Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades What makes a custom knife better?

I am curious, what makes a one custom knife better than another, or a factory knife for that matter?

Is it a matter of style? craftsmanship? or do certain makers have the formula down for the proper temper, edge holding ability, ease of sharpening etc...

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Fieldgrade,
Those are very nice knives. I hope I don't offend anyone with my question.
I am a noob when it comes to custom knives. I have one custom made to my specs years ago and it has been a great knife. Seems to hold an edge better than any factory knife I own.
Lately I have taken a keen interest in knives and want to learn more.
Thanks for sharing.

Heat treat, materials, and attention to details. Of course there could be a longer more drawn out answer but these cover the basics to your question.

Lots of things!

Assuming proper heat treat and temper for the steel chosen being equal (which is a quality control issue, not a custom issue).

A custom knife can be a design you need out of a steel you cannot get any other way. It can be a specific design (shape and handle) you cannot get any other way. It can be a combination of a number features you cannot get any other way. And of course, lastly but far from least, it can be just a level of craftsmanship you cannot get any other way.

I recently took a proven design and asked a maker to build one for me out of superior material with some improved features and it turned out to be vastly superior to anything I had ever had in my hands for that work. I am about to have another done by the same maker on a different proven design with some tweaks and I can see the possibility of it being another highly successful experiment, or it may not, and I'm OK with that if it should turn out that way.

A lot of makers have a "line" of builds they produce. The have a blade design out of a given steel, handles out of specified materials and all well executed. These "custom" knives are very fine tools, and well worth the price. But... there may be a hundred others just like them in other people's hands. Some, have very distinctive "styles" in construction. With a tool that is quite personal like a knife style, materials, execution etc may be better for one user or the next. Better may be solely in the eye of the beholder.

You didn't offend me. I took that post down for the same reason.
In other words, I'm a poor wordsmith and was concerned that one of the makers here would take it the wrong way and be "offended".

This has been a quandry for me for years. Are they really better than a similar factory blade? So, I bounce between factory and customs and they both please me.

Yes, to heat treat, materials, and details. For just cutting, you can skip most of the expensive details, but details and embelishments really make a custom knife shine.

Gentlemen,
Thank you for the replies.
I am fascinated by the heat treat process and was wondering if there is any (magic) the custom guys use.

In my research of different blade steels it appears the manufacturer provides the recipe for the proper heat treatments.
I see some use cryrogenics? is that beneficial?

I would imagine how the blade is ground would make a large difference also?

Fieldgrade,
I understand, at times I use the wrong words and ruffle some feathers here also.

One of the main reasons I buy custom knives, is that I get to choose the steel, the handle material, style, grind..........
With buying production knives, you buy what is there. Makes a big difference to me.
Some of the better production knives are every bit as functional as custom knives, but like I said, you buy what they make.

Quality is a big issue, some are better than others. Heat treat varies as well, some makers really nail it with certain steels. Bob Dozier and D2 being a good example.

That being said, a lot of it is just personal preference. I like using fine knives while dressing deer because it adds to the enjoyment. I could use a $10 junker just as easily.

Who ever makes the Custom that you like .!!!

I know I spend a lot of time focusing on heat treat and making the blade cut and hold an edge. My heat treat process isn't a mystery, but it involves multiple thermal cycles and cryo quenches which are generally the ideal recommended process to establish the absolute optimal cutting edge as determined by the metallurgists at the steel manufacturers. In many cases, I've actually called the steel manufacturers and discussed with their metallurgists to ensure that I'm getting it as perfect as I can.

Once I've gotten what I believe is as good a heat treat as I can get for a particular steel I follow that same process meticulously every time. I don't think most production manufacturers are putting in the time to do multiple cryo and thermal passes to truly optimize the steel performance. It's too time consuming for them.

mtnman1,
Thats great info! exactly what I was looking for.
thanks for taking the time to respond.

The ability to get it made the way you want it. A collaboration of your wants and the makers skills and inputs coming together in one piece of steel.

I think that's a good question. There are a lot of custom knife makers out there that make great knives
and I've acquired a few that I especially liked from stock they had available and consider it money well spent.

But I've also seen custom knives at gun shows selling for twice as much that I could buy a CRKT that was twice the knife!

for me performance is main factor. as mentioned by mtnman multiple tempers with cryo in many cases,if maker takes the time & effort it makes a world of differance.if maker is honest & divulges the basic system,you have a good idea of his experience & effort. i once had a maker tell me that cyro for 440c was just something that only allowed custom guys to ask more money for their blades, certainly told me he was'nt into metal knowledge. cranky72

I have to agree with cranky72, performance is the number one thing advantage I can think of. Take a production knife in steel A and a Custom knife in steel A and compare the two. As long as the custom maker did his part the edge is going to be thinner and the heat treat is going to optimized for the task at hand. This not only makes a knife that will perform more efficiently, but it will also be easier to maintain.

Collectors can tell you the custom is better etc... But it all depends why you want it, some productions this days are really good , the custom has essensance , crafstmanship , good materials and made to your size and wishes, the difference is the price, now days some productions have great materials and are done by cnc machines with zero flaws but you put it on your hand and it feels liked nothing and it sits there collecting dust, a knife has to have a soul imho, go to a show and try them with your hand , once you see the one that is for you , buy it or order one from the maker, you'll never regret.

Absolutely NOT!!!
Any maker worth his salt uses SCIENCE/Metallurgy.
If any maker ever tells you he is using some type of heat treating "secrets" - RUN!!!!!!

Karl
Nice web site. Great blade smith work.

You the guy who made the super grade Viking sword I saw on PBS???
If so, WOW.

Tim