Do Canadian makers take apprentices? Looking to change careers...

T

Troy Robin

Joined
Dec 19, 2015
Messages
9
Hi there,

I'm 26 years old and have more schooling than I care to admit. I'm absolutely crazy about knife making and most people in my life don't take me seriously when I mention this to them. Any advice and or recommendation moving forward would be greatly appreciated.

Troy
 
Troy, I love making knives and have been doing his for a while but I believe that you can make more money with less work by mowing lawns and washing cars. Even after the equipment is paid for it is very difficult to earn even a modest living making knives. I personally know of one guy who makes money with knives but he has them water jetted by the hundreds in LA and then he pays people to grind them before supplying a knife broker in Japan who has connections to a large market for tactical knives with titanium parts. Who knows how long this will last and he kept his "day job" just in case. There are some knife makers who make a decent living but most of them are turning out a lot of knives and working all the time. I don't think it would much fun after a while. My opinion is get a job to support your knife making hobby. I'm sure other forum members will have some advice or even encouragement. Good luck in any case. Larry
 
Very true. I may only be 19, but knife making is just so difficult to get to pay for itself. The reason I got into wood supply was I had to cover the cost of all the wood i was already buying.
 
Hi Larry,

Thank you for the humble response. I actually understand that making money can be difficult and that start up cost can be a huge negative for new knife makers. The biggest problem that I see is that people lack the understanding of what is custom and why is it so expensive to buy custom. I know where I'm from, some people wouldn't understand a price tag of over 100$ on a knife. That makes it difficult to cut into other areas of the market.

Troy
 
I think that a fair reason why it is not easy to sell to people custom/hand made knives is that they on one hand fall to 'stuff to be used' category (so mostly not art objects) and at the same time ustility-wise to a 'nice to have but not necessary' category. Sure - well made knife will outperform the average stuff on the market by a large margin, but if you are just after knives that cut well you will be well served with more-less mass produced knives (think Tojiro and similar) for the fraction of the cost.

I personally appreciate a lot the particular combination of craft and art when it comes to kitchen knives, but most people don't.

I also have a huge respect and appreciation for those who do choose this uneasy career, but making knives as 2nd job is probably the better choice for many. I suppose serious knifemaking as part time job could be - at least for the start a good choice. If things go well than you can go full time later.
 
There are more knifemakers in Canada than you think and most of them do it as a secondary hobby. Yes there are some that are full time but there is a good chance they have alternate income or a spouse that helps with the extras. Its a difficult trade to get into and make money with. Where in Canada are you?
 
Where in Canada are you from? I have people over all the time. If you are not local to the GTA, look on the Canadian Knife makers Guild web site for someone local to you.
 
Troy,
Fill out your profile. It is unlikely anyone is going to offer a total stranger an apprenticeship. Knowing your location, age, occupation, hobbies and interests, and a bit about you will make you less of a stranger. It also offers a local maker to offer you a visit ands a sit-down talk about the realities of knifemaking ( which are tougher in Canada than in the USA).

Also, Canada is a huge place - the guys in Vancouver might as well be in Rome as far the guys in Nova Scotia are concerned. Actually, IIRC, it is a shorter trip from Rome to Halifax than from Vancouver.
 
Troy Robin said:
Hi there,

I'm 26 years old and have more schooling than I care to admit. I'm absolutely crazy about knife making and most people in my life don't take me seriously when I mention this to them. Any advice and or recommendation moving forward would be greatly appreciated.

Troy
Click to expand...

Knife making is manufacturing. Nobody goes directly from school into custom manufacturing without picking up some real world experience first. You have to learn the ropes and they don't teach that at school. ----> this is the reason so many custom knife makers are poor, they skipped this step <----

You're 26 years old. Take your education and get a real job. From this you get the experience it takes to be successful in a solo venture. Give it ten years, then pursue your interests.
 
Have you made or tried to make any knives yet on your own?
If not I would do so first. Then take those knives to the knifemaker you want to apprentice for.
Show him/her the proof of your motivation, desire, and commitment. They will take you seriously then.

as stated in "Step by Step Knifemaking: You Can Do It!" By David Boye
it's one thing to make a knife on your own, or even ten knives, but it's a whole different game to make a living as a knifemaker....or something like this
 
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You cannot just step up to the grinder or forge and call yourself a knifemaker. It takes time (years), patience and practice. First come the knives, then come better knives that can be sold, but finding customers to buy them is another thing in itself. It took years before I had (still have) a following of interested customers and they are tough judges of one's work. It was a long progression and a lot of work and not much money in it, I still required my regular job. I have stepped back from knifemaking in the past 10 years, but periodically still grind out a few during times of the year like now during the wet buggy season that goes on for months here. Its an outlet for me and I don't consider it a major source of income, supplies cost a lot in themselves. Get into knifemaking, but don't give up on getting a decent day job, you will need it.
 
Lots of good advice here. There is a big difference between making a knife, and making a knife someone else wants to buy.
 
Hi there Troy.
I'm not in Rome but live in Kamloops. No, I don't operate what would be a full time knife making shop but came awful close in the past. I now just stay with making liner locks now and then as well as what I love doing most which is to help others gets started in making these too without any instruction costs. I have a friend or two who would give you some help in the making of straight knives. All this would have to be a part time thing. There just isn't the demand here for quality hand made knives to allow for full time employment of even one person. If you see the possibility of me giving you a boost please give me a call at 250-372-8332.
Frank
 
Well he does live in Ontario. That's not Rome but might as well be as far as he and I having a physical get together.
Frank
 
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