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Here is how I price the options on my knives

I want to explain how I price my knives and also some of the options. The most important thing is, you and I have to feel good about the transaction. It must be a win, win situation. Selling my second knife to you is my goal.

I try to price my knife where most people can afford them. My smallest, most basic folder which starts at $275.00 has exactly the same style and fit as my knives costing twice as much. No grind lines or gaps. The only difference is the choice of handle material, bolsters, and the final finish. The steel is normally ATS-34.

Pocket Clips

Lets start with something fairly simple, a pocket clip. My cost for one of these (Stainless Steel) is about $5.00. I charge $25.00. That sounds like one heck of a mark-up. But, let me tell you the rest of the story. The pocket clip is one of the last things I install. I buy my pocket clips from Spyderco and Benchmade because they have three holes, which is good. There is less chance of the clip becoming loose with three screws.

After I have completed the knife,  I'm ready to install the clip, I first have to take the knife completely apart. I then have to put the bolster and handle material back on the liner so I can drill new holes. Next I take this apart so I can tap the new holes in the liner. I then have to put the bolster and handle material back on the liner, along with the pocket clip. I do this because I have to flush the three new screws (that hold the clip) to the liner. I then take the pocket clip, bolster, and the handle material off the liner. Then I put the whole thing back together again.

The procedure I just described was greatly simplified, if the pocket clip is installed incorrectly, it can cause you, the buyer several problems. First you could lose your knife (I guess this would be one way to sell you another knife). Also, If the pocket clip is incorrectly installed, it can cause the entire knife to be in a bind. That can cause the lock to become unsafe or the action not to be as smooth as you and I want.

Handle Material

Now I want to tell you about handle material. It does not matter if it is Stag, Mother of Pearl, or Mastodon Ivory. The customer is paying for (normally) for the beauty of the outside of the material. For folders, this means I must bring the thickness down to approximately 1/8". That is, unless you want a "pocket" knife that is 1" thick. I think not. This is a very dangerous procedure. This is how I almost removed my index finger. When working with natural materials, there has been many times when doing the final shaping,  I found a defect that made the material unusable.  So you can see, there is a lot of time and expense involved with fitting a nice piece of handle material.

File Work and Fluted scales

This is a very tedious procedure. After marking the liners or spacer with Dykem blue, I have to measure and mark increments as small as .060. I then use various size swiss files to put in the decoration. This is where I can turn a $600.00 knife into a gift to one of my children. With just one small slip of my hand or if I let my mind wander....well anyway, you get the picture. Of course when I am fluting Mother of Pearl scales, that means I can also mess up some big bucks real quick. Been there, done that.
 


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