The "Ask Nathan a question" thread

bluemax_1 said:
Great point. I did, in fact, notice that after the HDFK and EDC2 preorders, any of those popping up for sale were a lot closer to the actual price, instead of being $100 - $200+ over the original price.

The HDFK sale was also pretty telling, as in the past, I've wondered about folks with fast connections simply bombing the sales for knives they already have, because they either a) fully intend to flip them for profit at inflated prices, or b) don't need/want another, but hit the sales anyway 'for fun', knowing they can flip them easily, if they win.

IIRC, the last HDFK sale didn't close out in under 5 seconds because there's no motivation for the above reasons with/after the preorders.
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To be quite fair, there are FAR MORE folks on the CPK sub who either pass down their spots, assign their spots or proxy for other people who invariably can not score a CPK unless preorders are being offered. The CPK subforum is pretty well self regulated and there are not many egregious speculators at all but it was also crucial to draw attention to the favorable byproduct of preorders so far as keeping the lid on excessive price inflation practices.
 
Have you ever considered conducting the Friday sales using a lottery? You could open the sale at 3pm, give everyone a short period of time to post, like maybe 5-10 minutes, then close the sale thread and randomly select post numbers for however many knives are being sold? That would give the folks with slow internet connections who want to buy a knife the same chance as those with a fast connection.

N.B. I have a fast connection and was able to get one of the BCs in the latest sale, so I'm not just suggesting this for my own benefit.
 
Still not Nathan and will never be Nathan, but various permutations of a lottery based system were discussed in the past none of which was a convincing enough argument for Nathan simply because its implantation was thought of as becoming too tedious.

At the end of it all, Nathan still seemed to prefer first come, first served.
 
Casinostocks said:
To be quite fair, there are FAR MORE folks on the CPK sub who either pass down their spots, assign their spots or proxy for other people who invariably can not score a CPK unless preorders are being offered. The CPK subforum is pretty well self regulated and there are not many egregious speculators at all but it was also crucial to draw attention to the favorable byproduct of preorders so far as keeping the lid on excessive price inflation practices.
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This is very true. In general, the CPK subforumites are very helpful, and I've had folks offer to proxy for me when I've requested it.

That doesn't change noting folks getting in on more than one sale for a particular knife, then later seeing it listed for sale at a higher price by the same person.

I understand that it's a free market and all that, but it can/does make it a lot more frustrating for folks trying to get their hands on a CPK (in particular, folks new to CPK, trying to obtain their first CPK). Trying and failing at the sales more than once means either dealing with whatever the prices are in the secondary market, or being turned off by the whole deal.

In contrast, (with the exception of ONE person who was apparently reading challenged), the preorders clearly spell out the terms, and potential timeframes for delivery, but you KNOW once you're in, that it's just a matter of awaiting delivery.

Many folks have tried the sales without getting close (even when they're trying from home, as opposed to by the roadside like me). With the longer 'open period' for the preorders, it provides us the opportunity to at least get one, and I'd rather deal with waiting, than simply not having a real shot (or hoping that a proxy is fast enough, or dealing with whatever the price may be on the secondary market IF one shows up, AND I'm fast enough).
 
moparsbob said:
Have you ever considered conducting the Friday sales using a lottery? You could open the sale at 3pm, give everyone a short period of time to post, like maybe 5-10 minutes, then close the sale thread and randomly select post numbers for however many knives are being sold? That would give the folks with slow internet connections who want to buy a knife the same chance as those with a fast connection.

N.B. I have a fast connection and was able to get one of the BCs in the latest sale, so I'm not just suggesting this for my own benefit.
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I actually like this idea.

5-10 minute window. Since random number generators aren't really random, put all qualifying post numbers in a bucket (number tiles are simple and easy), eg. 1-50 or however many people posted. Shake and pick out the tiles randomly.
 
bluemax_1 said:
I actually like this idea.

5-10 minute window. Since random number generators aren't really random, put all qualifying post numbers in a bucket (number tiles are simple and easy), eg. 1-50 or however many people posted. Shake and pick out the tiles randomly.
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I think it’s a great idea, as well.
 
I personally wouldn't be in favour of a lotto style just in that i could see it being pretty vexing for some people.

When it comes to the pre-order conundrum I like them. I think the pre-orders are a good way for the regulars of the cpk sub (those in the know) to get the knives they want and hence relieves a bit of the pressure on those Friday sales, allowing for more infrequent and new users a better chance of scoring a knife since they dont need to compete as much with battle hardened veteran cpkers.

I know im echoing the disposition of a fair few previous comments but i think that sort of shows almost everyone seems pretty satisfied with the pre-orders and whilst i hear the occasional reference to an unhappy fella or two ive personally never seen any negative comments over the time taken to deliver a model in my (short in comparison to many) time in this sub.

Anyway enough on that, the thing i wanna hear about is those sweet Utility Fighters. Nathan said they were cutting chips a months or so ago, I wonder if we could get any further news on those knives. I'll take 2 btw
 
Even a pre-order limited to 50 pieces, one per person would take some pressure off any available in Friday sales
 
A E B L...

I am so excited for these. I need to save up so that I can snag one to keep. I am not going to want to let a UF go (assuming I get lucky enough to land one).
 
Will the next preorder be the MC or FK2?

Also any updates on your pocket knife design? :):)
 
Drpl said:
Will the next preorder be the MC or FK2?

Also any updates on your pocket knife design? :):)
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We'll probably start a pre-order for the MC in a few weeks once we've put a bigger dent in the BC pre-order. I ordered material for it (we got a full heat of 3V) which just showed up. We'll get started sawing it up next week. Prolly going to start yielding knives ready to ship in the spring.

We'll probably wait to start a preorder on the FK2 until there are some prototypes made. I don't want to get the "cart before the horse" there.

I'd love to work on that pocket knife design. I'd also love to take a trip to the Grand Canyon. Or go hunting like I used to. Or take the kids mountain biking. But there's just no time right now, we're scrambling to get caught up from the "Pig" VMC going down earlier in the year and getting an old Mori up to speed to replace it. Very busy, no time. I'd like to do a dagger and a folder next year, but who knows...
 
Y'all gonna be far enough inland for Hurricane Florence? Looks like it's gonna be a heckuva rainmaker for SC, NC, VA, etc.
 
BFS said:
Y'all gonna be far enough inland for Hurricane Florence? Looks like it's gonna be a heckuva rainmaker for SC, NC, VA, etc.
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That's a good question. I don't know. They're currently projecting it to go over us weakened to a tropical storm. Moving slow it will dump a lot of rain. We could see power outages and roof damage and lost trees. We're on high ground so there's no flooding risk. We might be down a few days if we get nailed but odds are we'll be unaffected.
 
I just saw that on the news (sorry, I've been behind times with the nationwide weather news lately as all we are sh*t scared of around here weatherize are the deadly wild fires!). Be safe out there and if you have to absolutely make a run for it, please be sure that you take my future UF blank with you alongside any other heirloom items which you deem for safekeeping. Thank you :)
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
We'll probably start a pre-order for the MC in a few weeks once we've put a bigger dent in the BC pre-order. I ordered material for it (we got a full heat of 3V) which just showed up. We'll get started sawing it up next week. Prolly going to start yielding knives ready to ship in the spring.

We'll probably wait to start a preorder on the FK2 until there are some prototypes made. I don't want to get the "cart before the horse" there.

I'd love to work on that pocket knife design. I'd also love to take a trip to the Grand Canyon. Or go hunting like I used to. Or take the kids mountain biking. But there's just no time right now, we're scrambling to get caught up from the "Pig" VMC going down earlier in the year and getting an old Mori up to speed to replace it. Very busy, no time. I'd like to do a dagger and a folder next year, but who knows...
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Nathan, will the HC also be offered during the MC Preorder?
 
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