Custom Knife Maker: What moves you?

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Messages
4,453

I have been thinking. What makes a man takes up a trade, or even give up another profession to be a custom knife maker?
Is it for the money, is it for just plain old self-satisfaction, or is it for that elusive thing called fame?
There must be quite a number of these custom knifemen out there. I know the thing they all have in common is probably love for the art of knife-making.
It is probably not easy. I am curious. I wonder what propels these special breed of men to take on such a challenge. Surely, it can't be the money factor because that may never happen.
What happens if a custom knife maker after slogging for decades and still not find fame and fortune. Years later, he is still broke (financially) and hopefully not in spirit.
I am sure there are as many reasons for being a custom knife maker as there are knifemakers.
We are all compelled by inner desires, sometimes unspoken, at times expressed only vocally. Therefore, I suspect there are other reasons for those who sometimes go ahead and take up the gauntlet and enter a profession that doesn't not always guarantee satisfaction, or anything else.
It is daunting vision of a long and hard highway ahead. Like I say, I am curious because there have been those little moments in my life when I wonder "what if I too take up the challenge?"


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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
Dear Golok:

It is the love of knives.

I am unaware of any custom maker who is "forced" to make knives. It is a chosen vocation. I believe some do it as a hobby, some do it to keep busy after retirement from another occupation, some do it because they see a need to fulfill a gap in the marketplace, and some do it strictly as a passion. I hope nobody does it strictly for "fame and fortune" because, without the love of knives, any of these reasons seems empty.

Surely, there are other ways to make a living without taking the financial and physical risks. As you have pointed out, there are many reasons why any knifemaker might not enjoy a certain degree of recognized success. I believe the personal satisfaction of creating something so practical with as little outside help as necessary is what keeps the flame of inspiration alive with a true custom knifemaker.

If you decide to give this a try, you will soon realize all the little milestones of accomplishment that much of the public might not see. From creating your first design, to choosing the materials, to choosing the equipment, to making your first successful knife. By that time, you might make the decision whether to keep knifemaking as your personal hobby, use it as a source of gift giving, try to bring it to market, or all three. You set the goals for your own "success."

For me, everything new that I set out to succeed at is a milestone. This isn't as simple as designing, building, and selling. It breaks down to all the little things like working with new materials, learning how to machine parts, sanding and finishing parts, polishing parts, getting everything to fit together without gaps, and - yes - even sharpening the blade. These are the things that other people look at closely, especially when they consider buying your creation. No detail is too small. Everything is significant. Everything can be improved.

When I come out of my shop with a new creation, that is my greatest satisfaction. It's not when I sell something. If that was the only goal, then I might as well sell apples. But, I love knives.

You stated the fact that a person could struggle for many years in knifemaking without gaining true recognition. I read somewhere that there are over 4,000 knifemakers in the world. It seems impossible for each maker to be "famous" - yet, there they are. Some are struggling to make good knives while some have developed a high level of skill. Some make a decent living while some do not. A few are famous to the world yet, many are not. One could reason most do it for the love of knives.

I started as a collector and enthusiast. Then the challenge to make a knife struck me. I'm just beginning to enjoy a degree of success in accomplishing some of the milestones I have set for myself, and there are many more to come. The challenge never stops. It seems to surround you, engulf you, possess you. So much that every knife you make, no matter if you make 1 or 100, truly has a small piece of your soul in it.

Being so personal, it's easy to see why a maker can take offense when others handle his creation or comment on it in a disrespectful manner. People have banged knives on tables, put their briefcase on top of them, slid them together, dropped them, jammed them backwards in the sheath, snapped them open and slung them wildly in the aisles while those around them gasped in shock.

People can insult you without really trying. Comments like "I'd like to buy it, but you haven't established a name.", "Who builds these knives for you?", and "These look factory made." might seem innocent to the person making the statement. A sensitive maker might not think so at first, but you still have to reply.

These are just two of the many issues that you face when marketing your knives. Fortunately, mishandling and insults are not the norm. But, they do happen.

Like any vocation, knifemaking has many good and bad points. However, if the compliments outweigh the insults, the accomplishments outweigh the setbacks, and the desire outweighs the dissapointments you can continue on. But not without the love of knives.

I hope this helps.

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives
 
Golok great Topic, Tom great answer.

I'm not a knife maker, but I know I will be making my own knives one day. For the time being all I've been able to do is design some knives, make replicas out of wood or have someone else make them for me.

I sure would like to here from some more of you real makers.

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"Will work 4 Knives!"
My PhotoPoint Site
 
well, for me, its usually that third cup of coffee!
smile.gif
 
Golok,
My father was a shop teacher and I grew up with a basement full of wood and metal working machines. I enjoy making things, period!! For the first ten years of my machinst career I very much enjoyed doing precision work and seeing the end results of my work in use. Over the years, as manufacturing evolved, I have become more or less a computer programmer! At my full time job I mainly program, set up and somtimes actually run CNC lathes and mills. The exitement of actually making something by hand or with manual machines is GONE and I NEVER get to see the results of my efforts in use.
I have made wood furniture, experimented with gunsmithing, have even built custom Harleys from the ground up. I get more satisfaction from finishing a nice knife that anything else... Well, a nice Harley is right up there too
smile.gif

Working with knives allows me to be very creative, use lots of different materials and draw on my machinist background in the process.
Folders are my next challenge. I'm looking forward to the satisfaction of making them function properly as well as looking good!!
Lastly, I must say that knifemaking has allowed me to meet some VERY special people. Over the past few years I have had the honor of meeting some great knifemakers. Many of my customers have become very good friends. I have come to value their input regarding my designs, direction and sometimes life in general!!
Knifemaking is good
biggrin.gif

Neil

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Talonite......Stellite
Knives in STOCK!! I just updated my website, PLEASE take a look :)


blackwoodknives.com
 
I think Mr. Anderson said it very well. Ten years ago I was the president of a medical products company, capping a 30 year career in industry. I burned out, re-evaluated what was important in my life, and after a couple years of trying to keep a foot in both worlds, I finally just decided to make knives. I've been doing it fulltime and certainly not for the money for the past 5 years.

There is probably one experience, more than any other, that forever captures the knifemaker's heart - giving a knife you've made to someone else, especially a youngster. After that, money is irrelevant. It's nice, and being able to command respectable prices for your work is satisfying recognition, but nothing is as rewarding as that look on the face of a young person holding his first custom knife - yours. That's as good as it gets.

Beyond all that, you just keep trying to do it better, knowing you can never do it good enough.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
www.hossom.com/gallery
The New Tom & Jerry Show
 
To Tom, DrLathe and GaKnife,

Thanks for those insights of your own personal journeys into the domain of knifemaking.
I was moved by your words and accounts of your own experiences.
It is true to say that a careless remark can hurt when no insult is meant, especially when you know (and nobody else does) that so much of your own time and effort have gone into making a special knife or knives.
We are all proud of our own handiwork, especially when it is born of long, lonely and dreadful hours at the workshop with tired eyes and even more tired hands and limbs.
I am always in awe of those people who can go on and on for hours and for days and weeks, working on their own special projects. With knives, I reckon it is all a labour of love. When it is finished the hard days and sweat invested are quickly forgotten.
When it remembered and enjoyed is the product is finished, and it is well done.


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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
Golok, this is a real interesting tread. It is nice to see many makers share their life with you.

Liong

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Follow The Path of Fantasies.
 
Jerry's post reminded me of this kid that used to live down the street from me..
This kid had a POS father that was a doper, and wouldnt even pay attention to him..
Well he used to come around the shop, and I would talk to him quite a bit.. He ALWAYS had some cheap pocket knife or something that needed to be fixed.. The kid had DIRT BALLS for parents BUT was respectfull, and about as good a kid as you will ever meet..
I made him a small fixed blade, and gave him some abrasives to hand finish it with. Then we made the handle, and he hand sanded that.
We built the knife together, and it was so cool seeing his eyes light up the closer it got to being finished.. It took some time but he would come knocking every few days and ask "What Next"?? When it was done he was REAL HAPPY!!! Every knife I make gives me a measure of accomplishment, BUT this knife I made with this 11 year old boy tops em all...
They moved out shortly after that..
I hope somehow I made an impression on that boy, because he sure did on me...

Take Care
Trace Rinaldi
 
Hello Liong,
Gong Xi Fa Cai. I heard that you are just about the greatest pastry chef on every side of New York City.
To top that, you have a knife collection that causes weakness knees for many hardcore knife collectors.
We shall meet one day on this side of Malaysia one of these days.

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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
I like threads like this. They make me stop and evaluate myself again and again. That's a good thing, because staying on top of a knife making career can be very trying. You have to push yourself continually when you do it for a living. Without the safety net of my wife's job, I'd probably have gone back to the grind because the money definately isn't sustaining my family like I'd hoped.

My step-dad, Mr. Robert Ogg, explained it to me when I got interested in making knives. He told me that he had never successfully taught anyone to become a knife maker in his 30+ years of knife making. Oh sure, everyone wants to make knives. But, not everyone will be successful. He said "Max, knife making isn't for everyone. You have to have a deep seated COMPULSION to make knives. You have to love knife making as you would your own child to be successful."

He was right. At the time, those were just words to me. I had stars in my eyes just imagining that I could actually get the chance to learn to make knives. Well, he started teaching me and soon discovered that I was an exception from his previous students. I did and still do have the compulsion he spoke of. And I love knife making and especially forging like nothing else I've ever done in my 41 years.

If you put your heart into something that's special to you, you can be successful at it. If you can continually challenge yourself, you will stay with it. That's what has worked for me. The more I learn, the more I want to learn. It's an evolution process that I sincerely hope will follow me to the end of my years.

Oh yeah, that 3rd cup of coffee does it for me too!
biggrin.gif


[This message has been edited by MaxTheKnife (edited 01-02-2001).]
 
Dear MaxTheKnife,
Thanks for sharing your story with me.
I love it.



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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
I always enjoy sharing my story golok. That's the short version. The long version would have put you to sleep. Knife making is a labor of love. It's been said before. There is absolutely nothing like changing a lump of steel into a beautiful knife in my memory. Ask any knifemaker. They will tell you the same thing. Try it and you can see for yourself. If you are meant to be a knife maker, it will consume you. If not, you will never make it.

 
I find myself in an interesting place while reading this thread...

I'm 26 years old, enjoy a successful career in finance, but find myself tempted all too often to leave it all behind for making knives.

Like Jerry said, "I enjoy making things." It's that simple. I have a two unfinished projects in my shop and every time I go up there and put a file to the steel I get lost in my imagination and vision of what it will become. I have always been an artist - from drawing to writing to playing my guitar - but my interest in knives, man's oldest and arguably most useful tool, is now forming into a hobby that encompasses almost everything I love in art: beauty, creativity, expression... and then there's the element of utility, which somehow validates all of the efforts.

Will this hobby one day evolve into a profession? Who knows. I haven't even completed a single knife yet. But it's a passion I doubt I'll ever lose, and with every day that passes my interest grows just a little deeper.

My hat goes off to all those who have already taken the plunge. Perhaps in a few years I'll follow your path. But for now I remain your customer...

-Wulf
 
Golok,

And Wulf!

I've just made the full-time committment to knifemaking this year. I've always known I was a Smith- I went to Art-school and majored in it. However, it wasn't until recently that I decided to make knives my chosen medium.

So what motivates me? From the beginning, a deep interest in history and archaeology. The blade has been until quite recently one of the major influences in how people lived; where people lived, and who ruled them. The blade also represents the epitome of metalsmithing- one must master every kind of metal there is. As an artisan, I always wondered about the people who made them.

I think that an odd thing happens to those who seriously study history. Sometimes they start questioning accepted paradigms of their own time. I know because it happened to me and made it morally and philosophically impossible to hold down a nine-to-fiver. (LOL) The concept of exchanging vast portions of my own time and energy in the mainstream workplace is completely alien to me. (Besides, I haven't been able to do what I was told since first grade.) So I'll gladly work ten-twelve hour days if it means I'm doing something something that always offers new challenges to master; where I can run a business in a conscionable manner, and where I am genuinely interested in what I do. I can honestly say that I've never worked harder than in the past six months. Nevermind bladesmithing- try teaching yourself the necessary business and tax esoterica! I have had sleepless nights and near panic attacks over money. If I fail I'm in quite a financial hole- and worse... I might have to get a regular job. You have no idea what a motivating force Fear can be.

So for me a series of influences combined in the perfect Art- Bladesmithing. I can explore every kind of technique, both historical and modern. I can feel the satisfaction of learning something new and doing it successfully. I feel like I am taking part in one of the oldest traditions in human history. Luckily there are people willing to pay for my labor; without them it would be impossible to devote the rest of my life to this Craft.

So if you're thinking about it just make sure you can find some serious motivation; something about knives, crafting and working for yourself that satisfies you.

-J.Loose.
<a href="http://www.jloose.com">J Loose.com</a>
 
Dear Jonathan,
First, let me congratulate you on your new career. It takes a tremendous amount of courage, among other things, to arrive such a life-altering decision.
I have taken a look at your homepage. Your knives show great promise. And I can't decide whether you fit my mental impression of Jim Bowie or Davy Crockett! But you sure look like one of those famous frontiermen of the glorious days of the Wild, Wild West.
I admire people like you because it is never easy to take that one step beyond into an area of unforeseen circumstances.
I am sure you have made the right decision, simply because you know you will be happy doing it.
It is said that when a person loves his work, everyday is a holiday. Looks like you have just embarked on a life-long vacation.
Good luck, Jonathan. I know you will succeed.

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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
I am very similar to some of the other guys that have already answered this, but what the hell.

It is a compulsion, to be sure. I *have to* make stuff. As a kid I wished to be a gunsmith, but then later as an adult, it appeared to be too fraught with red tape and bs, so knives looked much better. I started out as a hobby maker putting handles on pre-made blades in junior high school. Had a first career as a mechanic, and got fired from or quit every "real job" I ever had. Universally known around the area as a good mechanis, but "has an attitude problem" (I can hear the chuckling going on out there right now from some of you who know me).

Making knives is a very rewarding thing. It is also a difficult way to make a living, it takes time, hard work, and lots of practice. I thought (like many I have seen come and go) that I would be able to start at the top. It didn't work that way, and still doesn't, though it is a bit simpler to learn some things now with the information exchanges that are happening all ovcer the net.

The custom knife business is filled with great folks, actually the people may be the best part of it. I would make stuff even if noone bought it, but it might be different stuff.

I think we are al driven by the need to make things, and knives are mankinds oldest and still the best tool. They hold an attraction that is inexplicable to some, but there is an almost irresistable draw to sharp blades for most of the men I know (and some women too). Give any woman a really sharp kitchen knife, and help her keep it that way, and she will throw out all that cheap **** in the drawers forever. Many people have lost the understanding of how much better it is to have a good, sharp knife around. It is a tool that connects all of our kind, to each other, to history, to reality, in a way that few other things can do.

What we make are real things, in a world that is increasingly unreal. Keepers, in a world full of disposable crap. I think that is what drives it.
 
T. R.,

Just want say that is a nice anecdote. Nothing sadder than a kid without a role model, some one who cares.

In helping him with the knife, you gave him a role model, an opportunity to experience the satisfaction of working and making something, and the self-esteem that goes with accomplishing something. You gave him time. I hope he can carry that with him in what seems to be an uphill battle given his family situation.

sing
AKTI #A000356
 
Well said, Howard.

Trace and Sing. The great sadness is that if that youngster shows his creation to a friend he will likely be arrested. If he takes it to Show and Tell at school, his education will be trashed. Everything in his world is pushing him away from the joy and gift of creating knives for healthy reasons, and towards the dead end of owning a knife or a gun for the wrong reasons. What terrible tragedies our society creates...

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
www.hossom.com/gallery
The New Tom & Jerry Show
 
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