knife designer and aspiring future knife maker

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Feb 6, 2016
Messages
433
Hello and good day. I want to start by saying thanks to all the knife nuts out there for giving me an amazing place to share my passion. I have loved knives since I was a child and found this place when I was about 16 years old. I am now 26 and have frequented bladeforums since I was about 16 years old. I am now 26 and am at a point in my life where I am trying to figure out what it is I want to do with my life. I do know that I draw knives every day and have wanted to make a knife for quite some time. I currently do not have the tools I need to make a knife but would love to buy a grinder and an even heat oven once I have the dough. What I was thinking was perhaps I could help some of you guys design a knife you would like to have made or if your a knife maker would like to make. I would not officially charge anyone anything but would ask for a donation towards buying the equipment I need. [Contact information deleted]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lemme see if I got this straight.

You would like us to have you make a knife of our design, and we pay you to do that.

Correct?
 
Lemme see if I got this straight.

You would like us to have you make a knife of our design, and we pay you to do that.

Correct?
No what I was saying was if someone had an idea for a design I could help them with the design and if they were feeling generous could perhaps make a donation to help me get some tools. Making knives is my eventual goal but I do not currently have the stuff to do it and enjoy designing knives so I figured it could be a win win.
 
Ah. So in exchange for you providing the service of design assistance, one would offer a "donation."
 
Hello and good day. I want to start by saying thanks to all the knife nuts out there for giving me an amazing place to share my passion. I have loved knives since I was a child and found this place when I was about 16 years old. I am now 26 and have frequented bladeforums since I was about 16 years old. I am now 26 and am at a point in my life where I am trying to figure out what it is I want to do with my life. I do know that I draw knives every day and have wanted to make a knife for quite some time. I currently do not have the tools I need to make a knife but would love to buy a grinder and an even heat oven once I have the dough. What I was thinking was perhaps I could help some of you guys design a knife you would like to have made or if your a knife maker would like to make. I would not officially charge anyone anything but would ask for a donation towards buying the equipment I need. I can be reached by email at coltonkroon@yahoo.ca


You don't need a grinder and an Evenheat kiln to make a knife. You can make a great knife with:

-A piece of carbon steel
-A file or three
-A blowtorch

Of course a clamp or two and some quenchant, etc.Some sandpaper wouldn't hurt, either.

The point is, you can make knives if you want.

You can also likely get a serviceable grinder that uses small (1" wide) belts for very cheap on Craigslist or similar. You can also get up an inexpensive small forging setup with a piece of railroad track or other metal chunk, a ball-peen hammer, and the above-mentioned blowtorch + a few firebricks, just for fun and experimentation.

In fact, if you try to begin making knives with an Evenheat kiln I'd reckon you'll miss out on gaining a LOT of understanding of how manipulation and heat treatment of steel works because you won't be able to pay close attention to the color and behavior of the steel as it's heated, and assess the results.
 
Last edited:
I'm not clear on the nature of the assistance you are offering. CAD design? Drawing realistic pictures? Since you haven't made knives yet I don't know how much you can offer r.e. ergonomics or technical issues r.e. optimal design. Can you clarify?

I should add that for anyone designing a knife I think a major step is to make a mock-up out of cardboard or balsa wood first.

Also - when I was a kid I drew knives constantly. As an adult I have made one knife from scratch and learned that it's a lot of work!! Now I just mod existing knives to my taste. So I would say don't spend a lot out if the gate on tools, start basic first and see if you actually have the making bug or not.
 
Last edited:
Once upon a time there was an aspiring knife maker...

John Lloyd started out by making knives, lots of knives. He showed up at Blade with bags full of his trial pieces (seriously, hundreds) and dumped them on a table. And people bought them, because they were cheap, they weren't half bad, and he had lot's of different stuff. He went home knowing people would buy his knives, and he made more of them. And he got better at it.

The first Lloyd knife I bought was right around $100. It wasn't that long ago. Now he gets 5x that.

Moral of the story is; you want to make knives, make knives.
 
If you need money to buy equipment to make knives, then get a job. Buy the equipment you need with the earnings. When you have a job, you earn self respect and don’t have to ask people for anything. It feels great, you should try it!
 
No what I was saying was if someone had an idea for a design I could help them with the design and if they were feeling generous could perhaps make a donation to help me get some tools. Making knives is my eventual goal but I do not currently have the stuff to do it and enjoy designing knives so I figured it could be a win win.
Do what most have done. Go mow lawns, flip burgers, wash dishes. Work towards what you want and screw getting donations.
 
Thread closed.
A thinly veiled attempt to skirt the rules.
♦ Charging for services rendered requires a Knife maker / Service Provider membership.
♦ Asking for donations is considered "Solicitation" which is prohibited by the forum rules.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top