Setting the stage for price increases.

[exitium]

I have yet to make my first knife so this may be a little premature. For now I am looking for a hobby where the finished product doesnt take up a lot of space and that I can do at home, specifically when im on call and need to be close to a computer. I have plenty of friends and family who could use a good knife and will be making a lot of gifts to start.

Eventually I suspect I will try to get a return on my investment and will be happy selling the knife for cost of materials as my skill improves. With that in mind I suspect there will be some people who stick with me as my skill improves. These folks will possibly get an early knife or two and later as my skill improves and so does the sale price I suspect they may question why.

After all, assuming the materials are the same and complexity of design is similar then one would logically assume that as my skill improves the knife will have a better fit and finish but at the same time the speed at which it was made likely decreased as well.

So, for those experienced folks out there, what did you do to set the stage for future price hikes? Did you warn people the prices are what they are only because you are still honing your skills and building a name and that as time went on you would actually need to make some money for your time?

 

[rhinoknives]

Most of us will be forever building our names. lol
My price increases come when I have new people that I have showen my knives to and current customers say to me, you should charge more!
Start by selling your knives for enough mney to build there more. i was told that by the late Mr. Bob Loveless when I was getting started. This is whats called a Labor intensive industry and has always been very competetive and a rough row to hoe. I make knives because I love doing so, I didn't get in it for a first second or third career. Most but not all of the successful makers really make more from supplying the industry than they do by making and selling knives. Like our own Bossdog.

I have been fortunate by combining my knives with sharpening and some retail to make a living at this.

Laurence

www.westsidesharpening.com

 

[jkf96a]

Start low and move up as you can. Watch the classifieds here and at Bladeforums to see what other folks are getting for knives that match your fit/finish level. Once I got a bit comfortable making knives I could sell, I started quoting orders a little higher. For example, if I made a "spec" knife just to sell, I might sell it for $100. If a new customer contacted me to build a knife just like it, I would quote them $125. The next time I went to make a spec knife similar, I could honestly say "I got $125 for the last one." You can't run that game too fast, but it's a good way to slowly increase your pricing as your quality comes up.