Thread: Cheese Knife Handles

Looking good. Don't worry about the timbers, people are eating what the knives cut, not the handles on the knives.

Originally Posted by Brianne163

This was a major project to make 40 handles, five in each timber.

Would anyone care to estimate what price they would charge for doing this?

Timber did not cost anything. Only outlay was $9.00 for glue + time.

Hi Brianne

are these intended to be sold individually or in sets of 5?
If it's a set of 5, then you will have already noticed that one of the Yellow Wattle handles is a different colour to the others.

With well polished blades and handles and displayed in limited numbers on the right coloured cloth background (so that the knives looked both "classy" and scarce), I might pay as much as $15 to $20 each at a market. I'd perhaps buy 2 if the deal was $20 each, two for $30.

An alternate valuation is to determine how long each handle took to make -- and then to value your time at $30 to $40 per hour.
BTW, the blades themselves are about $5 each CWS Store - Cutlery Blanks

Brianne, you're the artist so you choose the timber. It's all about finish and not everybody wants real pretty wood, some are utility some are artistic if you have a range you cater to a wider group of buyers.

They look good to me

[QUOTE=ian;2016004]Hi Brianne

are these intended to be sold individually or in sets of 5?
If it's a set of 5, then you will have already noticed that one of the Yellow Wattle handles is a different colour to the others.

Reply
Thanks everyone for comments.
Yes, I realise now I should have fitted that handle the opposite way round as the colour matches more on the other side.
Never done a project this big before.
Sorry re costing.
The customer already purchased the blades from Tasmanian Woodturning Supplies @ $2.30 each (small). They are intended for a wedding.
I was looking for an estimate of what I should charge for making the 40 handles. I had thought $2.50 per handle.

I'd be happy to pay $15 for the plain ones and $20 for a knife of yours with a really interesting, figured wood handle.
So think about this: How much time do you think that you have put into each knife, from start to finish?

In my spoon (70) and fork (30) carving days, I had to go like Hello in batches of 10 or 12 to get them kitchen ready in 90 minutes each. $12.00 each was top dollar.

Originally Posted by Brianne163

Thanks everyone for comments.
Yes, I realise now I should have fitted that handle the opposite way round as the colour matches more on the other side.
Never done a project this big before.
Sorry re costing.
The customer already purchased the blades from Tasmanian Woodturning Supplies @ $2.30 each (small). They are intended for a wedding.
I was looking for an estimate of what I should charge for making the 40 handles. I had thought $2.50 per handle.

$2.50 per handle would translate to about 3 hours work.

Your customer might blanch at $1000, but surely not at $500. The wedding budget is probably greater than $25,000, maybe a lot more, see

https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/managi...a-wedding-cost
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/0...0-infographic/

Hmmmmmmm. . . . I've had jobs like this where I said we'll sort the costs out later and neither of us have been happy about it.
These days I sort a price out up front.
In general terms I think Ian is close to the mark.

Oh Yeah and nice work on the handles too.

Originally Posted by ian

$2.50 per handle would translate to about 3 hours work.

/

Thanks again guys
Being a full time volunteer at our local Historical Village ( herveybaymuseum.com.au ) I guess I tend to undervalue my labour.
I will certainly take all your comments on board, especially for the next project.

First of all, lovely work and nice choice of timber species. You would have enjoyed finishing the last one off I bet, No. 40.

I feel that unfortunately, you'll never get what you deserve, or even 'need' to make up for your time etc. The unbelievably cheap Chinese production line imports make it very hard for an average income earner to justify paying 500%-1000% more for the locally made custom items over the very cheap, often nasty but comparable, imported item usually made out of 'rubber wood; ( a south east asian timber???)

As others have mentioned, it will be a small cost in the whole scheme of things for a wedding. Im really only guessing, but surely you'd really need to charge at least $10-$15 each to make it even worthwhile doing and even then you'd have earned every last cent.

Being commissioned to do a custom piece/pieces for a client, without quoting the job first, you'd assume (hope) the client would be expecting to pay markedly more than the off the shelf equivalent.

Originally Posted by ozka

First of all, lovely work and nice choice of timber species. You would have enjoyed finishing the last one off I bet, No. 40.

.

Yes, Number 40 was very pleasing. Of course, then came the job of fitting all the handles to the knives. When that was done, I was really pleased. i will keep you all posted as to final remuneration etc.
Next job will be quoted up front.
Brian

Note.....Rubber wood from Rubber trees,( Ficus sp ?) very sustainable. I think they cut the old trees for timber then plant new ones to tap. Young and sappy etc.

Phil

If I was selling these through the gallery I supply and they were priced at $15 - $20, as Ian suggests, I would get $8.52 and $11.36 respectively. Deduct the cost of the blade from that.

I'm not sure I would make them for that, but if you enjoyed making them, so what. At least you now know what is involved if you plan to go into production.

Stay sharp!

Neil

Brian

I think you can be well pleased with the result of those knives. They look really good to my mind. Were they done freehand or with a copy lathe. They are so regular in shape. Either way they are still "Hand Made." For something like this you are never going to achieve a "fair" price for your work I'm afraid. There is a mile of disappointment for those that think they will. The exception for this is the bespoke style tools that the specialist toolmakers produce (Colen Clenton, HNT Gordon, Chris Vesper etc to mention some of the Aussie specialists). They have spent years building their reputations. I'm afraid the humble cheese knife is not in that category, but that does detract from the effect. They are good and a credit to you. Pricing? Don't expect too much, but enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with the final result and the endorsement from your peers.

Regards
Paul

Hand made.
No 1 was easy, No 2 more difficult, No 40 Hooray! Matching is never easy.
The only reason I got this request was that a local lady was looking for a woodturner and saw my name on our website where I was talking about Biros and Fountain Pens made from 100 year old Urangan Pier timber as part of the Pier Centenary celebrations.
Pier Pens - Hervey Bay Historical Village & Museum.
In agree with your philosophy re final result.