Robbie79
Call Me a Cab
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Basically not worth to mention when I read all other posts here....3 months (Thedi and BK)...
2.5 years for my D.W. Frommer boots the waiting list was 1.5 year when I placed my 50% deposit of $1250
Oh yes very, so much so I ordered a second pair when funds became available
Basically not worth to mention when I read all other posts here....3 months (Thedi and BK)...
I was happy with the boots, my pride and joy, I just forgot why I was willing to pay $2500 for a pair of boots
Like an idiot I sold it off many years later to a guy on a forum who I thought was an enthusiast like me. I gave him a good deal, electing not to profit off him as I “knew” him fairly well. We corresponded a lot off forum and I even accepted and forwarded packages for him from US dealers who don’t ship overseas.
He sold it a few months later for a couple thousand dollars in profit.
Custom folding knife from Scott Cook, the Lochsa in Damascus took 2 years.
He’s a craftsman that faced huge demand for his work. He kept a list but wouldn’t take deposits. It worked wonderfully. However once his wait exceeded 2 years he stopped taking orders. He never took money up front which is key IMO for high demand products (handcrafted by a single person).
Like an idiot I sold it off many years later to a guy on a forum who I thought was an enthusiast like me. I gave him a good deal, electing not to profit off him as I “knew” him fairly well. We corresponded a lot off forum and I even accepted and forwarded packages for him from US dealers who don’t ship overseas.
He sold it a few months later for a couple thousand dollars in profit.
@red devil, in my city there are a few “community gardens” that are owned by the city. These gardens are next to parks, and provide a space for people to grow flowers, plants and vegetables. The city charges $5 per year for a plot 10x10ft. As long as you keep it going, the lease never expires. People pass them down to their children...It is an amazing program, and a wonderful way to spend time and meet others...I dream of the day I get my little patch .
Yesterday marked my four month waiting period for an Amicharnel cap. Ordered in March. Others seem to have received them eventually, but by trhis point I've given up hope. At least it wasn't too expensive a loss (about thirty quid). Won't be ordering from them again, obviously.
No down-payment and closing off a list is a good way to keep things under control!
I am more familiar with kitchen knives, but this kind of flipping is very common and has ruined that market IMO. hate these kind of opportunists, they only damage interesting hobbies/communities
I hate it when this happens. This is why if I don't like selling (or buying) things on forums. I'd prefer to just give it away to someone I know in real life, and maybe jump start a similar passion in them, or, at the very least, know it's in a good home with someone who won't just flip it for a higher price.
I remember reading an article by Anthony Bourdain about getting a Bob Kramer custom. That is something to dream about.
What was the quoted waiting time?
Perhaps to some extent, people's willingness to wait for custom work is related to their ability to purchase off the rack. When you can't conveniently do that, or the selection is lacking, you might go to made-to-measure or custom, with the attendant delay before receipt. I'd not be looking at custom if I could get what I wanted through other avenues.
My suspicion is that they may simply have taken on far too much, especially as they seem to have produced a particularly good product for such a low price. I think a lot of very creratively talented people fall down when they try to start a business like that and undervalue their time.
I don't mind waiting, if I know something is coming. I grew up around livestock breeders, so I'm used to the idea of waiting. . . and waiting. . . for something that requires multiple factors to come together in order to get what is wanted. Done on a handshake, for the most part.
A dog breeder of my acquaintance wants to add my terrier to his bloodlines: it might be 6 years before he knows the outcome of his plan. The Dalmation-Pointer Project, an attempt to correct a genetic problem through outcrossing then breeding back into the general population, was begun in '73. It was '81 before the results were really known. Almost 50 years after the project began there is still controversy.
I've waited as much as 4 years for a coat (repro British uniform coat, there were delays with the weaver, etc before the project could even really begin). For every day stuff like my favorite raincoat, a wait of 3-6 months is more typical.
When I tried to order a custom leather jacket last year, I was prepared to wait 2-3 years. As it turned out, I couldn't find a maker. I only received one response to my query: based on the measurements I sent the maker told me to stop wasting his time, and that he didn't make jackets for gorillas. (Perhaps someday I can drop by his shop to get measured, and let him see I'm actually human. )
Perhaps to some extent, people's willingness to wait for custom work is related to their ability to purchase off the rack. When you can't conveniently do that, or the selection is lacking, you might go to made-to-measure or custom, with the attendant delay before receipt. I'd not be looking at custom if I could get what I wanted through other avenues.
I think I waited about 6 months to a year for an A-2 from John Chapman. Don't remember now exactly how long it was.
Wow, this post brings back memories. When I flew the SOG, FOB II missions with the Special Forces into Laos and Cambodia, their knife of choice was the Randall. Once one of the guys saw I wasn't carrying a knife. He gave me his Army issue carbon blade combat knife. I could shave with it. Carbon steel gets sharp fast. He said, "This will do until you get a Randall. Everyone in SF needs a Randall." I think at that time the Randall was about $40.00 or so. He also gave me several lessons in hand to hand combat with a knife. Won't repeat them here, but will say it was an effective way to save one's life against one or two attackers, while armed only with a knife. They also taught me the proper way to get a razor's edge on a knife with whetstones.@red devil I would say for randall made knives it the quality materials, history of the brand, construction. I think others are doing as well or better. RMK has just been in the game so long and that says a lot.