Opinion on quality and value

[Dobermann]

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Can anyone pass anyone pass any judgement on quality and value of one of my recent makes? It's a lauri laplander blade with a stained oak, brass and buffalo horn handle and the sheaths made and tooled by me. Looking to maybe in the future to try market some things here as a hobby and wanting to know if what I make is actually up to scratch? Thanks guys! Hope I haven't posted this in the wrong area as I'm not selling just wanting opinions!

 

[woof]

From the photo both the knife & sheath look very well made.

Rob

 

[mrcharly]

Looks good.

Would be better to photograph it on a light background.

 

[Corso]

difficult to say with a single pic - need a look at the blade to handle join but overall the workman ship looks good - woulds particularly choose that shape for a handle though.

but you'd be lucky to get your costs back, it will take quite a bit of time to build up a rep and if your making kits (with bought blades) you'll probably only start making a profit with negotiated custom (to the owners spec) work

 

[mountainm]

Can't really tell from that photo - but if you wanted to be picky then you'd need photos of all the joins - things to look for:
Glue lines
Slots or clearance between joins or metalwork
Scratches on handle or metalwork
Consistency to blade spine (texture should be the same all the way along)
Super sharpness to blade
Symmetry in handle profile.

 

[Dobermann]

Cheers guys - I know the things you re pointing out to look for like handle to bolster joints and glue lines just never really known how much stuff goes for. To be fair that ll have only cost about £25 to make even with the sheath it's just time that's the expenditure really that's my first attempt ( at knife making I've been doing the leather a while) and there are a few gaffs on it but I've begun using that one around the house for cooking and general use anyway ( the lauri blades are great for the cost! Right bargain!) I guess if something's well made and looks good people ll be willing to accept a fair price ( or so I hope) not really looking to make any profit just wanting to get some shed time in and cover costs - what I was after was an over all sort of reaction based on if everything was as we all know it should be

 

[leon-1]

I am with the others, we do really need more pics.

Aesthetically I like the sheath, more pictures of it and the stitching and finishing stitches would be good.

The knife looks okay, but I am not so keen on the handle shape. Which Lauri blade are we talking about here (Leuku?).

Lauri blades are a bargain, but it's worth looking at their PT and PTX blades as well, they are excellent.

If you programme in the cost of sales and shipping you'd probably need to sell for about £32 to break even. To some that'll sound a lot, but to be honest it's a bargain at that price. It's easy enough to pay £80 or £100 for a mass produced knife like this. If it was parked at £50, that may mean that you're getting paid £1 an hour for your time and that would be at the very best.

 

[santaman2000]

From the pix it looks good. I wouldn't want to judge quality without actually handling and using it. Feel free to mail it to me for a year's test and evaluation

 

[petrochemicals]

Like already mentioned, it depends on the process and how long it took to make, on the provisor that the manufacturing process is sensible and the materials good quality. Then there is the other side of things, is it just very pedantic to make, a one off, or part of a batch process, is it expensive for the sake of being expensive?

As said add up your time 15 pound hour, machine and overhead costs, 5 pound for administration, materials and you'll arrive at a sensible price.

Or think this knife will be a collectors item and wack the price up.

 

[HillBill]

£15 pound an hour?

As said add up your time 15 pound hour, machine and overhead costs, 5 pound for administration, materials and you'll arrive at a sensible price.

Or think this knife will be a collectors item and wack the price up.

 

[mark.177]

at the moment... after costs i figure i make around £3 per hour!

 

[petrochemicals]

£15 pound an hour?

Well I know it's not much but....

You ain't on a salary you're a small self employed business man. How much does a gas engineer or other tradesman charge? 100 for a callout and 50 per hour all in, so 15 pound an hour seems about right, if your doing it as a tradesman.

 

[leon-1]

£15 pound an hour?

Yeah that's what I thought. There would be about 18 hours work in there overall, plus cost of materials and shipping to import then shipping and packaging to the recipient and then possibly PayPal fees as well. That would price it at over £300 pounds.

Knife makers and leathercrafters virtually never charge for time as people wouldn't be able to afford anything we made. Prices are agreed and set on as piece work (so much for this design or that with added costs for specialist work / materials) or sometimes with saddlers they do cost of materials and so much per stitch.

 

[Corso]

no chance will he be able to mark it up by £15 per hour...

Just because a gas engineer or other tradesman rips you off with crazy charges doesn't mean someone starting out as a hobby seller can charge the same amount

lets be realistic - if that went up on the sales forum it would probably start at £50 and get sold maybe at the £25-30 mark

 

[mountainm]

As below - it's hard to make a living wage on the output of a hobby. To do so you'd need to standardise your output and produce in large batches automating some of the processes. Ie. It's no longer a hobby.

The only other way is to go for the low volume, high quality silly end of the bespoke market - sell for £1k + but the quality, standard and materials used need to be triple A. Plus it's hard to market to those customers.

 

[John Fenna]

I do not even get £15 for my paid work in the Care sector!
£15/hour is a dream, try £7 in the care sector and perhaps £4 in hobby work if you are lucky.
I make things for the fun of making and do not really take my time into the price... if I cover my outgoings and a couple of pints I think I am doing OK....

 

[sunndog]

Well I know it's not much but....

I'm sorry dude but that really did make me chuckle

 

[petrochemicals]

I do not even get £15 for my paid work in the Care sector!
£15/hour is a dream, try £7 in the care sector and perhaps £4 in hobby work if you are lucky.
I make things for the fun of making and do not really take my time into the price... if I cover my outgoings and a couple of pints I think I am doing OK....

Yes john, I heard that the care sector isn't paying for travel time, which is a scandal.

It's what I meant by the trades person slant. If you are hobbying it, it's ok for 4 pounds, but if it's one of three jobs, you would have to be looking at 15, just to make it worth your time.

 

[santaman2000]

Well I know it's not much but....

You ain't on a salary you're a small self employed business man. How much does a gas engineer or other tradesman charge? 100 for a callout and 50 per hour all in, so 15 pound an hour seems about right, if your doing it as a tradesman.

Well that's what the company charges. How much of that actually goes to said tradesman? I'd bet your first estimate of 15 is closer to what the tradesman actually gets.

 

[bigbear]

Ah, the how much is ones time worth arguement.
Now, I used to do a little private tutoring at A level in Chemistry, being as I was a head of dept and knew my stuff backwards if I say so myself. Still do as it happens.and my track record was very good as I sacked any pupil who was not putting in the work because I felt morally wrong if I was taking money and there was an expectation of results just by paying.
In short, I stopped as people queried twenty five pounds an hour for one to one tuition in a subject where its very hard to get any tutors and competence is rare. Yet the same folk will happily pay whatever to plumbers, mechanics, or however much on a meal out. The perception of value and its real worth are tricky badgers, make no mistake.
Curiously enough I was often paid a bonus by pupils I kept on as their families saw how much they were benefitting from the work, if I trusted my fellow man more perhaps I should have done it on the pay me what you think its worth method......
end of rant, returns to box.