Soooo...I Have a Question for You All....

I'm going to be moving here very soon, and once the shop is set back up (I should have almost twice the room I have now, YAY!) I'm thinking about maaaaaaaayyyyybe expanding my product line a bit. My first thought is to increase/improve some of my tooling. A metal cutting bandsaw, 20 ton press, horizontal disc sander, and possibly another grinder are at the top of my list. With these changes will come the ability to do various forms of damascus (which isn't one of my personal favorites...but which I might pursue as it is for many of you all), stainless san mai, as well as setup for a possible semi production line of knives.

This leads me to my question. As my main customer base (thank you all!), what direction would you most like to see me head first? Is there anything you might like that I haven't thought of?

All in all, this is just a brainstorming post to spark ideas, whether new or in addition to ones I've already had.

So, lets have it folks...what do you have for me?

 

Direction? East, all the way to the Philadelphia area. (Okay, sorry, that's not what you meant -- nor what you intend to do.)

I do hope the move doesn't force you, due to truth in marketing, to change your name, etc. from Scorpion Forge to something like Mosquito Forge. Not quite as hard hitting.

 

Eventually east!! Not for a year or more yet though.

On the move, it shouldn't be bad. Arizona is full of scorpions, lol. Though when I move east who knows? It's been a running joke for a bit now with people as to what my forge would have to be renamed to lol. I told them I'd buy one of those big acrylic balls with a scorpion in it and hang it over my forge door so they would all have to shut up .

 

Isn't the way to really get them to shut up to put a real scorpion in their boot?

Never mind.

 

Lol, most of them are internet friends...so it's probably not worth my effort .

 

Serious now....sorry lol
You will have my full support whatever direction you choose. New ideas, new challenges sound great. Would love to see me some Scorpion Forge san mai :cool1

 

I'd say: forge some kitchen light sabres

…food release should be pretty good on those. And you could heat the food while cutting.

 

I have always been a fan of stainless san mai. But...if it aint broke, dont fix it. Your books seem to be full with monosteel and they look great. I would bet you have more business potential with monosteel than with damascus.

 

Adding stainless San mai would be cool. Plus maybe cost savings for you in San mai over honyaki (time for heat treat, lower risk of failure in ht, grinding)?

 

agreed with all above that san mai would be great for the next thing to branch into. Save the Damascus for last if the thought of all that pattern welding doesn't get you excited. In my mind, being a Damascus maker is separate then being a knife maker, but eventually combining the two is the pinnacle in craftsmanship. If you think your hourly rate is low now, I suspect you would not be happy to see what it is like if you are making your own Damascus. I think in order for it to be worthwhile you need to make it in big enough batches to sell it to other knife makers (and putter makers, and watch makers, etc.)

 

I will definitely put this on my list my friend. Would you like to put your name down for the first knife? The pricing isn't determined yet of course, but I'm figuring in the ballpark of $279,999.

Stainless san mai has always been one of my interests. I have the option here as well to pick some up from Bill for rather expensive (but still more reasonable than other sources) pricing. There wouldn't really be any real time or cost savings though, whether I weld it myself or buy it from Bill. Doing it myself would require base materials and the time to weld it, buying it from Bill is all in cost. Either way though, making a san mai knife is actually substantially more labor intensive in the forging process, as you HAVE to keep the center, centered...and how you forge it will absolutely determine the pattern. With monosteel, if your forging gets off center you simply twist it straight and continue, as the center is determined simply by the relationship of spine to edge, not where a pre-determined core is. This allows you to forge much more quickly of course. The other problem with san mai...is this:



Yep...they can split RIGHT down the weld in heat treat. This isn't really the case so much with factory made steel, and with experience home made san mai doesn't have these issues as much either. All of these issues sort of negate the benefits as compared to time in heat treat etc with honyaki. If anything, I could see a possible INCREASE in costs and pricing. A piece of stainless san mai from Bill, big enough to do an XH knife...is going to be $60 -$80. Compare this to $10 - $15 for a piece of W2. Now factor in forge time including pattern development...and you can see how that works. That said, it IS worthwhile as an expansion project, and is definitely on my radar.

 

But that picture shows how you can get two knives out of the work normally just for one! So you should be able to halve your costs

 

How much would a mirror polish option add?

 

Yes! Two lasers for one XH!!

Anton brother, you know I love you, but I think we're starting to get out of your comfortable price range. Just sayin...

 

Need a platen and do single bevels!

 

I would say stick to what you enjoy doing. I can't imagine your knives in damascus. The honyaki W2 just seems perfect for your designs.

Maybe look into a semi-production or non-honyaki mono-steel range for those that want your profile and geometry but can't afford the top perfection you offer.

But ultimately i say do what excites you because as a craftsperson if it doesn't excite you it will be difficult to keep up the enthusiasm

 

stainless san mai would be nice to look at, but I'm in the if it ain't broke don't fix it. Your knives look and function great. Except for the saber knife, put me down for two.

 

I have the platens lol...I've done a couple single bevels. NOT my favorite knife to grind .

Very sensible advice for sure...particularly the last sentence lol.

Also, if I ever do damascus, it's highly unlikely that it will be typical. I have a few ideas in my head that are different than anything I've ever seen in this field .

Haha, I currently have you down for three!! Though in all fairness, one's not a knife lol.

 

I'm happy to be your guinea pig. I'll even do it free of charge because I'm that good of a bloke

 

If you ever want to do a large hog splitter I'd test it :-D