I'm Closing my Kitchen Knife Books...

....for at least a while.

As some of you know I've got a lot going on right now personally (custody court and all its myriad joys), and my custom orders are in general being delayed. Not always by a large amount, but some of the delayed knives are from even before this, and the time involved has been what I consider particularly excessive (only two orders, but they are always on my mind...you know who you are lol). Some of you have even paid off your knife orders in advance (though you all know I ask you not to do this!)...and are waiting for your blades to be finished. In order to get things back to a manageable level, I'm going to give it about two more weeks for some of you who I know have been wanting to order a knife from me, and then my custom order books will be closed indefinitely. The main reason for closing custom orders down is because these knives receive an incredible amount of attention from start to finish. Forge work, grinding, thermal cycling, finish grinding, polish, handle work...it all requires a tremendous commitment in regards to time, and the upkeep on marketing, communication (with new customers, as well as fielding questions from people who have already placed orders), and other daily interactions involved in taking orders pulls a substantial amount of time away from that. I don't think the current balance is fair to the people have been waiting on their orders to start or be finished, particularly when coupled with the other demands being placed on my time in regards to personal circumstances. I will still be doing work on other types of knives (smaller things that don't require a full week or more commitment per blade) in the interim to keep up a stream of income, but the bulk of my actual work will be on catching up my kitchen knife orders.

So to clarify. In two weeks I'll be closing my books. You may put in an order up to that point. To put your name on my books is free at this time, though when I eventually reopen them I may start requiring a small non-refundable deposit. When your time comes up I will notify you I'm beginning work on your knife, and once it's hardened, I'll take a $200 deposit for materials. The remainder will be due some time after completion of your knife (I'm pretty easy on terms, and will hold the knife for you for a reasonable amount of time until you can pay for it).

I will still be posting here regularly, and will keep you all updated in regards to where things stand with future customs.

Thanks for understanding!

 

Thanks for the update Cris. I hope everything works out for the best in custody court.

 

Thanks Jason! I'm absolutely not going anywhere...and once the curent workload is down to a more manageable level I'm sure I'll begin taking orders again .

 

Happy to hear you will still be around!

 

Cris, I think that's a great plan. Seems to work pretty well for Will Catchside. Minimizes # of nervous/ PO'd clients. And if you have some extra time on your hands you can always produce a few 'stock' knives -- which will likely sell right away.

Good luck on the custody/ divorce stuff. We're pulling for you!

 

Good luck with all you have going on. I would suggest for any one who doesn't own one of Cris knives to get one. I can attest that they are awesome knives. Beautiful, functional, and a great unique style.

 

That sounds like a smart thing to do. Good luck with the custody court!

I've been on the edge to order a knife from you more than once... Particularly when you posted the pictures of Robert's knife. Your knives are great lookers, but they must be great performers as well. But I just don't have the funds right now. I hope your books are not closed for ever and that in a while you'll take orders again.

 

Good luck all around Cris. I'm rooting for you.

 

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I definitely appreciate it.

Mark, the nice thing about being on my list currently, is that there's no real obligation to order a knife...meaning no deposit etc. I mean...courtesy would say to go ahead with the commitment, but I TOTALLY understand if you don't have the funds when the time comes up for your knife...or don't feel you'll have them within 6mos or so of it being finished...which is about the limit of my 'terms' as far as holding the knife for payment. At that point the knife can be sold and whatever percentage of your deposit given back depending on what the knife sells for. I've also been known to go over that for a customer who keeps in touch and regularly sends what they can...so again, it's a pretty easy responsibility. My life has been so hectic in the last month and a half that I barely know which way is up lol...so believe me, I understand life and circumstances!! In addition, my wait list is currently like 32 weeks out...which may or may not be impacted more or less by the custody things going on...as well as a few other pursuits in order to keep funds coming in for attorney's fees (man...I picked the wrong freakin vocation if I wanted to get rich, lol).

So I guess what I'm saying is if you want in before it's closed, now's the time. If you can't swing it when the time comes, no harm/foul. Shoot me a PM if you'd like to talk about it more...and please don't feel obligated by my above explanation. I wrote it for other's information as well as your own.

 

Wish you well Cris. You are a stand up guy. some businessmen would have let things roll and the customers would just have to be curious. (or insert other emotion)

 

No foolin', not many business owners are as generous or trusting with their terms. Not to mention, you pulling back the curtain with your WIP threads only pushed me over the fence on buying a knife from you. Best of luck to you on the court battle and looking forward to working with you.

 

hope things work out fit you Cris, just happy we get to keep you around and remain a positive in your life

 

Thanks again everyone!!

Mike, I appreciate the sentiment of wanting to know what's going on as a customer. There's been times I've slipped in that arena, but I know for a fact how I would feel as the customer with $1k or more invested...so I try to treat others accordingly. It just seems like a common sense practice to me, rather than anything business related.

Bob...did I miss a PM from you my friend lol? Regardless of whether its now or in the future though, I look forward to working with you as well!

James...you guys are an ABSOLUTE positive. The generosity and appreciative nature of the people on this board is a breath of fresh air on the internet. Truly. Oddly enough it doesn't seem to extend very far past this place, even in the kitchen industry lol. Other boards I've seen just don't have the 'feel' this place does. This is definitely a home for me, and even if I stopped making kitchen knives altogether (that is NOT going to happen, lol...I love making them too much!), I'd still come hang out with all of my friends here .

 

Good luck with everything Cris! Someday I'll get to try one of your knives, but I'm a patient man, and I don't have the money to spend on a new toy at them moment anyway. Hope it all works out!

 

We had a pm conversation and I got on your wait list on 5/11/15.

 

Ohhhhh!! Right lol...Joe!...I didn't recognize the screen name lol!

My apologies my friend .

 

Pheeewwww, no worries!

 

Pheeewwww is right! I thought I'd missed a customer lol!! I wasn't worried about the sale, I was worried about skipping somebody who wanted a knife lol.

Glad that's sorted!

 

Alright ladies and gentlemen. Just wanted to give you all here a heads up first. I'm thinking about opening my books back up on a limited basis, sometime between the end of this month and the end of next month. I will be moving sometime during that time frame as well, and once moved I have some obligations to complete a couple of specific orders...but after that I'll be taking a few handfuls of custom orders again. The main reason for the limited status is another project (to be announced...but I think you guys are going to love it!) that will be taking largeish chunks of my time between custom orders.

It's definitely kitchen knife related though...no jaunts off into making tree trimmers or lawn darts anything of that sort .

More to come as it happens!

 

What's wrong with tree trimmers best of luck with the move brother , one thing I noticed how heavy the equipment were during our move