Have knife sales dropped here?

Sometimes when people visit and see some of my knives they say that I should sell them. I tell them that if they pay me $1000, I'll make $4 per hour. Then I start yelling. DO I LOOK LIKE I WORK FOR FOUR DOLLARS AN HOUR?!! DO I??
I don't know why I've never sold a knife...
 
Richard338 said:
Yes, I'm glad I don't sell them. Then I would have to optimize efficiency in a likely repetitive style. As a hobbyist I can make totally new designs every time and spend/waste a lot of time figuring things out.
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If you want to go into business you will need a good foreman with a whip. :)

n2s
 
Yeah, I'm not gonna quit my day job for knifemaking.

I currently value my hobby/knifemaking time at about twice my state's minimum wage, which is about to go up again. I could say I have "10 years experience" at knifemaking, but that's elapsed time, not 40hr weeks. Selling in my current bracket is challenging in part due to the "It's a tool! No, it's art!" dichotomy. Maybe when minimum wage goes up I'll gain some customers who suddenly feel they have money to burn where I consign stuff. But at some point I'll have to raise my prices sooner than intended. And since I truly am a hobbiest working a low volumes, it's hard to batch things up more than a handful of kiridashi. To me a "batch" for heat-treat is 2-3 blades on a Saturday evening ever 6 weeks. I try to do that for things that need the kiln/sub-zero.

Maybe it's good news that Pandemic has impacted my creative energy. I whacked out 15 blades in the 1st quarter, which was unheard-of productivity for me. Completed 6 pieces since April. Fortunately 4 of those were existing semi-commissions, which move easier than "because I felt like it" blades.

Anyway, love the discussion.
 
True story
A few years ago the wife wanted to upgrade her laundry room with new appliances although there was nothing wrong with them. We bought the new and being the lazy human being I am, I placed the old w&d on the curb with a sign reading, “both work fine, never a problem, free to a good home”.
They just sat there.
So, I says, let’s apply some psychology along with human nature, and put them in the garage and ran an add on CL asking $75 less than new. I coulda sold a dozen if I’d had them!
Human nature—if you don’t value it no one else will either.
 
DanF said:
True story
A few years ago the wife wanted to upgrade her laundry room with new appliances although there was nothing wrong with them. We bought the new and being the lazy human being I am, I placed the old w&d on the curb with a sign reading, “both work fine, never a problem, free to a good home”.
They just sat there.
So, I says, let’s apply some psychology along with human nature, and put them in the garage and ran an add on CL asking $75 less than new. I coulda sold a dozen if I’d had them!
Human nature—if you don’t value it no one else will either.
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Years ago my mom did that very same thing with a litter of kittens. Tried to give them away and no takers. Put an add in the local paper for $5 a piece, gone.
 
Read the story about Haagen daaz ice cream.its from New Jersey (or something like that). It had a blase name, low price, simple packaging. Did not sell at all. They changed the name, Tripled the price. Same recipe. Now you have the current brand and it’s market. Go figure
 
When I had planned on turning my hobby into my job I got a commission from a close friend to make a pirate sword for him. I thought that $200 was a reasonable price to charge a close friend. 20hrs of labor and $80 in unexpected material fees and I realized just how important it is to put a $ value on your time. I tend to only make items as gifts now, though it has certainly slowed the expansion of my workshop.
 
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