An introduction to me and my methods and knives!!!!

I have a customer that will absolutely drool over your knives. I will tell him about you next time he comes in the shop!
 
Sitting here this morning looking at your knives. Very nice work.
I look forward to seeing more of them over the years. WELCOME!:thumbup:
 
Nice work.

If you want to get the best prices for your knives online you need to learn how to take better pictures of them. Online shoppers can't handle the knife before they buy, so do them the curtsey of providing multiple pictures and accurate specs.
 
It is extremely gratifying to receive so many positive and encouraging messages about my work. It’s easy to lose perspective when I’m working alone in my garage as to whether my knives are really nice or I just think so because I have put so much effort into them so the validation received here is very rewarding. I know I have a long way to go but it’s reassuring to know I’m on the right path.

I am aware of my strengths; having been a tradesman for 25 years I do have a good grasp of the mechanical aspects but I also sadly know my weaknesses and that is I am not really an artisan. I don’t have a great flair for design which I wish I did. When I look at the knives of artists like Dylan Farnham of Sage Blades, http:www.sageblades.com, it makes me want to weep with envy, LOL.

I also went to the Canadian Knife- makers Guild annual show in Toronto this summer and was truly awed by some of the masterpieces made by the members. But I do enjoy the hobby and hopefully over time I will hone my skills and make nicer and nicer pieces and hopefully sell a few along the way.

Again thank you for all the encouraging comments. ATwistedStaple; no sorry at this point none of my knives are for sale because in the year I have been making knives I only have about five paring knives and four folding and I can’t part with my recent ones because they are too dear to me and my older ones really are not up to sell-able quality I feel. But I will be making more and hopefully soon I will have some for sale. I am though really interested in what anybody thinks they may be worth so please feel free to give your opinion; and don’t worry I won’t be insulted. I’m really more curious to see if this is a viable business for me than looking for a specific price.

And thank you very much whitty for your comments. I could not imagine anyone drooling over my knives so that is very encouraging. And I appreciate you telling your customers about my knives. I guess I have to get off my ass and actually make some more now, LOL.

And thank you MTURBO for your positive comments also. And AmosPaul I take your advice as very valid about providing better and more pictures and specs for online shoppers and I will definitely in the future supply that. At this point I am only looking for general recommendations for pricing to see if this could be a profitable enterprise so I didn’t go overboard with the photographs besides at this point I only have an iPhone for digital pictures and just used natural window light. In the future I will probably buy a digital SLR camera with a macro lens if I pursue a business. I actually studied photography at college over 30 years ago so hopefully I remember enough to produce some quality pictures when the time comes when I’m actually looking to sell some knives. But thank you for the advice it very valid.
 
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Welcome to the forums !
I think for most of us, making a living at knife making is a dream. But, it can be a tremendous venture and bringing in more than the material costs is very attainable. Knowing how to do this or that can also add to the ease and speed of construction but still doesn't mean a high profit return. As well selling can be a tough go. It can be a heavy hit when we find out the knife we have for sale in a slightly different look is available factory produced with the same steel, reasonably well finished for a fraction of the cost we want to see ours for. Just because its hand made doesn't make it special.
I see you have already established a styling. That's a good thing. That is you. I suggest as well you use only Known steels in your making and have it properly heat treated if necessary out of your shop. How is your finishing work? Perhaps it's time to show a single knife in several views and ask for straight forward comments. I'm surprised you still want to keep whatever you make. That can be due to thinking that perhaps you won't be able to complete another that looks as good and these become very special. I'm sure that will change. By the way this forum does have a for sale area.
Frank
 
Thank you for your considered response Frank. I have read quite a few sobering forms about the difficulty in making a living from knife making so thankfully I don’t really have to make a living from it because I do work as a tradesman and when I retire I will have a decent pension so my desired returns for my time knife making are pretty modest. If I could make $10-$20 an hour doing it part-time that would be great and I suspect it would be closer to $10 which is minimum wage here in Canada.

And if I couldn’t even make that I would just make them for my own pleasure but on a smaller scale. If they are financially viable to make in the range I mentioned I would spend more time at it but if not I would keep it a hobby and spend more time at more lucrative ventures.

And I appreciate your comment about needing to compete with factory made knives and just because it is handmade doesn’t make it special because honestly I wasn’t sure about that and that is not great news, LOL.

I like to think that my finishing work is decent but obviously needs a lot of work and that is why I am not trying to sell any now but I do appreciate your comments about putting many photos up of one knife asking for straightforward comments. Perhaps I will do that with my next knife in the near future on this post and I will concentrate on maximum finish quality because till now I have not made that a top priority but from your suggestion I think it is time to make it that.

I’m actually surprised that everybody doesn’t want to keep what they make for a while to appreciate it because it does take a long time. After I spend a week making a folding knife I do grow kind of attached to it. And it isn’t because I don’t think I can do another one that good it’s because my learning curve is increasing and my recent knife whichever that is, is usually my best so I don’t want to get rid of it until I make a better knife to replace it. Especially since I also keep using better steels and materials as I progress.

And thank you I may use the for sale area in the future but as I have said I just don’t feel I’m ready with the knives I have now.
 
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Welcome....Frank has given you some great pointers all from the depths of his years of knowledge about this craft. I would suggest that you look in the Forum Knife Gallery study the details and finish that you see on those knives and study the Photo angles so you can mimic those in your own photos. When I finish a knife I can't wait to get it out the door I don't want to fall in love with it and not be able to part with it. Knife fit and finish will sell the finished product better than all the rave about some super steel. My best customers could care less about 3v or S35VN they look at the finished product and how it feels in their hand the balance the overall weight and smooth transitions from steel to wood or synthetic materials. The bonus to the customer is knowing you are producing quality product with quality materials once they know that its all about the Finished Product.

You don't need a Mill for Bearing Pockets you do need to be able to drill a straight hole so a drill press will suffice you need a piloted counterbore the diameter of the outer bearing race.

Looking good so far keep it up.

Mike
 
Thank you Mike (Busto) for driving home the point about fit and finish because I want to understand what the customer is really looking for so I appreciate your additional insight on the matter.

I may have been selling myself a little short on my finish skills because I did rush my two flippers that I put online because I had been spending a lot of time in the shop and there’s a big job coming up for work I’m hoping to get on that might last a year so I wanted to get them out of the way so I did kind of cut corners on the flat grinds and I figured I can go back and polish them up when I have more time.

But I did just take some close-up photos of my latest paring knife and my latest flipper so if you ignore the sketchy flat grind on my flipper you will get an idea of my finish work. I know what you mean about feel in the hand because my latest paring knife feels great in the hand because I really rounded off the handle much more than my previous knives and it really made a nice difference.

I do think my transitions from metal to wood are pretty tight and my pins are nicely fit and what I really have to concentrate on is getting my blade grinds a little smoother. But in my defense those flippers are s90v which I had never worked with before and they were a bit of a challenge but I know that’s no excuse because the finished product is all that matters. So here are a whole bunch of close-up photos to show my finish work. Again please bear with the quality because these were taken with an iPhone and a single lamp covered in a bed sheet or with natural window light depending on the photo.

And yes thanks for the tip on cutting bearing pockets. I did forget when I commented on it earlier that my flippers are liner locks and I just don’t think I have the depth to countersink my bearings in them because they are only .060 so I think to switch to ball bearings and cage I would have to switch to a frame lock? Unless I also beveled the blade may be?
 
The fit of the bevel on the bolsters and wood is a great selling point and extra touch of workmanship to be pointed out to show detail very nice. Again all part of the talking points when selling your knives.

I counterbore my blade on linerlock folders. What diameter pivot are you using and is that 1/8" blade stock?
 
I purchase my bearings from Chuck at Alpha Knife Supply and the 1/8" bearings balls are .0472 diameter. I cut my pockets at .022 +/- and I run the bearings in +/- .002/.003 use plenty of grease in the pockets and on the liner for a smooth ball race.
 
Thanks for sharing your methods with us, I really like your natural gas forge. I wanted to make one a while ago but never did because if the heat factor. Does it sky rocket your gas bill, or is it fairly efficient? Thanks!
 
Thank you again Mike. Your input has been very helpful; I took your advice about looking at photos on this site and I went to the for sale section and it was actually quite encouraging. I know I do have a ways to go but now that you have pointed me in the right direction I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

What I learned in the for sale section was what knives are being sold for that are comparable to what I am planning on making and flippers seem to be in the $500-$700 range and if one takes me a week to make that is a nice little sideline for me. Yes I live very cheaply, LOL.

I am going to take your suggestion of using a ball bearings race and countersinking my blade. I actually did look into using a piloted countersink previously but I couldn’t find one the right size but after your suggestion I am going to make a more determined effort. Even USA Knife Maker doesn’t have the right one for their own bearings but they say they are coming soon so I guess they’re hard for everybody to find. There is a local machine supply store in my area and they did order me an end mill previously so hopefully I can get the right one there.

So my plan now is to take your advice and really concentrate on having a perfectly finished Flipper knife with ball bearings. And I did look at the site where you get your bearings from and it’s great that they have the pivot pins in a number eight thread size with 64 threads per inch. I have been making my own out of brass using a standard thread and I have had problems with them coming loose so that should be a great solution so thanks again.

I am thinking that down the road I will start making frame locks instead of liner locks because they seem like they would be more stable when locked up and I just get the sense they are more popular hence more in demand? Problem is to cut out that locking tab perfectly I really think I would need a milling machine which I am considering buying a little one.

And to answer your questions I use a 3/8 pivot and the blade stock was about .108” on the Flipper I showed in my photos but I don’t have any more that thickness so I’m going up to some s35vn I have that is about .180” so I should have no problem with my counter bore depths.

I was wondering if you use the ceramic or 440C ball bearings. Also I wasn’t sure what you meant by saying that you run the bearings in +/- .002/.003? Thanks again for all the help.
 
Thank you BallewBlade and kdogmcg. Glad to share my methods because it’s fun to have people to talk with who have a common interest and I have learned so much from this wonderful site I feel it’s just payback.

I’m glad you like my forge/heat treating furnace. What makes that thing extra sweet is I built it on company time and got all the material for free, LOL. I would not worry about the heat factor because by forcing in air with a fan I get plenty of heat. As I stated I did some s90v and was able to get it up to 2150°F. And that was not the maximum I could attain either but I can’t really go much higher than that not that I have a reason to but the limiting factors are my refractory material rating and my pyrometer only goes to 2200°F apparently.

Last year was a very cold winter around here so my bill was a little high but to be honest I really didn’t notice a big difference from other years when I didn’t use my heat treating oven so I would say it’s pretty cheap to run. And I did make a lot of Mokume-gane besides heat treating so I used it quite a bit. I do my tempering in a toaster oven though so I don’t have to use gas for that. I do check the heat with my pyrometer though in my toaster oven so I know exactly how hot it is.

Here’s a photo of when I did my s90v heat treatment and you can tell it is pretty warm. That glowing red plate on the front is quarter inch 304 stainless. I like the furnace too because my understanding is that natural gas has a carburizing flame so when I put bare metal in without foil I make sure I have a very rich flame so that there is almost no oxygen. I don’t know if that helps but I have had great luck I feel heat treating in it with or without foil. Except for the micro-chipping on my s90v but I really think that is because I tempered at too low a temperature. I will know for sure after I try and re-temper at a higher temp.

photo 3 (3).jpg

And from what I read online natural gas in almost 1/3 the cost of propane for the same btu's. This is a few years old but so maybe it isn't that relevant now.

Here's a calculator that can assist homeowners in figuring out which method of heating a home is more economical:
www.eia.gov/neic/experts/heatcalc.xls
Based on that spreadsheet, here is the rough order, from low cost to higher cost, per million of BTUs:
- Geothermal heat pump $10.14
- Coal $10.47
- Natural Gas $13.24
- Elec Air Source Heat Pump $14.83
- Wood $16.53
- Corn $17.84 (see link for details)
- Wood Pellets $22.28
- Fuel Oil $31.15
- Kerosene $34.54
- Propane $37.48
See the spreadsheet for all the details and notes.
 
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I should state in retrospect after thinking about it maybe residential natural gas could not be used for an actual forge because despite the fact I can get high temperatures in my oven maybe with an open-ended forge that doesn’t contain the heat you might not be able to get that hot.

My oven just has a very small slit in the door for the release of spent gas so I contain my heat. But my understanding is that residential natural gas after the meter which I believe is also a pressure regulator is less than 1 psi so that does limit the volume of gas you can supply your oven. If you were to have a forge that greatly restricted the venting gas that may work but if you have a forge with both ends open I doubt you could attain the temperatures you would need for forging.
 
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