Knives made per year

Sean O'Hare

Sean O'Hare

Joined
Jul 24, 2003
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I don't know if this is something others are curious about or not but I was wondering roughly how many knives do each of you make per year? Also are you full time or part time? I'm not looking at this as to how many do you pump out but rather where is your balance of making money & doing great work? Do you feel pressured to make a certain number of knives or do you tend to just concentrate on making the best knife or knives you can?

Thanks,
Sean
 
I used to only make about 15-20 a year. I ended up spending more time learning new techniques and building tools than actually making knives.
This year though I have started to take knife making a little more seriously and have been putting out a new knife almost every week. I try to spend about 20 hours a week in the shop but it's usually more like 15.
 
For this part timer it sure depends on the year... My most prolific year yielded maybe 25 knives; last year perhaps 15. I've spent way too much time remaking the same few patterns to satisfy orders, so no more orders for a while. There are knives I need to make, that have waited far too long to find their expression, and the orders have used up all my shop time. That must be one of the hardest parts of this vocation - where do you draw the line between satisfying your customers and satisfying the creative requirement that drew you into knife making in the first place.
 
I'm full time and I have no idea how many??
and it don't really concern me.
I don't punch them out like cookies because I want them right
and I want to be comfortable in making and not get burned out.
that's the reason I'm so far behind in orders I think.. :confused:
 
I have ground about 200 so far this year, all styles and price ranges, from art pieces to kitchen patterns. Attention to detail varies with knife style with high end folders being the most time consuming, probably why I don't start too many.

Having the new retail knife store is taking a lot of time away from the knifemaking, talking with customers but it is also enjoyable. The only downside to the store aside from the hours is that it puts a crimp in doing shows, can't be in two places at once.
 
I'm strictly part time and the number produced depends on both the type knives I'm making and the amount of shop time I can squeeze in. I made about 50 last year. I too have lots of stuff I want to try but can't find the time. Maybe someday...
 
I'm not even part time. I am a hobby builder. A lot of what I build are prototypes and experimental and the fit and finish on these leave a lot to be desired.

With that in mind....about 400!
 
Thanks for posting this. You made me stop and think, which made me realize I haven't been keeping track this year. Looks like 8 so far. I range from "rustic" railroad spike blades to nicely finished cable damascus. I have a friend who sells them in his shop, so I try to provide a range of different prices and styles.
Ed
 
I like what Dave said, and it reflects his perfection with each knife that goes out to a customer. I used to make 15 to 20 knives per year, with the old shop. Now that I am able to work in my small new shop, I have already finished and delivered a dozen or so this year. If I can get about another 3 dozen done, I might start keeping up with the flow. Part time is part time,as many of you folks know.
 
Jason, "This year though I have started to take knife making a little more seriously and have been putting out a new knife almost every week. I try to spend about 20 hours a week in the shop but it's usually more like 15."

You can make a knife in 15 hours??
Jeez it takes me that long to grind the flats!
Jerry
 
I am part time and make between 50 and 60 a year. Being a teacher and having all those nice vacations and summers off helps. I sold my first knife in 1980 and have put almost all my profits back into knife equiptment. As the quality of my machinery has improved my output has increased. People ask me all the time how long it takes me to make a knife. I really don't know, and maybe I don't want to know because I might find I am barely making minimum wage. The truth is I would make knives even if there was no money in it.
I hear knifemakers speak of how fast they are. That has never appealed to me. My concern is not how fast I can make a knife, but how good I can make a knife.
I would recomend that those of you just starting to make knives keep a record of all you make. I didn't do that and now I don't know how many I have made except it must be way over a thousand. I really wish I had kept closer track of how many I have made. I have always sent my stock removal knives off to Paul Bos, so I can look at those recipts to see how many stock removal knives I have made, but I also make a lot of forged and damascus blades also. Of these I have no record. Several years ago I started keeping a close count of my output, but I wish I had done that in 1980.
 
This is pretty cool to hear. I've been in the 12-18 category for several years now. Making more as a hobby. With changes in the purchased heat treat batch charges I've moved my batches up a notch and am making that same 12-18 in a batch. Still, I'm probably up to two dozen, three dozen tops per year. The serial numbering has helped keep track of the blades, both in numbers and in destinations.

Dan
 
I'm still less than 50 total finished knives in three years. But all but about three or four of those have been folders. I'm hoping to make about two dozen this year.
 
Damn, you guys make me sick. :barf: :barf: ;)

I have made 17 knives and 8 pens in the past 23 months. I guess I need to pick up the pace! :D :eek: :D

Obviously, I am a part time hobby smith, but hey 5/29/04 will be my two year anniversary since I started making knives. :)
 
I'm ful-time and don't care how many I make, I just care about putting as much attention as I can to getting everything right. Some talk about 15 -20 hours to make a knife, shoot I've had twice that much time in just making the steel for some, but this is what I like to do. We all have our own styles and desires when it comes to making knives so just enjoy what you do, and do the best you can trying to improve on each one. And to be honest, I really don't know how long (hour wise) it actually takes me to makle a knife. Never kept track.

Have Fun

Bill
 
J. Shorter said:
You can make a knife in 15 hours??
Jeez it takes me that long to grind the flats!
Jerry
Click to expand...


A basic 4 inch hunter with slab handles takes me about 4 hours to grind, heat treat, and hand sand to 2000 grit. Another 4 or 5 hours to filework, and another 3-4 hours to finish the handle scales and sheath.

In the last year I have gotten almost twice as fast at everything except for filework. Filework used to take maybe 10 minutes an inch when I was doing the basic patterns. Now I'm up to almost an hour per inch for my random patterns. The quality is alot better though.

One thing that made a huge difference in my output was to look at it like a job. When I am in my shop making a knife I am completely focused. I don't stop to think about things or to try all the crazy ideas that pop into my head. I set aside time for all that extra stuff that used to interupt my knife making. I feel alot better now when I'm working too. Now at the end of the day I can say I put in an honest day's work and be proud of what I have accomplished. Instead of the old way of screwing around for ten hours to get two hours of work done.
 
around 500 give or take a few though have just stopped all work and stepped back to look at my life style. :confused: decieded to slow it all down play with the kids more ,go fishing and hunting more and have less money but a better life.which reminds me better get of the coumpter and clean the rifle because the roar has started and i am going out hunting for the next week :) :) :)
 
I am part-time, spending about 18-24hours per week in the workshop and maybe another 3-4hours each week in front of the computer, doing photos etc. It also depends what types of knives are involved, and whether any unforeseen circumstances occur that rob me of workshop time.

I made about 90 knives in the last 12months. Only 20 or so elaborate knives eg.- forged, hamons, nice handle materials, bigger blades. The rest were smaller, quicker knives to make and finish. If I'm on a roll and nothing goes wrong, there's the potential to turn out 15-20 knives in one month, but mostly smaller utility pieces, not bowies. (And I'm still enjoying myself.)

My problem is that I get so hooked on making the knives, I sometimes have to stop for 2-3 weeks and make nothing but sheaths, just to catch up and be able to send out the knives. 3 out of 4 knives I make are for custom order. I always make one or two here and there to account for the one knife show I attend, and personal development. Jason.
 
have made 17 knives and 8 pens in the past 23 months

I wouldn't be ashamed of that Laredo. I can make 5 or 6 knives with a good finish and sheath in the time it takes me to make one of those darn Damascus pens!

Sean, this is a difficult subject to get answers to. I posted I make around 400 and I expect it may be more but many are cutters and carving tools that can be made in under 5 minutes. Take something like Laredo's or J's knives that can take weeks to finish and compare.

Make what you can and do the best job possible. It's not a production race. It's ART ! ;)
 
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