In another thread I mentioned that a custom knife might cost as much as a new SiG. Naturally, the response was, 'Why would anyone spend that much?'

So, I thought a thread on why Custom Knives cost so much and why they are worth it might be in order. First, why do Custom Knives Cost So Much?

A Custom Knife can cost thousands of dollars. They can also cost less than a hundred dollars. What could be the difference between them? The answer is, of course, time, skill and materials. Here are some guidelines.

Generally, fixed blade knives will cost less than folders. Stop and think for a second and you can see why. A folder is far more complicated than a fixed blade. There are many more parts and many more really critical operations. Here is a photo of one of the folding knives that I had made for me.

     

Each one of these pieces started life as a bar of steel. The maker, Ron Leuschen of  Little Hen Knives forged each piece. Then, he hand shaped each one. It takes about six to nine hours to forge and quench each piece. The blade alone took him a full day just to get to the unfinished stage shown in this photo.

Next he hand forged the Damascus bolsters that would cover the hinge on the finished knife. In this photo, it is the bar on the bottom.

     

Next, he did the file work on the blade and backspacer, assembled the knife to check fit and action. Once he was satisfied that it would work properly, he started on the scales, the wood part of the handle. He picked a great piece of wood, one with unbelievable color, even red in it. A single piece of wood was split so that grains and pattern would match side-to side. The scales were rough fit to the frame and it was all assembled again to check final fit.

     

     

Finally, the scales received their finish sanding and all the metal extensions were cut off and sanded.

     

     

The final product is a knife that is unique and beautiful. Sometimes I just sit and hold it, looking at the colors and grains in the wood. It's amazingly sharp. And the action is far smoother than on any of my production knives.

Is it worth what I paid for it? I think so. Is a SiG worth more than a Tuarus? I think so. Would the Tuarus work? Sure, but it won't feel like a SiG or have the fit and finish of a SiG.

Nice knife sig_230. The wood is really unique looking. I was gonna ask you how smooth the action is, but I see you answered that at the bottom of your post.

Man, if you don't stop posting stuff like this, I'm gonna end up selling off a few of my production knives to get me a nice custom knife like that.