Is knife making worth it?

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I have no health insurance. My wife works full time and she has no insurance. We have no money saved to speak of and if a vehicle breaks down in a major way it's a financial crisis. I have a rotting molar and no plans to go to the dentist anytime soon. I never have enough gas money to leave the county. I do make some money at knives, but no more than I would as a roofing laborer or digging ditches and I've done a lot of that. I do love making knives.

Hell yeah it's worth it.
 
Rick is onto something, I think you guys need to market your stuff and create the demand. Im trying to do the same thing with my small business, skills are one thing but I can hire people to do the work if I can get the demand and reputation.
 
Rider675 said:
but I can hire people to do the work if I can get the demand and reputation.
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Good luck with that. I wish I could hire someone to help, but competent people are so hard to find. I'm working 10-12 hours per day, 7 days a week. I need some help. But I can't find anybody.

It is ironic, but in this day of high unemployment a shop can't find good help. I blame the video game generation of knuckleheads who grew up with their primary focus in life being entertained. There are all these unemployed people today, but so many of them are worse than useless.
 
Great responses there guys thanks so much for your help!! Some pretty funny comments too :P I picked up a lot of advice: I'll probably try, as someone mentioned, making a knife out of some cheap materials, most of which I do have, and see if I like it. If I like making one I'll try another, and take it from there. I can see that the general consensus is that knife making may not be a profitable business but is a business or even more so, hobby, chosen out of love of making knives. At the same time Rick Manchard made an interesting comment about branding and marketing, which I AM pretty good at, much more so than knife making YET... lol So anyway I have a lot to think about and again thank everyone for your comments, this is a very helpful forum!!!
 
... Yes and no.

One good thing is that you never have to worry about getting laid off or fired... LOL
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Good luck with that. I wish I could hire someone to help, but competent people are so hard to find. I'm working 10-12 hours per day, 7 days a week. I need some help. But I can't find anybody.

It is ironic, but in this day of high unemployment a shop can't find good help. I blame the video game generation of knuckleheads who grew up with their primary focus in life being entertained. There are all these unemployed people today, but so many of them are worse than useless.
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How much can you pay me?... I'm wondering if it would be worth it? ;)
 
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This reminds me of the saying; "If ya have to ask the price, you probably can't afford it"

I started making knives, because I had to. It was all I wanted to do and I needed a job...
 
Salem Straub said:
I have no health insurance. My wife works full time and she has no insurance. We have no money saved to speak of and if a vehicle breaks down in a major way it's a financial crisis. I have a rotting molar and no plans to go to the dentist anytime soon. I never have enough gas money to leave the county. I do make some money at knives, but no more than I would as a roofing laborer or digging ditches and I've done a lot of that. I do love making knives.
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... I think I'm beginning to understand the tattoo of an anvil strapped to your back. ;)
 
I'll come and help ya Nathan! I'm a video game knucklehead, but dad taught me a thing or two about work ethic.

As far as making money at the knifemaking thing goes.... I guess it all depends on how you want to live, and where you live.

For example, the cost of living in eastern Kentucky is way different than New York City, or any other decently sized city. If you have some basic equipment and skill, and make 3 or 4 knives a week in the $100 - $150 range, then you are doing better than any job in that area can offer, even after expenses. The internet provides to sellers people with disposable income, and buyers who's cities cost of living have them believing that your $150 knife is a great deal/cheap....whereas some of the locals in your area think $100 for a knife is outrageous.

If you're a single guy/gal who maybe lives at your parents for the time being, has a place to live rent free/paid for, or has an inexpensive rent ($400-500 a month), can live without certain luxuries, lives in an area where cost of living is low, and has a vehicle already paid for, then knifemaking would support a pretty simple lifestyle.

If not, then keep your day job and use knifemaking as a good part time income. If I were not making knives, some of my bills would not have been paid, and I'd have been out on my ass. I try to make a few hundred bucks a month and it really helps. I don't have a shop. I have the most minimal, laughable jalopy of a setup, and about a year's worth of experience too, so don't let people discourage you into believing you have to have a shop full of equipment and a decade under your belt to make any profits.
 
Knifemaking may not be the most profitable business in the world, but it does have it’s own special type of benefits,… and the possibility of achieving sainthood. :)
 
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Knifemaking is more of a feel good occupation than a profitable one. While it provides me with some money on the side, I could not afford to give up my day job or the retirement pension I receive from that today.
 
rodogg said:
Been considering getting into knife making for a while now. I'm wondering what you knife makers think about this? Is it a good idea? Is it a profitable business? I would have to invest time and money to get it started so I need advice. If I had the money I could simply try it out, but I don't.

Thanks in advance.
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Is it worth it? It is an enjoyable, but expensive hobby. For those that have turned a hobby into a part time, or even full time business, I think many have found the business side to be less enjoyable, though they still enjoy making the knives.

Have you even assembled a knife? That is a good way to see if you like this even as a hobby first. You can go to Jantz supply, or Texas Knifemaker Supply, or Ragnar's sites, and get a Russell Green River or Brusletto knife blade for under $25. A little bit of wood from the local hardware store, a vice, some files, some epoxy, and some sandpaper and you will be ready to assemble your first knife. If you are good at scrounging you can do it on the cheap.

There are 2 ways you can get into this hobby or business, depending on who you talk to.

1) Jump in with both feet. Buy a KMG 2x72 grinder with variable speed, a supply of belts, a good variable speed drill press, a good metal bandsaw, and a Paragon or Evenheat furnace along with a supply of steel, handle material, and hardware along with leather or kydex for sheaths. Figure $5,000 to start off well with equipment and supplies. Contact various makers who offer classes, and spend the time to learn from them. Depending on the style of knives you want to make, invest in an ABS membership, a forge, anvil, and tools and work toward your JS and MS stamps. All the while you are grinding every chance you get, building a presence on the major knife forums, attending the bigger national knife shows and building a presence there, paying for high quality photos to put on your website, etc.

2) You start out with a bare bones outfit, and build from there over the years. Spend $500 on a Craftsman 2x42 sander, sandpaper, steel, handle material, and hardware as well as sheath material. Keep money reserved to send out your blades to be heat treated. Make a couple of blades, sell them for what you can, and after you resupply your belts and other usables, set a few bucks aside to eventually buy a bandsaw, etc. This is the way many makers start out, and along the way it's "2 steps forward and 1 step back" in terms of progress, not only on the money side but the learning side as well. Many spend as much time learning to make do on limited equipment as they do to make knives.

If you go into knifemaking to make knives, I think you will enjoy it. If you go into knifemaking to make money, you will quickly become frustrated.
 
I have never sold a knife. I've made only 7 knives over a 3 year period.
I can make a functional cutting tool.
The people I have shown them to have encouraged me by telling me they think they are nice.
One of these guys is the kind of friend that every man needs. The kind that tells you when you have a noodle in your beard.
He said to me a few weeks ago as I was showing him a knife, " I can get "better" knife for 30 bucks at walmart, but YOU made this one."
That for me is what is Worth It.
Gifting something you made yourself and it being a one of a kind. Making a simple knife out of an old file and giving it to your son.
 
Knifemaking is one of the most enriching life journeys one could impose upon himself. Now whether you make money at it is up to you and your abilities! But one thing is for sure youll spend more than you make for a long while!
 
My grandmother used to spend a lot of time playing the slots at the casino (Bless her little heart)...

She would have an unknown amount of extra spending money in her right pocket. The nights at the casino were the only times she could stay up past 7pm, she would go well into the night and early morning.

She would turn one bill at a time into nickels (This is back when you actually got coins as payment). She never used her winnings to "Play", when the money in her right pocket was gone she cashed in the bucket of coins. She came home a winner every time! ;)
 
GTH11 said:
But one thing is for sure youll spend more than you make for a long while!
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And for some of us, probably forever. But as it's been said, the non-financial rewards are plentiful.

PS: Crap Salem, I am not complaining I am poor EVER again. :(
 
The question of worth never entered my mind. :confused:

When I got interested, I just started making knives. There was no question involved.
 
Crap Salem, I am not complaining I am poor EVER again.
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But you know, I know people just as poor as me and many even poorer around these hills. They work menial labor jobs or not at all. The difference between me and them: they will probably never get to work for themselves, or do what they love for a living. And when you have a lifetime of low-paid hard labor to look forward to, the future is bleak. I on the other hand have invested much time, and money over that time, into a good solid knife shop and the start of a reputation. It's all uphill from here, and I'm diversifying as much as possible as well against setbacks in any one field of metalwork.

I'm young yet and have my health. I'm poor in the wallet but rich in spirit. Never worry about me but be glad. As Ed Braun says, "Up the Iron!"
 
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