I do two things with every single knife I receive.
1) I disassemble it.
2) I put a steep angle mirror edge on it.
But since ive gotten into customs, ive hesitated to show the makers my edges. It's become clear to me that these makers often view themselves, to an extent, as artists, and im concerned that disassembling and applying a new edge to their work may be interpreted as some sort of criticism, or inherently telling them "your edge wasnt good enough".
I know this is a first world question, but I was hoping to hear from others as I continue to get used to navigating the custom space. Customs involve a lot of back and forth with makers, and many of them know and speak to each other. I'd hate to acquire a reputation as "the customer who always screws with the product" or "doesn't respect the craft".
by cnfit
3 Comments
Great photo, well done with the reflection of the edge.
Sharpening is not modding and no builder should get weird about it.
It’s your knife, if someone has a problem with you adding your own edge to it, that’s their problem, not yours. You can tell the maker that you prefer a certain style of edge while you’re working with them and have a conversation about it, but the edge is only one part of the knife.
They have your money, you are paying them for an object you receive, and if they have a problem with how you use it, they can choose not to take your money in the future. I wouldn’t work with a custom maker who was pompous enough to get fresh about adding my own edge — if you use the knife, it’s going to get dull, and it’s going to need to be sharpened at some point. You’re never going to make exactly the same edge as the maker.