How long does it take you to make a knife?

jacqueeagonsr

jacqueeagonsr

Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
203
I'm a part time maker and only make a few a year. It seems to me that some of you make a few a week. So, maybe I'm doing something really wrong if it takes me sooooooo long to make a knife. I make the sheaths, too. I know that adds to time spent. At this point, I won't state how long it takes me - don't want to start any kind of 'competition'. But, I would like to know how you guy's that make lots of knives do it. How long does it take and what 'tricks' can you pass along to help speed up the process??
 
I do not do it full time. It seems like it takes me forever sometimes to complete a knife/sheath combo. I only have a couple hours in the evenings and maybe saturday to do most of my work. I have been really off pace as of late due to having a baby any day now. I did recently, actually this past tuesday, stop and chat with A.G. Barnes a MS. He was wraping up some knives for the show. He told me that in his production prime he could do a simple hunter (forged) start to finish in 3 hours. Jay Hendrickson another MS whom I visit weekly seems to do 2 to 3 knives per week with sheaths. Now Jay does have his son helping him. I am lucky to get one every 2 weeks totaly complete. We will see once I start forging if things go faster like these 2 MS's told me they will.

SRF
 
I'm not a maker, but isn't that kind of like asking how long does it take to read a book?

I would imagine there's a very wide variation depending on many factors.
 
Weeks on some, years on others. I just spent over a week hand sanding my last pistol/folder. I do have 2 or 3 going at the same time to save what little sanity I have left.
 
Its a tricky question, sometimes it can take me 8 to 10 hours to forge, handsand, and finish a small knife and thats not including heat treating and tempering. Other times it can take longer, I am very hard on myself about a finish, I spend 3 to 4 hours sometimes hand sanding a 6" blade, but when its finished its just like I want it. I never get into a hurry tho, I like to take my time, use a step by step process and listen to some good bluegrass music.
 
Mr. Bump, Im sorry but your answer dosent count, we have all decided since your not of this world and rather a alien from another galaxy sent here to WOW :eek:us with your cut and shoots, you cannot give a time based on something as amazing as them:), no seriously I could problaly never make something as technical as that even if I had the rest of my life to make it. Those are in a class of their own! Talk about true working art!
 
From the answers I've gotten so far (thanks) let me clarify. I'm asking about the time you actually spend actively working on the knife. Please don't count heat treating time or sheath making time. Just work time in the knife itself.

And I agree with C.Edmondson - Bruce Bump must be from the same planet as Michelangelo and Thomas Edison - an artist/genius - a mentor and an inspiration.
 
We had an interesting discussion in the shoptalk forum about this very topic. It used to take me upwards of 20 hours to make a 4" drop point, I can make that same knife in half the time and it's a much better knife now. Best answer I can give you is it takes as long as it takes... sometimes there's problems, sometimes you can't make a mistake and it all flows smoothly. I tend to take the path of least resistance. If a knife is giving me a problem it gets moved to the side until I feel it's right. Generally the makers that turn out a lot of blades make them in batches (I do this with my little SFCs) it's more efficient and it seems that you get a better "flow" going when doing something repetitive.
 
I have limited space to work so I must work efficiently and have several knives going at all times. I use a Rip-Zip grinder for rough profiling. When I do this I might profile 10-15 blanks and set them aside. Put on a 50 belt and do everything I need to do on 5-6 blades with that belt. Then change to the next belt and repeat. Keep going until I have those ready to go to heat treat. Before sending them to heat treat, plan the handles, pick material spacers, etc. That way while my blades are gone to the heat treaters I can rough out the handles and glue spacer materials to them. If I have more time to wait, start grinding more blades, maybe filework a couple of them. Then when the first group comes back, send the next group out to be heat treated and work on youe handles and finishing the blades.

This works well for me. I obviously can't tell you how long each one takes because some are simple, some are complex and some I keep changing my mind. It is a nice way to do it because it seems like I can always find something to do in the shop to match my mood (ie some nights I want to destroy steel and send sparks flying and other times I really need to mello out and file a guard or hand sand).

In retrospect, I'm not sure I ever "finish" a knife. By the time I am done, I have always learned something that I would do differently or I know something that I think I can improve if I had it to do over again. So it's off to the next knife...this is such a great addiction!!!
 
Jacque,

The very best trick I learned was "dedication to the venture", this will speed the learning curve up for sure. My first knife took me upwards of 40 hours to complete (actual hands on work). Now I can make a knife in about 10-15 hours and its a much better piece. What has actually decreased my production time is the dedication to the craft.....hours spent reading publications of some sort (books, magazines, internet tutorials, etc) Days spent in the garage banging, grinding, filing, metal & wood/antler and God knows what other material. In the past 2 1/2 years I've dedicated an immense amount of time toward the creation of hand crafted knives, heck I even dream about making-em.

With each knife I create, I try and make it a little better than the last one. And I am constantly researching, making mistakes and trying to cut my teeth in new areas. But, that is all part of "dedication to the venture". I'm not sure how far I'll go with it or how proficient I'll become, but I know I'm getting better and quicker.

It's basically like anything else, if you have a passion for something, dedicate the time & energy.....proficiency will follow.

P.S.

Don't be afraid to expend some Blood, Sweat, and Tears.....Literally!

Have Fun Learning,

I know I am,

Bob,

Hershey,

PA
 
If I'm making in batches and I already have things like jigs and fixtures prepared, and excluding HT, photography, shipping, email etc - about 4 hours of hands on time to make a simple knife and sheath (stock removal), and up to many times that on a one-off special.
 
As a maker of 95% one of a kind knives I can truely say I can't give you a straight answer on that.I have spent hours laying out materials and looking at them to get a mental pic of what I will end up with.Also there are many little tweaks during the process that are unlike any other knife that have to be dealt with. ANSWER: When it's done.:D :D
 
This is probably the question I dread the most. It is usually phrased like "How many knives can you make in a day?" It really depends on a lot of different things. Charlie is faster than I am at making blades. I can stay up with him on handles and pass him on sheaths. Both of us are a lot faster than we were five or six years ago. We both usually have several knives going at the same time, so that there is little dead time while waiting on heat treatment or glue to set. It is also quicker if you can do the same type of operation on several knives at a time without having to change the equipment around. The type of knife has a lot to do with it also. Some can be done in a few hours (not counting the heat treatment or glue setting up), while others might be a type that takes many hours and you only work on it when you are really in the mood.

We have found that working on custom orders really slows down the process of knifemaking.

You have to be in the mood for one like this. Charlie made this one a couple of years ago. I have been working on the handle for one that will be similar, off and on for about 6 months. I plan on having it finished in September. I don't want to even think about the hours.

127606553.jpg


This type of knife can be done in a few hours.

313511319.jpg
 
This is turning out to be a great thread. I'm learning a lot about "me" thru "your" experience. Please ---- keep it coming.
It appears that I'm a bit more on the normal side than I thought I was. It takes me 6-12 hours to make a knife, also.
Not counting the sheath or heat treating. I guess I'm either not dedicated enough to make more knives, or, I have
too many other hobbies.

Thanks to all for your comments,
 
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