This Page

I developed this page (and will continue to do so) in order to have a place for people to go for information, education, and reason about the prevalent and unusual comparison between factory knives and handmade custom knives. I don't expect this page to be read by most knife enthusiasts and aficionados, as they understand the simple differences between these very different knife types. For those who don't, they will find clear, concise, and sometimes painful answers in these topics.

Most people agree that factory knives simply can't be compared to well made fine custom knives by established knife makers. I've gathered up all the topics that were sprinkled around my website pertaining to this prevalent misconception, and put them all on this page. Please remember that what you read is my opinion, after over thirty years in this field and business as a professional. If you have over thirty years of your own professional experience in this field, please do share it with the world by developing your own website where we can see thousands of the works you have created. If your life experience is using blades for cutting, welcome to the human race, where everyone alive, sooner or later, uses a knife. Just like any tool that is then created as a work of art, a knife can be a simple affair, or a complex one, a plain tool or an investment grade work of art. While most people do not compare a F150 pickup truck to a Lamborghini, some insist on comparing factory knives to fine handmade knives. On this page, you will learn the stark and clear differences between the two.

Why I don't name names

Once or twice, an argumentative type will protest that my comments on this page are generalized. They think that in order to be validated, I should disclose names, manufacturers by company, and specific models, false claims, or types of product sold by exact number. Otherwise, they think my statements must be false... right?

The main reason I don't name names is that most people can see the details that I list. It doesn't take a genius to know that if knife components have bad fit, it's easy to see, and I don't need to list every knife made that has a bad fit by manufacturer and model number. The same goes for poor finish, bad balance, and weak design and inferior handle materials. Most people can see the difference in a good sheath and a bad, in a single screw attachment vs. multi-pinning. If they can't, they shouldn't be investing in expensive custom handmade knives.

In these times, it is outright foolish to invite litigation by specifying huge manufacturing companies by name. I also do not identify individual knife makers on this site. Conversely, it seems perfectly acceptable to identify me by name, call me offensive or even profane names, and insult my opinions from an anonymous position such as a forum, bulletin board, or discussion group. This prevalent practice is one of the reasons why large manufacturers aren't too troubled by the comments of a singular knife maker on his own website. These large manufacturers have plenty of defenders: guys who have spent their money on factory knives that depreciate in every way the minute they are purchased, yet swear they are the best knives ever. Really? Then why can't they be resold... at a profit?  In the rare cases where one or two models do sell for a bit more than they were purchased for because they were manufactured as "limited runs" and in "numbered lots," I'll simply ask, "What will their heirs think when the factory or manufactured knife is handed down?" The truth is a factory knife is a clone, and that will always be the case.

For a deeper discussion of this topic, my "Business of Knifemaking" page explains it in detail. The topic is called: The Truth Can be Painful.

Factory Knives vs. Handmade and Custom Knives

When I started making knives decades ago, I was a bit stunned to realize that there are many people who consider handmade or custom knives not too different than factory made or manufactured knives. Though these same people wouldn't dare make the same comparison with handmade custom jewelry, firearms, and works of art, it seemed that knives were exempt from this distinction, that knives were only products of a simple craft. These same folks consider knife makers as craftsmen, not artists, not creative, and their works not too different than that of factories.

The attitude of comparison is so prevalent in this field that I started illustrating the exact distinctions between well-designed individual works of fine craft and art in handmade knives from factory or poorly produced and manufactured knives on this very website, only to face an onslaught of criticism, negativity, and opposition. For a great point by point comparison, take a good hour or two to read the Tactical Combat Knives page on this very site. Here, you can see the exact limitations, shortfalls, and comparisons of factory or badly made knives. Guys have established running conversations on forums, blogs, and websites determined to defend their factory knives, and attack what I have written on this website. This continues to this very day.

You are correct if you assume this is one of the reasons for this very page, my own counter to some of those rants. This is my site, and I'm allowed my own opinion here. By the way, the negative attacks, rants, anonymous spews, malicious claims, and flaming emails are one of the reasons why forums are limited in their scope and interest. I know dozens of guys who have once posted and participated there, only to leave in disgust. I did. You seldom see any of the very successful makers there, and that is why, several years ago, I quit posting on all forums. There is nothing wrong with most of the knives there, the knife makers who make them, and the people who buy them, but there is a distinct direction of attack and inflame, incite and stir, in order for more conflict, and thus more traffic to occur. This is like the high school kids who gather outside the school after hours to watch a fight between two well-known enemies. Or the look-e-loos who slow down to gawk at an accident scene. People watch conflict. There is some strange attraction to it, perhaps because deep inside, we wonder where our own interest lies, and what we may have to do to respond to impending chaos.

Because name is everything in this field, I felt obligated to respond to these comments, not merely to defend my name and reputation in this field, but to plainly and clearly educate those who read about the differences, and to let them know why custom and fine handmade knives are sought after, valued, and cherished by their owners. The long-term investment value of fine handmade knives is also well-established, and knives by well-known makers are known to be one of the top investment opportunities, appreciating year after year. While you may be able to find handmade custom knives selling for less than they were purchased for, this is not the norm, unless the knives are used and scarred, the popularity of the maker and knives has declined, or the seller is desperate to make a sale and move his collection. The last reason I listed seems to be the most prevalent. I know of several collectors who have fallen on hard economic times and have had to liquidate their collection of knives. Unfortunately, trying to sell them on forums is a cheap, desperate attempt to move the pieces without paying a professional dealer, and I don't recommend it. A good dealer knows the market, has access to clients, and can help the owner move the knife more efficiently, but some guys forego this step in order to save a buck. So, the knife sits on a forum for a while, and then the guy tries eBay, or Crag's List, where the likelihood of sales is even smaller, particularly for fine, handmade, or custom knives.

Custom and handmade knives by established "big-name" knife makers are typically much better designed, constructed, finished, embellished, and accessorized than factory knives, though factories in recent years have made substantial improvements in their offerings. This seems simple and clear to most people who know this trade, but you might be surprised how many uneducated people think there is no difference. Every time I stumble on or have reported to me that my name is being used in this type of comparison, I remember the two little old ladies that shuffled up to my table at an outdoor art and crafts show in Scottsdale Arizona back in the mid '80s. They looked over my table display and one of them picked up a modest knife to look at the price tag. The astonishment and incredulity washed over her face as she loudly blurted out, "One hundred dollars... for a knife?"

They couldn't wait to slam the knife back down to the table and scurry away. Neither one of them cast one glance in my direction, standing just a few feet away behind the table. They didn't have a clue what it takes to design, construct, finish, and sell a handmade knife, and would be overwhelmed if they knew. After thirty years of making and twenty as my full-time career and my only source of income, they might well be astounded to know that most of my knives start at ten times as much, and that I'm years in backorders and that I've made and sold literally thousands of knives this way. How could this be? After all, it's just a knife!

The Skill Factor

When a person decides they want to try to make a knife, it's usually an enthusiastic affair. Knives are attractive to hold and use, everyone likes a good knife, and they can be beautiful and functional. The initial enthusiasm slowly gives way to determination at the difficult process. Sure, a simple knife can be made simply, just as many manufactured knives are made today, and this simple, repeatable process can even be automated to produce hundreds, or even thousands of knives per run. Though the initial project may be a modest one, it doesn't take long for a new maker to realize the difference between quality workmanship and rough shaping, between a high value finish and quick surfacing. I've met plenty of new makers in this career, and the one thing each will tell you is that making a knife by hand is a hell of a lot harder than it looks.

How can a custom handmade knife be "better?"

As you can probably imagine, my take on factory knives gets a lot of interest and comment. Most reasonable people understand the simple differences between handmade custom art work and factory produced products, but once in a while someone will claim that my comments are disingenuous or outright wrong. It's okay to disagree, but be prepared to defend your argument if asked to do so with reason and intelligence. I do appreciate the web traffic they send my way, as long as they spell my name right and include my URL.

An example of one of these non-reasoning complaints is one presented by just such a person (anonymously, of course)that factory-made automobiles are better than handmade automobiles, therefore, handmade automobiles are inferior, and that is why there are few handmade autos. If this person is talking about small shops custom making individual autos, he couldn't be more wrong. The most expensive, most valuable autos in the world are made individually, by hand, in small groups in custom shops. Though they might be occasionally referred to as production autos, mere dozens exist. The custom shops of Bugatti, Lamborghini, McClaren, and Pagani are not prolific high volume production shops, and one could not dispute the extremely high value of their autos. Do they perform well? Of course they do, but how can you compare them to a Hundai which may be a better value per mile? What about fine racing cars, worth millions of dollars? Do these complainers think Indi cars and dragsters are made in some production factory? And what about performance? Sure, they can go fast, but how convenient are they to park; what kind of mileage do you get on alcohol and nitromethane?

Apart from this slight oversight, the complainer decided that the only valid comparison of factory knives to handmade custom knives is one of cutting performance. Performance is a hot topic with knife factories for several reasons. The first is that a measurement of cutting ability is entirely subjective and something that can be constructed, guided, arranged, and presented to portray their particular knife in a good light. Performance of cutting chores in repetition is something everyone, especially those ignorant of value can understand. Knives can cut, be bent, hammered through sheet metal, and abraded. Would you do this to your fine firearm? Who would purchase the IIRC, the Colt Third Model Dragoon given to the Sultan Abdulmecid by Sam Colt in 1853, engraved by Gustave Young and toss it in the back of their pickup truck after plinking cans at the dump? It's worth six million, and I bet it doesn't shoot any better than a Ruger.

Okay, I don't have any million dollar knives... yet. But this is the grist of the discussion and it stuns me how uninformed these types can be. Would they have compared the cutting ability of the solid gold dagger made by a big-name contemporary knife maker and valued at a million dollars to a common factory knife mounted to a folding pliers? By gosh, that gold sure holds a lousy edge! It would fail any cutting competition, no matter how many beer cans filled with water or hanging ropes it was "tested" on. So, obviously, it's an inferior knife, and the guy purchasing it is a fool....right?

Taking the same type of argument: is a fine watch better than a cheap watch because it performs better? How could a mechanical antique pocket watch keep better time (perform better) than a modern electronic watch made in China? Obviously, it can't. Even if it kept perfect time, it would have to be rewound, thus reducing the performance. Yet the old watch is worth hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars more. Does a Vacherin Constantin Tour de l’Ile keep better time (perform better) than a Timex? If it doesn't, then how in the world could one justify the 1.5 million dollar price tag? Could it be that there is much more to the Vacherin than meets the simple requirements of time keeping performance? Could it be the method of construction, the multitude of significant features, the quality of the creation, the reputation of the maker, or the long term investment value known in wide collecting circles that contribute to the value? Could it be that the same features exist in fine custom handmade knives, or is it only about performance?

By the way, any piece of tool steel, of any type, when geometrically identically ground, shaped, and finished, when properly heat treated and tempered, will cut exactly the same whether it is made by hand by a knife maker, or made in a factory by automated machinery. There is no great mystery to heat treating, sharpening, and finishing the tool steel, this is all fairly simple and documented. Why so often you see claims of superior performance is to distract the customer or client from poor finish, bad fit, weak or amateur design, or lack of the service aspects of the knife. So, it is not the steel performance that becomes the key here. Otherwise, all knives would look alike, be ground alike, and perform alike, and be made of the same steel, right? So is there more than the steel type and edge sharpness?

Of course there is more, just as there is more to fine handmade knives than there is to factory knives. Just as there is more to fine art than bad art, just as there is more to fine guns, fine jewelry, fine artistic pursuits in every realm. Why is it then that modern knife artists can not be taken as seriously as a fine artist, sculptor, or performer? It is an unusual factor of this tradecraft that I will go into in more depth in my upcoming book.

If you don't understand the difference between simply doing a task and making an investment, you're probably on the wrong website. Unfortunately, this site is open to all comers and skeptics, and I can only hope that they will become educated as to that difference. There is a reason that most fine handmade and custom knives appreciate in value year after year, and are sought after by collector's, users, and knife aficionados. There is a reason that cheap factory knives are cheap, depreciate in value the moment they are purchased, and strive to present themselves by the best cutting performance value alone. There is a reason that factory knives and boutique shop knives are not known for, purchased, and sold for their investment value. When was the last time even the factory itself touted the great investment value of a cheap knife? They don't present their products as investment grade, as worthy of collection or even appreciation of art, because simply, they know what their market is.

To expand the discussion with its simple limitations of performance, please consider this:

• a bicycle is better than a motor vehicle because it performs better in tight circles
• a bicycle is better than a motor vehicle because it performs with less fuel
• an actor in a community theatre is better than a big screen actor because they perform accessibly and cheap
• a cheap wine is better than an expensive one, because they both fill the same sized bottle and have the same alcohol content
• a cheap firearm is better than a well made firearm because it shoots with less investment and expense
• a faith healer is better than a physician because they work more cheaply
• watching a high school basketball game is better than an NBA tournament, because it's cheap and local
• canned meat is better than a steak, because it lasts longer, and after all, they're both simply protein
• a child's finger painting is better than a master's work of art, because it's all just color on paper

Hopefully, you're as sick of these comparisons as I am, but I bet you can add some of your own. The leading thought for the guy who challenges me to make a knife that "outperforms" a $100 cheap piece of junk is this:

What about those legendary Japanese chef and kitchen knives?

We've all heard about those legendary blades. Born of the Samurai, forged from the mud of mount Fuji, quenched in the torsos of their enemy slaves. It's time some things were set straight. I don’t know of anything that has been more hyped than early Japanese steel. The reason steels were "folded" hundreds of times was to define and clarify the grain, because the grain  was so bad to begin with. The reasons blades were made by laminating hard steel over soft steel was because the steels used could not be both hard and tough. Read more details about that at this bookmark on the Blades page. Differential tempering creating the intriguing hamon lines was needed because the steel could not be both hard and tough at the same time, so the cutting edge was left hard while the spine was tempered back.

 There are good, finely made knives made by individuals in every country, not just Japan. The interesting thing to note is that there are more Japanese style blades, swords, and knives in the United States of America than are in Japan (John Yumoto, The Samurai Sword). Note that as early as 1958, 70% of the long swords in existence were in the United States of America. I haven't seen any recent data, but I'm certain that the US holds the record for the amount of swords and knives in private hands when compared to every other country in the world. This has more to do with freedom than need, history, culture, or tradition.

Modern tool and die steels are hard and tough, made with the best metallurgy and chemical design we know. That is why industry relies on fine modern tool steels. Ask the company that’s making a die to stamp out medical parts for a dialysis machine, machine tools to make the helicopter gears of an HH 60G Pavehawk, or shears to fabricate the sheet metal of a car. They're using high tech, high quality tool steels that have been highly refined, and double poured in a vacuum and high purity environment. Want water-resistant ball bearings? They're the best we've ever made them, and they're made out of 440C. What are the steels used to make the tough, hard, and wear-resistant dies that stamp out factory knife blades? Why, D2, 440C, ATS-34. They're used to make the dies that stamp out other blades. Are plain carbon steels used to create high temperature, high wear valve seats, machinery, and cutting blades? No, those are inferior steels. They lack wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and are markedly weaker in tensile strength. Their advantage? They are easy to work with, easy to machine, and cheap.

I’ve got to acknowledge this though: the steel foundries that pour these machine grade tool steels are mostly in Japan. Good old American technology, used by a foreign country, often with raw materials that we send them...and when I was a kid, "Made In Japan" meant the worst sort of cheap junk you could find. How Japan has benefitted and grown from those days; perhaps we have a lesson to learn from them after all. Oh, yes, the basis for this achievement came from W. Edwards Deming, an American.

Look, there are some decent chef's knives originating from many other countries including Japan. Please don't buy the typical hype of an historic association of ancient Japanese sword smiths with modern mass production industries. There is not a descendant of a Samurai sword maker hammering out that kitchen blade in a clay-lined forge with humble helpers tending the bellows, quench-water blessed by priests, and weeks of meticulous hand-sharpening with rottenstone. These kitchen knives are mass produced in a factory by automated machinery.

Read more about my fine kitchen and chef's knives here.

What's wrong with factory knives?

The Inevitable Comparison

If you're buying a cheap knife, that's okay. Cheap knives are a big business worldwide for a reason. People need knives. The issue gets complicated when owners of these cheap knives seek to compare them with fine custom knives.

No one can seriously expect to compare factory knives with fine handmade and custom knives, and it surprises me that it happens so often. When a person buys a factory knife, it's usually a decision based on economy first, and function second. Factories work hard to create and maintain brand loyalty, and guys fiercely defend their purchases of factory knives, manufactured knives, and boutique shop knives. These guys will go on bulletin boards, knife forums, and any public venue they can to defend their purchases.

There is simply no comparison between the fine construction, unique materials, and craftsmanship that exists in well-made knives individually crafted by a master knife maker. Every successful individual knife maker makes a knife that is superior to factory knives, or he wouldn't be in business very long. If he's been in business a long time, it's a pretty good indicator that he makes an excellent knife, service, and runs a good business. If it is his full time professional job, and completely supports his family, he's serious about the knives he makes. If he's been successfully making knives for decades, he knows knives. No one has "lucky breaks" for decades.

One can also argue that a factory that has been in business for a long while is also successful, and knows their market. Otherwise, they would be out of business. The differences are in the market. While factories are geared for economy and volume, a custom individual maker is geared toward extremely high quality.

The knife factory typically makes thousands and thousands of mass-produced knives. Rather than a passion, their industry is simply a business of manufacturing. Manufacturers are governed by the bottom line. No factory is going to take years of losses and struggling to self-train and establish a niche market of extremely fine goods, but an individual knife maker often does just that. No knife manufacturer is going to risk his entire business in order to create new styles, processes, and work with untested materials to be wildly creative and out of the mainstream, but an individual knife maker often does just that. No factory is going to spend six years developing and perfecting a proprietary process without return until it is successful, but a knife maker may do that repeatedly. No boutique knife shop or manufacturer of any size is going to correspond with each individual client to make sure his particular and personal needs are met, but an individual custom knife maker does that on every single custom knife designed, made, and sold.

When carefully considered, these comparisons translate to a simple personal statement:

The same guys who insist on comparing handmade custom knives with factory or manufactured knives often complain that I'm too hard on factory knives. If one insists on comparing, is it being too harsh to reveal the truth? Perhaps these guys who defend factory knives have spent their own hard-earned money on them and feel the need to defend their purchases. Maybe they hope that the value of their dollars are well-applied, and they won't be seen as mere consumers of a mass-marketed manufactured product. Perhaps they can't afford a fine handmade knife, so try to berate them while building up the image of their factory knife purchase.

When you openly compare factory knives to knives made by well known established knife makers, you open the conversation to reveal the differences in glaring reality. Then, the details are fair game for comment from this (and other) professional knife makers. The most important thing to realize is that:

Though there are a few good knife boutique shops and knife production factories that make a decent product for a modest price, none can compare to finely handmade knives. If there were a valid comparison, you would see factory knives selling for over a thousand dollars each. All custom knife makers would be out of business because of the intense volume of production knife factories. Instead, what you see is custom knife makers with deep backlogs of orders, significantly appreciating values, and high demand. When was the last time a knife manufacturer put a client on a one, two, or three year wait?

I read in an Internet post once that the writer believed factories excel over custom makers because they have quality control inspectors and trained metallurgists. Evidently, the guy who wrote this has never had any contact with a real production factory. Quality control in factories is a woman sitting at the end of a line, looking for a bent or discolored blade coming out of the end of an automatic tumbling machine which is used to put the finish on two hundred blades at once. Quality control inspectors look for workers who slow up the production line, cost the company money, and are safety hazards that bump up their insurance rates. They look for ways to make more profit while spending less on the product. No one is sitting at the end of the line with a ten-power magnifier scanning the grinds, looking for hairline cracks and uneven grind lines or a flaw in the finish.

A good custom maker should constantly examine all the facets of each individual knife, comparing how his operations and results interact with each other, improving his skill and execution on every single knife. Though he should be concerned with safety and loss control, he does not pay for or pass on these expenses to his clients. If a change is needed in his studio or shop, he makes it, without review by the safety department, analysis by the accounting department, and companywide education plans and schemes initiated by the training department.

And trained metallurgists? Please. Just like individual knife makers, knife factories do not smelt their own ore, forge their own blades, and some do not even do their own heat treating. No knife factory is going to be bothered with someone analyzing tool steels when the exact methods of steel alloy composition, heat treatment, and usage are carefully and clearly prescribed by the steel manufacturer. These hyped-up concepts of high quality factory work are pervasive in every industry, and they're promoted by industries that want you to think that they are more than they really are. I spent 15 years in industry; you can read about my background here. I know how factories, plants, and production facilities are run: low budget, low quality, with lots of hype and advertising. Get as many units as possible of the product out the door as fast as possible with as little investment as possible. Cut corners on safety, health insurance, retirement, and quality left and right to save a buck. If you think you know how bad industry is, talk to someone who's spend 15 years there, and they'll probably tell you it's a lot worse than you imagined. They even give bonuses for workers who figure out how to cut corners! If the unions let them, that is...

You often get just what you pay for, and sometimes a great deal less. A good custom knifemaker will understand and be able to illuminate the difference and advantages of his knives and knife making skill compared to both other makers and factories. The points listed below and on other areas of this site will help you get the facts from my perspective. Some readers may disagree with my concepts and opinions, but after over thirty years of making fine custom and handmade knives, and over 20 years as a full time professional knifemaker to the military, police, collectors, and professional knife users, this is what I have learned.

Look, there are many decent factory knives, suitable for many uses. Factories have had many years to determine what makes a knife attractive and saleable, and what makes the knife buyer have loyalty to the factory. Not all factory knives are junk, just most of them. And none of them are better than custom knives by well known makers. Why do you think that individual knife makers get paid so much for their knives? If you need a cheap, junky knife to use and abuse, without concern for quality or value, you can buy the latest popular factory knife and that will work okay for you. But if you buy knives like that, you're probably not even reading this...

Here are some dirty little knife factory secrets:

It's often said that you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a cheap knife, that's okay; this is probably not the website you should be looking at. For those who insist on comparison and a quick education into the differences between manufactured knives and knives by well-known custom knife makers, here are some points to chew on:

• Factories often use the cheapest steels and materials possible to make their knives, so that their profit margin is high. The only way a company can make money is to buy their materials as cheap as possible, sell the finished product for as much as the market will bear, and pay their workers as little as they can get away with. This way they pocket all the rest, and that's called profit. Any narrowing of the margins, i.e., more expensive materials, a lower sale price, or higher wages cuts into their profit. Remember that they're in this business for one thing: profit. It's not art to them; it's not a lifelong endeavor to create superior knives and lead the field in innovation and creative application; it's only about the dollar. No matter what they tell you on their mission statement, they are not dedicated to your personal satisfaction. If they were, they'd be custom knife makers. Most of them don't really care if your knife isn't up to snuff, or fails when you need it most, or causes accidents if you slip because it won't hold an edge.
• Many factories have blades and knife components farmed out (made by outside contractors and companies) overseas, sometimes by child labor, with workers earning literally pennies a week. Pakistan, India, China, and Taiwan are notorious for this. This leads to unregulated materials and metallurgical alloys, ill-fitting parts, bad finishes, and questionable moral issues. It also destroys their guarantee, because foreign factories cannot be held responsible for failures. But factory knives are usually so cheap, they'll just replace a bad knife with another bad knife. You might be surprised to learn that many of the American knife factories use parts that are farmed out overseas, but they won't admit that. How do I know this? I get queries all the time from those very foreign companies, wanting to make parts for my knives. They tell me the names of the manufacturers they make knife parts for for reference.
• There is no law that prevents factories from marking or stamping anything on a knife blade, possibly misleading the customer to think that the steel blade is something it's not. I've had blades professionally  analyzed that are marked ATS-34 and they are not. There is no standard or law in this industry to prevent this type of misrepresentation. A factory can simply claim ignorance (since many of their blades are farmed out), or they can say that ATS-34 is their model number. But they would have to be sued into disclosure to reveal even this, an event not likely to happen. If you have a valid complaint, they'll just give you another bad knife or maybe your money back.
• Factories purposefully list stainless knife steel as Surgical or Solingen (there is no such thing), or other descriptive text that has no reference or meaning in steel technology or industry. Often, factories will create their own designation of letters and numbers that are not listed in the Machinists Guide©, AISI, or SAE designation, or any steel engineering references. Then, they'll claim it's a special steel unique to their product. This is just a ploy to sell knives; any manufacturer should be up front about disclosing the exact material and alloy components unless he has something to hide. He ought to be able to elucidate why he's chosen that particular material, what it is made out of (alloy content and percentages), the process he uses to manufacture it, and why he claims it is superior. There are no secret steels in this industry. Claiming some superior steel properties is often an attempt to draw attention away from poor design, bad fit and assembly, and low quality finish. Think about this: if there really were a "super steel" that only this one knife manufacturer, boutique shop, or knife maker supplies, and it is superior to all other known and engineered tool steels, wouldn't the military industrial complex keep this business buried in specialty orders? Orders that overwhelm the small and meager knife blade industry? This is an often used tactic. Take CPMS30V, for instance. More than one knife manufacturer claims that this steel was developed for the cutlery industry. This is false; simply contact the manufacturer of this steel to find out that 1 to 1.5 percent of their business is in knife blades. What is this steel designed for? What are 90 percent of their sales for? Plastic injection molding dies.
• Factories will misleadingly list stainless knife blades as 440 Stainless, when what is important is the letter designation after the numbers. 440a is much different than 440c; 440a has significantly less carbon than 440c, barely classifying it as a martensitic tool steel. To the uninitiated, an incomplete 440 designation is a blanket that less suitable steels hide under.
• Factories can mislead by using steel designations from other countries, because a new letter and number set is intriguing, mysterious, and beguiling to the knife customer, who may want to try that new stuff he's been seeing so much in advertising. After having an inferior factory knife, who wouldn't want to use a new type of super steel? Again, focusing only on steel alloy and designation ignores fit, finish, balance, design, accessories, and service.
• Most factory stainless kitchen knives are made of 420 series stainless steels, which are nothing but thin, sharpened springs. They are only suitable for light duty food service. These are the steels that have given stainless tool steels a bad name, originating on cheap kitchen and service knives in the 1960s and 1970s. The origin of these cheap kitchen knives? Japan and China.
• Some knives are absolutely rust free, and the factories will tout this as a great feature. Usually this means that the knife is made of stainless like 316 stainless steel, which is used in industry for pipes and mechanisms that work in acids or caustics. 316 is NOT a tool steel, and cannot be hardened. It has horrible wear characteristics, and is not a suitable knife blade. It is usually used on dive and scuba knives, and left very thick. It's fine for scraping around in coral beds and sand and mud, and once in a great while cutting a line, but very little else. It does polish nicely though.
• Titanium blades? NO. Titanium's main advantage is its light weight, corrosion resistance, and toughness. Toughness is not hardness. Titanium cannot be hardened anywhere near knife hardness, only to about 35 on the Rockwell C scale. It is not durable enough to hold an edge. It has its uses, in handles, fittings, and springs, but it is NOT a knife blade.
• Ceramics? Where did they go? There was a great push in the late 1980s and early 1990s toward ceramic blades, but they are not tough enough to resist breakage and chipping, and couldn't be sharpened, so they are all but gone. Ceramic-metals, cermets (used on metal cutting machine tools like lathes and mills), are too expensive and brittle for knife use.
• Factory blades are ground often by automated machinery (CNC machines) , so there is no specific and accurate control of blade grind geometry following the edge profile. Sure, there is repetitive machining, but no fine finishing, and no custom or variation of styles. I go into blade geometry on my Blades page, for this is extremely important and has many components, factors, and specific properties that contribute to a finely designed, ground, finished, and serviced blade.
• Factories purposefully leave blade grinds thick in hunting, utility, and defense knives, so that the knife appears heavy and strong, and after three sharpenings and a season of use, the knife is not capable of being sharpened without blade regrinding and relieving of thickness behind the cutting edge. More on that on the Blades page. After three sharpenings, you'll be frustrated with the tremendous time and effort it takes to relieve the knife, and they'll hope you just buy another knife.
• Factories know that brand loyalty is a powerful thing, and use it to sell knives. Guys will say, "I've always bought (Brand) knives, and they've seemed to work well and last a few years, so I'll always buy (Brand) knives. After all, my (Dad, Cousin, Grandpa, Buddy, etc.) said they were good enough for him."
• Most factory knives are designed for a limited time use. The only way to capitalize on brand loyalty is to limit the functionality of the knife to a couple of years. That way, the consumer will be back for another knife, because he's loyal to the brand. Though one could argue that a group of used factory knives is a collection, the resale propensity and value of that collection is extremely limited.
• Factories don't really know what you need to maintain a sharp cutting edge, and they don't even send the knife from the factory with a sharp edge! In fact, most people have never even seen a knife with a truly sharp cutting edge, and are astonished and frightened when they drag their finger over one. I've seen this again and again, and it's really sad. Mostly, factories use a fine, hard buffer and light abrasive to quickly rough in an edge, then out the door it goes. But a dull knife is a dangerous knife, because you will apply more pressure to achieve a cut, and then you will slip. And a slip is a knife out of control, headed at high speed towards a soft body part. Most cuts are from slips! Want to know just how sharp a knife edge can be and how to apply it? Get John Juranitch's book, "Razor Edge Sharpening." A 40 year consultant with the meat packing and textile industries knows cutting edges.
• Factories are always on the lookout to capitalize off someone else's work, and attempt to copy custom knife makers, as it is custom knife makers that are at the forefront of blade design and thus the real innovators. They will often contract to use a custom knife maker's name or design to promote their product. It might surprise you to find out many makers (including me) have been asked by factories to endorse a design or line with their name. Though many have agreed with some small percentage of monetary compensation for each knife sold, I've personally refused, as my name is more valuable than the knife they manufacture.
• They use words in their name like bench or tech to gather their product under the umbrella of fine craftsmen and handmade custom work. This is because it is understood that a huge difference exists between a handmade, finely tuned, unique custom knife made by an experienced craftsman, and a piece of steel, stamped out of a sheet or cut out by an automated plasma or water jet cutter, ground on an automated computer numerically controlled system, and assembled in America (thus deserving the Made in America stamp) from parts made by little kids in Pakistan.
• Factories are limited by bean counters, safety loss control, and materials cost and availability. This effects the geometry of your knife, the shape, the finish, the fit, the feel, the balance, the materials, the performance, the cost, the reliability, and your own safety and trust of their product. All these factors are marginalized by bean counters and accountants. Remember, with factories you WILL get less than you pay for, and the guarantee is backed by a replacement of another inferior knife, and your purchase is not an investment.
• Fit on factory knives is usually poor. Handles are not bedded to each individual knife, components are rarely finished together as this would increase the hand work and slow up production.
• Factory knives are NEVER finely finished. Finishing is an extremely labor intensive process, and takes skilled hands because the geometry of materials changes as they are finished. Factories opt for flat, "textured," or coated finishes because they are quick and cheap. More on finishing and value.
• Jimping and machine cuts on factory knives abound. No one expects to see factory knives embellished with hand work, and that is one of the value arguments for fine handmade knives and artwork.
• No factory knives are personalized or embellished individually, ever. This simply is not done because that would require a conversation between the manufacturer and the client, and factories don't talk to clients, only to distributors and their research department. The only deviation from this is large group input, like large military units and advertisers for commemorative and popular causes.
• Because most blade grinds are done by machine, there is no careful contouring of the grind termination, leading to a weak blade where the grinds meet the flat near the handle junction, the most critical part of the blade construction. Details on my Knife Anatomy page.
• Factories limit their use of bolsters, or delete them altogether due to difficult and challenging making and finishing of these small parts to suit individual knives. These critical components reinforce the blade to handle junction, bed and reinforce the handle, and reduce wear areas of the handle by framing the handle materials in tough metals.
• Factory knives often have meager mechanical attachment points of the handles to the blade tang. Often, only a machine screw or two holds it all together: a weak short lived, poor way to handle any knife.
• Factories and boutique shops do not typically make a sheath that is worthy of any knife. The sheath for nearly all factory knives is an afterthought, and is probably more of an inconvenience to the manufacturer than a useful accessory for the knife owner or user. This is a sadly neglected part of this tradecraft that I go into in great detail on my Sheaths page.
• Factories never use rare, unusual, proprietary, or high value materials, like precious metals, gemstone, exotics, or any material that is limited in availability. Otherwise, how could they produce one thousand or ten thousand in a run?
• Some materials used on factory knives are purposefully jigged, textured, cut, or scarred, not mainly to give texture to grip, but to aid in hiding imperfections in the surface. This is an old trick well known in the jewelry trade.
• Factory knives are rarely contoured, rounded, or comfortably finished to be inviting to the hand. The trends are often to make the knife look macho or techie, but the reality is that contouring is an expensive, labor-eating skill requiring off-hand control.
• Factories never include finely made or custom display stands, cases, well made blocks or any worthwhile accessories that are part of a quality knife experience. You may see a cheap block accompanying some kitchen knives, but the closest thing to display is the cardboard box the knife came in.
• There simply is no hand-embellishment of any kind on a factory knife. Laser engraving is an automated process, and does not make a factory knife unique or original. Even aftermarket engraving or re-handling of a factory knife does not increase its value.
• Most factory knife designs are for straight, narrow blades. Any time a blade or handle shape is deeply cut, ground, shaped, carved, inset with rings, quillons, or radical curves, this increases the stock size, machine and finishing time, and cost of the piece.
• The sheer volume of factory knives lowers their value. Factories and boutique shops know this and will limit their production runs, even numbering their knives as if they are a limited edition of fine art reproductions. They know that this is a powerful incentive to buy. Limited production also applies to handmade custom knives, but an individual knife maker's life is limited and he will actually benefit from having a limited number of knives produced, as will his clients. This is typical for artists, but not a valid value asset in a production run by a manufacturer. Notable phrase: The Franklin Mint.
• Factories never take direct input from individual clients and build a knife just to suit them. This seems like an obvious point, but a great deal of value and product evolution is derived in fine handmade works because individual knife makers listen to their clients, and build knives to suit them. This is another reason factories copy custom knife maker's patterns. They can get the really cool new designs without having to invest in research.
• Factory knives are not investment knives. When you purchase them, they are like a car, they devalue right off the lot. They will not increase in value, not one cent. Just take a look around at a garage sale or auction; there are boxes of knives for pennies. No matter how much B.S. the factories pile on (and there is a lot of it), your factory knife will not be worth anything close to what you paid for it the second after you've handed over the money. In ten years it won't be worth a lick, in twenty a person receiving it as a gift will be insulted. Factories try all kinds of marketing campaigns to hype the value, often associating other market brands, commonly recognized causes, organizations, or styles based on popular entertainment. This is all hyperbole spewed so that the money will leave your hands and enter theirs.
• Here is the truth: sometimes you want a cheap, throwaway knife. Factories can supply these for you. Buy them at a garage sale, you'll get a lot better deal, and you'll keep more of your own money. But when you want something more, when you want a good knife, a custom knife, a fine knife, or an investment knife, there is only one group of people that can supply your needs: handmade and custom knife makers.

Isn't this just a sales pitch?

I had a good laugh when one frustrated e-mailer nagged that I was just a capitalist, and my site was designed to sell only my knives. What would he have me do? Sell factory knives? Other maker's knives? Let my family starve in the dark? This is another curious thing about the internet. Some people think that it should be free from commerce, or simply an educational source, or (most likely) should reinforce the knife buying decisions they have made, not challenge them. Yes, I make and sell knives; that is my business and career. You bet I'm trying to sell my knives. This is my business, and it's my professional responsibility to do the best job I can to illustrate why my knives are a better purchase, immediately and in the long term. The only place you can buy a Jay Fisher knife is through this website, or to find one that a client is reselling. If he is reselling it, you shouldn't be surprised to find that he's selling it for more than my new knives currently on order on this site!

Unless you purchase a knife immediately available on this web site, you'll have to wait. Like most well-known makers, I have a substantial waiting list, which is as it should be. Ever hear of a factory putting you on a waiting list? Of course not, their knives are mass produced. Another point to illustrate the differences.

Do I recommend only my knives? This is a funny question. Why, of course I do; my banker wouldn't have it any other way! Seriously though, if my style of knife does not suit you, or if you need a knife immediately, or if you want a really good, well-made or custom knife, please do some internet research and go to one of my contemporaries for your purchase. There are a substantial group of knife makers out there who can make you a fine custom knife that is far better than a knife bought from a factory. Please look for them; they deserve your patronage, and you deserve a good knife.

It's just too expensive!

I spotted some traffic coming from a forum where guys had downloaded a picture of one of my PJLT combat knives and proceeded to complain that the knife (supposedly belonging to one of their "friends") had been purchased for $2300.00. The banter went back and forth, ad nauseum, with misstatements, ignorant claims, exaggerations, outright lies. For instance, the knife pictured and claimed to have been sold for $2300.00 was actually sold for considerably less than half that.

Still, they just couldn't see how a knife could be worth more than 300 or 400 bucks, no matter how it was made or by who. They kept coming back to the materials, namely the blade steel, over and over, as if the blade steel was the determinant factor of a knife's value. I write about these ridiculous notions and misconceptions on numerous sections on my Blades page. It didn't matter to them that my PJLT pattern has a very long history and high performance reputation among United States Air Force Pararescuemen who actually use this knife; all that seemed to matter to them was the blade steel.

These geniuses go on to claim knowledge and experience with other steels, with other makers, and clearly try again and again to compare handmade custom knives to factory knives. the very subject of this page. No one even considered the grind geometry, the fit, the finish, the balance, the design, or the service of the knife in its potential use in the field. The knife they pictured has a 42 component locking stainless steel, corrosion resistant aluminum alloy welt frame, and double thickness stainless screwed waterproof knife sheath, clearly the finest combat knife sheath made in the world today, but all they could say was that the steel was 440 (actually 440C, if that matters). Did they even stop to consider the cost of that sheath? It is significant. The knife has bolsters. None of the common factory or boutique shop knives they compared the PJLT to had any bolsters, and the bolsters on the PJLT are made of 304 high nickel, high chromium austenitic stainless steel. Hardly anybody makes bolstered knives; that's just too much trouble to make a knife that strong. If other makers of combat knives do (rarely) step out and use stainless steel for fittings, they use the softer, less corrosion-resistant 400 series of austenitic steels, or (worse) brass or nickel silver. Did they consider the cost of that personalization, custom digitizing, or accessories? Did they consider any of the dozens of other factors that are detailed in significant facts and illustrations on my huge Tactical Combat Knives page? Nope, it's just about the steel type, which they would know well, being all trained machinists, and metallurgists, and knife makers themselves... whoops; they are none of those.

And by God, no one considered my professional track record, experience, longevity, history, and the actual value of my work, a value that keeps me 4-5 years continually in backorders.

They tried to demean the knife and the client's purchase and claim that the knife was made by one of my sons, as a collaborative piece, and that somehow it was a lesser knife for that. This is an outright lie, as first, the knife they detailed was made by my own hands, and is a sole authorship piece. Even if it was a collaborative knife, it would be made to the same extremely high standards as if my own hands had made it; all of our collaboratives are made this way. This is why there is a waiting list for both my sole authorship knives and my collaborative works in the studio, and the demand shows no sign of letting up.

This demonstrates how ignorance festers and steams on the web. Not a one of these chatterers owns one of my knives, and clearly, they never will. It's like the owner of a cheap car complaining that an extremely fine, hand-made vehicle could not be worth the price because they are both made of steel and rubber. Is the determining factor of any object's value based solely on economy? Because if it is, these guys would have the Pararescueman who owns the knife turn it in for a cheap piece of plastic handled junk from China, simply because they, as authorities posting anonymously on the internet, can't afford it, so nobody else should.

This illustrates, unfortunately, an attitude that currently seems to dominate conversations, media, and even politics, the attitude of "Haves vs. Have-nots." Those who do not have, and may not desire some item, lifestyle, location, or view take it upon themselves to tell others how they should live, what they should buy, how much it should cost, and, in effect, how much I should make for what I do. Would they do the same for an NBA basketball player, a Hollywood celebrity, or even their doctor? How about the mechanic that lives down the street, the health care worker in their family, or the teacher who teaches their child? Where does this stop? The only way, perhaps, for them to see the jealous, shallow, and vain attitude that they display so willingly to others is to have them be the recipient of such judgment. Tell these guys how much they should earn, no matter how good of work, how much experience, how much value they instill in the fruits of their labor, and the conversation would quickly change. Also be sure to tell them that they can not buy an expensive tactical knife, ever, because their compadres on some anonymous forum get to decide what they have and how they spend their money.

I force no one to purchase the fruits of my creation, the yield of my labor and efforts. People buy my knives because they want to. To have someone else, usually a stranger, tell you what to buy and what not to buy is surrendering your own freedom to decide. Conversely, I do not go on forums trying to run down their choices for what they purchase. Clearly, a cheaper knife is simply that, and there is a reason for this, detailed in clear and voluminous detail on this very site on this very page. If a cheap knife is all a person can afford, and it is what he wants, I will not fault him or try to decry how he spends his money. Since the sales of cheap tactical-style knives is a billion dollar a year industry, they have many friends who can claim that their cheap knife is just as good as a fine handmade custom knife, while they ignore the clear distinctions and differences.

Yet, I believe, time and with information, clarity and reason will prevail. If only people would educate themselves about knives the way that they can rattle off sports figures' stats, dates, scores, and game plays, maybe they would actually know something about the world of fine handmade custom knives.

What about pop steels and factory knives?

Factories, knife makers, and salesmen always need something new. That is because they must continually sell the hyperbole, to generate interest in their product. Usually, this is because of poor overall product design. In knives, the fit and finish and balance and accessories are all labor-intensive high skill areas of production, and the fine hands-on workmanship required to make a fine finish, fit, balance, and accessories often does not happen. Factories and low quality makers then rely upon gimmicks, tricks, hype, and envy to sell their product. So, every couple years, a new steel hits the market and all the guys are talking about it. It's on the forums, in the magazines, and in discussions at shows. It's the future of knife making, lots of sales are made based on it, and then it just fades away as another gimmick steel name starts dripping off the drooling tongues of dealers, suppliers, factories, collectors, and makers. Read more about this and other knife truths at the heading: "What's wrong with factory knives?" above. It does not mean that these popular steels are not worth investing in, they may well be. But will they replace all tool steels in knife blades? Of course not, because every steel has its advantages and disadvantages.

Though there are very good tool steels, there is no super steel. You can read more details about this on my FAQ page at the question: "Is there an ultimate blade?" here. My military, police, professional collectors know that with most production knives, the hype is thicker than fertilizer at a feed lot. Yes, there are some very good knives out there, made of fine steels. I even use many of the steels I've identified above because they are good steels. But more attention should be paid to design, fit, finish, balance, accessories, and service, because these factors are what is woefully lacking in most knife purchases and ultimately, it is these factors that determine the value of a knife. This point is so important, I've decided to give it it's own page here.

Grind geometry unrest!

I happened to see my name coming up in a popular knife forum on the internet, and guys were piling on defending their favorite knife blade grind geometry. They didn't like what I had to say on my site, and were fiercely defending their opinions. It's curious that rather than ask me outright to clarify my opinions, they chose to comment on a forum...
I felt compelled to respond:

Want to know more about obsessive-defensive knife owners? I've given them their own section on my Business of Knifemaking page at this bookmark

Opinions, Disagreements, and Defense

This site is about my work, but I've also included a generous amount of my opinions about knives, steels, blade geometry, handles, bolsters, guards, sheaths, stands, and cases. I've described at great length the materials and techniques used to build a modern custom knife, and I've made it clear that these are my opinions based on over thirty years making knives, over twenty years as a full time professional knifemaker (this is my real job!). Most of the people reading this are interested in knives, some are enthusiasts, and some are a bit obsessive. Some of the obsessive types are not obsessive in a constructive way, and they are what I term: "obsessive-defensive."

What this usually means in the knife world is that they've spend a good deal of their money on a knife that is manufactured and then they've read somewhere on this site that a particular feature, material, process, or presentation of their factory knife is poor or cheap, and they feel the need to obsessively defend their purchase. Sadly, this will not make their money go any farther, no matter how many times they recite how great their knife is, how well made, how valuable, or how unique. They will often go on all the knife forums and bulletin boards posting over and again to anyone who might read that their knife is superior, better than other knives, made of better materials, of higher value, or any number of details to justify the dollars they've spent. They may even claim that their purchases are an investment, but this is foolish, as no factory knife sells for more than it is purchased for, unless it is very, very old. They won't convince the masses of their opinion, they won't increase the value of their factory or poorly made knife, but they will spend countless hours trying.

I get emails from these types. Not very often, but they do come in. Usually, the emails are in the form of constructive criticism about some comment I've made that might directly apply to their knife purchase or collection. They simply want me to change what I've written, to reflect their opinion, and because this site gets so much traffic, it might change many more minds in the handmade knife world. Stubborn me, I won't cooperate, and don't even answer their email. So they go on to the next venue, bulletin board, posting, web site, or comment box until they reach agreement and find themselves a happy home.

You'll see this type post often on knife forums, usually anonymously. This allows them their rant, they may even find sympathetic voices, but it does not relieve them of the buyers remorse they have for a cheap knife.

What is the answer? It's simple really, and I've repeated it countless times on this website. A fine knife worthy of investment will appreciate in monetary value over time, a knife that is not worthy will depreciate. I'm not saying that a factory knife or poorly made knife does not have its place in the world; it does. In the utility arena, where knives are abused, uncared for, and eventually discarded, this type of knife reigns. But to compare them to fine handmade collector's or investment knives is ridiculous.

For those who are obsessive-defensive, I'll offer this: Trying to change the value or opinions of the entire world by writing to individual websites or ranting on bulletin boards and forums is as rational as trying to push a rope up a wall.

Six concrete differences between factory and fine handmade custom knives

Though there are many differences between fine handmade and custom knives and factory, manufactured, or poorly made knives listed above, I've created a special page that details six distinctions by name with details. The differences are Fit, Finish, Balance, Design, Accessories, and Service. If you don't recognize these distinctions, please read about them on the page.