Work on someone else's knife...

Lagrange

Lagrange

Well-Known Member
I recently recieved a request to make a sheath for a guy who bought a knife from another maker. I dont mind making sheathes. It's money...you know.

The thing is, the guy asked me to do some modifications to the knife.
He wanted me to take the crisp edge off of the spine, and around the finger guard and smooth the grinding marks off the blade.

I was a little uncomfortable with this proposition.
I'm curious what you think.
 
Eric,
This man came to you and asked you to do work in exchange for money, Right?
This knife isn't a Bob Loveless or other historical maker, Right?

We could go into a endless dialogue knifemaker ethics. If you feel some kind of fellow maker loyalties? Just ask the customer if he has asked the maker about these mods?


After that If you feel comfortable that you can do the work. Do it
Like you said. It's money you know.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
It sounds to me like he's asking you to finish the job that the other maker started. I wonder if he has asked the original maker to do these things?
I would make the sheath for him but as for as the other things I would tell him if he wanted to buy a completely finished knife I would be happy to make him one.:1:
 
Eric,
Personally, I wouldn't touch another maker's knife. I have to assume it left his shop as a 'finished' peice regardless what I or anyone else thought about it. The only exception might be engraving by a professional. The new sheath is like getting a new coat every winter or school clothes once a year...go for it.

Rudy
 
I am definitely not the authority in these matters but I shall say this, if I made a knife for someone and they want it modified I would happily do that for them, if for some reason I wouldn't (maybe it's a very specific design and modifying it would ruin it) I would not want another maker to do it. If I want another maker to work on one of my knives then I will tell them before the project is started. Even making sheaths without very close contact and design collaboration is a bit iffy in my opinion.
 
I personally would not alter another makers knife. As a maker, I would not want anyone making and modifications to one of mine. I would take the sheath job but politely decline the knife modifications.
 
I'm guessing that ,( and I do mean A BIG GUESS),that its a convience kind of thing, he would most likely have to box it up, ship it back to the maker, wait for the work to be done, which you all know that kind of stuff "seems" to take forever. The only other issue I could think of is that he could have possibly "burnt a bridge" with the maker. And isn't comfortable with sending it back, personally I wouldn't work on another makers knife without his consent to me from him personally. Meaning I would correspond with him myself, then I would make dead sure it was work that I am WAY MORE THAN PROFICIENT at, like something I do on a daily basis. If I was the least bit uncomfortable with it, I wouldn't touch it!

Thatt is just me, and how I see it, if my customer had someone else do work on one of my knives, I'm not quite sure how I would feel about it, if he was asking for something I didn't want to do, because I felt it was unsafe, then it would be on him and all warranty and guarantees would be void!
Which this is something I haven't thought of, AND is NOT covered in my warranty info, time to update it!
If it was a cosmetic kind of thing the customer wanted done and in no way altered the blades integrity, I'd be OK with that, but I would want to talk to the person doing the work, to make sure that they knew what they were doing, the best I could. I don't know its a slippery slope, no matter which way you look at it.

Just my 2¢'s worth, that's a pretty hot topic! The leather work is a nobrainer, sheaths are considered consumables as far as I'm concerned, (provided I made it), so I'd go for it on that one. I'm subscribed to this thread, really interested to see what other folks are thinking about this! Rex
 
I'm of the opinion that one should always show respect for others but I don't really see much of an issue here. I've had knives of mine worked on by others mainly due to convenience on the owners side of things. On one, the owner has originally asked for a flat grind half way up the height of the blade on a 3/16 knife and later realized that I was right and he should have gone with a full flat. He had some novice knife maker (not unlike myself :) ) take the grind to the spine (it was well done) and was much happier with it. I found out when he shipped the knife back to me for his free sharpening. I did ask him about the knife and of course he told... I honestly didn't care. On another occasion I made a fighter for someone but did not sharpen the swedge. The owner changed his mind and had it reground to sport a sharp swedge, again, no big deal. Once a knife leaves my shop, what happens to it is out of my control and I have made my peace with it. The owners both paid good money for them so they can do as they please with them. Just my take on it all. After all I started my trek into knife making by rehandling Japanese kitchen knives, regrinding them to thin out their geometry and sometimes overhauling into a new knife. :)

Forgot to mention, any work done by anyone other than myself voids ANY warranty that may have applied. I make this clear before every sale is finalized. If losing their "coverage," is ok with them, then they can do as they'd like.
 
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Never forget that sometimes nasty stuff can hide just below the surface. Eric you have no idea how or what went on during construction of this knife. I would hate to touch someone else work and ruin it then be on the hook for a new knife.
 
So, where do you guys draw the line on "working on a knife?" There are plenty of hobbyist who specialize in sharpening, rehandling, regrinding/polishing, and aftermarket sheath making. So, would you guys not resharpen a chipped edge that needs it's primary levels reground? How about fixing a broken tip in order to sharpen a blade correctly? I don't think that there is a right or wrong answer here, just ones personal convictions and interpretations. Honestly, this is just to appease my curiosity and sense of whimsy. :D
 
well guys i am kind of with mike on this the owner pays good money for a knife and once its his its his. Now saying that i would try to contact the maker and get his
thought,i would hate to see one of mine changed but like i said once i get paid it is his to do what he wants whether i like it or not. so do what you think is right and what you are comfotable doing grange.
 
I agree with Franklin. When I buy a knife it is mine and I am free to do what I want with it. When I bought my Camry it became mine - if I wanted someone to put a 3" lift kit and SuperSwampers on it along with bull horns on the hood and a GT spoiler on the trunk I don't have to consult Toyota. If Toyota can't/won't do the work for you find someone who can. Or if the maker can do the work but the shipping and charges outweigh having someone local do it for you - well it's your knife and your money. Wow! I'm liking that idea with the Camry more and more!
 
I think as long as you are sure you can do what customer wants and do a good job, then go for it. There is nothing worse than having someone do work for you and they either didn't understand or were incapable of doing exactly what you wanted. Your attention to detail and attitude shows you are the man for the job.
 
Interesting ethical quandry. Luckily nobody has thought enough of my skills as a knife maker to make this request. But, I think I would be reluctant. As a custom knife maker when you put your mark on a blade it is like a signature on a painting, different I think than putting a low restriction muffler on a chevy. Why? Because our knives are works of art, not mass produced products. I wouldn't tinker with anyone's signed oil painting, but I would tinker with a Chevy!

Jay
 
Sticks said:
Interesting ethical quandry. Luckily nobody has thought enough of my skills as a knife maker to make this request. But, I think I would be reluctant. As a custom knife maker when you put your mark on a blade it is like a signature on a painting, different I think than putting a low restriction muffler on a chevy. Why? Because our knives are works of art, not mass produced products. I wouldn't tinker with anyone's signed oil painting, but I would tinker with a Chevy!

Jay
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I guess that is where we differ in perspective. I don't consider my knives to be art... they're just artful tools, like a screwdriver with a burl handle. :D
 
Mike928 said:
I guess that is where we differ in perspective. I don't consider my knives to be art... they're just artful tools, like a screwdriver with a burl handle. :D
Click to expand...

Certainly, there is no right or wrong answer to this question. I respect your opinion and it goes to the essence of what Knifedogs is all about. Many do small quanity production kinves and they may not care if a knife is "modified", others do one offs that they consider to be a "sculpture" which happens to be a tool, a knife. I don't sell knives and make very few. But, if one were to ever leave me , I wouldn't want someone to modify or change it while my mark were on it. But, as I said ethical questions never have right or wrong answers, your opinion is as valid as mine, and I respect it.

Jay
 
Thanks for your input guys.

The sheath for me was a no brainer. The knife originally came with a kydex sheath and the guy wanted a leather one made.
Of course I made the sheath.
The smoothing of the sharp corners wasnt in my opinion that big of a deal, so I did it.
I took the roughness out of the bevel grinds and gave the blade a satin finish.
I thought long and hard before I did this because it bothered me. But in the end I did what the customer asked.
That doesnt mean that I will do it every time. I think it is a case by case thing with me.

I just wanted to know what you guys thought.
 
Eric,
What you have said here about a case by case basis is the key. When I was just starting and was low on funds. I was less picky about working on a knife by another maker. Not that I am rolling in dough these days. But if someone wants a rehandle on another maker's knife for instance, I would now refer them to someone else.

Like others have said there's no right or wrong here. Just what you are comfortable with concerning your knife work and pocket book.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Interesting question.

I guess the only think I would worry about would be a case where somebody tried to modify a knife that another maker had done a great job on, only to do a poor job on the modification and "devalue" the knife.
Then say somewhere down the road the knife is sold, and everyone who sees the knife thinks that it was the original maker who botched up the knife. In that case it could lose money for the maker, as well as tarnish a reputation.

Then again, I don't suppose I know of anyone who lost their reputation based on one knife, but who knows.

In the past, I have seen other makers modify a production knife and put thier mark on it (while keeping the original mark) just to show that they worked on it.
 
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