just curious

Y

yinyu

Joined
Feb 24, 2006
Messages
35
I'm always admiring custom knives over any productions but a question often
puzzles me: how do a full time custom knife maker make a decent living ?
let's do some math, suppose that a maker can make 1 knife per week ( adjust for holidays), and sell it for $1000, I know this maybe a little exaggerated but
even so, he can only has a yearly revenue of $52,000. assume total cost is
$20,000. he could only net in $32,000. how could he enjoy a decent life?
what is the problem in my calculation? I don't think it is justified for many admired makers to only make this much a year:-(
 
It's easy: makers spend so much time making knives that they don't find the time to spend the money ;)
Joke aside, I think (on average) a full time maker doesn't make one knife per week only. Very few knifemakers get rich though, the ones who do are the exception rather than the rule.
Many makers are part time and have a "regular" job too.
 
Unless the knives are difficult to make for some reason, a maker can produce more than one knife per week. More than once I have seen a maker produce a fixed blade knife in under a day, including heat treating. This included the making of the sheath. These knives sold for between $500.00 and $1000.00. Total cost of materials, including belts, fuel for the forge, vermiculite, etc., and wear and tear on the equipment was under $250.00 for each of the knives, and well under for the $500.00 one.

Some makers can charge large amounts of money for knives that don't cost them any more in materials and shop expenses than the ones mentioned above.

A decent to good living can be attained by knifemaking, but it isn't easy. The maker has to be popular enough to sell all the knives he can make. It doesn't matter if you can make a knife a day if you can only sell one every couple of weeks. This means that the maker has to have a head for business, and that can be the biggest challenge of all.
 
Making a living is not so much making knives but being able to sell them and it takes a long time to create a name for yourself in the business.

I have seen knifemakers come and go who had good product but not the staying power to build a steady demand for the product. I have been in the business for nearly 20 years and still worry about where next month's sales are going to come from.

Full time knifemaking is not as easy or profitable as some people believe.
 
I believe Ken Onion is doing quite well, although it might be the royalties on his deal with kershaw that keep him in the lifestyle he's accustomed to.
 
I imagine making knives as a full time profession is like most other professions in that the individuals who cultivate their skills, promote themselves and their work and take care of the business end will float to the top of the industry and be financially rewarded for doing such.

Now knife making differs from most professions as it's more laborious, hazardous and demanding on the body than most.
I don't think folks realize how physically demanding knife making is.
Especially true for the forgers who paid their dues with the hammer :eek: in their early days.

I'm sure these guys have gone to bed and woken up with more than their share of aches and pains over the years.:mad:
 
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