Next pre-order?

What would you like to see next?

  • Kukri

    Votes: 70 35.4%

  • SDFK

    Votes: 22 11.1%

  • Skinner

    Votes: 79 39.9%

  • DEK1

    Votes: 27 13.6%
  • Total voters
    198
Nathan, all kidding aside, regarding the kukri I think you'll have to produce a prototype, compute all the data regarding machine time, material, hand work etc...get a good idea of what you need to get, not only per piece, but how many pieces need to be produced to make it a viable project...and then collect money up front for the effort before you can even promise that it will go forward. The danger and hassle being that the money might need to be refunded if an insufficient number of members actually pony up in advance.

Clearly, I'm out of my lane and not telling you anything you don't already know, I'm just trying to look out for my friends so you aren't left holding the bag. (Which is what Tanto is for.)

Forgive my intrusion...I mean well.
 
Blues said:
Nathan, all kidding aside, regarding the kukri I think you'll have to produce a prototype, compute all the data regarding machine time, material, hand work etc...get a good idea of what you need to get, not only per piece, but how many pieces need to be produced to make it a viable project...and then collect money up front for the effort before you can even promise that it will go forward. The danger and hassle being that the money might need to be refunded if an insufficient number of members actually pony up in advance.

Clearly, I'm out of my lane and not telling you anything you don't already know, I'm just trying to look out for my friends so you aren't left holding the bag. (Which is what Tanto is for.)

Forgive my intrusion...I mean well.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with that. And don't forget to add a good margin for Abby's college fund.
 
I'll be honest I was one of the few that voted DEK1 as I would like another and have a few friends that want one. I don't hunt so not really a need for the skinner but that doesn't mean I won't get one. The Kukri I actually had to look up to see what it was. They are cool but nothing I would use and would probably be more than I want to spend like the K20. I love watching the preorders take place even when I'm not involved.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Yeah. I'm not sure how much to order though.

Usually, I like to have an order open for a small knife and a large knife and something special. Based on that, I should do the pre-order for the Skinner.

However, I know I can safely make a thousand skinners and I don't really need to do a pre-order for that. The kukri is pretty far outside of our normal offerings and I don't have a very good feel for what demand will be. From a material usage and spindle time point of view, it will be one of the most expensive patterns we have ever produced so, without a pre-order, I don't think I want to do a whole lot of them.

Looking at the poll numbers I could justify either. So the poll has served its purpose. However I am still on the fence.

We have been scrambling, getting ready for blade show and getting the last of the EDC pre-order out, so it has been pretty bananas here at the shop, everybody's juggling a lot. I'll have a chance to shift gears after this weekend and I'll figure out what we're going to do.
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Sounds like this pretty much simplifies the decision;

Pre-order for the kukri, so you know how much steel to order.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
It uses a lot of steel and the cost of steel is getting crazy due to the tariffs
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So patting myself on the back for being such a smart chimpanzee 'cause I maxed out on the Choppers pre-order which I will also do on the CC V2.0 if you have already procured the steel! Although you only use U.S. steel, this whole shyte show will inflate all steel prices because no sane CEO would want to give his stuff away relative to the imported stuff specially if the former offers higher quality to start with!

I am afraid to say that till some stability is reached, you may have to be very conservative with large steel orders for larger blades using an abundance amount of that steel. Poor Kuk, it deserved better! So did(nt) the neck-knife!
 
Casinostocks said:
So patting myself on the back for being such a smart chimpanzee 'cause I maxed out on the Choppers pre-order which I will also do on the CC V2.0 if you have already procured the steel! Although you only use U.S. steel, this whole shyte show will inflate all steel prices because no sane CEO would want to give his stuff away relative to the imported stuff specially if the former offers higher quality to start with!

I am afraid to say that till some stability is reached, you may have to be very conservative with large steel orders for larger blades using an abundance amount of that steel. Poor Kuk, it deserved better! So did(nt) the neck-knife!
Click to expand...


The steel we use is no longer made in America. 3V is now import from Europe.

I have about 3000 lb of 3V. Some of it rolled, some of it still in the can. Once it's gone, we will be using Niagara's new imported European 3V.

"The import duties for European steel into the US have recently been raised to 50%, according to The New York Times and PBS. Previously, a 25% tariff was in place, but on June 4, 2025, the Trump administration doubled those tariffs to 50%."

The Kukri will be imported material.

Depending on what my quote looks like, we may hold off on production for a while until the tariff clusterfuck is resolved. I'll be talking to Niagara about it this weekend in Atlanta.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
The steel we use is no longer made in America. 3V is now import from Europe.

I have about 3000 lb of 3V. Some of it rolled, some of it still in the can. Once it's gone, we will be using Niagara's new imported European 3V.

"The import duties for European steel into the US have recently been raised to 50%, according to The New York Times and PBS. Previously, a 25% tariff was in place, but on June 4, 2025, the Trump administration doubled those tariffs to 50%."

The Kukri will be imported material.

Depending on what my quote looks like, we may hold off on production for a while until the tariff clusterfuck is resolved. I'll be talking to Niagara about it this weekend in Atlanta.
Click to expand...
“2 more weeks…”

(At the current rate tariffs are going 😂).
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
The steel we use is no longer made in America. 3V is now import from Europe.

I have about 3000 lb of 3V. Some of it rolled, some of it still in the can. Once it's gone, we will be using Niagara's new imported European 3V.
Click to expand...
How long do you think your already purchased supply of ~3000 lb of 3V steel will last for both current/future runs?
 
PolRoger said:
How long do you think your already purchased supply of ~3000 lb of 3V steel will last for both current/future runs?
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We have enough steel to keep production moving for a year. But a lot of that is steel acquired for the current pre-orders. And some of it is a special run of 3V that I want to reserve for high hardness applications.

It is time to get steel on order for the Kukri and I don't have steel for that although Niagara might. I'll talk to them in person this weekend.
 
Blues said:
Nathan, all kidding aside, regarding the kukri I think you'll have to produce a prototype, compute all the data regarding machine time, material, hand work etc...get a good idea of what you need to get, not only per piece, but how many pieces need to be produced to make it a viable project...and then collect money up front for the effort before you can even promise that it will go forward. The danger and hassle being that the money might need to be refunded if an insufficient number of members actually pony up in advance.

Clearly, I'm out of my lane and not telling you anything you don't already know, I'm just trying to look out for my friends so you aren't left holding the bag. (Which is what Tanto is for.)

Forgive my intrusion...I mean well.
Click to expand...
And then go make the skinner 🤣🤣🤣. Forgive my obnoxiousness. It’s always lying just beneath the surface.
 
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