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Topics in
Detail
Keeping a sense of humor: You
might be surprised to read some of the hate mail I get over this page. Mostly,
it's from aspiring knifemakers who insist on me helping them make it in this
business. Funny thing, they wouldn't ask another professional like an
electrician, surgeon, or web site developer to give them some points, answer a
few questions, or help them to sell some of what they make or do, but they
demand that of knife makers. I go into this in my upcoming book in detail, but
here's the boiled-down version: Most people treat knife making as a hobby, not a
profession, so they think other knife makers are just like them. I suggest they
go to one of the big knife manufacturers and ask them to answer their questions
for a few hours... what? They wouldn't do that? Then why do they attack me for
not helping them out? Because I'm a single individual, therefore must only be a
hobbyist, like them. But they are wrong. This is not a hobbyist's site, this is
a professional business. Read more about this and other issues on my
"Business of Knifemaking"
page here.
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Sorry, I don't
teach or instruct others on how to
make knives:
Some of the most asked questions are,
"How do I learn to make knives?" and "Do you give lessons on knife making?"
and "Can I be your apprentice?"
I'm sorry, I do not teach knife making. I'm so busy and
stay so buried in orders and projects that any time taken away from my paying
customers who are waiting on their work to be finished would be unfair. I
appreciate your interest, but I simply don't have time to teach.
Another problem is liability. I cannot
accommodate someone in the shop while there is abrasive dust filling the air,
high speed rotating machinery at every turn and position, cutting tools with
aggressive teeth, coarse abrasives, and dangerous chemicals. If I get injured by
making knives with my decades of experience (and I do), what would happen to a
novice or beginner? Sorry, I can't take the risk.
There is no
easy answer for those who wish to learn knife making, as there is no recognized organizational reference for knifemakers,
no official license requirement for making knives. There is also no complete
thorough text of information to detail all the facets of this skill. Even
universities with metal arts degrees do not engage in the business and art of
making knives, man's oldest tool. Read every
book you can find on the subject, apprentice under someone if you desire, and
start making. Feel free to read the information on this
site, though, as you will surely become more knowledgeable about custom knives
from this site than any other single knife maker's site on the internet! Watch
for my new book coming out. I'll offer a lot of advice and guidance based on my
own experience.
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Sorry, I don't give
how-to advice on knifemaking
There are an endless amount of questions on
knifemaking. How to heat treat, what steels are best, how to make a sheath, how
to finish a handle, how to attach, shape, grind, machine, and create. I'm sorry,
this is not a how-to site, this is a detailed explanation of my own work, on my
own knives. You can find many answers to these questions on the many knifemaking
forums here on the internet, and meet some pretty nice people in the process.
Give it a try!
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Sorry, I don't
copy other makers' knives:
Why would I? I have over 350 designs, and I accept new designs with the input of
clients. But they must be new, not a copy of someone else's design. If you want
their knife, why not buy it from them? It's usually because an interested person
likes a design, but does not like the quality of what he sees on the other
maker's site, or because he doesn't want to pay that maker's price. There is
probably a reason my knives don't look like other makers'. I make my own knives.
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Sorry, I don't
design knives for free:
You can see why I don't design knives for free on the
Custom knife Design page
here. It's all very clear.
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Sorry, I don't
make blades for someone else to finish:
Occasionally I get asked this by hobby knifemakers, garage makers, or beginners
who are not confident in their own work. To them I say practice, learn, study,
make, and grow. If you make good blades, you'll have knives that you can be
proud of. If you don't make them, it's just a craft or hobby and if you ask a
custom maker to support your hobby, he may be insulted. And anyone who farms out
work like that devalues his own name, and in this business, name is
everything.
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I don't work with any of these parts
of knives; I make all my own parts, blades, handles, fittings, accessories,
stands, components and everything related to my profession, so I simply am not
familiar with parts, kits, and pieces sold by suppliers. Therefore, I can't
recommend or endorse any. From what I've seen of the kits, they are poorly
constructed and designed, but a good way for a hobbyist to get started. When I
started there were no such things. I encourage you to make every part of your
own knife, the satisfaction and pride will far outweigh the investment of time
and materials. And you will have learned how!
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This one has been asked by promotional companies, or
sometimes dealers who want to finish a knife themselves, and then put their own name or
company logo on the blade. You might find some struggling maker to do
this, but I doubt you'll find any quality there. Occasionally I get asked
this by hobby knifemakers, garage makers, or beginners who are not confident in
their own work. To them I say practice, learn, study, make, and grow. If you
make good blades, you'll have knives that you can be proud of. If you don't make
them, it's just a craft or hobby and if you ask a custom maker to support your
hobby, he may be insulted. And anyone who farms out work like that devalues his
own name, and in this business, name is everything.
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My handles are beautiful, and the fit and finish
is excellent, so it doesn't
surprise me that someone asks this question. I'll try not to be insulted, but
why would I put one of my beautiful handles on what I may consider an inferior knife
blade? My blades are some of the best in the world, period. I will absolutely put them
against any other maker's in the world for quality in finish, grind, and
accuracy. Often, this request is an attempt to "gussy up" a poor knife. I won't do it.
Most other makers won't, either, and anyone who farms out work like that
devalues his own name, and in this business, name is everything.
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Sorry, I don't make any part of other's knives: fittings, pommels, guards, etc.
If you can't make the parts or components to
your own knives, please make an effort to learn how. It is an exciting and
rewarding career, and you'll be more proud of something you make than if you
have just assembled it.
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My sheaths and scabbards are beautiful, extremely well made, and this doesn't go
unnoticed. Just as in the topics above, this is usually an attempt to find a good sheath to
replace one that is poor. Go back to the maker or factory, demand a better
sheath, and perhaps you'll encourage them to improve their sheaths and actually help
their business in the long run.
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Sorry, I don't
make knives to fit an existing sheath
If you have a sheath and no knife for it, I
will not make a knife to fit. I've never heard of anyone else doing this either;
as most sheaths are less valuable than the knives that go in them.
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There are professionals that do this for a living, and they will
usually charge you a modest fee. Though I probably already know or can determine your knife's
origin and value, I would much rather be busy making my own knives, and my
paying clients do not expect me to give away my services on their dime. Your in
luck though, the best appraiser and historian of knives in the world has an
internet site, and I've thoughtfully included a link:
Go here for professional
appraisal services.
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Nope, not here, sorry. But here is a link to
a guy that you can contact for that service:
Gary Blessing.
This is a rare service these days, and Gary has graciously agreed to allow me to
direct your interest to his site and services.
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I get this one a lot. I wouldn't dare put my name on
anything but the highest quality art. I do my own work, and I have plenty of it,
and it's some of the highest original quality you can find. Just like copying
other maker's work, I'm not interested, and the person looking for this kind of
work usually has a meager budget idea for his project. There are plenty of
companies that deal in this sort of junk, you can find them all over the
internet. The knives and swords are usually made overseas, and as you can
imagine, they are cheaply made and poorly constructed. By the way, they have no
collector's or
investment value, and will be almost worthless the minute you purchase them.
If you want to wait for them to appreciate in value, you'll be long ago turned
to dust before
that happens, my friend!
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Just like the knock offs, imitations,
replicas, and novelty items above, these are passing fancies, mere
points of interest until the next warrior, alien, sci-fi, or medieval movie
comes along. And they aren't worth owning, much less making. Just so you know,
they have very little collector's value in short or long term.
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High quality
knives should never be thrown! This is Hollywood and county carnival hype, and
the myth is so prevalent that I've included a
special section here on my FAQ page
to discuss it in detail. Please educate yourself there on my dime.
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Yep, factories have contacted me to make knives
for them! Maybe I'm stubborn; I should be honored, but that just goes to show
you that they know they make a lousy product and are hoping I'll help them with
their profit margin while being paid peanuts. If you're one of those purchasing
agents reading this, you need to quit your job, because they're not paying you
enough money either!
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My marking methods are some of the best in this
business, and that doesn't go unnoticed. I've been approached and offered
serious chunks of change to sell the details to blade marking companies, and
I've refused. My lithographic etching took six years to perfect, and I'm not
giving up those years so that a company (or individual) can make an easy buck. The
methods are proprietary (that means not patentable or protected by copyright)
and they can learn them if they want to spend their own six years researching and
experimenting. But will they? Probably not, and I won't help them.
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Like my marking methods above, my fine filework, gemstone handles, and
workmanship hasn't gone unnoticed by individual collectors, knife owners,
dealers, factories, and suppliers. If you're reading the points above, you're
beginning to understand why I don't work on other's knives. Want knife
customization? Go back to the original maker or manufacturer. If you are one of
those makers or manufacturers, please try to make a better product, don't just
look for a gullible maker to do it for you.
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Just like the modifications above, my gemstone handles have
gained a lot of attention over the years. Gemstone handles are nothing new; the
ancient Persians created some fine jade masterpieces. I've just brought it into
the modern world of custom knives, and I make more
gemstone handled knives
than any single maker on this planet. I challenge you to find another! You can
see thousands of them on this site, and on my
CDROM catalogs. But factories
and other makers are not willing to invest in the education, machinery, and
skill necessary to create fine lapidary work, so they ask me to do it for them.
Also, owners of cheap knives want to improve their investment. No thanks.
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Good bluing
is an easily accessible process; it's not cheap, and most makers don't do
it. If you really want to have a knife professionally blued, contact a local gunsmith, as any
professional gunsmith shop will have complete bluing tanks. But don't expect
them to take your work. The blades have to be of a certain type of steel, and no
fittings, handles, or any other type of metal (brass, aluminum, solder,
hardware) can come in contact with the bluing bath,
as it will ruin the bath. Also the knife has to be completely stripped of handle
material as the bath is about 300°F and boiling
caustic. The best bet is to order a knife blued from the maker,
and he can take care of all that for you. Who blues their own knives? Why, I do.
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If
you're reading this, you've probably discovered how poor factory sheaths and
some other custom knife makers' sheaths are. You can learn about fine sheaths
here on this site on my sheaths page,
and on the
Tactical knives page,
for free, and then take that information and apply it to your
next selection of a factory knife. Ask them why they don't make a good sheath!
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This is a joke, right?
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I
don't know how I could be more clear. But someone will email me, asking about
something I hadn't detailed, so here's the broad, clear statement.
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If knives do have some collector's or historic value, a repair might destroy that
value. Don't have work done on old, antique, collector's or historic pieces
without a complete appraisal! Also, knives may have no value if they've worn out and failed. You
can get an idea what a knife is worth by contacting a professional appraiser,
then ask him if it's worth repairing.
Go here
for a professional appraisal. After that, please
contact Gary Blessing
here to see if your knife is worth working on. Gary has graciously
agreed to allow me to direct your interest to his site and services.
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Sorry, I don't give advice on how to work with materials, stabilize,
etch, engrave or any other tutorial
This is not a tutorial site, no
matter what you may see here. There are a never ending amount of
questions people have, and they figure that since I have such a
voluminous site, I'm bound to know the answer to their technical
knife questions. I probably do, but if I answer any of those emails,
I'll invite a flood of questions and answers, all which cost
precious time and do nothing but benefit what could be a competitor!
How crazy is that? Look, I'm a nice guy, but the amount of email I
get is overwhelming...
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This
website is all my own work, and I invest hours daily on its maintenance, growth,
traffic, construction, and repair. It's probably the best single knifemaker's
web site on the internet, and the reason is that I work very hard on it. I
simply don't have time to do that for others, and I'm not interested in doing it
for others. Read, research, learn, grow, and do, and you can have a viable,
essential, decent web site on the internet, too!
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This request usually comes in the form
of a simple question: "Hey Jay, what do you think about..." or "Jay, how do
I..." I get lots of requests, and any time I take to answer them is time I've
taken away from my paying clients, and that's not fair. Also, if you're
researching a term paper, roll up your sleeves and do the research yourself,
don't simply compile answers to questions you email to professionals over the
internet. Gees, is every student lazy nowadays?
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Sorry, I don't locate rare materials, exotic skins, exotic woods, rare gemstones
for other artists or craftsmen
Because I use rare and exotic woods, handle
materials, hides, skins, inlay, adornment, embellishment materials, rare
gemstones and minerals, steels, metals, and techniques, I often get asked where
and how to locate these items. If you are reading this, you have the start to
the same access to information that I do: the internet! This is a great place to
start your search. Identifying specific dealers, sources, and methods to
purchase these rare items is a time consuming affair, often fraught with
financial perils. To ask me to do this work for you or give you (for free) the
results of my efforts (continuous and ongoing) is not fair to my paying clients,
who have invested their hard-earned money in my work and are waiting on their
projects. However, if you know of a source on your own for rare and exotic
materials, and would like to trade info or contacts, I'm willing to talk! After
all, you've invested your time too!
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Sorry, I don't wholesale any
of my knives
I don’t offer
discounts, wholesale or otherwise,
because it isn't fair. How would it
appear to say that an Army soldier must pay more for his knife than a wholesaler because he can only afford
a single knife? How fair would it be to sell
knives at a lower price to a dealer who makes his living off the labor of
knifemakers (and their reputation), than a young man who is defending our
country (and my family) against terrorists with his life on the line? For me to discount would
also suggest that the knife is not worth what
my pricing structure has assigned, or
that I can’t sell within that structure's
framework, or that the knife has some flaw or defect.
This degrades the piece, its value, my craftsmanship, the client, and
all other clients who purchase custom knives. Professional collectors or
aficionados don't haggle about price.
In some cultures haggling is
expected, but this is not a produce market, and I'm not desperate to
make a sale. By the way, this is the cheapest place to buy my knives, as
the first reseller will mark up the price, sometimes considerably.
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This usually comes up because someone has
stumbled on my Gemstone
Handles page and seen the over 200 examples of gemstone I use on custom
knives, or because they've come across the
Wood Knife Handle
Materials page where I detail and have information on the 50 most
commonly used hardwoods on custom knife handles. They think I'm a supplier,
because I have so much information there. They'll even ask for kydex, G10,
or manmade handle materials! But I don't resell any supplies or
raw materials.
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Sometimes people are fishing for
information: about knife shows, other knives, forums, people, processes, or
anything they might think I know. I try to stick to my own custom and
handmade knives, in
the interest of expediency and professionalism. I even get personal
questions from complete strangers, and that is downright inappropriate. If you
send me a question like this, your email is simply deleted.
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Since I've been in this field
professionally for so long, I'm bound to know old so-and-so, and his knives,
and if they're any good. I probably do know so-and-so, and his
knives, and if they are good, or worth your money or not. But I won't
tell you. It's just not professional for me to evaluate another maker's
work, and if you're inquiring, you must have your doubts or suspicions. You
can find a lot of information on this site that will help you determine what
kind of quality goes into a custom knife by a knife maker; feel free to read
and learn before you invest. I'm working on a book right now, to help the
collector and user of modern knives to make just such determinations,
because there is a huge need for one.
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Sometimes dealers are starting or
expanding their business and want to know what a good factory knife would be
to carry and resell. It's not professional for me to recommend any knife
that I wouldn't carry myself, so I don't. It's important to remember that
all factory knives depreciate in value the instant they leave the manufacturer,
and fine custom knives appreciate. That should tell you a lot.
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If you're looking to sell your knives,
try Ebay or the many forums and bulletin boards on the internet. You're way
off base on this site!
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Sorry, I
don't answer any flame mails, hate mail, or spam
Oh, yeah, some of it gets through, but my
delete button works flawlessly! Then your address is permanently and forever
blocked.
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No, I
won't make a special exception for you, no matter how much you beg
and plead! Good grief, be a man, and get a grip on your emotions!
Footnote:
Okay, you won't believe this. I had someone ask me to make an exception because
she was a woman!
Good luck, thank you for your interest,
and please feel free to read the many pages of this site. You will learn
something about the modern world of fine custom handmade knives!
Email me here
Return to the home page, where everything starts!
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