Shipping on the cheap, Thanks

JawJacker

Well-Known Member
Keeping in mind this is a hobby. I never thought about shipping a knife and how to do it. I cant remember who posted it, the box idea was awesome, THANK YOU. I had the scraps and the foam. I could have fit 2 in a medium flat rate box. I feel absolutely confident this will arrive safely.
 

Attachments

  • photo 2.jpg
    photo 2.jpg
    153.5 KB · Views: 48
  • photo 3.jpg
    photo 3.jpg
    156.2 KB · Views: 36
I've built a few similar to that for higher end stuff. I know Karl Andersen ships his stuff in handmade boxes. At least he used to, I'm guessing he still does. How bout it Mr. Karl?
 
too rich for my blood. then again, my knives run about 200 bucks.

My hunters go in a small flat rate box, wrapped in paper and packed with more wadded up paper. My kitchen knives go in a medium flat rate box the same way. They are packed securely enough to account for the barbell set USPS will lay on top of my box.

Here's a funny one- I had a customer return a knife from Canada. His secretary wrapped it up in a shopping bag with a few pieces of tape and stuck the shipping label right to it. It got to me in one week with absolutely not a mark on it. Had that been me, it would have shown up looking like a horse shoe that got dragged across the pavement for twenty miles.
 
For the high end knives I use a length of 4" PVC pipe. I wrap the knife in bubble wrap to the point where it must be forced into the PVC, and use crumpled up newpaper on each end......then seal the ends with duct and shipping tape.

I also ship many pieces via USPS Prority Mail, using their flat rate boxes..... same thing, bubble wrap, and lots of crumpled newpaper.

When it comes to international shipping, I'm always nervous. I've had some packages that arrived on schedule, but many of then get held up in customs..... I once shipped a forging hammer from my place to Vancouver, BC.....which is about 11 hours drive time, but it took nearly two month to arrive because of being "held up" in customs.
 
too rich for my blood. then again, my knives run about 200 bucks.

My hunters go in a small flat rate box, wrapped in paper and packed with more wadded up paper. My kitchen knives go in a medium flat rate box the same way. They are packed securely enough to account for the barbell set USPS will lay on top of my box.

Here's a funny one- I had a customer return a knife from Canada. His secretary wrapped it up in a shopping bag with a few pieces of tape and stuck the shipping label right to it. It got to me in one week with absolutely not a mark on it. Had that been me, it would have shown up looking like a horse shoe that got dragged across the pavement for twenty miles.

JW that is hilarious.
 
I use the PVC itself as the shipping container. Either print out and then tape the label on, or in some cases I use a sharpie, wirte the address/return address on the PVC, then overlay it with clear packing tape. At first I actually cut round plywood "plugs" and used screws to hold the plugs in place.....but some folks had a very difficult time getting into their packages :).... so now I usually run several layers of duct tape over each end, then a couple of wraps around the outside diameter to secure everything. I always have the PVC pipe 2-3" longer on each end, then the contents....and that space is stuffed with crumpled up newspaper. That way the recipient can open it by cutting the tape.
I intentionally try to make the outward appearance of the PVC container as sloppy/ugly as I can. I've shipped a number of very high end collector pieces this way, and gotten compliments from the collectors about how nobody would have ever guessed that there was a very expensive knife inside. :)
 
For the high end knives I use a length of 4" PVC pipe. I wrap the knife in bubble wrap to the point where it must be forced into the PVC, and use crumpled up newpaper on each end......then seal the ends with duct and shipping tape.

The USPS supplied tubes are triangular

aO-1098M-01-main-600x240.jpg


They discourage round tubes because they can roll on conveyors or roll under machines


I can't find that link right now though
 
I tired those mailers (the triangle tubes). They didn't work out so well for me. Actually it was the first USPS claim I ever had to make. The packaging ended up being crushed, and even though the contents were tightly wrapped with bubble wrap, the knife was damaged.....I would have sworn that it had been run over by a truck........thats when I went with the 4" PVC. Based on what happened, I just felt the cardboard didn't provide enough protection.
 
I've reused the 3" or so heavy round cardboard tubes that Enco shipped material to me in. You can order a six foot stick of 1/8" 304 SS pin material and they ship it in a huge tube. They have plastic end caps too, so just cut off the length you need and you have a free sturdy shipping tube.
 
Back
Top