“It is quality rather than quantity that matters.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4? B.C. - 65 A.D.)
It happens. A guy needs a good custom knife, and he doesn't see the exact one he wants on my Current Knives for Sale or Tactical Knives for Sale pages. He finds my site and identifies a particular pattern, style, and details of his dream knife. He emails, I give him a general starting quote and a delivery period.
He might be surprised to find out the delivery time is greater than a year, or two, or more. I feel for him. He wants a good custom knife, and he's honored me with his request, and is ready to back up his interest with his hard-earned dollars. I'm very grateful that he's chosen me as his knife maker.
Before I can start on his knife, I've got at least a hundred more to complete. Yes, more than a hundred knives are in the studio, all in various stages of completion. They are all for clients who have reached me and contracted my work before him, and their projects may range from the simple to the very elaborate. In the list of completion, their knives may take a matter of days to finish or a matter of years. They may be singular works, or more often, nested in a batch of a dozen other orders which all move forward in one giant step, which is efficient from the perspective of tool changes and setups. I'm very happy and they're excited about their knife being built, and the only answer is time. Time is the one thing I wish I had more of, and delivery times are given as an estimate only.
Some people ask, "Is it possible to get a knife in less
than four years?"
Sure it is. You can purchase a knife from my completed
knives I create for my inventory and offer for sale on this
site on the Knives for
Sale page and the
Tactical Knives for Sale page. You can also see a list
of partially completed knives on
the list at my Where's my knife, Jay? page. Also,
James Beauchamp is
working in studio making strict tactical knives with a much
shorter delivery period. It never hurts to
ask if I might have a
particular knife coming up available soon.
I'm very thankful that decades of my hard work that have allowed me to grow my business, art, and craft. Thank you to all of you who believe in and are patiently waiting for your completed works. Thank you to all of you who own a fine Jay Fisher custom knife. Without you, my life and edged works are simply not possible. Thank you most of all for your great patience!
