Hello everyone! I am a knifemaker and I have a question about pricing my crafts. For materials i spend something around 21 usd. In hours I spend on a blade from 8-12 hours, on a handle 3-4 hours, on sheath 3-5. So its 14-21 hours spent on a one knife. Is it fair to price my crafts for 95 usd?
by Aggressive_Gap6487
37 Comments
On average your paying yourself 4.10 an hour to make a knife. Seems very low to me imo
i think you could price them higher to be real with you, ~6 dollars at best is just not very much, especially for how nice these look.
Forgot to mention. I am usually using X12MF steel for blade, it is analog to d2. White bronze or brass, hornbeam for handle.
Shit ill buy one for $100 right now
My brother in Christ those are some good looking bastards, you can charge a lot more, I’ve seen knives like that with similar materials at at least 150 if not more
I cannot contribute to the discussion on pricing, just wanted to say you craft a mighty fine looking knife! If it were possible – pity it is not – I’d pay much more than 95 USD for one.
Are you in the US?
While 100$ is a fantastic price for the knife and people would be all over that, I’d definitely say jump it up a little bit. Maybe like 150? A full custom knife with that much time behind if, 150 is a fantastic price. People who are into quality handmade customs will know that
as a casual knife fan, not a real knowledgeable expert, those look like they should sell for way more than $100. My first glance said probably $200.
Not fair to you, for certain. I’d pay $150-200 for that quality of work.
Man that’s a nice knife
you can charge double that easily
Easily worth more, very nice knives.
Man these look like 200-400usd knives! They look awesome!
Id feel like a boss camping with one of these!! Good work and good luck getting them into the world marketplace..
What’s your country?
Beautiful knife, 95 is very reasonable. Wish you the best
I would definitely purchase one of these 😀
Alas, US based
Make them fit the standards to ship to US. $150-$200 average
Honestly, they’re worth more than that.
I’d pay 150 and would feel like I robbed you
I normaly go to a flee market every other month. And you would be sold out at $95 usd. Then the person that bought them would set up shop next to you and sell them for $200- $250. But they’d probably sell over a 3 day span all 3 knifes would be gone. So if you mass produced these to a whole seller. (If you figured out the shipping) You could ask for $150 and mark them custom. (If you shipped disassembled to the whole seller and had them put them together before they sold them individually, plus shipping costs. Whole seller will probably need to at least do $250 per to cover costs of shipping and assembly upon arrival.)
By the way these are beautiful I aspire to make knifes as good as these. But you should charge more because $150 on just a 10hr day is $15 per hr. If you have a large supply then consider shipping, at the right price. Other wise find some good flea markets to set up shop in. Hagle the customer and see what they are willing to pay locally. If they are asking for $95usd they are tring to pay you 9.5 per hr. On 10 hours.
I hope that helps even a little bit and good luck!
You could easily sell that for 200
I will add my voice to the chorus of people saying you’re selling yourself short for $100. I don’t have the funds now but would be interested, do you have a website or social media I could follow?
Those are beautiful knives. You are very skilled. You could probably charge at least 3 times that.
The time you’ve invested in making them is worth more than that. Nice knives.
My suggestion is to make knives for the US market that meet export requirements. A bushcraft knife would do well. Also use better steel. D2 has very low toughness. Stainless in the 420HC family has the best balance of toughness and wear resistance, in Europe, 14C28N should be available, this is the best conventional knife steel. And high-toughness powder steels like 3V and 4V equivalents heat treated to 60HRC would well double the selling price. Just make sure to explain that the steel is the European equivalent to the CPM steel. There is another popular knife maker in Ukraine, BPS, though they are on the very low end. They make some larger knives and can export them seemingly without issue.
Sounds like a a fair price! That is if smithing is your hobby. Can’t really say exactly because I cannot determine the quality of the blade but just from looks alone it is a very fair price! A very beautiful knife
You would be hitting a good sweet spot at that price in the US. If you could figure out a design that kept the same aesthetic, you would do well selling them online.
If you are using quality materials and producing a quality product then I’d say 175-200 USD would be reasonable .
They look great 95USD is not enough.
Seems too low, try like $150 maybe?
Can it be a kit? Send it pieced out to be assembled by the buyer?
If they hold an edge and sharpen well then I’d say at least $150, but like the other guy said you should ask people that you can sell them to
Need to be at minimum $250 each and probably more
Bump those numbers up homie. Also read Go Givers Sell More. It’s an easy and amazing book teaching you about self value when selling something you worked hard on.
Fellow Ukrainian here. I suggest you to ask other Ukrainian knifemakers for an advice on how do they ship. For example Blade Brother Knives have a Chornobay model with a detachable guard (I think they even sell it in the same package). You may also ask p.honcharenko_knifes (Instagram), kravacut (Instagram), maybe someone else.
Even if you don’t find the way to ship these knives abroad, don’t sell these for 95$. I’m pretty sure, there are lots of people (hunters, military, knife enthusiasts etc.) who would eagerly buy these for 150-200$ and more. I believe that selling these knives in nice gift boxes will help. Also these blades have perfect shape for laser engraving, which many people want to have on the knife they gift, so consider providing this option as well.
Anyway, you have already did the great job making these knives, so selling them would be an easier part. Please respect your labor and don’t underprice. Best wishes for you and your business. Slava Ukraini!
Way too low for handmade. On top of that, they look really well made. Pay yourself at least $20-25. If you feel like you don’t have a market for it, sell the sheath as an accessory. I honestly think even $300 would be leaving money on the table.
Edit: Maybe I’m too high if you’re not based in the US. But if you look on places like Etsy, people seem to be paying crazy prices for “handmade.”
If you use steel like s35vn, you could sell in the $300-$400. Don’t even get me started on if you used magna-cut.