Building a kit knife, worth it?

[Bigfatts]

So this thread is about something my brother-in-law asked for help with. He and my sister are about to have their first boy. One of his friends told him about something he did for his kids. He bought a special knife for them before they were born. He used said knife to cut the umbilical cord. Then when they reached appropriate age the knife was given to them. My BIL wants to do this. He wants a lock back or tail lock. He knows I have been thinking of getting into making knives and asked me for advice. Well he was looking online and saw some knife kits. He thought that would be cool and would make it more special than just buying a knife. So he asked me to help him pick one out.

This is where I need your help. This is basically going to be an heirloom and I don't know if there are even any of these kits worth doing. They seem to be rather inexpensive. If anyone can help me out with input or advice I would greatly appreciate it.

Ps- Mods, if you think this would do better in the knife maker's section feel free to move it. Since it's not really making a knife but rather assembling I wasn't sure where to put it.

 

[bdmicarta]

Kit knives are fun to make but even though the kits aren't expensive you can still buy pretty good folding knives for less than what the kits cost. I have made a number of fixed blade knives similar to kit knives and I enjoyed doing it.

 

[CWL]

Who cares about how "expensive" the knife kit cost? If someone's father went through the trouble to make a knife just so he could give it to his child, that knife should be treasured.

If you really are worried that a knife kit is too cheap, you can upgrade the scales with either custom wood or even mammoth ivory.

 

[Bigfatts]

It's not price that bothers me, it's quality. While it's going to be an heirloom, my BIL also wants his son to use it. I would hate to recommend something to him just to find out the blade is junk or has been poorly treated, etc.

 

[midnight flyer]

I know of a couple of local makers that started out making kit knives. The got addicted to the whole process and loved making the kits. Before finally making their knives completely from scratch, they made a few hundred folders for fun and profit. They customized them so much you wouldn't have known they were kits. Their knives were really nice, and very serviceable.

There was a great thread on this several months ago where they talked about the merits of kit building, especially if you just wanted a nice project or were looking to see if knife making was something you liked to do. It was really positive, and most folks gave it a big thumbs up.

Robert

 

[CWL]

OK, you don't want "cheap" meaning the knife may fail or have crap steel for the blade.

There are very high quality knife kits nowadays where the materials are top notch, the design is excellent and you can customize it to take whatever look you want.

Here's an EnZo PK70 knife kit with options of wood, G10 and carbon fiber scales. EnZo is a well-respected knife brand from Europe. You can find others.

 

[Bigfatts]

Thanks for the tips. I looked around for that Enzo and only seem to find it as a complete knife, the kits are out of stock everywhere. I did find a Laguiole kit, but it's a slip joint and he wants a lock back. The hunt continues!

 

[DougB2]

Kits are great and there's a wide variety available. I prefer fixed blades but I've tried folders as well. It is definitely worth it!

 

[bdmicarta]

It's not price that bothers me, it's quality. While it's going to be an heirloom, my BIL also wants his son to use it. I would hate to recommend something to him just to find out the blade is junk or has been poorly treated, etc.

First I would not recommend giving an heirloom to a young person to use, but you can judge how well the young person will take care of the knife.

Kits that I have seen have good quality materials but not the best. I haven't studied folder kits in awhile but I seem to remember that they used steel similar to AUS8 which is what you get with imported knives such as CRKT and some Ontario models. If you are interested in fixed blade knives then you have more options. You can certainly get fixed blade blanks in lower steel but I have also seen them in higher grade steels such as D2, and you can find custom knifemakers on the forums here that will make blade blanks for you probably out of whatever steel you want.

 

[Bigfatts]

I tried to talk him into a fixed blade (having the Brusletto Falken in mind) but he wants a folder. Getting their first knife was a sort of right of passage in his family and his dad gave all the kids folders, so he wants to follow the tradition.

 

[BladeChick777]

Well, I looked up some.. and I found some Rough Rider Lock Back Kits.
They are around $13.
Rough Rider makes awesome knives for the price.
It is the best fit and finish I've ever seen on sub $20 knives.
As a matter of fact, you would think you spent about $25 - $30 on said knife.

That I believe would be perfect for a first knife that will probably be used, abused, and possibly lost one day haha.

Check em out. They have bolsters, wood handle slabs, lock back, etc. Really cool, I might get one just because I can lol.