Better Knife Photography: • Clear • Informative • Inspiring • Motivating • Good photographs only record your knives... Great photographs PROMOTE them and MAXIMIZE their value! Jim 'Coop' Cooper - SharpByCoop.com's originator (IE users: to enjoy my site to the utmost, please hit the 'F11' key now...!)
Knife Photography and Digital Imaging....
Q: Who needs better pictures of their knives? A: ANYONE who is interested in promoting OR selling their knife and getting the full value of it in return. That would include knifemakers and collectors alike. That might be you. Without having a knife in-hand, the two-dimensional image is our second-best chance. For any sale to take place from a photograph, it is imperative that we form a picture that creates a desire for the knife. Simply showing any fuzzy dim profile is not fulfilling enough to lure the buyer into an emotional purchase. Remember: few people need a Custom Knife--they must want it! Smart knifemakers chronicle their work for portfolios, for publications, and to ensure future sales. Collectors rotate their pieces often, and need good records for resale or insurance. ** It does not cost to get your knife photographed--it PAYS! ** The cost of imaging is small compared to the potential loss of profit by selling it low or not at all because of lack of interest. Remember this phrase: 'Looks can kill....!' Knives are unique and have a number of display benefits: They are relatively long and thin, which leaves a lot of extra canvas to be able to include multiple views of details. And, there are ALWAYS details in a good Custom Knife! I use a Canon digital camera and Adobe PhotoShop software to fully expand each picture I create. Please visit my Custom Knife Photo Gallery to get the full picture of my services!
Collecting Custom and Handmade knives....
Like many of you, I have an interest in aquiring knives of many varied styles. I have an enviable collection of quality pieces, and I keep it rotating with new additions often. The knives each represent a maker and their skills. There is a story and a challenge to finding/ordering/purchasing most any good knife, and I enjoy the process as much as you do. It is because of the generous people involved in this widespread community that has made my aquisitions so enjoyable. It gives me great pleasure to share stories and particulars about a knife with both makers and collectors, and as we grow more knowledgable about the knives, the subtleties speak loudly. In this spirit of sharing, I offer you a glimpse at my current collection. It is varied and diverse as I enjoy both fixed blades and folders, traditional knives mixed in with harder-core tacticals, as well as some truly outstanding art knives. It's all good!
Handfinished Kits....
I have been immersed in the popularity and growth of customizing component-ready folders—'kit knives'—as they are. These knives are designed by the world-reknowned custom knifemaker Darrell Ralph, and he has put his engineering and design experience hard to work in creating these raw components. The knives start unfinished, but with the essential parts already profiled and machined: liners, blade, bolsters, and hardware. There is a new breed of 'knifemaker' emerging. I have been in the forefront of completing these knives to a level that is somewhere between a good factory knife and a completely handmade custom. Depending on the amount of embellishment, you will see what is meant by the term 'handfinished'.