Making knives at home with your own hands. New business ideas Business plan for the production of handmade knives

IN modern world so many different types knives: ranging from kitchen knives to knives for special forces, which are designed for killing. A knife is an essential item in every home. In general, experienced dealers in knives and blades say that a knife is like a person’s destiny; if you break a person’s knife, you break his destiny. The knife is of particular importance among the northern peoples.

Knives and blades are made from different types of steel and technologies. They are produced both industrially (one might say, conveyor belt) and self made. So for knife making use different grades of steel. The grade of steel for a knife is like its passport. Peculiar chemical composition allows you to make sure how long this knife will not become corroded, will not lose its sharpness, and in general how long it can be used. Main steel grades:

65 X 13 is the most famous, in most cases it is used as a material for creating kitchen knives. “X” means chrome, that is, stainless.

65 G - used in home-made production, is highly susceptible to corrosion, and is also called “spring”. It retains its sharpness for quite a long time.

40 X 12 - has the characteristics of mild steel. Material for the production of kitchen knives, especially domestic ones, and souvenir blades. Cheap, difficult to harden, loses its sharpness very quickly, but also quickly gains it. The foreign equivalent is steel number 420.
-95 X 18 - one of the pretty good types of domestic steel. Sharpening knives of this brand is not very easy, but they will keep their sharpness for quite a long time. It’s not easy to harden it either. Foreign equivalent - 440 V.

50 X 14 MF is the most popular among large manufacturers. High quality heat treatment allows you to make good knives that do not lose their sharpness for a long time. But just like every steel, it has its own properties: if the hardening is insufficient, the steel is soft and wears out quickly, if hardened too much, brittleness occurs.

Foreign analogues, for example steel 425, an analogue of 420, but harder and less common.
Very popular knives of the 440 series. These are 440 A, 440 B and 440 C. With all this, 440 A is the most fragile and soft, and 440 C is the hardest. 440 B is extremely rare. The qualities of the Japanese ATS34 and the American 154-CM, which are more prone to corrosion than 440 C, are similar in quality to 440 C.

How knives are madeGerber- video:

Manufacturing technology plays a significant role. Some companies make their knives from steel, which has parameters suitable for the aircraft manufacturing industry.

Reputable companies have strictly secret secrets of making steel for knives. For example, Damascus steel, which had no analogues in the world at that time, was famous for a very long time; no one knew how to make it. Although they are now talking about the Damascus secret, this is not the same steel that was 5 thousand years ago, but a later version.

Another important factor is the attitude of the craftsmen to their work. A lot of people make custom products from them, they leave their signature on the knives, and even give them names. In some ways it can be said that knife making-this is art.

When choosing a knife you need to be very careful; very often you can become a victim of deception.

How Swiss military knives are made - video:

Konstantin Kulikov turned knife sales into a militarized show and managed to stand out among competitors. This allowed him to create production from scratch, which brought him 105.7 million rubles. revenue last year

Konstantin Kulikov (Photo: Sergey Ermokhin for RBC)

The 34-year-old founder of the Kizlyar Supreme company, Konstantin Kulikov, can be seen in the catalogs of his products. Here he is in the form of a cowboy against the backdrop of American nature, here he is in a ninja suit in an abandoned factory. The photographs are usually taken by the entrepreneur’s spouse while traveling. Kulikov says that it’s not a matter of saving on models for photos. Simply bright and non-standard marketing- this is what distinguishes it from numerous competitors, which means you need to do everything yourself. “A knife without history is just a piece of iron,” Kulikov admits.

Seven years ago, the company of Valentin Kulikov, Konstantin’s father, and his two partners “ Manufacturing enterprise Kizlyar (PP Kizlyar) stopped supplying products to one of its dealers, Kulikov Jr. A corporate conflict began, and the entrepreneur organized his own knife production, Kizlyar Supreme. In 2017, Kizlyar Supreme's revenue exceeded 105.7 million rubles, and its net profit exceeded 8 million rubles; a quarter of sales were exported to the USA, Germany, and Australia.

Fathers and Sons

Konstantin Kulikov was born in Kizlyar, Dagestan, and in the Caucasus it is customary to give men knives as gifts. Since 1992, Valentin Kulikov and his friends began to produce them to order on the basis of the local enterprise Energoremont, and in 1998 they opened their own PP Kizlyar, eventually becoming major manufacturer knives (according to SPARK, the company’s revenue in 2016 amounted to 137 million rubles, net profit - 4.7 million rubles).

The family moved to St. Petersburg, and Kulikov Jr. entered the local technical school of industrial technologies, finance and law. He decided to help his father with his business. “In the early 2000s, I immersed myself in the Internet. In Kizlyar at that time, few people knew what a website was and Email", recalls Kulikov. He created an Internet page for the company; the young man was sure that sales of knives could be dramatically increased if they were seriously promoted. During boring lectures at a technical school, he read the book “Fundamentals of Marketing” by Philip Kotler, which he borrowed from his sister.

In 2003, Kulikov entered the Faculty of Business at the Sydney University of Technology - his father paid for his education. In parallel with his studies, Kulikov Jr. studied import markets, participated in exhibitions, showed samples of products from the Caucasus and established contacts with local distributors. Later I traveled to the USA and Germany and met local knife sellers.

He returned to Russia in 2009. “My eyes were burning, I wanted to change the world,” the entrepreneur recalls. First of all, he organized his own online store and translated all the information about knives into English. I decided to work as an independent dealer.

However, it quickly became clear that ideas young man at PP Kizlyar they are receiving hostility. For example, Kulikov Jr. was sure that the names of the knives needed to be changed: “One knife had the name “Sh-7”: “Sh” - wide, and 7 - because it was the seventh in a row during certification,” he recalls .

Delivery and assortment also left much to be desired. “Since the 1990s, the company has operated a forwarding service. The forwarder visited sales points every three months and brought products - he took and showed what he thought was necessary, and not what was in demand,” says Kulikov. At the same time, there were many inaccuracies in the nomenclature and description of products. According to the entrepreneur, the knife could have been coated black, but this was not mentioned in the documents. Sometimes deliveries were delayed for two months from the date of order.

All of Kulikov’s attempts to change something ended in failure - his father, who had 40% of the company, according to SPARK, supported his son’s initiatives, and his partners, who each had 30%, were against it. In the end, a corporate conflict began, and PP Kizlyar stopped supplying Kulikov Jr. with knives for sale. CEO PP Kizlyar Vladimir Derkach refused to comment on the situation for RBC, saying that these are “internal affairs of the company.”

Knives and garages

Olga Moklyak, marketing department manager for the Zlatmax online knife store, evaluates sales of tourist and hunting knives in Russia at 1.8 billion rubles. in year. The market is small and very conservative. According to her, the major players in the domestic market are the Vorsma forged knife plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region, A&R in Chelyabinsk region and PP Kizlyar in Dagestan. But in Lately More and more small workshops are appearing that produce handmade knives.

For 16 years, Sergei Agafoshin published the specialized magazine “Prorez” about knives. And in 2016, he signed the last issue and opened his own workshop - now he produces expensive handmade knives. The staff is small - only three people, monthly revenue - 100 thousand rubles. Agafoshin claims that he started his business for two reasons: he was always interested in knives, and also because the knife market is developing dynamically. According to him, 50 years ago in the United States there was a boom in “garage” knife production. He expects that this story will repeat itself in Russia.

Russian knives have a good reputation abroad, says Evgeniy Egrashkin, general director of the Nozhikov online store. Many people like their design and quality. According to him, the American knife market is the most progressive and largest in the world. Russian occupies only 5-7% of the world.

According to GOSTs, edged weapons include knives with a blade of at least 90 mm in length, a spine thickness of 2.6 to 6 mm, a blade hardness of at least 42 Rockwell units, as well as a sharpened blade and a safety handle. To purchase and carry such a knife, a license is required, which immediately narrows the sales market. But if you change at least one parameter, then the knife ceases to be considered a bladed weapon, explains Agafoshin.

A knife with history

Kulikov ordered his first knife, called Survivalist, from one of the factories in Guangzhou at the end of 2011. He expected to sell it through PP Kizlyar, but the company refused to cooperate. Australian knife designer Julius Conrad, whom he met while studying in Sydney, helped with the development of the model. For example, he came up with a knife handle, inside of which there is a “survival kit” - matches, plaster, fishing gear, etc.

The first batch was small - only about 1000 knives, but it was quickly sold out, including abroad. The new brand immediately began to be exported to Australia. Sydney distributor Zober Berry was already selling knives from the Kizlyar company and agreed to work with Kizlyar Supreme. And Kulikov met German distributors thanks to Julius Conrad. His cousin Jenny Doepgen and her husband Lothar took Kizlyar Supreme products for sale. From Russian networks, “Old Soldier”, “Soldier of Fortune”, “Splav”, etc. began to sell products.

For each knife, Kulikov began to come up with a name and concept. For example, a company produces a knife called Kid. The catalog describes it as “a small but very durable knife capable of doing some serious work.” Or the Aggressor knife - “powerful and aggressive, can be used in special forces.”

Kizlyar Supreme's key marketing tool initially became specialized exhibitions around the world. To stand out from other companies, Kulikov puts on a show for them. Kyzlyar Supreme employees put on green berets, dress in khakis, hang fake grenades, and use old Soviet boxes for gas masks and weapons instead of display cases. Against the backdrop of this surroundings, a representative of the company sits and sharpens knives.

“I remember at the first Moscow exhibition “Blade” in 2012, competitors came up, laughed at us, asked: did you even serve in the army?” - recalls Kulikov. He did not serve in the army, but played a lot in computer games, For example Splinter cell. It turned out that this “game” approach allows you to attract attention, and the costs are low - only a few tens of thousands of rubles for clothes and boxes.

“Recently, Russia has begun to behave aggressively on the international stage, and foreigners are sometimes simply shocked by our outfits. But the effect only intensifies - they recognize us. There are clients who say that they come to the exhibition just to look at our mini-show,” says Kulikov.

Photo: courtesy of the press service

For all trading partners, the entrepreneur has opened access to a server on which professional photographs, catalogs and detailed descriptions knives. “We make their life easier: after all, they should mind their own business - sales, not marketing, coming up with descriptions of knives for their online store,” explains Kulikov.

The key problem of the market is the low level of knowledge about knives among ordinary sellers. “Staff turnover doesn’t ensure that people even know what they’re selling—sometimes they don’t care, which means sales can’t be successful,” says Kulikov. To solve this problem, several times a year Kizlyar Supreme employees come to the office of trading partners and give lectures about knives.

Bloggers and specialized media help with promotion. At first, Kulikov sat on specialized Internet forums and advertised his knives himself, and when video bloggers appeared to review products, he began giving them knives for free. He also collaborates with specialized Western press. Distributes knives for testing to French Survival, American Blade and Knives Illustrated, German Messer Magazin and others.

All these steps do not seem innovative, but in the conservative market of knives, few people are seriously engaged in promotion, admits Evgeniy Egrashkin.

Outsourcing challenges

During the first year of work, Kulikov produced 10 thousand knives. They were made to order in parts at several Russian and Chinese enterprises; for example, the blades were made by three manufacturers. We collected knives in a warehouse in St. Petersburg.

The disadvantages of this approach soon became apparent. For example, one of the manufacturers overheated the blade and the knives turned out to be fragile. Kulikov recalls that he came to the cinema, but was unable to watch the film, because he received a message with a video from a friend about how a blogger easily breaks his knife. I had to urgently recall the batch.

Another time, Chinese sheath manufacturers failed. Together with a designer from Japan, the entrepreneur came up with the new kind scabbard and ordered a batch of 5,000 pieces from manufacturers from China. They arrived in St. Petersburg with a delay of two months, and due to the humidity on the ship, their surface was covered with fungus. Kulikov and his staff had to clean each case by hand. “Little mistakes and mistakes kept popping up,” he recalls.

International brands produced products mainly in China. And Kulikov realized that he needed to organize his own production in Russia: this would save him from the difficulties of outsourcing, and would also be a plus when promoting abroad - to Russian knives They treat them better there than in China.

Photo: Sergey Ermokhin for RBC

My father helped with the launch of production - he allocated 20 acres for the construction of a workshop in Kizlyar and 3 million rubles. Another $100 thousand was invested by Kulikov Jr. himself. Now 30% of Kizlyar Supreme LLC belongs to Kulikov Sr., 70% to Jr.

In the summer of 2013, the first container with equipment, grinding wheels and belts was delivered to the territory of the new Kizlyar Supreme workshop, and a digital hardening furnace for blades was installed. Opening our own production made it possible not only to solve current problems, but also increased production volumes - now they produce 4,000 knives per month.

Elena Pasashnikova became production director in 2015. A female leader is very rare for Dagestan, says Kulikov. In addition to her, the plant employs 38 people. Kulikov says he knows every employee and tries to motivate them. For example, it records feedback from distributors at exhibitions and shows it to workers on the shop floor. “People need to know who they are working for,” he explains.

The average cost of a knife is 3-4 thousand rubles. Now the company produces hunting knives, throwing and tourist ones. Kizlyar Supreme products are sold mainly through Russian partners and its own website. The wholesale sales channel accounts for 40% of the revenue, the online store brings in 25%, another 25% comes from exports (approval for the export of products structurally similar to weapons must be obtained from a division of the Russian Guard), the rest is government order. In the fall of 2015, knives from Kizlyar Supreme became part of the combat equipment of Russian servicemen, the so-called soldier of the future kit. The company does not have a direct contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense; it acts as a subcontractor.

Now Kulikov plans to produce not only tourist knives, but also kitchen knives. The samples are already ready. He sees China as the key market. “Competition in the market for kitchen knives is high, because they are easier to produce, but there are few high-quality knives, which means we have room to grow,” says Kulikov. Entrepreneur counts on growing Chinese middle class. According to him, his representatives prefer foreign brands.

View from the outside

“They know how to attract attention”

Evgeny Egrashkin, general director of the online store “Nozhikov”

“Kulikov did the right thing by opening Kizlyar Supreme. The Kizlyar enterprise is a historically established brand, large and clumsy; its products are quite difficult to transform into something modern. Kizlyar Supreme, on the contrary, is changing rapidly. For example, their first products made in China had quality problems. But when they built production in Russia, the quality improved. The advantage of the company is that they do not stand still and experiment, constantly trying to release something new, and they are doing well at it. They respond quickly to customer complaints. For example, at one of the exhibitions we asked them to make the Sturm knife from higher quality steel, and also to change the knife trigger. They listened to us and changed the metal. Recently they have greatly expanded their range, but at the same time there has been a shortage of goods in stock. They also take an unusual approach to promotion. For example, at exhibitions they dress up as soldiers or dress up in other costumes. It is impossible to walk past them at large events and not notice them. They know how to attract attention."

Magazine Reconomica brings to your attention a rare but an interesting profession blacksmith-gunsmith. Knife maker Andrey will talk about his work. Blacksmithing is not yet his main job, but he started from scratch, turned his hobby into a source of profit and quickly achieved a good income. You will learn how to turn your blacksmithing hobby into small business how to sell finished goods and how much you can earn from it, while combining a hobby with your main job. According to the author, this is a very good extra income, especially if you live in a region with a low average salary.

The economic situation in the country is such that almost all people are forced to look for opportunities to earn additional income. Pensioners work to help their children and grandchildren, car enthusiasts drive taxis or deliver pizza, students hand out leaflets or post advertisements. It is unlikely that all these activities bring people positive emotions. As well as our main job, which most of us can hardly call our favorite. And how can you call a favorite process in which you are just a small cog, and if necessary, you can be replaced by another cog like yourself.

It's just a matter of hobby. This is something that everyone treats with trepidation and does with pleasure. Doing what you love and making a profit from it is the dream of millions of people, but only a few are able to achieve it. This happened to me too, although a couple of years ago I had no idea what I was doing now.

How I mastered blacksmithing, or where it all began

It all started with an ordinary conversation in a spiritual gathering with my brother, who is obsessed with all sorts of knives, brass knuckles and pistols. He started telling me about videos he had seen on the Internet about making beautiful designer knives with his own hands from scrap materials.

Imbued with his enthusiastic exclamations, I also decided to see what kind of masters there were. It turned out that it’s true that making a cool designer knife with a minimal set of tools is not so difficult, so I decided to give it a try. I was also lucky in that I work as a thermal technician in a machine-building industry, so I have a good understanding of steel grades, and there were no problems with materials for the knife - I have a professional thermals Having it at hand is a huge plus in this case.

How to make a knife with your own hands at home

I watched a bunch of videos on the Internet on this topic, I liked one of them, which I took as a guide. I used what was on hand to make my first blade. You could say he worked at home using improvised means.

The material for my first knife was an ordinary old Soviet file. The steel for a knife is not the most suitable, but it is affordable and easy to process.

I set up my workshop in the garage. My tools for the job were a file, sandpaper and a clamp. To make the descents, I made a special device out of plywood and got to work. Grinding a large layer of metal by hand turned out to be very difficult. My hands were constantly tired, I sharpened them for a minute and then rested for five. But, oddly enough, I had no desire to quit the whole business.

Having completed the work with a file, I began to grind the workpiece sandpaper . A few hours of work - and now my blade is almost ready! All that remains is to take it to work and harden it.

Here I must say that due to inexperience I made a big mistake with the dimensions, the blade turned out to be very thick and massive, but I still decided to complete the work to the end, because my main task was not to good knife, but to understand the principle and subtleties of the process.

Next, I needed to make a handle for my “monster”. I went to the birch grove to collect dry branches and birch bark. Back in the garage I started making the handle. Working with wood is much easier and more pleasant than working with metal, so there were no problems here. The handle turned out to be comfortable and beautiful. And I decided not to stop there.

How to learn to make really good knives

I took the next knife more seriously. I selected a workpiece from a more suitable steel and correctly calculated all the dimensions. The second knife came out much more attractive than the first. My brother, seeing the result of my work, praised me and asked me to give this knife to him. I fulfilled the request without hesitation, because it was at his suggestion that I started doing this.

My handmade knife

Then things got more fun. Having mastered some of the subtleties of the process, I improved with each new knife, and some acquaintances, having seen the results of my work, were already ready to pay money for me to make a knife to order. But my activities have not yet gone beyond the scope of a hobby. After all, even despite the fact that I almost everything free time

spent in the garage, productivity was extremely low - only 1-2 knives per month. You won't make money from this. And then I decided to take a serious step, since the manufacturing process itself gave me pleasure.

Automation of blade production To take my small production to a serious level, I needed to purchase a belt sanding machine. The difficulty was that the most unpretentiousgrinder costs about 15-20 thousand rubles

. I had money, so I, enlisting the help of virtual colleagues in the workshop, the same handicraftsmen as me, began to choose a machine for myself, which cost me 17 thousand rubles including delivery. the most unpretentious After I installedin my garage, I realized that making knives by hand and on a machine is like heaven and earth. If earlier it was necessary to make one blade using a file and sandpaper it took me several days, but now in one day of work I could easily fix

5-10 blades, saving a lot of effort. In addition, blades made on a machine turned out to be much more accurate and of high quality. And there were no problems with the handles, because on grinder

Wood can also be sanded.

This is what my workshop looks like today In a word, the matter became a mess. In the first month of working with I made 6 full-fledged knives. Having presented them to my friends, I instantly received several orders from them ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 thousand rubles. The next month I earned 10 thousand rubles this way. Using a grinding machine, I solved the issue of metalworking, but then I was faced with another problem. I had to carry all the workpieces to work for heat treatment or some kind of forging operations. To solve this problem, I decided to make a forge.

How to make a forge with your own hands

Even a schoolchild can make the simplest blacksmith's forge. I didn’t complicate my life and went exactly this way. After collecting clay, I made a small gutter right next to the garage. The basis of any forge is blowing . I decided to use an old vacuum cleaner with a reverse function for this. I ran a metal tube with holes along the bottom of the clay trench, connected a vacuum cleaner hose to it, and that’s it - the forge is ready. Add coals and light it. And although I still wore blades to work to heat, because the quality of the blade directly depends on the quality of hardening and tempering, simpler operations, in particular forging and annealing. I made it right in the garage.

Where does a blacksmith get orders?

After I fulfilled all the wishes of my friends, a problem arose with new orders. They came to my aid here social media. I created a group where I posted photographs of my work, as well as some tips on production, and quickly gained a small audience, since such things attract the attention of the stronger sex very well.

Examples of my work

Now under each photograph of my work there are several requests for sale at once. I do not inflate the prices of my knives, knowing full well that I am far from the most skilled craftsman in their manufacture. The average price of one knife is 2 thousand rubles; usually about ten pieces can be produced and sold per month. I have already perfected the process of their production to the point of automation, only now I put my own author’s mark on each knife.

Payback of a knife manufacturing business

The profitability turned out to be good. Thus, your costs for the most unpretentious and I collected the materials in two months of work. Moreover, now I can afford not to wander around the workshop looking for normal steel, but to order it from suppliers. Just like others necessary materials: leather for the sheath, special oil for impregnating the handles, tapes for grinder and much more. And the most important thing is that the process of making knives itself brings me pleasure and no matter how much I earn from it.

Although during vacation, when there is a lot of free time, my monthly income exceeds my basic salary and is approximately 30-35 thousand rubles, but when I have to combine my hobby with work, my income is approximately half that.

Youtube is the best source of client flow for a private master

Now my plans are to create a channel on youtube , where I want to post videos about making knives and share my experience with novice craftsmen. In order for your videos to be of high quality, you need to purchase a good camera and a tripod. All this pleasure is not cheap, but it is worth it. After all, the channel is on youtube - This a large number of potential customers plus another opportunity to earn extra money through the affiliate program.

How to turn your hobby into a profitable business

I talked about my experience of how you can convert your own hobby into real serious income. After all, things handmade to order have always had a special value. As an example, we can take consumer goods produced by prisoners in places not so remote. Zonovsky backgammon, rosaries, cards, pens and much more are very expensive, not only because it is all incredibly beautiful, but also because it is exclusive handmade.The master puts his soul into it, so such things are highly valued.

Product worth 2000 rubles

My experience with knives in no way encourages you to grab a file and run to the garage. This is just an example of what the right approach and perseverance, you can easily make sure that your hobby will bring not only positive emotions, but also income. And you can do anything.

For those who love working with wood good option there will be the making of chess and backgammon, but suitable for girls various options handicrafts: embroidery, knitting, beading . For each. There is a demand for a seemingly useless but beautiful trinket, you just need to be able to present it correctly. And if you really like what you do, then nothing and no one can stop you from repeating my experience.

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 22:40

moved from Workshop

Hello good people. there is such a question. who has the thread knife making business or your own business with knives??? I want to open my own, I wanted to know the features of this business

asi 08-08-2009 22:44

I have.
The main feature is to sell cheaper than you bought it.

Mikha_A 08-08-2009 22:45

so you read the forum carefully, who has THIS business, they are not hiding, it seems

zmeya 08-08-2009 22:51

At the age of 18, ambitions are usually higher... you start mastering the art of knife making, and the commercial component will stick on its own...

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 22:55

I have 50 blades on my account of varying complexity. learned to forge. There are even exclusive knives from the film The Chronicles of Riddick forged by himself. I just want to know all the nuances of this case, that’s all

serge-vv 08-08-2009 22:56

you'll burn out
but seriously, without being a “promoted brand” it is very difficult, as in any other area, to prove that you are “worth”... well, or you can take volumes and prices... like Sanders, for example... or Vikings (not be remembered by night) ... show us what you are going to enter the market with, we’ll discuss

asi 08-08-2009 23:02

I have 50 blades of varying complexity on my account. learned to forge. There are even exclusive knives from the film The Chronicles of Riddick forged by himself. I just want to know all the nuances of this case, that’s all

and, if so, then it’s more interesting.

Then we can advise you to conduct tests, preferably comparative ones.

You can arrange for one knife to be sent in turn to a dozen others who want to get acquainted and tested.

take a closer look at the local and flea markets = it will help you decide on prices.

and so - exhibit your works here - if they are worthy, those who wish will go.

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 23:03

True, I’m not a resident of Moscow, but of Izhevsk

TRUCKER 08-08-2009 23:06

And to Canada?

zmeya 08-08-2009 23:10

no, well, Asi is right. start selling here. If the knives are worthwhile, then you will make a name for yourself, recognition. The main thing is that it has its own “trick”, a “zest” that would unmistakably identify the knives as yours.

It’s not entirely clear what subtleties you are asking about. About the subtleties of pricing? Or legal issues of registering private entrepreneurs? Or what knives to make so as not to end up in jail? What exactly are you interested in?

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 23:16

I have an average education as a turner. I’m friends with steel brands, I know everything, and I’ve read a lot of abstruse books about blacksmithing. In general, I want to make knives of the following types: tourist, hunting, exclusive, gift, and for everyday use. Regarding the laws, it’s a little confusing. I don’t fully understand which knives need to be registered and which ones don’t. So you need to have certificates for all. but I have no idea how to get them. Which inspectorates should I contact and the like.

zmeya 08-08-2009 23:16

But what, “Khokhloma” has its own consumer, who pays in the same banknotes as sophisticated nayfomaniacs... the main thing is to be able to make “correct” knives...

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 23:21

Of course I haven’t come up with my own trick yet. and the knives that he made, out of 50, about 20 were copies of Kizlyarov and other knives

zmeya 08-08-2009 23:25

Regarding certification and permits, the Sanders definitely need to be tortured. But that's if you're in industrial scale Are you going to make knives... and about the laws, there is a topic in the Workshop upstairs:

asi 08-08-2009 23:26

quote: [B]I’m friends with steel brands, I know everything, and I’ve read a lot of abstruse books about blacksmithing.

Well, if it’s “everything”, then respect...

Ashedow 08-08-2009 23:26

What price level are you aiming for?

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 23:27

No, I can’t raise the drain in industrial areas. although who knows. This is a relevant topic for me. production of knives of varying complexity, both custom and standard. the approximate number of knives is 100-200 per year.

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 23:28

As for the prices, my knives were sold from 250 to 15,000.

asi 08-08-2009 23:30

Then I don’t understand the question - even if they sold for 15,000 - so why worry?

Or have they stopped selling?

Ashedow 08-08-2009 23:31

Here's the thing... if you personally sculpt them one per week, then the price must be high for it to make sense. But what you posted... look at the threads of member Ku. There are examples of quite expensive products that have stable demand.

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 23:45

Well, if you take those that were sold for 15,000, then firstly the hard manufacturing takes a lot of time, and secondly the materials were expensive. so it doesn’t cost anything to take a 65G or tighter U13-U7 and unchain it and make a handle from birch burl or birch bark, it doesn’t take much time, a maximum of 4 days. and that’s what I personally do. There is no current engraving. haven't mastered it yet

asi 08-08-2009 23:48

and from not amateurs but ordinary people - you can’t even get 1000...

Mefistofel18 08-08-2009 23:50

Well, this is self-explanatory, but I want a real business, both online and in person, my own shop

serge-vv 08-08-2009 23:55

well, simple ones on the Hansa will cost no more than 3000 rubles
and from not amateurs but ordinary people - you can’t even get 1000...

asi knows... he is the boss there....

quote: Originally posted by Mefistofel18:

both online and in person your store

Should we chip in for the store? what will be our gamble?

asi 08-08-2009 23:58

quote: asi knows... he is the boss there....

Ashedow 09-08-2009 12:06

What will you sell in the store? At first, it is not a store that is needed, but a production base. You don’t want to live off resale, right?

kU 09-08-2009 12:11

Practice shows that a simple knife made individually becomes profitable from 5000-7000 rubles. See the products of elephants as bright (and probably among the Russian best) representatives of this niche. Cheaper - only hired labor, assembly line, etc. the delights of capitalism. With appropriate quality.....

Mefistofel18 09-08-2009 12:12

there is a production base. Of course, the current of the instrument is not enough. This is an important question for me. how to open this business completely, what documents are needed to register such a business, to ensure compliance with the law and where to get certificates for knives. license for sale. and you went to another place. No one complained about the quality of the knives. I give a guarantee. and if necessary, they send it for jewelry sharpening

AlexPit 09-08-2009 12:15

but it's not Friday)

serge-vv 09-08-2009 12:16

quote: Originally posted by asi:

but they will take better bread.

I’ll assume that the beer will go better... while it’s warm.... then we can profile for the next seasonal product, have a stand with knives for the “assortment”...

Ashedow 09-08-2009 12:17

quote: but it's not Friday)

So this one can really add up to money, it’s a pity.

serge-vv 09-08-2009 12:21

quote: Originally posted by kU:

a simple knife made individually becomes profitable from 5000-7000 rubles.

I'm subscribing!

quote: Originally posted by Mefistofel18:

This is an important question for me. how to open this business completely, what documents are needed to register such a business, to ensure compliance with the law and where to get certificates for knives. license for sale.

and this needs to be addressed in another topic... I think the sergeant will turn it into something legal, since the question is about legal issues, not technical ones...

Ashedow 09-08-2009 12:27

quote: Originally posted by Mefistofel18:
and you went to another place. No one complained about the quality of the knives.

My advice to you (free, mind you). Design 10 knife models. Drawings - detailing, assembly. Then find a competent technologist, give him money, let him estimate the technical process, calculate the equipment based on the production of 500 products of each model per month. He will estimate production costs if he can (most likely he can). Then calculate the costs of purchasing equipment, renting premises, and hiring staff.
Then, with everything considered, go for a consultation with a lawyer. He will explain how to open an enterprise of this scale, and how much it will cost.
After that, look at the amounts received and add to them the costs of starting sales.
After that, get comfortable and start thinking from the very beginning.

asi 09-08-2009 12:30

quote: Originally posted by Mefistofel18:
there is a production base. Of course, the current of the instrument is not enough. This is an important question for me. how to open this business in full, what documents are needed to register such a business to ensure compliance with the law and where to get certificates for knives. license for sale. and you went to another place. No one complained about the quality of the knives. I give a guarantee. and if necessary, they send it for jewelry sharpening

this is offtopic. from a legal point of view, it’s like trading bread versus selling knives. Almost.

Anton42 09-08-2009 09:16

First try to sell your products on this forum, be it just blades or ready-made knives, then you will see how things go! If they are not in demand here, then it is unlikely that there will be a queue for them “in the wild”
So it’s too early to think about IP. That's when there will be constant demand.

Knife maker 09-08-2009 11:01

Hmmm... Just like that, business right away...
I’ve already made over a hundred long ones, but I lost count of the knives a few years ago. The need came to be formalized only this year. But the problem is with the employees! No, transferred! In such a matter as making knives, you need people no less, and better yet, more experienced than yourself. Where can I get these? I tried to teach, but it turned out that it was just a waste of time, materials, and therefore money.
And instead of investing in a store, I would advise it to be better to increase the material base, buy machines and all sorts of devices. You look and “tempt” one of the experienced knife makers to look at your base, and you will find options for mutually beneficial cooperation!

Mefistofel18 09-08-2009 11:52

Thank you all, I read everything and understood it for myself. thanks for the advice. As for the technologist, I can calculate all this myself. the diploma was a process to write and calculate everything, so there is no need for me to apply

Mefistofel18 09-08-2009 11:53

topic can be closed))

moved from Workshop

VitaminCpp 11-08-2009 05:10

quote: Originally posted by asi:
I have.
The main feature is to sell cheaper than you bought it.

The idea is not new - knives have been sold on the Internet for several years, but recently competition has been growing faster and faster. There are more and more websites, buyers are becoming more selective, and a catalog simply rich in goods will no longer surprise anyone. In addition, the sale of knives is a rather complex topic from a legal point of view.

It is with the question of the legality of selling knives that we will begin.

Law

Russian legislation clearly regulates which knives with what characteristics are classified as edged weapons and can only be sold to people with a license to carry them, and which ones cannot.

This is what the Weapons Law says: “Melee weapons are weapons designed to hit a target using human muscular power in direct contact with the target” (Article 1 of the Law “On Weapons” Federal Law No. 150 of December 13, 1996).

Edged weapons include checkers, sabers, daggers, dirks, Finnish knives, stilettos, brass knuckles, etc. They do not include penknives, kitchen knives, garden knives, shoe knives, tourist knives and other knives that are similar in appearance to edged weapons, but certified as products for household and industrial purposes (Article 1 of the Law “On Weapons”).

Since it is impossible to check on the Internet whether the buyer has a license to carry bladed weapons, the online store can only sell those knives that do not fall under the letter of Federal Law No. 150 of December 13, 1996.

To do this, we recommend posting a special certificate issued by certification authorities on the page of each product. civilian weapons. It clearly states that the knife you have for sale is not a bladed weapon (KW). This way you can avoid unnecessary attention from law enforcement agencies.

Certificate example:

Most knife pages have certificates available for downloading.

Let's finish talking about legal restrictions and permissions and move on to the websites.

Card Product

To design a product card, you should use unique, high-quality photographs. There are two reasons for this:

1. Unique photos increase user confidence.

2. Non-unique photos can affect the position of your site in search results.

A good example of unique photography is Custom Knife. This project was developed by the Uplab agency for a private knife collector. The customer himself photographs new models against the same recognizable background, and then posts them on the website.

Knife page:

Photo from the page:

Don’t try to come up with a too original design for the product card. Secrets of creation good online store and so dedicated. Avoid excessive creativity - use proven, successful methods.

Pros:

1. Convenient search. You can select models by purpose, manufacturer, material.

2. Unique photographs of products in good quality.

3. Good design and location of the price and the “Buy” button.

4. Clear and detailed description goods

After the description there is a “Similar Products” block, which helps you decide on the choice of knife. The page also includes a section with comments from VKontakte, where you can leave a review or ask a question about this model.

Pros:

1. Convenient block in the upper right corner: choice of currency for prices, shopping cart, prominent phone number, work schedule, search bar.

2. Easy navigation in “breadcrumbs”, easy-to-read title, high-quality photographs.

3. Excellent placement of the “Price” and “Place an order” buttons. You can add products to “Favorites”, “Cart”, “Compare”.

4. Product information is presented unobtrusively, but noticeably.

At the bottom of the page there is information about delivery, product characteristics, more photos, reviews. There are also blocks with similar models of knives and sharpening kits, as well as useful videos.

Pros:

1. Phone numbers, the “Login” and “Registration” buttons are placed in a separate noticeable panel.

2. The “Cart” block is well designed and located.

3. High-quality photographs.

4. The block with the price, brand and the “Add to cart” button is succinctly designed.

At the bottom of the page are the characteristics of the knife and the certificate.

The blocks “Buy with this product” (1) and “Bestsellers” (2) are highlighted separately:

Foreign

Pros:

1. Prominent search bar.

2. Country selection button (forms the price in local currency).

3. Block of similar products.

4. Photos and video review.

5. A noticeable price that automatically adjusts to the currency of the visitor’s country.

6. The “Add to cart” and “Select quantity” buttons are well located. You can add the model you like to your wish list.

7. A block with products that were most often viewed by people who visited the page with this instance is presented.

At the bottom of the page 1 - product description: 2 - full information about the product in several tabs, 3 - product characteristics, 4 - the description itself, plus helpful information(buyer's guide, similar categories):

Pros:

1. Noticeable blocks “Search” and “Cart”.

2. High-quality photographs.

3. The “Purchase Block” is well designed: price, information about discounts and delivery, and the “Add to Cart” button.

There is a lot of useful information at the bottom of the page:

Video review of the knife and additional photos.
Detailed characteristics in several tabs.
Information about customization.
Special offers.
Similar products.

Pros:

1. Automatic region detection, information about delivery to the user’s region, detailed menu.

2. A good and high-quality photograph of the knife.

3. A prominent “Add to cart” block.

4. Tabs with information.

5. Block with other knives.

Selection of requests

Before you pick keywords for an online knife store, you need to carefully study the demand of the audience and the offers of competitors.

Interesting point. It is not always useful to use high-frequency commercial keys. For example, the request “buy a knife” is too general - it is unlikely that the search results will contain what the user needs. There are different types of knives - kitchen, tourist, hunting, and buyers will definitely clarify this information in their requests. If a person wants to buy a kitchen knife and lands on a hunting knife website from a search, he is unlikely to stay there for long. As a result, the site will experience deterioration in behavioral factors.

In positions 1 and 4 are sites that sell knives; on 2 and 3 - online stores “Sotmarket” and “Eldorado” - sites that are not entirely suitable for the topic.

An effective kernel must contain a minimum general issues and maximum specificity. Buy boker knife- correct request, buy a knife- incorrect.

Using the Key Collector program, you can obtain an extensive kernel with big amount low frequency queries. You can also use other services - SEO specialist Anastasia Radikova talked about them in the article.

First, you need to find a list of popular knife manufacturers, then collect queries based on them and carefully sift out all that is unnecessary. As a result, you will get an excellent core of low-frequency queries with popular knives. Such queries will not generate huge traffic, but the conversion will be higher.

We looked at how to select clearly commercial requests, that is, obvious ones for an online knife store. To make the core more complete and cover as much as possible target audience, it is recommended to use “implicit” queries.

For example, queries from the “Gifts” topic: luxury gifts for men, expensive gifts , men's gifts, Presents for men etc. They do not lie on the surface, but at the same time they correspond to the theme of the site, because a knife is great gift for a man.

Examples of sites with luxury gifts for men:

Another interesting point. Typically, elite gift knives are considered to be expensive knives with gold or gilded plating, stones, and on stone stands. However, there are functional knives that are not covered with gold and stones, but still belong to the elite category.

Conclusion

1. Don't forget about the law. Melee weapons cannot be sold to persons without the appropriate permit. If your knives are not bladed weapons, post the appropriate certificates on the website.

2. Design product cards and all pages efficiently and beautifully. Poorly designed pages do not sell on the Internet. Feel free to use successful examples from other sites (but don’t just copy everything). There are many good recommendations on the design of pages with and without products - don’t be afraid to use them.

3. The structure and design of the online store should be convenient and understandable. Don't make your site a labyrinth - give the visitor a modern supermarket with a professional consultant!