Drilled too deep on raindrop damascus

[HandyMandy161]

I am ordering a custom made knife for my husband. The maker has been keeping me up to date with the progress. After drilling then grinding down he realized he drilled some holes too deep. He is still using this piece to form the knife even with the small dips in metal where he drilled too deep. Will these dips compromise the knife to the extent I should ask him to start over? I haven't paid yet but we are talking about a $130 knife here.  The last Damascus I bought him cost half as much with no flaws. Should I ask for the price to be lowered?

[Buzzkill]

On the one hand $130 US is cheap/reasonable for a good pattern welded custom hand made knife.  On the other hand you should expect to get a quality item for your money.  If you don't feel he's delivering what you asked for at the agreed upon price then there's nothing wrong with asking for a reduction in price or a blade which matches your agreement.

[HandyMandy161]

Would the holes compromise the knife in anyway or are they just cosmetic issues? Obviously I am not a knife maker just curious so that I can know what to do next. If it's simply cosmetic then I will ask for a reduction in price but if the strength and longevity of the knife are compromised then I will ask him to start over. 

[Steve Sells]

its cosmetic in most cases,  Just end up with not quite as nice a pattern that way

[Latticino]

$130 for a pattern welded (Damascus) blade is extremely cheap for a custom made blade, unless it is very small.  Normally I would be suspicious of the quality of any pattern welded blade at that price (poor quality steel, defects...), unless it was being made in large commercial quantities with industrial equipment and processes.  In this case you know the maker and can have them confirm the materials used and have seen the quality of their finished products, so you should be OK.  There are plenty of stories about overseas manufacture of "pattern welded" blades using materials that don't have enough carbon to harden well, or aren't even pattern welded at all (just etched to look like pattern welding).

[Steve Sells]

some countries have lower cash flow and pricing than others, never said where in the 160 countries served by IFI they are

[ThomasPowers]

Or a new maker who has not gone Pro yet.  I picked up a lovely unsigned pattern welded knife at the fleamarket once---a knife dealer had it on the table in a quite nice hand sewn heavy leather sheath which caught my eye. When I asked the price; it was lower than I would expect to pay for the sheath!  Fit and finish very good.  I took it home and asked my wife which of the kids we should give it to this Christmas?  Her answer was "ME!"  Keeps it under her pillow I understand...

If you are buying a signed knife; I would talk to the maker about wanting to put something out with their name on it that doesn't meet the standard.  If they say they were not going to sign it and the deal was for a signed blade well the deal is broken!

[Les L]

If I have agreed to make a certain item for someone and I mess up I don’t tell them, I start over and make what was agreed on!

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome aboard HandyMandy. I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST