Custom dive knives

[Hoyden]

When I said more expensive, I wasn't thinking top of the line. I was thinking cheap models of mass prod versus hand made but reasonably priced. I'll probably have him make me one and then see if there is interest based on the price he would need.

In that case, I'd be interested in something like a gerber river shorty with a line cutter notch which would make it the perfect dive knife, imo.

Jackie

 

[yipiekaya]

is the handle pin titanium also ???????????

you can get one of these for between $20-$40 USD,

Folding, Titanium, with Linecutter.

99% of all dive knives are a complete waste of money, you need something that works, not something that looks good.

Just my 2c

 

[Santa]

My father in-law is looking into making custom knives after he retires. I mentioned custom dive knives may be worth looking into. I wanted to do an inquiry into how divers feel about the subject. Do you feel you would seriously consider a (possibly more expensive) custom knife or would you prefer a mass produced knife?

Probably wouldn't but ...

THe fact that in reality most dive knives are crude heavy duty tools easily lost is not the same as saying there'd be no market for a fancy knife (I mean: There is). Quality details probably won't make much of a real life difference, but dreams sell quite readily ...

They made a chocolate cake powder - you only had to add water. Wouldnt sell.

They changed the recipe so you had to add eggs yourself as well and the market boomed. Why? It made all the lazy housewifes feel real, like better persons, like they'd really worked for it, like they knew what they were doing.

I once had a very serious debate on the topic of producing custommade goldcovered diveweights in the shape of hearts, dolphins, wv-signs or whatever with a fellow DM (okay we we're drunk as skunks). I cringe at the mere thought but I've seen a few divers who might actually go for such a thing (they're the ones with, neon wetsuits and cheery little melodies for computer alarms like
hey-ho,
diddleeh-oh,
your air ran out,
ten seconds ago

... it's a fact - divers have more fun).


If they're out there, knock em dead I say.


regards

 

[Orlando Eric]

Blackie Collins made some great knives that never really caught on. He had one in particular that was a stout piece of SS that had to be a 1/4" thick one piece. It was in the $100.00 range and it did not sell very well. Perhaps if you used a jewels saw (looks like a coping saw) to cut out dolphins, turtles and shark profiles in the tang they would catch on. Divers will buy anything, just look in your own closet.. in that box.. covered in dust.

Eric

 

[Mandy3206]

Divers will buy anything, just look in your own closet.. in that box.. covered in dust.

Eric

Are you talking about me?, When you looked in my closet?

Sad but true, if somebody manufactures it, someone is going to buy it!!

The other day I read here in SB about some member spending over $100,000.00 in dive gear in all of his dive career

 

[Goose75]

...They made a chocolate cake powder - you only had to add water. Wouldnt sell.

They changed the recipe so you had to add eggs yourself as well and the market boomed. Why? It made all the lazy housewifes feel real, like better persons, like they'd really worked for it, like they knew what they were doing... it's a fact - divers have more fun).

If they're out there, knock em dead I say.
regards

I think I remember that cake. If I recall correctly, my family thought it was a great idea until we ate some.

As for my father-in-law, I think he'll be happy to just break even. He's a retired engineer with a full workshop looking to tinker. I showed him my dive knife (now lost somewhere in Bonaire) and he didn't see any trouble making the blade and serrations. The hook was the part he wasn't sure how to do. I think I'm going to draft up a replacement for mine and have him try to make it from SS. That should replace my loss and give him something to play with.

 

[Bob3]

If yer father in law can crank out a Gerber River Shorty clone for $10, put me down for a couple dozen.
I do have a couple of Blackie Collins' works, they're some dandy stuff. My Gerber Moray hasn't been out of the "spares box" in a few years though, where the "1-piece slab" gets used very often, sometimes daily.
Not to wander off the topic (much), some very decent (topside) knife steel can be had by applying a torch to a large circular saw blade. You probably don't have too much logging in TX though, eh? We used to pick the 3' diameter blades up from our local junkyard.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Wow, I just saw this thread. To get a feel for the climate of the custom knife worl check out some of the blade forums like Don Foggs site. Custom made knives are usually expensive and most buyers are collectors although some folks with special needs go to a custome knife. There are some makers selling knifes for as little as $100 or so but the well known makers sometimes get thousands of dollars for their blades.

I make some blades. All are forged and many are pattern welded (often incorrectly refered to as domascas). The father in law likely won't be able to sell a knife at a profit until he earns a name in the custom blade world. Personally, I haven't sold any yet. Every one wants one but no one has offered me any where near enough money to even come close to compensating me for the time and effort that goes into making a nice knife. Further the elements that make a customne blade a fine piece aren't neede and maybe even not desired in a dive knife. Even though I can make a blade anytime I want I use emt shears and CHEAP knives for diving.

 

[MikeFerrara]

If yer father in law can crank out a Gerber River Shorty clone for $10, put me down for a couple dozen.
I do have a couple of Blackie Collins' works, they're some dandy stuff. My Gerber Moray hasn't been out of the "spares box" in a few years though, where the "1-piece slab" gets used very often, sometimes daily.
Not to wander off the topic (much), some very decent (topside) knife steel can be had by applying a torch to a large circular saw blade. You probably don't have too much logging in TX though, eh? We used to pick the 3' diameter blades up from our local junkyard.

Some saw blades will make a decent knife (as can some files) but using a torch to cut it out will most likely require you to redo the heat treating (hardening and tempering). Even grinding can heat a piece of steel enough to ruin the heat treating if your not careful. Not to mention the fact that stock removal (grinding, filing scraping and stoning) is far more difficult on hardened steel. I aneal (soften) the stock before doing anything. The only thing I do after heat treating is final polishing, etching (if required) and handle assembly. I leave the tang soft for toughness and ease of handle construction.

Regardless of how you shape the stock (forging, stock removal or a combination) heat treating is critical. Without proper heat treating for the type of steel and the application you may have a great looking piece that is just a "knife shaped object" but one that will never actually be a knife.

 

[Goose75]

Equipment isn't a problem. He's been buying and trading industrial surplus for decades on the side. To give you a rough idea, now retired, he has been debating a 4000sq ft workshop to have room to comfortably use all the equipment he has. Lathes, mills, brakes, scribes, torches, welders, belt sanders, heat treat ovens, blast cabinets, spray booths and much more. He's also been talking with local (as in all of Texas) well known knifemakers for a few years and getting their insight. A retired engineer, he just wants to build things in his workshop as a self sustaining enjoyable hobby for retirement. Although I work in composites, I work with metalugsts, so we should be able to answer his defect questions.

I'll work up some ideas for him from the input and what I want. He's remodeling his house now, so I have a few months to think it through.