The price of the knife

The price of the knife or if you want to call it the economic value of your knife is linked to several factors ranging from the cost of realization to the maker who makes it but its consequent price is a theme that sooner or later all the makers are faced with.

Whether it’s your hobby where some acquaintance/friend asks you to make one or you’re a professional maker and it’s your real profession but sooner or later you have to give a value to your knife.

Most people are used to seeing the price of industrial knives they see on the shelves or at best someone goes into knife shop and to some the idea that a knife gives a figure followed by a 0 become when it is made by a maker followed by 2 serious or even 3 zeros seems exaggerated but it is not so.

You can’t clearly compare the value of an industrial knife with a custom, custom-built knife with the shape you want or even let yourself be entrusted to creativity and the search for the maker.

The components that affect the price of the knife:

• The reputation of the maker
• Marketing
• The drawing
• Materials
• the time
• The principle of durability and scarcity

Let’s go see the various elements that affect the price of the knife.

The reputation of the maker

This is an important value, because as with any form of art the reputation of those who do it makes the knife with a different value with the same object.

This is paid for because it is like for painting and fame that maker did not build it in a day and as a result the value of his time is not the same as another person.

His recognition in the environment of the makers and his value in the demonstrations affects the value of a knife made by him.

The uniqueness of its type of knives and processes compared to other makers that therefore binds to the principle of scarcity can have a lot of impact on the value of a knife made by a certain maker, always clearly if that unique thing that pleases.

Marketing

The ability to value an object and sell is a feature that can vary the price of the knife, it is a component that is applied to any scope.

Today one of the forms of marketing very used are in addition to the national and international exhibitions to make themselves known, the use of social networks from facebook where there are many groups to instagram.

There are also magazines in the industry that have their own logic, such as the yearbook of knife magazine, where you can buy the space to “expose” your creations.

Try contacting the newsrooms to understand the possibilities.

Joining associations to become a master like the CIC here in Italy, but also international, can give you a lot of visibility.

The drawing

The shape, creativity may have no price, some want a drawing of a classic or known knife, others something personalized.

This “drawing” can really change the price of the knife because that’s where it all starts.

• Knife size,
• Bevelling,
• Guard
• Type of fastening of the cheeks,
• Filework,
• Engravings
• Surface finishes (mirror, satin finish, burnishing, sandblasting, etc.)
• Mechanisms in the case of closables,
• Sheath
• etc.

All these elements definitely affect the price.

Materials affect the price of the knife

Direct:

• Type of steel (although they are all quality steels used by makers, some have a much higher price beyond damask steels),
• Cheeks (more or less valuable materials can make the price vary a lot),
• Pin, Mosaic Pin, Screws, etc.,
• Bearings
• Engravings
• Various

Indirect:

• Machinery
• Sanding ribbons
• Abrasive paper
• Tools
• Glue
• Paste, In
• Hardening
• Logo branding
• Electricity
• Heating
• Various

Ps. Everyone has their own suppliers with their own prices and uses equipment with different costs and possibilities.

Personally for me the value is not only related to the materials used but how they are used to create knives functional to their purpose.

Too often I happen to see modelling with the shape of the knife, I believe that you should never lose the origin and respect the knife.

the time

Depending on the type of knife and the level of finish required the hours of realization change and this greatly affects the value of the knife in terms of hours that often many makers deliberately neglect otherwise it would be the lowest pay/cost hour categories.

But even if it is so still time to get to the realization of the knife must be calculated and valued then becomes a personal choice as much as making it become influential on the cost of the knife.

The principle of durability and scarcity

Consider that a maker can make a limited number of custom knives unless industrializing certain stages of the knife creation process as a result the availability of parts is limited to a certain number per year.

This can affect the price a lot especially if the maker is in high demand and as a result the few pieces produced are very coveted, especially if you want to skip the queue.

Conclusions:

These are just a few ideas and suggestions to start building a coherent business case and set the price of the knife because this passion has a cost that is not indifferent if it is done seriously and that must somehow pay off at least to repay the materials of your hobby if your intention is not to earn it too.

Personally I believe that the earning is a consequence of the quality of your creations, at the beginning already self-financing with your own work to continue is a great success and many do so.

Good luck with your work!

Are you experience?

Andrea

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