[Gary Mulkey]

I've been reading through this thread with a lot of interest to see what other full time makers were thinking. Though I see ads from many of my friends in the various knife periodicals, I have never used them to promote my business. Like most custom makers, I have a very limited ad budget and feel that there are other avenues that will give me "more bang for the buck".

I have always felt that the purchase of a custom knife is not simply the buying of a product but also, and just as important, it is the purchase of "a piece of the man who made it". For this reason I believe that spending a good portion of my ad money on meeting the knife buying public first hand (through shows, hammer-ins, etc.) is much better spent than it would be on a magazine ad.

The other avenue for my advertising budget that I have used over the years has been on the fees of a professional photographer for quality pictures of my work. It is no secret that the photographers who specialize in custom knives have a much higher success rate on getting their pictures published than anyone else would. Publishers like to use known commodities when it comes to photography and money spent with a photographer who gets published regularly has been a productive means of promoting my business for years.

I try to keep an open mind when it comes to my livelyhood and would welcome any differing or additional thoughts on this. I realize that this wasn't aimed solely toward knife makers but the thoughts may apply to knife related professions as well.

Good thread Alex!

Gary