Kramer Knife Auction

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Is it just me, or does anyone else find that says... gross? I'd trash it immediately and send the knife to Marko for a new one in a heartbeat.
 
UglyJoe said:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find that says... gross? I'd trash it immediately and send the knife to Marko for a new one in a heartbeat.
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Well, you are giving me more credit that I seserve.

The saya shape should resemble the shape of the knife. I would probably make the tip a little pointier and the 'tail' a little different, but these would be minor changes.

I don't know how it is shaped and what the fit is as I don't see the cross-section (some folks rout out a cavity so it's same depth throughout or have an insert of similar wood or other material that had a shape of the knife cut out in it), but having seen Bob's work on handles, I would think he probably shaped it nicely, with a distal taper and bevels. If anybody get this knife, please take pictures of the saya and post it on the forum.

M
 
I don't feel like signing up for his auction website, any update in the price?
 
Marko Tsourkan said:
Well, you are giving me more credit that I seserve.

The saya shape should resemble the shape of the knife. I would probably make the tip a little pointier and the 'tail' a little different, but these would be minor changes.

I don't know how it is shaped and what the fit is as I don't see the cross-section (some folks rout out a cavity so it's same depth throughout or have an insert of similar wood or other material that had a shape of the knife cut out in it), but having seen Bob's work on handles, I would think he probably shaped it nicely, with a distal taper and bevels. If anybody get this knife, please take pictures of the saya and post it on the forum.

M
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You're being modest Marko. Your work is elegant... this saya at least isn't.
 
UglyJoe said:
You're being modest Marko. Your work is elegant... this saya at least isn't.
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Elegant is subjective and the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. :)
I guess I need to add that I have a great respect for Bob Kramer (whom I haven't met) and for his work. And though his style and my style are different, he is one of not too many makers whose work appeals to me from a maker's stand point.
Whether it is worth the price it fetches, I let others be the judge.

M
 
Thought it would go for more, especially as high as the last two went for on ebay.
 
Marko Tsourkan said:
Elegant is subjective and the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. :)
I guess I need to add that I have a great respect for Bob Kramer (whom I haven't met) and for his work. And though his style and my style are different, he is one of not too many makers whose work appeals to me from a maker's stand point.
Whether it is worth the price it fetches, I let others be the judge.

M
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And I agree, as far as his knives/damascus/handles go. Would love to own one.... but I'd send it to you for saya, right away. Personal preference I guess. ;)
 
Anyone have a pic of the knife. I missed looking at the auction.

Thanks

John
 
Wow. That was kind of exciting. I'm friends with Bob and he has given me quite a bit of advice over the years. His success has indeed been a great thing for other custom makers and just seeing this is amazing. Don't worry that I'll start quadrupling my prices, but it does give one pause. I mean, this does kinda throw out any "regular" business paradigm we think we, as custom knifemakers, know.

Good for you, Bob. Keep the excitement going!!!
-M
 
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No kitchen knife is worth that much purely as a tool. This is a case of mass auction hysteria. Going to be some unhappy people when the Kramer bubble pops down the road.
 
It's a status symbol.
My second Kramer was truly a masterpiece, possibly the "best" knife I ever owned. However, I recognized it was over valued and because it wasn't the knife I really wanted I sold it. No regrets.

If he keeps working it right that bubble may not burst for a while. Although there are a lot of knifemakers that are closing-in fast.
 
As a tool, it is not worth $14,000. It will not provide a service to you that will compare with the effort it takes to make $14,000. That said, he is a celebrity and a gifted craftsman. He puts a LOT of time into these knives, and if there are people spending $250,000 on a car, there should certainly be people tossing a few ten-grand to get an item that has had no expense, time, or effort spared to become the paragon of workmanship for it's creator, and perhaps even an extreme of performance.

Doubtless, this is a knife to marvel at. Craftsmen, be they knife makers, wood turners, potters, stonemasons, or otherwise, deserve to be elevated in our socioeconomic culture at LEAST beyond corporate middle-management types.
 
All great points, but in an age where basketball, football, golf, baseball players, etc... make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year if they are bad and millions if they are good, can one really complain about Bob getting $13+K on a piece of art?

Might not be the best comparison, but my point is that there are only a few makers in the world making custom kitchen knives, so shouldn't the rarity alone be valued highly? I mean how much is a great baseball player worth to you? He might make millions for the owner & advertisers, etc..., but really, who is worth $10,000,000 a year? And, yet they get it. And Bob gets what he gets. It's a good thing, really.

Just my two cents here in a friendly conversation.
-M
 
Well said Eamon. In Japan, some craftsmen earn (are given?) the status of living national treasure, but even the "unknown craftsmen," and their wares, are far more appreciated than they are here in the western world. Life is an art! Adorn it with handmade objects. And good food, lovingly prepared.

Of course, I'm biased :)
 
Come on Salty dog, I just had my septic tank pumped today and for 25 minutes of this service, I had to shell out $425. Not complaining here. Ever hire an electrician to wire your house? I don't know what the union wage is, but it's probably close to $75/hr. I mean, how much do you make an hour? Are you worth more? Probably. You really don't think Bob really deserves to benefit from his mastery of this art?

I'm new here and not trying to be argumentative, but where is this resentment coming from?

-M
 
I don't begrudge anyone for making a buck. Nor do I fault him for getting as much as possible but....

I think a better comparison would be Grant Achatz's hot new Chicago restaurant where people are paying as much as $3000 for a reservation. Me, I'll go to some other dudes restaurant down the street and it will be just as good for a quarter of the price. I'm sure I would really enjoy the Achatz experience but will most likely feel cheated at the end of the night. Let the amateurs pay for the privilege.

I admit to some resentment. It stems from having to wait three years and being refused two knives before I had to settle for the one I received and eventually sold. It's still a bit of a sore subject. (Great knife, bad juju)
 
Subjective opinons is of no importance.

Bob will continue to have buyers and price will rice. Salty is just a another capitalist investing in a knife for selling with a huge profit.
Its a buy and sell marked out there, and for Kramer the market is Global. Im glad he is around cause it gives focus on knifemaking as a proffesion.
There are over 1 million potential byers out there, and if i.e Bob, Bill and Devin combined the making they would maximum make 200 knives a year. It will take a LOT of years for those to just please 10 % of the buyers out there :)
 
I hope whoever purchased this knife uses it and doesn't lock it away forever. It would be like buying a 1965 Shelby 350 GT and keeping it in the garage and never taking it for a drive.
 
Are there a million people in the world who would buy a $13,000 knife? I doubt it...
Also, doesn't bob alone make 200 knives a year?
 
All I know is that Burke makes 50-60 knives a year.
And Burke is imho one of the top 3 knifemakers in the world.

And yes, there are 1 million potential buyers in the world. A lot of people have a lot of dollars and interest for design :)
But as shankster I hope the owners take it for a spinn :)
 
To me basically he's like a Bugatti, and we're a bunch of Mustang owners. Every now and then one of us buys a 'vette or a Porsche; but, ultimately, will never afford the likes of his craftsmanship. Does this mean I wont buy the new Road & Track mag featuring the Bugatti on the front page and drool over it? I guess one can dream... and if one wants, they can pick up a Henckels Kramer, right? Maybe the equivalent of an Audi; (tagged as a "babybugatti" by Motor Trend.)

In the end, 99.999% of us aren't even close to his target demo....
maybe he should start marketing posters, t-shirts, and bumper stickers that proclaim, "my other knife is a Bob Kramer"! LOL
 
NO ChoP! said:
In the end, 99.999% of us aren't even close to his target demo....
maybe he should start marketing posters, t-shirts, and bumper stickers that proclaim, "my other knife is a Bob Kramer"! LOL
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This.
 
Andrew H said:
This.
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I think these type of threads are becoming more and more boring.
Success and envy go hand-in-hand. Bob Kramer will not please everybody.
If you can't afford Kramer look for alternatives. What his knives are worth are for others to decide. Lets move on and talk about knives.

M
 
You know, sometimes its just hard for me to keep my mouth shut, so here goes.
I am happy for Bob, it is rare in this business for any of us to recieve the kind of notoriety that he has recieved. I do not agree with all of the this that Bob does, but I get to learn, and I do things a bit differently. No matter how good my knives are I see myself as an average working guy. My dad wanted to be a farmer, but thanks to some bad luck, wound up working in a factory. I was a little luckier in that I actually get to do what I love to do. To make really high quality knives is not a cake walk, and some days are downright brutal, I worked a 13 hour day yesterday forging damascus, and at the end I was tired sore and dirty. I can say right now that I will never offer up a knife for auction. I am working to provide a comfortable life for my family, and since I have 1 teenager already, and will soon have more a bump in my income for a used car and insurance certianly won't hurt. I know at some point there may come a time that I raise my prices above what they are now, but I always think long and hard about that and I still want to make knives that I consider a good value for the money. I am happy to have found you guys, and am grateful that you have welcomed me into your community.
 
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