Anyone other newbies want to 'collect' everything you make?

PIndelicato

PIndelicato

Joined
Sep 16, 2002
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Just wondering if this is typical and/or if there are any other newbies (or heck, pros for that matter) that have the strong urge to keep everything you finish?

When I first got interested in knife making, I envisioned giving away lots to friends and family, and then possibly selling some down the road. I'm only finishing up blade #5, so perhaps I just haven't reached critical mass yet, but I (or sometimes my wife) want to keep every one so far. It's not so much to do with the work not being good enough to sell or maybe give away as gifts to friends (which is also probably true), but the thoughts go more along these lines:

-1st knife: This is my first blade, I have to keep it...

-2nd knife: This is my second blade and was just a piece of scrap/practice....and my wife wants it

-3rd knife: This was from a lesson with Tai Goo, I HAVE to keep it...

-4th: Scrap bucket early ground blade finished for practice and to really test HT...gotta keep it for those reasons

And so on...

I also have coming up: first use of Ironwood (my favorite handle material), first forged blade, etc. etc.

Does anyone else go through this, and if so, when does the madness stop?!?
 
you need to stop now. make one just to recoup some of your material costs.:D
 
It's going to take a while, I have all 6 knives I have made and really have no intention of parting with them. I guess I'll have to just tell myself before I even start the next one that I'm going to sell it.
 
I had a hard enough time giving away some of my first knives. :barf: Now, if someone wants to pay me I'll gladly take the money for more supplies :D

There are some knives that I want to keep, most of my knives now are orders so I can't really keep them :p
 
I just noticed my thread title is mis-worded...it should say Any other newbies...

I think another factor is (for me at least) the huge amount of time, effort, sweat, tears, and 4-letter words that go into them vs. the value they might have to a friend or potential buyer.
 
I've kept most of what I've made/modified, I've only sold a couple. There are some that I put together just because I always wanted one (modded Trailmaster, Pilot's knife, a little boot knife blade from TKS) and a few I've given away. But the remainder won't leave my shop just because they're not good enough.

Now my very first project, a rehandled Ka-Bar kit from my high school days, that's one's staying with me regardless. Too many memories to let go of :)

If I find a wealthy collector and he wants to keep everything I make, I'd be a very happy man :D
 
Paul,
I kept the first three. I started to then give some to family and friends.
At about number twenty a guy told me if I would make him a knife he would give me two hundred bucks. I was floored and flattered. Now its one year and one month into my knife making career. Looking back, I'm glad I still have those first ones (I dont want anyone to see them) and I would like to have the two hundred dollar knife back.
My thinking on the subject now is a lot different than it was six months ago. I thought I was a much better maker back then than I really was. Now I know how much I still have to learn.
Hind sight, as they say is 20/20. Today I'm working on number thirty eight, Its a gift for a friend. Its not perfect but its my best so far.
I have always heard that you should do what you love and do it the best that you can, The money will come later. So thats my game plan for now. My wife on the other hand likes the two hundred dollar deal.

Keep at it And good luck.

Greg
 
G. Shahan said:
I have always heard that you should do what you love and do it the best that you can, The money will come later. So thats my game plan for now.
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Same here. One thing I love about knifemaking is, you can make a couple basic models (typical drop-point hunter, bushcrafter, etc.) that you're certain there's a market for, and also make whatever the heck you want, and just see if anyone wants it. You don't have to choose between one or the other. I don't think that's "selling out"; if you're developing your skills and building quality, it will show and you can be proud of it.

Look at guys like FiddleBack and Koster; they both make a bushcraft knife that's pretty similar in design and intended use. But they both have the talent to make it their own; I don't think either one "copied" the other.
 
I've made about 50 knives. I've given some away, but most just get put in the scrap drawer. I keep intending to sell some knives to pay for more belts, but every time I finish a knife that I intended to sell I find some flaw that makes me have to scrap it and start over.
 
I'm slowly gathering the things (and knowledge) that will allow me to be more confident in giving away or selling the knives I build but I am still the biggest fan of my knives and maybe/probably always will be. Making and collecting knives has become an enjoyable hobby.

Last weekend I built a muffle to enable to HT 1095 in my forge, this weekend I studied up on quenchants and HT processes for the same.

I need to build some knives to take to destruction so that I am satisfied with how they perform... first things first...
 
Will summed it up nicely for me. :)

I've got some pretty fancy shop knives! :D There were two definitive transition points for selling in my history. The first was simply selling them at all... (what a freak'n heaping scoop of pride that is!) Then as I started to improve and get the attention of collectors...more so than just the local hunter or "knife guy." At that point, I made a bunch that were way nicer than my first ones, but not nice enough for the guys who really knew what they were buying.

I've got a knife in the drawer, that IF it were finished out more on par with what I put together now, it would be a $600 knife. But there's little mismatches in the plunges, the grind is not totally smooth, there's some hairline gaps filled with epoxy in the handle, there's a faint line between the tang and one of the bolsters....


Nowadays, when I actually get one done, it's so overdue... I can't get it out to the post office fast enough! :D


All part of the journey my friend :)
 
I thought this would be a fun, light-hearted thread. Most of what I've heard before seems to match up with what the majority of you have posted, which is that the early work is 'not good enough'. I know that's true in my case as well, but I haven't even gotten that far due to the reasons I posted above!
 
P J 234 said:
I thought this would be a fun, light-hearted thread.
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Well, we can't have that now, can we?!? Give me a minute and I'll think of a completely unproductive way to misread what everyone said, lose my cool and start insulting you all :D
 
I have given away numbers 2-7 to family and friends, sold number 4. I have number 8 and have been testing it for edge retention and it did good against a 2x4. I am going to use this one for me. I have some more in the works, and I don't know what I will do with them. I will probably keep some and give away some. When I give away a knife, I feel kind of sad letting it go since so much time was put into them. When I sold number four I was nervous how it would perform and how the guy would like it. It passed his test with flying colors. I will quit rambling now.
 
Well if all you ever do is give them away then that's all people will think your work is worth. ;) Of course you DO have to actually finish a knife to sell unlike SOME makers. :p
 
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I kept my first 5 or so. when it gets expensive to keep your work, thats when you start selling.

I was content to keep all of my work until I had a knife for every task I did on a regular basis.

-Josiah
 
robloveday said:
I've made about 50 knives. I've given some away, but most just get put in the scrap drawer. I keep intending to sell some knives to pay for more belts, but every time I finish a knife that I intended to sell I find some flaw that makes me have to scrap it and start over.
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I received one of Rob's knives in the gift exchange. Let me tell you, he's being very humble, in my opinion. The knife I received is "first rate" in every way!
 
In his early days, Ed Fowler commented that he owned the largest collection of Ed Fowler knives in the world......Then he finally sold some.
Stacy
 
My wife has a pretty fair collection of fillet knives in a drawer from times gone by. When I finally thought they were good enough I had exactly those "want to keep it" feelings but beleive me someone always has enough money.
Ken.
 
I won't keep a knife I made . If it does not sell it gets donated to a knife club or to my son . If I make a pattern I really like, I pay another maker to make it for me . This is just my hang up . We do have one though , wife will not let it go .
 
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