dealer, or having someone build one just for you. You can purchase a pretty good and very accurate 1911 for around $1,000.00 or you can have a really nice one made for $3,000.00 or more. Both will shoot better than 90% of the shooters.
Do you really need it, or do you really want it? It really boils down to pride of ownership. Do you wear a Citizen, Seiko or a Rolex watch? The Citizen or Seiko keeps better time than a Rolex. But most every can afford a Citizen or Seiko.
All of my knives are completely made by me. The only fully made part I purchase is the small screws. The Titanium liners start out in 12" X 36" sheets. My stainless blades also start out in 12" X 36" sheets. The Damascus I use, starts out usually in 1 1/2" X 18" bar stock. The Damascus costs me from $18.00 an inch, to well over $100.00 inch.
The Mother of Pearl knife I'm giving my Grandson would sell for $500.00, I have about 18 hours in it. The Mother of Pearl cost me $125.00 (last year). The other parts, probably came to $15.00. The belts, sandpaper, and heat treating are probably another $20.00. So the material works out to around $160.00, if I don't have any problems. Let's not forget, since I'm human, I sometimes have Murphy (Murphy's Law) working in my shop. When he's there, a $300.00 knife can turn into a 20 hour marathon. Sometimes ending up with a $100.00 Damascus blade or $200.00 set of Mammoth Ivory in the scrap pile. I have a friend that makes miniature knives, I keep him in materials.
I've been making knives since '79 and have been purchasing equipment during that time. If I was starting out purchasing all of my equipment today, the cost would be well over $60,000.00. FWIW, I have a Chinese table top mill, Chinese surface grinder, three grinders, two drill presses, two buffers, a dust system, a table top lathe, metal cutting band saw, a heat treating oven for the high carbon Damascus, and a bunch of small hand tools. None of my machines are CNC. They are all manual machines, controlled by my hands.
Stay Safe,
A.T.
