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Ray, I am honestly trying to see your point here and be flexible enough to assign a rigid definition to the word 'custom' (oxymoron), but I'm having difficulties with the whole concept.
To the guy who writes definitions and updates them as the English language evolves, 'custom' means certain things. To a knifemaker, a car builder, motorcycle painter, etc., it means quite another.
You have stated eloquently your thought processes when you consider how a knife is made. You have chosen to assign terms to those processes and have shared them here. Cool. But perhaps this is too subjective an endeavor to attempt a blanket standarization. If there are varying degrees of 'custom' then there is a gray area too. This is where my thoughts on the matter exist.
To me, 'custom' in all artistic fields, means different from the norm, out of the ordinary, with unique characteristics, one of a kind, personalized. It's my experience in life that has led me to this way of thinking. I only need to drive down the street to the Big Dog Motorcycle factory, right here in Wichita, to see a thousand motorcycles hot off the line. No two have the same paint job. By Big Dog definition, these are all factory custom motorcycles with custom paint jobs. Few are actually ordered to the buyers specs. I am comfortable with their use of the word as are most people. This and many other examples form across the spectrum of artist pursuit guide me to this conclusion.
I'm just not convinced I can sign on to a new (to me) definition of such a common word. Especially since it seems that you are fairly insistant on your point of view. I want to support the effort here and the newbies coming in, but I'm just not on board brother. Sorry.
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