Hello everyone. I have had some things on my mind lately.

First of all a little about myself. I am going on two years in knifemaking. I consider my self a knifemaker and I use quality materials and methods to make knives with. Some steels I send out for heat treatment cause I am not set up to heat treat stainless steel yet. I cut out and hand stitch my own sheaths as well. My knives and others on here are truly one of a kind creations. I buy a bar of steel and grind away until it looks like a knife. I play with different designs to find ones I like and test my blade out in the field for their intended use. I feel comfortable in saying I make a handmade or custom knife. I am not a master blade smith I just try my dangdest to make a good knife. Bruce Bump is a Master not me.

Now what I have on my mind is what the consumers consider a custom knife. Stock removal/Forged or a premade knife that you attach handles too. I think they are both custom knives. Would you like to know if the custom knife you were buying was a pre-made knife blank or if it was hand ground/forged out of a piece of steel? There are some knifemakers who have started using kit knives. I don't think there is nothing wrong with them, they come in decent steels but are not hand made. I never mis lead anyone who wants to know about my knives and other knifemakers like Stic, Craig, Travis, Jason, Tony, Bdotson, etc... don't mislead and all have their own styles which appeal to different folks.


What say you? Would you like to know or is it the same thing in your mind?

sure it would be good to know. and BTW everyone I can vouch for Frank's leather work.

I would want mine handground.

I knew you were gonna POP before long LOL.

Like I said, I don't mind production blades as long as it's USA steel, not overseas junk. What kills me is the prices.

Buying a premade blade and putting handles on it isn't a full custom IMO. Getting a knife from someone that made the blade out of a solid piece of steel is part of what makes the custom knife special

I wouldn't knowingly buy a knife kit. You might as well pick it up off the shelf. JMO

Hmmmmm...good question!! I guess I never really thought about it. I've only bought 2, both of them were from Big Tony. I don't know his process, but whatever he does I like 'em!!! I hope to eventually get a knife from all of the makers here on the forum as time and $$$ allows. They are custom to me whether they are made from scratch or a kit, I guess just more work is involved in one than the other. But I'm not that familiar with making knives, I'm more of a if I see it, like it, and have the cash I buy it kinda guy.

I make a few knives now and then.All are made from scratch and are Resurrected Blades, some on occasion are made from bar stock. All leather is custom by shell and me. Nothing wrong with putting handles on pre made blanks as long as your upfront that is what your doing IMO. I Like knives and I love making them. Some may not like my style of knife and that's fine. We live in America and we are free to think and like and dislike what ever we want. For me hand made knives from scratch and carbon blades... but that's just Stics . Thanks Guys<><

I would rather have a knife done completely by the maker. I love seeing all the knives everyone makes on the forum. I would love to see more of the STIC's but i can't view the images from work. Frank, you need to use a different image hosting site so i can purchase one of your knifes. By the time i can view them, they're already sold.

I got one listed now jayrod LOL.<><

I think it is dishonest to not let any potential buyer know that a knife is made from a kit. All knife makers have a reputation that follows them. Even the best reputation disappears quickly when someone thinks they were misled.

As long as the buyer understands and is happy with what they are buying the pre made blanks are fine. A lot of knife makers start out with kits and progress to making their own blades.

I totally agree. I have seen some kit bbq forks and spatulas that I am thinking of getting for my self to handle up and use. I am not knocking kit knives at all, though some will jump to conclusions and get upset about this post. It is a fair question to ask what information customers expect for their hard earned money.

I love to see new makers who are trying to learn and improve, and I wish there were more local makers close to me so I can bug them in their shops.

If I was going to buy a custom knife I would want it made fromthe ground up. Otherwise Id just buy a buck or case knife

Brother, I'm becoming a big fan of your work...I don't think I've seen anything that you've done so far that I don't like. Keep up the good work, hopefully in the not too distant future I'll be able to get one (or more).

Well, I have some words to. I do my blades and handles from scratch. I use different steels to do my blades. Very selldom I have done a knife from a premade blade but when I done that i write what it is. For me it's more fun to do all knife and blade myself. Nothing wrong to to do the kits if somebody wants that and i understand if not all can do the blades themself for different reasons.
The price of a all made knife comes mostly higher because it's done from scratch. It's many many more houers of work when done the whole knife and blade. Sometimes when I do a blade it can take me a whole day. Then it's the heat treat ans so on. Then after that it's the handle and there goes 2 days more with the sheath.
Well some words. Sorry my english but I hope you understand
/Kimmo Lilja

You said it just fine, Kimmo. I agree with everyone else. As long as the buyer knows up front and he's ok with it, then everything's cool. Myself, I like it made from scratch.

Thank you. kimmo ya done just fine and dandy<><

I'm with these guys. I see nothing wrong with kit knives and would even recommend them as a way to get into knifemaking, but you'd better tell folks what they're getting or you're a flat out liar. I make my own because I like making things, and I don't count premade blanks I've put handles on for customers as knives I've made. If I say a knife is the 64th i've made, for example, that ignores the 4 or 5 blanks I've put handles on. I'm not saying it's wrong to do otherwise, but that's how i roll.

pm sent

A custom handmade knife is just that , designed and made by the maker , it contains a piece of his/her soul and character. A kit knife is one handled up by an assembler with the soul of a production machine . I believe it is only honorable to inform the customer of how the knife was made . I have no problem with those selling knives they constructed from kits or blanks but they should disclose this as they are not sole author of that knife .

Hey Jack Welcome to the forum. I actually just ordered me a kit bbq fork. I am also working on grinding a fork out of steel for a customer of mine.

If it's a pre-made blade then that should be in the listing along with the price. You knife guys are killing me and breaking me. Keep up the good work.

I would be po'd to know I might buy a knife that has no character or authenticity. I have no clue who you are but you should be honest and your knives should be ALOT cheaper

excellent question.

As a consumer, I'd say a large part of the custom experience is the history and detail that compliments the fit and finish. If I pony up for a quality custom piece I want to know the story behind it. Honesty is the best policy, and I would want to know all I could about the materials, designs, and craftsmanship - so I could tell others. I wouldn't mind if some components were pre-made or 'kit' as long as there were specific reasons and adequate explanation.

Hello, I am new here and wanted to comment on this subject. I am a knifemaker, and agree with all the other comments, that there is nothing wrong with kit knives, but passing them off as handmade is wrong. When I started into knifemaking, I used kit knives, as a learning tool to advance fit and finish skills. I sold many of them, but the customer ALWAYS knew he was getting a kit knife, and all I done was the handle work. When ask why I didn't put my name on them, I said I didn't make the blade only the handle and that would be wrong to put my mark on them.
Just my .02 worth.