I will tell you how I teach knifemaking to new people.
New makers generally always do three things that slow them down.
1) Biggest is they jump from knife style to knife style, often making five or six knives of different style at one time. This doesn't teach you how to make a good knife ... just how to make a lot of so-so knives.
2) Next is they make a big batch of knives at one time. This just teaches you how to make the same mistake multiple times.
3) The last is they try to add too many whistles and bells before they know how to drive a train. Guards, jimping, multi-piece handles fancy blade shapes, etc. They are all for later. Start learning how to grind a nice evenly beveled blade on the first 20-30 knives.
How to avoid those pitfalls:
1) Pick a simple style that you are familiar with. I usually recommend a 3"-3.5" blade Drop Point Hunter or a basic 5"-6" blade Kitchen Knife.
2) Make that ONE knife style 10 times ... ONE at a TIME. Make each one the same size and shape with the same type handle - you can vary the wood/micarta but use the same handle style.
3) Don't start the next one until the last one is completely finished.
4) Look at the first knife and find one or two places that need the most improvement. Concentrate on improving that/those areas on the next knife.
5) Once you have done four or five knives, start looking at the progress from 1 to 2 to 3 ....etc. See where you are making strides and where you are still having problems. On the next knife only work on improving the worst issue. If you haven't figured it out on that knife, try again on the next.
6) Don't move on to another problem until you have the last one mastered.
7) At ten knives the difference from the first should be quite noticeable.
Some new makes will make 20 of the same knife before getting all the basics down. Once you have the basics down, you can slowly add more features ... one at a time.
My example when teaching this are:
"If you wanted to become proficient in sports in a week, would playing tennis for a day, followed by football, then baseball, then basketball, then golf, the archery, then swimming make you great at any of them??? NO! But spending a week practicing each one separately would make you much better at each sport. After the seven weeks you could knowledgeably decide which sports you had a talent for and which you sucked at and should not pursue. "
My other mixed metaphor is, "Wax-on, Wax-off. Patience Grasshopah, one thing at a time."
