Joshua States

Oh well. Welcome to the craft...…. That can be fixed. I can show you how. This is good info for the next one. Log that in your notebook.

Bottom line: If you don't think it's worth that much, nobody else will either. Don't even try to figure the price using the time and materials method. What are you going to do when you get better and faster? Charge less, or raise your hourly rate? Put a number on that puppy that you feel like you got paid what the knife is worth, not what you think you are worth (if that makes any sense) At some point, you will finish a knife like that in less than 10 hours (forged) and around 5 hours (stock removal). Not counting heat treating or glue setting time, just plain old hands on time. Charge what the market will pay. Handmade knives like that go for $250-$300 all day long. Without seeing it in my hand, it's difficult to say. Things that stand out for me are: 1. I really don't know what the intended use is. It doesn't look like some thing that I can say it's a (insert specific type here) knife. Is it a kitchen knife? A camp cutter? a hunter/skinner? The width to length ratio/proportions are off to me. It looks like the blade should be longer for the width or narrower for the length. 2. You only show one side of the handle. What's the other side look like? Are the pins in the same location on both sides? 3. What are the stats? (length, width, thickness, wood species, blade steel, etc.) 4. The upcurve and dropped point don't "look" right to me. The upcurve looks too abrupt and the drop looks too severe. 5. I like a tapered tang on full tang handles. Even a very mild taper looks better than none. 6. The heel of the handle is not symmetrical. 7. It's difficult to tell because your fingers are in the way, but is the center swell in the handle also symmetrical? 8. The front pin isn't centered top to bottom. It looks a little low. (most people won't see this) 9. The space between the front pin and the handle front edge doesn't match the rear pin to the rear edge. It's really close, and most people won't see it, but I do. All that being said, I think the folks that want this knife, want it because they like it, and I think you should take full advantage of that and make some more of them.

That's a nice little EDC. I think you have a pretty good handle on the leather tooling. That one looks good anyway.

I think this is looking very cool Zeb.

Zeb, and Faye: You decide what you are OK with in selling your wares. If I said I never sold a knife that I thought had a flaw, I would be a liar. Every knife I make has flaws that I can see. Some I'm OK with selling, others I'm not. Generally speaking, If any maker is questioning whether something should be changed, and is hesitant about selling it, that's a red flag in my book. I have given knives away rather than sell them. I have hidden knives away rather than give them away. The handle shape on this knife is fine considering the level of experience of the maker. She should be proud of the product and comfortable with the idea of selling it before she does so. However, if her discomfort with the end result is because she is comparing her work to the work of more experienced makers, and that causes a feeling of "it's not good enough", trash that idea right now. There will be makers better than you, or me, for many years to come. Always do the best you can, and be OK with that. Each one gets "better". Frankly, I disagree with this assessment. Maybe I should have said this earlier. It is a simple handle. The fit and finish look clean and the dimensions look proportional to the blade.

I'm the opposite of Zeb. If you intend to keep it, leave it alone and keep it as a constant reminder to do things differently. If you intend to sell it, don't let it out the door until you think it's "right". It may be the angle of the camera, but in the last pic, it doesn't look centered on the blade. Here is the best advice I can give you at this point: Set this one aside for a week or a month and start making a new knife. Come back to this one later and look at it again with fresh eyes. Then make a decision.

5 of 6 are now done. One is on the injured/reserved list after a catastrophic bluing accident.

I like that Seax, it makes me want to make one. As soon as I finish up a couple on the bench, I will get back to a seax and an axe project.

Oh yeah. There is also a face in his shell.

Well now. That was a fantastic burst of inspiration Mr. M. Well done!

The word "impractical" comes to mind.

I was thinking that same thing Alan said. Probably a handy thing to have around on your photography sessions.

This was in my truck, wedged between the seat supports. I did a deep cleaning of my truck in preparation for selling or trade in.

Today I found an old friend that I thought I had lost. It's probably been a decade since we travelled together. He was covered in muck and dust, but he cleaned up really well!

What Geoff said. Unless the maker is asking for critique, I would hesitate to offer my opinion.