The new book, “Spirit of the Sword,” edited and written by yours truly, Steve Shackleford, is now available from Krause Books/F+W Media.
The book includes comprehensive stories on the capital of the sword world; how to produce a hamon, by ABS master smith Don Fogg; the most popular sword style ever; how an ABS master smith visits the museums of Europe to study closeup the ancient swords he reproduces, by Vince Evans; a profile of one of the world’s pre-eminent swordsmiths, Yoshindo Yoshihara, by Leon Kapp; a history of swords in the movie industry; and the swords they used and how they used them in combat in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, by John Clements. In addition, there is a dedication to the late Hank Reinhardt.
There is also a huge directory of today’s swordmakers in unprecedented form, including detailed information on the swords they make, how they make them, the materials used, pictures of the swords, where to get them, a sword dictionary and more.
Gene Osborn, the head man behind Center Cross Instructional Videos of Fort Worth, Texas, passed away Nov. 9. He was 51.
As noted on the company’s website, www.centercross.com/cciv/, Osborn remained the “UNKNOWN KNIFEMAKER” by choice, and proudly displayed the Center Cross as the signature on all his work. For the last 30 years he made “‘one-of-a-kind knives,’ custom-made damascus steel for other knifemakers across the globe, and built the most complete and comprehensive video library of instructional guidance designed to take you to the next level in custom knifemaking.”
Center Cross is known for a wide range of knifemaking videos featuring such leading makers as Steve Johnson, Harvey Dean and others. The company is also known for the “Ultimate Knife Kit,” a kit that provides all the parts to build a knife with any number of different materials.
Among Osborn’s survivors is his wife, Mellanie, who will continue to run Center Cross.
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On May 6, the National Knife Museum and the William F. Moran, Jr. Museum & Foundation, Inc. will open an extensive exhibit celebrating the life and work of legendary knifemaker William F. “Bill” Moran. The opening weekend’s festivities will include tours of the exhibit as well as a two-day Educational/Bladesmithing Workshop in which attendees can learn forging the “Moran Way.”
In January of last year, the National Knife Museum opened its first special exhibition of items made by Moran, considered the father of modern bladesmithing. This exhibit, viewed by thousands of visitors over a period of several months, was created with a loan of eighteen exceptional knives and axes from the Moran Foundation. Its great success has led to the new exhibit, which expands the number of Moran-crafted items to approximately fifty.
Also included will be many historical photographs of Bill and his wife Margaret, other memorabilia, and a timeline noting the highlights of Moran’s career, all compiled with the goal of making the master’s work accessible to knife lovers and the general public.
The pieces displayed include many that are significant in a historical sense as well as an artistic one. Attendees can view Moran’s first and second damascus knives (the very first pattern-welded knives of the modern era), Moran’s first folding knife, his personal folder, all three of his famous fighting knife patterns (the M-7, ST-23, and ST-24, as well as an incredibly rare ST-23 folder), Moran’s first cinquedea, a cased set of six miniatures made for his wife Margaret, and a wide variety of other knives from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, encompassing hunters, daggers, fighters, bowies, camp knives and others – virtually all the styles and designs the master was known for. It’s worthy of note that the Museum is designing the exhibit so that visitors can view both sides of every knife in the display.
Never before has any knifemaker had this extensive a museum exhibition, and its significance is underscored by the fact that some Moran knives have sold for as much as $30,000 and even $40,000 apiece. Make no mistake, this is an exhibit worth seeing.
Those who crave more will want to consider taking advantage of the opportunity to attend the Moran Educational/Bladesmithing Workshop, to be held the opening weekend of the exhibit. There, attendees can learn more about Bill Moran and the “Moran Way,” his knifemaking techniques and his theories about knife design, from Moran’s longtime friends like Jay Hendrickson and A.G. “Barney” Barnes. There will also be opportunity to hand forge a blade or two under the personal guidance of an experienced bladesmith.
“Our mission,” states Moran Foundation Chairman Jay Hendrickson, “is to provide interested makers an opportunity to learn to forge knives in the traditional style of Bill Moran. It will be designed as a class for beginners interested in learning the process of forging knives. Bill always wanted to preserve the ancient methods of forging. That is our goal as well.”
Cost for the Workshop will be $75 per person, and proceeds will benefit the Moran Foundation and the National Knife Museum.
Event Details
The Moran Exhibit will open to the public on May 7, and will remain open until appoximately November so that knife lovers from around the world can take this opportunity to visit the National Knife Museum and see this incredible collection. The Museum is located on the second floor mezzanine level of Smoky Mountain Knife Works at 2320 Winfield Dunn Parkway, Sevierville, TN 37876, and is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, contact the Museum at 865-453-5871 (extension 259).
The Moran Educational/Bladesmithing Workshop will be held May 6-7, 2011 on the Smoky Mountain Knife Works grounds. The Workshop is limited to the first 25 paid signups, and the signup fee includes lunch both days as well as materials and a booklet on knifemaking. To register or for more information, contact Johnny Perry, P.O. Box 35, Inman, SC 29349; phone 864-431-6390.
About the Organizations
The National Knife Museum, a nonprofit organization, occupies a 4000 square foot space on the second floor mezzanine level of Smoky Mountain Knife Works at 2320 Winfield Dunn Parkway, Sevierville, TN 37876, and is open daily from 10:00AM to 5:00PM. For more information, contact the Museum at 865-453-5871 (extension 259).
The Moran Foundation is a nonprofit organization established to “educate, preserve and promote the ancient art and craft of hand-forged knives and tools used in bladesmithing, to establish a William F. Moran Museum for the collection and presentation of hand-forged knives and blacksmith metalwork, and to preserve the Moran shop near Middletown Maryland, as a working bladesmith shop.” Those interested in joining the Moran Foundation should contact them directly at 301-663-6923.
Travis Payne of T-Bone’s Custom Creations was hesitant at first, but when Kelly Pilcher asked, he made a knife with her rib. The overall length on this spey knife is 6.75 with a 2.5-inch cutting edge.
Kelly Pilcher of Collinsville, Texas, was 20 years old when doctors told her that hope of regaining feeling in her right side lay in having her first rib removed. She put the surgery off for as long as she could, but at 22 opted to go under the knife to alleviate her thoracic outlet syndrome. During surgery preparations Kelly asked, “‘What happens to body parts that come out of people?’” She was told that they were disposed of properly, but that if she wanted to take her rib home with her, she could. It was hers. She was adamant that she wanted to keep it. When she awoke from surgery, her dad was there and he had an idea of what to do with the bone. Shane Pilcher works at the New Gainesville Livestock Auction barn and when someone had mentioned making a knife with the rib, they knew just who to ask. Travis Payne, of T-Bones Custom Creations in Telephone, Texas, makes castration knives so all the cattlemen knew he could fashion a knife made from her rib. “Let’s do it!” Kelly remembers saying.
Travis Payne is renowned for his castration knife design. It is often copied by manufacturers using low-grade steel. Look for the T-Bone’s makers mark to ensure you’re getting the real thing.
TOS is a condition in which the surrounding soft tissue constricts nerves and blood vessels between the collar bone and first rib. Normally it is something diagnosed in people in their 40s to 60s, more commonly women, or perhaps mail carriers who consistently carry a heavy bag on their shoulder. Kelly was diagnosed when she was 14. It is believed in her case that years of catching slow-pitch softball as well as playing volleyball may have constituted the kind of overuse usually only seen in older patients.
By 17 Kelly had undergone a year of physical therapy. Although the therapy improved the symptoms of her TOS, it did not eliminate them. She went for an additional course of physical therapy a couple of years later, but the results were not as good. Her condition continued to worsen. “It’s different in each person,” she explained. She endured numbness that started in her arm, but then advanced to her whole side. Although she learned how to teach her body to move when numb, she was left with few options if she wanted to become fully functioning again. She decided to have her rib removed.
Shane Pilcher wasn’t sure about his daughter Kelly’s plan to keep her rib, but the cattlemen at the livestock sale barn convinced him that a knife might be the perfect solution. “I don’t leave home without it,” Kelly said of the knife Travis Payne fashioned from her first rib.
Shane had been at the livestock sale barn and was expressing some hesitation about Kelly’s decision to keep her rib. Someone pointed out that knives are made with animal bone and antler all the time, why not a human bone? “‘And doesn’t T-Bone make a knife?’” Travis said, recreating how the conversation may have gone at the barn. Since 1993 when Travis was still in high school he’d been making knives. His father and brother work the ranch where he lives in Telephone, Texas, but he makes knives full time. He is renowned for a style of castration knife that is frequently copied, most annoyingly by manufacturers using cheap steel. Since Travis’ father-in-law frequents the same sale barn where Shane works and the barn owner had purchased several of Travis’ knives and many of the cattlemen owned his knives, he was the first knifemaker that came to mind. Shane warmed to this idea and presented it to Kelly in the recovery room.
Travis Payne was nervous about slicing Kelly McGuire’s removed rib. What if it broke?
Like everyone involved in the project—except Kelly—Travis was hesitant, but he agreed to make the knife. He decided on his 3100T everyday carry model, a spey in cowboy parlance, usually the second blade on an old-school slipjoint trapper. Only this would be a fixed version. “It came to me in a hospital specimen jar,” Travis said, taking a drag on his cigarette and waiting for the laughter. “With the meat still on it.”
He approached the project like he would any deer skull. “Only I knew I wasn’t going to be using my wife’s cook pot,” Travis said, laughing. He bought a throw-away pot and boiled the bone to get off any connective tissue. Although bleaching a bone works, it also can break the bone down. Travis soaked the 3-inch bone in hydrogen peroxide for a week. The same whitening was achieved without compromising the strength of the bone. Then he let it dry for several months, providing a convenient delaying excuse. The bone was very thin, only an 1/8-inch at its widest point. Travis feared breaking it.
Once the rib was clean and dry, knifemaker Travis Payne was able to see its true size. It would need to be cast in resin if it was going to be used as a knife handle.
“I had to regroup and talk to Kelly,” he said. She remembers the call. He explained to her that the bone was too small and thin to make a handle out of, but that he could arrange for it to be cast in resin. Only he would need to slice it down the middle to have bone on each side of the handle. He could break it in the process. “I told him to go for it,” Kelly said.
“Anyone who knows me, will tell you that I procrastinate,” Travis said. He continued to analyze the problem. Meanwhile, he needed to find someone who would cast a human rib. Travis figured if anyone would do it, it would be Robert Belcher of Mental Co. Robert eschews phones and social contact, but his resins like Plantstone are innovative. “‘No, but hell no. I can’t be touching that,’” Travis recalled him saying. Travis moved on and got similar responses, but at least there was no point cutting the rib if he didn’t have someone lined up. Finally, he took the rib to a show and unwrapped it for Pat Ankrom, of Ankrom Exotics in Centerville, Iowa, specializing in natural and cast scale materials. “Pat was like, ‘I’m leery, but I also think it’s kind of cool,’” Travis said. The men discussed the casting, and Pat agreed to do the job. Pat did not want something to happen to the bone in the process of packing up from the show, so Travis said he would mail the rib to him.
Travis Payne, 41, started making knives in high school before everyone had access to the Internet. He’s been a knifemaker for 20 years.
Now Travis had no choice but to cut the bone, but it was a nerve-wracking proposition. Travis wasn’t about to charge a young woman who didn’t have a lot of money and who had a debilitating condition more than the $200 he normally charged for such a knife, but in hindsight the cost to attempt something like this again would be closer to $500, Travis said. Kelly, of course, was excited to both see the knife and to have her rib back in her possession, so periodically she’d call for a status update. Finally, Travis got his courage up and sat down with a jeweler’s saw. “Even with a jeweler’s saw it was a tedious process,” he said. The whole project was “intense,” he said, laughing.
The two halves were packaged up and shipped to Pat, an exercise in trust in itself. Meanwhile, the blade awaited. It was made out of PSF27, a powered version of D2 that allowed for a true mirror finish. The lack of a point on a spey design means it’s ideal for active cattlemen, ensuring nobody stabs themselves or punctures a sheath. It has a hollow grind, and a finger groove for more controlled cutting. The file work on the spine increases a sure grip in what can be wet or messy work.
The bone was cast in clear resin so you could see it, but so that you couldn’t see the full tang Travis consulted with Kelly about colors. She was open to a turquoise or blue. Travis added a blue liner, which casts the clear with a blue tone. The knife was then sent to Jack Andress, who made a sheath in a yellow leather, complimenting the blue perfectly.
How’d it come out? “I love it,” Kelly declared. Shane and Kelly came together to pick up the knife from Travis. Kelly said that she’d had that rib her whole life and she saw no reason why she shouldn’t have it with her for the rest of her life. She carries it everywhere, either on her person or in her vehicle. Although she does use it, she tries not to. Her surgery was a success, and feeling has mostly returned. There is no cure for the many variations of TOS and symptoms can return, however, Kelly’s pluck and resolve are ever-present. “I can’t complain,” she said.
Which Knife Designs Work?
Do you want some fresh inspiration for your knife designs? The best inspiration is to look at the designs that have lasted and learn why.
“101 Knife Designs” gives you 101 scaled patterns that you can use to design your own knives. Learn how to compare patterns and understand how some designs survive the test of time. If you’ve enjoyed Murray Carter’s other writings, you will be sure to enjoy this one. On sale now for $19.53.
In a recent Facebook post, Mike Jeffries of 2 Birds Metal Works asked fellow knifemakers if they had a website, if it was worth the time and money to set up and maintain and how they approached it. He often throws out marketing-related topics for discussion. If you’ve followed any of those threads, you’ve already picked up some digital marketing tips from fellow makers. So, with Mike’s permission, our first in a series of Marketing For Knifemakers articles will delve into some of the feedback he received, assess some statistics and provide examples of custom knifemaker websites. Obviously, if you are an uber-successful full-time knifemaker, you can stop reading, unless you want to reach a still wider audience. This article, though, is aimed at those on the cusp of going larger or full-time with their craft. So, knifemakers: Do you need a website?
Experiment. Do a search for “custom knifemaker.” The first one to come up is Dark Timber Custom Knives, run by Peter Kohler. Why? A blog, and most of the photos are labeled. There needs to be content that bots can search through.
We’ll save whether you should go the do-it-yourself route or hire a pro for another time. We simply want to determine if a website is worth your time, money and effort at this point in your knifemaking career.
What Are Your Knifemaking Goals?
Are You A Hobbyist Or Part-Timer?
There is no shame in continuing to improve your craftsmanship, loving the journey and decidedly not going forward with a website. Continue to learn with each knife, sell a few to keep yourself in supplies and follow along with the community to stay up on industry news. Facebook (FB) and Instagram (IG) are all you really need.
Is Knifemaking Your Calling?
If you’re “arrived,” you already have a website and you can stop reading, unless you want a few tips on maximizing your customer base. If you’re striving to reach higher rungs on the artisan ladder, focus on bettering each knife, learning from mentors and obtaining your journeyman smith rating if you forge. You can either start a website or wait. Once you think, and your peers confirm, that you’ve hit your knifemaking stride, though, you will definitely need a website. You will also need to tailor that site to reach the public you set out to attract.
Bob Kramer of Kramer Knives maintains a website that reflects his appreciation of metallurgy and how it contribute to his “effortless art.” A website is an “experience” that should reflect the maker’s philosophy, style, story. Kramer’s does all that, which is why he come up third in a search for “custom knifemaker,” right after Arizona Custom Knives.
Are You Actively Growing Your Business?
You’re comfortable with your style and level of craft. You’re 100 percent committed to knifemaking as a full-time trade. You’re making money at it. You may be maxed out, or you may go through times of feast and famine. You, perhaps more urgently than other custom knifemakers, could benefit from a website sooner rather than later.
Whom Do You Want To Reach?
Honestly assess your style of knives and ask yourself who would be interested in your work? That can be a distasteful question when you solely want to focus on your art, but it’s not just about selling knives. It’s about tapping into the community that will be assessing and judging your pieces.
Kyle Royer Knives‘ website is full of professional photos by Caleb Royer and every single one of them includes full specs. Kyle is an American Bladesmith Society master smith. He was 23 when he wrote his About page. He’s 27 now. Is it perfectly grammatically correct? No. Is it genuine and true to him and his knifemaking journey? You bet. Your knives need to be perfect, not your writing. Write as you would speak.
The Collector
If your folders are carried in a velvet pouch or arranged on a display shelf, a website, of course, is essential. You already know this. You’re spending the majority of your time in your shop or socializing with your clientele in the normal course of living your life. However, “owning” your name may not be enough in a waning high-end knife market. Is your site attracting the gentleman who wants something to go with his watch, the art collector who may be looking for a new-to-him art to explore, or neither. We’ll be exploring more about best practices for your site in an upcoming Marketing For Knifemaker’s article.
The Brotherhood
If you’re making tactical knives for the military, for law enforcement or for civilian self-defense, then you need a website, period. This category also includes trainers and balisongs for combatives instructors and practitioners.
Dawson Knives comes up fifth in a “custom knifemaker” online search. This site is both exquisite art and an homage to the military. However, it’s high ranking is due in no small part to its depth. Check out its active blog, The Daily Grind.
The Outdoorsman
If you’re making knives and tools for bushcrafting, camping, hunting, fishing or survival, you, too, need a website. Obviously, there is crossover in these categories. Your Rambo-esk survival knife may be totally tacticool, so you’ll want to appeal to The Brotherhood as well as The Outdoorsman.
The Everyman
The everyman carries a knife for everyday chores, or keeps one in her purse, or has a few in a kitchen “junk” drawer. You absolutely need a website to reach this person.
The Cook
How can you convince people who cook that you can make a knife that will perform as well as an expensive classic, but in a color other than black? Answer: a website.
How Do People Find You?
Word Of Mouth
There’s still 30 percent of the adult US population (250 million) that is not online. That’s where you stake your name on the quality of your product and never let it out your door if you’re not 100 percent sure of it.
You also learn to ask. You ask your happy customers to write reviews for you. You ask your less-than-happy customer to honestly share his disappointment and how you went above and beyond to not only make it right, but make it better than all right. You ask fans to tell their friends about you. You ask them to share your posts.
Article Appearance
Print publishing is indeed on the decline, but digital publishing is coming into its own. Articles in which your work is included can give you a boost in search engine optimization because it’s packaged with over 300 words and includes links, images and video—all things that help rank that article, and thereby your knife images, higher.
Social Media
If you’re on the cusp of growing larger, you undoubtedly have social media well underway. We’ll be doing articles on each platform and how you can best maximize it to get your type of knives in front of a broader audience.
Online Search
This is where we want to focus. In order to meet new customers where they are, you must put yourself in their shoes. Sit down at the computer and think like a non-knifemaker. That can be a challenge. By focusing on Facebook and Instagram, knifemakers are talking to each other and customers who already know them. There is so much overlap that the circle of influence has shrunk to solely each other and fans. Fellow knifemakers are the best source of cheerleading, constructive guidance and fellowship, but they can’t help you reach those outside the knife industry.
Mike Jeffries of 2 Birds Metal Works in Louisville, Kentucky, will often throw out marketing questions for knifemakers on Facebook. Some of the feedback he receives is invaluable, though you should always verify current marketing practices because things change quickly in the digital marketplace.
Make a list of the things that people might type into a search engine to find you. Enlist a non-knifemaker’s input if necessary. Let’s use 2 Birds Metal Works as an example. Mike makes knives to handle your cutting needs “from kitchen to camp.” So, his aim will be to attract the The Outdoorsman and The Cook. Except for current customers and fellow makers, people know neither “Mike Jeffries” nor “2 Birds Metal Works,” so what might they enter to stumble upon Mike’s work.
Mike Jeffries’ chef knife has a 7-inch AEB-L stainless blade with a Vintage Blue Westinghouse Micarta handle with Shadetree Emerald Burlap bolsters. The signature pins are made of copper. The overall length is just under 12 inches. Maker’s list price: $300-$380. Contact Mike Jeffries, 2 Birds Metal Works, [email protected], 502-592-4240, on Facebook at 2 Birds Metal Works & Mike Jeffries Knives.
As clumsy as that sounds, that’s what you want to have happen. Mike offers a chef knife with a teal blue and lime green handle. Let’s say a woman is searching for a housewarming gift for her sister, whose favorite color combination is teal and lime. She types in “teal and lime gift.” That’s it. Nothing about knives in the equation. If Mike has written a full caption to go with an image of his knife on his website along with the suggestion that it makes a nice gift, he has just increased the chances of his site coming up in a search. If he also describes in a blog post how he made this knife and covers his reasoning behind his color choices as well as all his other creative decisions, he’s gone even farther to ensure his site has a chance of coming up on a vague search like in our example.
Is it foolproof? Of course not, but you’re honestly playing the search engine optimization game with images and descriptions and blog posts. If you do that for each type of knife you make, over time, it will pay off in higher rankings for a variety of searches.
Isn’t Social Media All A Maker Truly Needs?
In A Word, NO!
Digital marketers had predicted that websites would give way to social media and email would die at the hand of Messenger. That’s not how it’s turned out.
The only way your Facebook profile will come up in a online search is if someone actually searches for your name or company name. You’re trying to reach people who have never heard of you and don’t even think of knives as an option for, say, gift-giving. You could argue that you would never want your art falling into the hands of someone who can’t appreciate what a custom knifemaker does. OK, but what if by getting a knife into their hands by whatever means, you create an impassioned fan, who then tells her friends how brilliant the colors were, how perfectly the knife worked, how great it felt…
Content Is Still King
Words still matter in this hashtag world. “Content” refers to anything used to fill an article, social media page or website. It can be writings, visuals in still or video form, and links, but in order for visuals and links to have weight, they must have words associated with them. And you need a place to park your content where it’s forever accessible, and not lost on some never-ending feed. (Saving posts helps you, but not your potential customer.)
How can this be? Isn’t Facebook pushing video? You bet. It’s trying to be You Tube, which is owned by Google, and although FB has a more engaged audience, more people visit You Tube in a month than visit FB. Efforts are probably underway to extract video content so transcriptions can be combed by search engine robots. But even that won’t help if a maker is just silently showing all sides of a knife. We’ll talk more about video and how best to harness it in another Marketing For Knifemakers article.
J. Neilson, American Bladesmith Society master smith and “Forged In Fire” judge, has a website that makes exceptional use of photo description. Knives on the Neilson’s Mountain Hollow site not only get a list of specs, but a full description of inspiration, construction or something else memorable about the build.
So back to words. Every day the Google bots do their thing, combing articles, photo titles and captions, video titles and descriptions, links and meta data fields, to rank websites according to relevancy. Ever wonder why video is embedded in an article, or why slide shows come with accompanying written commentary? Words, dude, words. The term “blog” may be passe, but blogs still matter—greatly. You are reading one. We call it an “article,” but it’s still an article under my name and the Mightier Than The Sword banner. Every single example of a website that comes up high under a search for “custom knifemaker” includes either a blog or highly descriptive photos captions. J. Neilson’s blog ranks high in a search for “custom knifemaker” not because it’s filled with “Forge In Fire” references, but because of his depth of description on each of many, many knives.
Battling Anti-Knife Bias
As many of you are fully aware, there is definitely bias at Facebook and it’s against weaponry. Selling of guns and knives is not allowed, so don’t put prices on your marketplace items. Even though they encourage you to boost your post, if you ever try to, you’ll be informed that what you’re selling goes against FB policy. So, what’s a custom knifemaker to do? Play the game, organically and on your own terms—with a website. Your post to Facebook lasts about 5 hours; your blog post/article has a 2-year lifespan.
What does “organic” mean, anyway? It refers to building content naturally and not paying for ads to boost results. It’s about “articles” or “blog posts” on your website, photos, video and links that all work together to speak on a specific subject. The words are compiled naturally, and not “stacked” repeatedly in an unnatural cadence.
Normally, Mike Jeffries focuses on “kitchen to camp” knives, but he decided to try an old-school American Bladesmith Society-style knife, but with a full tang. The Cowboy Fighter even caught the eye of Jason Knight and Murray Carter when they stopped at the 2 Birds Metal Works table at BLADE Show 2017. A blog post would be the perfect place to tell this knife’s story and what it meant to Mike on his knifemaking journey. The 7 3/4-inch blade is made of W2 steel with hamon. The handle is walnut burl with unidirectional carbon fiber bolsters. Overall length is 13.5 inches. Maker’s list price: $750 with leather sheath by Two Drunken Celts Custom Leather. Contact Mike Jeffries, 2 Birds Metal Works, [email protected], 502-592-4240, on Facebook at 2 Birds Metal Works & Mike Jeffries Knives.
Let’s say you have a blog on your WordPress website. You should aim for a minimum of 300 words per post to optimize search engine optimization (SEO). You explain what you’re working on that week. You mention blade lengths, because people use blade lengths as part of their search criteria if they’re in a state that limits them. You mention steel, your process, the handle material, including color, price, what comes with it, how it is shipped, and how people can put in an order for one. You give shouts out to your suppliers and mentors or supporters on the project then share it to Facebook.
You will still be speaking to your established audience while increasing your chances of being picked up in a generic search. Pretend you are talking to people who know nothing of custom knifemaking, because you are. Take the opportunity to educate as you go, minimizing abbreviations and lingo. You’re broadening and educating your clientele with each post. You write, “Everyday (one-word adjective) carry, abbreviated as EDC, refers to something you carry every day (two-word noun).” See how I did that? (Laugh here.) At the end of the week, you write another post sharing how you did. You include pictures of your works-in-progress, rather than “WIPs,” and a finished example. You share your successes and challenges.
Instead of saying “click here” for a link, link to the applicable words. Never forget the “web” part of the worldwide web. Link to others when appropriate, but do not link to everything. You don’t want to pull your potential customer away too frequently. Pick and choose wisely, and be sure to set the link so it opens in another window so they can easily return to your site. All of this helps to rank you higher in searches. It’s more time-consuming than FB or IG, but can be done less frequently, and over time, garners stronger returns on time spent.
5. Who Controls Your Website Experience?
Guess what? You don’t get put in a time-out on your own website. You control your content and exactly how it looks and reads. You can build a photo gallery of finished work that includes a written description with all specs and includes the prices—imagine, no Facebook jail! You can have an About page that gives your journey as a person and as a knifemaker. It doesn’t have to be long, but it should be at least 300 words and include images from benchmarks in your life. People are buying a part of something you’ve poured your heart and soul into; they want to know who you are.
This is a good time to mention that you can’t take too many great photos of your finished work, but bad photos hamstring your marketing, period. Mike Jeffries takes some nice photos, but not enough of them to have samples of everything he’s made. His Campcrafter model is his flagship camping knife. It has a 5-inch blade of 80CrV2 high-carbon steel. Overall length is just over 10 inches. This one has a black and burl handle. Maker’s list price: $250-$325. Contact Mike Jeffries, 2 Birds Metal Works, [email protected], 502-592-4240, on Facebook at 2 Birds Metal Works & Mike Jeffries Knives.
You can include platforms to sell directly from your website. You can and should drive traffic to your social media sites and include your website on your social media profiles, but you are in charge of your website content, for better or worse. Best of all, you can include at the very least, a newsfeed, but hopefully you’re seeing the benefit of a blog, so you can share industry new that your customers might benefit from, including your own promotions, giveaways and waffles (sorry, a website won’t change state laws). A blog within your site gives you a platform from which to explain thing about your craft, offer your opinion, talk about your life as a knifemaker, projects you have in mind, specials you’re running, shop tours you’re hosting, hammer-ins you’re organizing. It’s a place where you can put in words what you normally say in a video.
“But I hate writing. That’s too much of a time-suck.” Agreed. Perhaps you know someone who likes it. You can offer them short money to do weekly posts for you. “Arrgh, a money-suck.” Try to look at it as an investment in growing your business. I see plenty of knifemakers who can’t even Share a post. Their buddies do in 2 seconds what they couldn’t figure out in two weeks—that’s an actual quote from one of them. Trade your buddy a knife for an equal value of his digital expertise.
What Does Your Knifemaking Destination Look Like?
Ranking higher in online searches is a long-term endeavor. It takes consistently delivered content over the course of an extended period of time. Google is no more friendly to weapons than Facebook, but all knifemakers are playing under the same set of rules and the ones with websites and blogs are being rewarded.
Make a list of all the terms you want to “own.” Start building content around those terms, and your website will populate itself into relevancy. Remember, it sometimes happens in life that the most gifted are not always the ones who obtain success with their given talent. It is the ones who can take their art and persistently and accurately market it, who will garner both recognition and thereby profitability.
At the same time, if you’re constantly sucked into the money and time trap of marketing, there will be no knives to market. Use your time at the forge and the grinder to think. Start a notebook of both your big vision and the baby steps necessary to get there. Then enlist the help of people who truly get who you are and what your knives are about, so that you are free to make more knives.
A Digital Subscription To BLADE Is The Answer
You can read your digital issues of BLADE Magazine anywhere you have your phone, tablet or computer, and there’s no need to find storage for all your old issues.
If piling-up issues of magazines seems like a waste to you… If you feel like you don’t have time to read a magazine… If you like the stories we offer in BLADE, but want a more economical option, then a digital subscription is the answer. An annual subscription to BLADE is $17.98, $4 off the print price.
New research suggests ancient humans made tools with edges “like a stone-age Leatherman or Swiss Army knife,” according to one anthropologist, much earlier than previously thought.
Using a sophisticated technique to date the dirt surrounding the tools, researchers calculated the more advanced tools to be 1.76 million years old. That compares to the 1.4-to-1.6 million-year-old such tools previously thought to have been the oldest.
Identified as “hand axes, cleavers and picks,” the tools required “a good deal of forethought as well as dexterity to manufacture,” one paleoanthropologist said. The axes were suited for butchering animals or chopping wood, while the picks were used for digging holes.
Looking a year in advance, the Board of the American Bladesmith Society voted to double the size of the 2012 Knife Expo to include an amazing assemblance of ABS Bladesmiths. In addition to that the Expo will have seminars going on and displays of historic knives from legends like Scagel.
The Board has also approved a measure to allow ABS Master and Journeyman Smith applicants to present their five knives for judging in San Antonio. This is NOT in place of the official testing at the BLADE Show, which will remain the testing grounds, but will be the first year that applicants will be judged outside of the BLADE Show. The Knife Expo is setting up a special testing section where the applicants for Journeyman and Master Smith can display and sell their knives.
The Expo has moved back to it’s old time slot of late January.
