The Flea Market Mung Absolution Thread

So - after collecting Fiddlebacks for 8 months (over 20) I've decided to release a few back into the wild.

Does anyone else have trouble taking good quality pictures? My lighting absolutely sucks! So, I just used the photo from the FF thread when I sharked.

The coloring looks so different from the FF posting compared to my photos ???

Have you received a knife and thought - wow this looks different than the pictures?
 
I have no luck taking pics indoors, so I usually prefer my Fiddlebacks outside "on the rocks" ;) Though the pics on the Fiddleback Fridays are great, particularly as of late, I still find myself thinking that they do not do justice to the blades in person :)
Zardo said:
So - after collecting Fiddlebacks for 8 months (over 20) I've decided to release a few back into the wild.

Does anyone else have trouble taking good quality pictures? My lighting absolutely sucks! So, I just used the photo from the FF thread when I sharked.

The coloring looks so different from the FF posting compared to my photos ???

Have you received a knife and thought - wow this looks different than the pictures?
Click to expand...
 
Curious to see what you're releasing. I know you beat me to the punch on a few knives in particular these past couple months.
 
Zardo said:
Have you received a knife and thought - wow this looks different than the pictures?
Click to expand...

Zardo, the color has a lot to do with the CRI ( Color Rendering Index ) of the light the photo was taken in. Sunlight is considered 100CRI, some artificial light sources such as fluoros or LEDs can be as low as 60CRI.

If you look at the knives under one of these low CRI light sources the color will look remarkably different.

Here is an example I found on Google-
Hosted on Fotki

All mine have been very very close to the pics on the Friday threads. I think the light used by FF for the pics is high CRI and renders an accurate color.
 
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Scotcha said:
Zardo, the color has a lot to do with the CRI ( Color Rendering Index ) of the light the photo was taken in. Sunlight is considered 100CRI, some artificial light sources such as fluoros or LEDs can be as low as 60CRI.

If you look at the knives under one of these low CRI light sources the color will look remarkably different.

Here is an example I found on Google-
Hosted on Fotki

All mine have been very very close to the pics on the Friday threads. I think the light used by FF for the pics is high CRI and renders an accurate color.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the example. The problem I have is - living in Michigan it's pretty cold and usually cloudy thus time of year. It's supposed to be warmer this weekend, I'll try to get some pics outside. Hopefully better results....
 
jwillmot said:
Curious to see what you're releasing. I know you beat me to the punch on a few knives in particular these past couple months.
Click to expand...

Nothing from recent FF. A Hiking Buddy (posted already in the flea market) and Monarch and possible a nessmuk

All from last summer/fall
 
Zardo said:
Nothing from recent FF. A Hiking Buddy (posted already in the flea market) and Monarch and possible a nessmuk

All from last summer/fall
Click to expand...

You aren't referring to a Koa handled Monarch from USAmadeblade by any chance are you? That one escaped me and I've kicked myself since I saw it get sold. I would trade nicely for that one!
 
MMatt said:
You aren't referring to a Koa handled Monarch from USAmadeblade by any chance are you? That one escaped me and I've kicked myself since I saw it get sold. I would trade nicely for that one!
Click to expand...

It's from a FF thread - some sort of burl. I'll try to get posted this weekend.
 
I normally NEVER rant or complain about my fiddleback hobby; it is my happy place, but recently something has been bothering me and I was curious as to where other sharks stand on the issue..

With regard to certain fiddleback dealers -- why do you insist on selling knives with "mandatory" sheathes at markups that are far over the value of the leather being included...please stop doing this; people would buy more knives from you if you just sold the knife at MSRP (which is already a very fair price). Including a $10-$15 (real world msrp) sheath and marking up the knife another $30-$40 will only leave you with lots of beautiful knives sitting on your web storefront. Dealers who do not use this sales tactic or let you opt out of the "mandatory" sheath, THANK YOU!!!! I have nothing against the folks who do this, nor am I trying to tell them how to run their business, but seriously, I would buy more fiddlebacks from them if they stopped doing this.

Rant over
 
Plus if they are out of a sheath that fits there is no discount. I know this from personal experience
 
Fully agree...i was in doubt of posting a similar question which to be honest i was hesitant to post as it is not mine to say but...specific example: the case of two knives, same size class, same steel, same bolster config, different woods, one was 85 bucks more expensive: only difference, a sheath was included vs the other dealer had none...for my taste this is too much. If they sell great for their respective margin, my decision is clearly not to buy no matter how pretty or grail worthy the knife.
 
I think the dealers are free to price based on their business model, and your choice not to buy from them is a message that will be read in the quarterly P&L files.

My own opinion is somewhat different - I think dealers should be able to price what they want, as long as they reflect the product accurately.
 
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Guhul said:
Fully agree...i was in doubt of posting a similar question which to be honest i was hesitant to post as it is not mine to say but...specific example: the case of two knives, same size class, same steel, same bolster config, different woods, one was 85 bucks more expensive: only difference, a sheath was included vs the other dealer had none...for my taste this is too much. If they sell great for their respective margin, my decision is clearly not to buy no matter how pretty or grail worthy the knife.
Click to expand...

im not going to get into what the dealers are doing but i will say.....
you are a better man than me:D
for a "grail" knife...i would have jumped all over it....in 6 months you wont remember the $85 but "might" still be looking for that "grail"
 
Of the three dealers that include a sheath, KSF calls the sheath "our gift with the knife" and DLT states "includes free leather sheath with purchase." To me that implies that the price would be the about the same absent the sheath. I think the price differences seen are the dealers markup over Andy's price... they have to make a profit too.
 
Yeah noted on all accounts; I get business, p&l, and "that the knife industry is cut-throat", my only qualm is that dealers typically pay cost for products (in any industry) selling at MSRP is their profit margin; add-ons can increase margin but are typically optional within a sales model. Bootstrapping an add on is like buying a car and the dealer making you pay for a car cover... Even if you have your own or store in a garage. None the less, I don't want to protract this further. I respect and realize that everyone will have an alternative point of view, I was just hoping that I wasn't crazy/alone in my observation.

Horse is dead, I've kicked it enough, now back to mung absolution ;)
 
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