Quandaries with handmade damascus folding knives, rating systems and business practices.

In the mid-1980s, when Damascus was making its first appearance in knife shows. I met two well-known Smith masters who promoted their "steel and secret techniques" that made their steel special. It turned out that his steel and / or his techniques were far from special. I warn you to be suspicious of any manufacturer of fake knives that use the word "secret".

Manufacturers of forged blades do an excellent job of sharing their knowledge with their colleagues. In addition, there are other hammer schools and INS throughout the United States that allow knowledge of the forged blade to pass from manufacturer to manufacturer.

While ABS has excellent guidelines and testing procedures that manufacturers must meet to have their knives pass the tests to get their JS or MS seal. This does not mean that each blade armor will maintain that high standard set for its test blades. Nowadays, you will find that some manufacturers with a JS seal are better than some of the manufacturers with an MS seal. This is mainly due to better equipment and better information dissemination. It is up to you to be able to compare apples with apples when it comes to materials and techniques that are used in similar knives.

Before buying or ordering a knife, it is always better to talk with the manufacturer. Ask them why they use particular materials for the knives on their table, etc. While some may be slow to talk about their knives (since many manufacturers feel this is bluffing) once they understand that they are interested in their decision making process. They should be more than happy to answer each and every question. If for some reason the manufacturer does not answer or cannot answer the questions about his work. You may want to consider looking for another manufacturer for your project or your collection. However, understand that in a show they also have other people to talk to. The more you know as a collector, the better you can ask more specific questions.

You should understand that most knife manufacturers are part-time manufacturers. As such, your level of business experience will vary. This is the reason why communication is so important between the manufacturer and the buyer. Two problems that may arise here are delivery time and deposits. With very few exceptions, you must deposit a deposit in an order. An example would be if you are requesting very expensive materials, such as gold, ivory, precious stones, etc. You can expect the manufacturer to ask you for money in advance to buy them. Be sure to resolve the details of the money at the time of placing the order. Manufacturers that insist on a 50% deposit should be avoided. For those manufacturers that insist on full payment in advance. Run, do not get away from them.

Delivery times will vary. Most likely, the creator is late. Understand that this is not done intentionally. Manufacturers will give you their best estimate of when your knife will be completed. As you can imagine, once it is over 6 months it can be difficult to give an exact delivery date. So plan on being a little patient and keeping in touch with the manufacturer. Once again, good communication is the key.

Like forged blade manufacturers, buyers of forged blades have a wide variety of resources that they can use to learn what to look for in this category. The ABS website is a wealth of information about what is expected from manufacturers with a particular rating. Given the number of hammers and knives found in the United States, there is probably one near you. A basic understanding of how a knife is made can be very helpful in giving you an appreciation / education on how easy or difficult some aspect of knife making can be. The Internet can be exploited as a hidden treasure of aftermarket potential of a particular job of the manufacturers.

Knowing the position of a manufacturer in a particular market allows you to determine what you must pay for a particular knife. This will give you the best hit for your money.

The forged sheets seem to offer almost an unlimited variety of styles and materials. Make this aspect of the custom knife market something that all collectors should explore.