Suggestions for getting a knife to production?

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
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Forgive me, but this is a total NEWBIE question and possibly stupid.

I have an ...IDEA... for a new knife. o_O

I've been "into" knives for decades but...this concept is something I believe is new and unique.
I know, not likely.

But.... I .... have certainly never seen anything like it.

I don't know where to go from here. I'm thinking several possibilities and that's why I'm here asking.
1. Contact an existing manufacturer and ...TRY... to get them to consider a "new" knife. (?)
2. Get a patent attorney and go with what they might recommend.
3. Have a custom maker build one and use that for the prototype.
4. ??????????

I know I want to collaborate and participate in whatever positive would come of it.
I can participate in the costs of the development.

I have a sketch of the knife and have Googled every possible thing I can think of with several queries and, since I believe it has never been made, am not finding ANYTHING similar or close.

What would YOU suggest?

Thank you for whatever you can contribute. Up to and including YOUR participation relative to your contribution to final execution.

:cool::thumbsup:
 
Get about $15,000 and take it to a machine shop that can make it. That should cover the design, materials, tooling and machine and shop time for the first run.
 
Patenting knife designs is difficult and very expensive. If you are able to patent it, and the design is good, the Chinese will clone it anyway.
Getting a manufacturer to produce your design on their own is difficult, but possible. You will need to at least have a working model to show them.
If your design is truly unique, I suggest contracting with a manufacturer to make it for you.
I have more experience than most in this field, and I would be glad to assess your design.
 
Post a pic of what you have in mind. To be honest, there have been others like you seeking the same advice here in shoptalk. Without knowing what you are talking about it's hard to give you advice.

Many knife aficionados also believe they can be knife designers, but it's not always the case. At least you're asking the right questions though :)
 
Posting pictures, as you may realize, is not the greatest idea unless the patents have been applied for.
Frank
 
That's my thinking too. All it would take to divulge the entire thing would be my existing sketch.
It's SO simple. Yet....I believe ...unique.
I've been around knives ...AND... business blunders.

And I'm not expecting ANYTHING TO BE EASY ....except mfr ...IF... it came to that.

It is ridiculously simple. o_O
 
It's hard to give specific advice without having at least some idea of what your design is. Is it a folding/locking mechanism? A fixed blade? A modification of an existing design?
You may be able to apply for a trademark or patent on your design/idea, but whether it would be granted, or even worth the investment, none of us can say without knowing what it is. Getting anywhere beyond a provisional patent can get quite cost prohibitive, unless you have a wildly successful design (coupled with a successful business model of course), and defending it can become even more cost prohibitive. As Bill pointed out, China will likely grab it either way, if it's a halfway successful product.

At any rate, I'd focus on looking into what it would take to get a BASIC working prototype. Once you know that your design holds water, and you have a more concrete idea of what possible manufacture might entail, I'd then think about possibly refining things to a "finished prototype", and then maybe think about getting that in front of some manufacturers or industry professionals. You might also decide at this point if it'd be worth overseeing manufacture yourself (i.e., cutting out the middle man) versus a collaboration, or sale of the design itself. Meanwhile, you might also think about consulting an attorney about NDAs and such, but again, this is all assuming you have an actual unique and marketable design. There's still a chance that somebody, somewhere, already has the same idea already in production and protected, especially if it's a "simple" design, as you have called it.

To be honest, we see threads nearly identical to this one about every 2 to 3 months or so, and I'm not sure I've ever seen much follow up beyond what has already been posted here. Whether that means the products are still in development, went on to be successful, or were tossed in the trash, I have no idea, but I certainly (and sincerely) wish you the best.
 
Lavan said:
That's my thinking too. All it would take to divulge the entire thing would be my existing sketch.
It's SO simple. Yet....I believe ...unique.
Click to expand...

This might not be what you want to hear, but i highly doubt it. Knives are mans oldest tools. Literally every civilization on earth has produced them for thousands of years, and probably millions of different people over the ages have experimented with every sort of shape, length, curve and pointy bit you can think of.

Is there a chance you came up with something new?

Maybe.

But as some other posters have mentioned, this forum has seen a LOT of supposedly never before seen ideas, and they all turn out to be someone not knowing the name for the thing they came up with.
 
I have a knife making friend who came up with a "lock for a blade as well as a special pocket clip if I remember correctly.He contacted one of the larger knife making companies. He took it in to show them the finished knife. They agreed they would go ahead with it at the going commission rate at the time but he had to find a paten lawyer and have that done. In the end I believe he recovered the money he put into it but that's about it'
Why not try this yourself. I'm sure that the person you connect with will able to direct you. Don't be surprised if you have once again discovered the "wheel".
My best. Frank
 
Maybe he invented a light sabre and it's going to put us all out of business.
 
Ok that right there made my day. lol
 
Another "logistical" problem, at least on this side of the pond, today is capacity. Some companies that could, in theory doit for you won't even talk to you because they don't have the capacity and other are people that they actually know are in front of you. I am not sure how it is over the in the Far East, but we do know that the Misen Knife Kickstarter folks got into a pretty severe order fulfillment pinch when they got 13,000 orders when they were only expecting like 1000 in the first round. You see folks who are expanding like MIllit, but some of that is taken up by their now house brand products and other space taken up by folks like Survive moving their lower priced line over. Same with Larkin. They may have newer machines, but they are also making their new Braford line in addition to all the stuff they did before and what they have picked up more recently. Coampoines have upped their minimum orders significantly in the last fews years and even if you say okay, you may still get a response back saying, weeeeell, we can't actually take the job after all.
 
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