lots of questions...

peter r

peter r

Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
1,690
im a proffessional cabinet maker and industrial designer. and have just received a 40000$ govt grant to encourage my passions. and knife making has long been a wish of mine. so long story short, i want to make knives and have the cash to do so. what should i buy in terms of tools, ovens, ect. im really interested in framelocks, and would like to know which vertical mills are best. also scribes masks ect. any and all help would be wonderful. im really eager and motivated to embark on this knifemaking journey.
 
If you are in the Toronto area feel free to visit my shop and you can see the operation in person. I still do a lot by hit and miss but I can give you an idea of the pitfalls and some shortcuts.

George
 
peter r said:
im a proffessional cabinet maker and industrial designer. and have just received a 40000$ govt grant to encourage my passions. and knife making has long been a wish of mine. so long story short, i want to make knives and have the cash to do so. what should i buy in terms of tools, ovens, ect. im really interested in framelocks, and would like to know which vertical mills are best. also scribes masks ect. any and all help would be wonderful. im really eager and motivated to embark on this knifemaking journey.
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Peter,

Congratulations!!! I don't know how you did it, but I worked for the federal Govt. for 23 years and they didn't give a damn about my passions, never mind give me money to explore them:D:D:D Use it wisely, it will go quickly.

Jeff
 
I don't mean to demean your grant but this is an example of the reasons our government is in the deficit trouble they are in. Get the most out of it. I am not critical of you and please don't take it that I am.
 
i dont. but i must say that i went through a lot to get this grant. at least 50 pages or so of written documentation on the viability of my business plans and photo documentation to support it. i dont want to sound arrogant, but i am very good at what i do. the govt is very interested right now in encouraging the trades. after the boomers all retire, there wont be any relief. the youth of today is bent on immediate gratification and arent willing to invest in the future. so any succesful conveyence of a viable business plan is taken very seriously by the powers that be...
 
I was about to ask what did you have to go through to get this grant. I did some searching on a small business grant a while back when I wanted to get into autobody/painting. For Illinois, there wasn't much available if it wasn't for science or agriculture :(
 
baymktg said:
I don't mean to demean your grant but this is an example of the reasons our government is in the deficit trouble they are in. Get the most out of it. I am not critical of you and please don't take it that I am.
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I don't know myself if the Canadian Govt has a major deficit, but if I had money to give someone who showed promise and ability, I just might give it to him.

Jeff
 
you got a grant to buy knife making equipment??? . Dang , what a deal . Better that than giving it to the frogs in San Francisco .
 
$40,000 wow, you must be good, and a good writer. We have SBA loans that are pretty tough to get and have to be paid back but are a real help to small business.

Good Luck, now go pay your taxes so we boomers can live better in retirement.
 
Your most important tools will probably be a belt grinder and drill press (or small mill).

Be sure to get a quality grinder like KMG, Bader, etc.

I'm sure you'll get lots of other suggestions too.

Good luck,

Mike L.
 
$40000 will get you quite a long way into knifemaking. My advice would be to invest first in things that can be useful for other things first (like I can imagine using a mill on occasion making cabinets, but not as likely would be a HT oven) until you get into it and you know which direction you want to go with your work.

I wish I had that kind of money to spend on tools ;P. Congratulations.
 
Dennis Paish said:
I know I am going to get some comments on this recommendation, but here goes.

But, this is the best tool I have in the shop today, and I've spent some serious money this past couple years.

http://www.syil.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15&Itemid=7

Dennis
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Nice machine !


I was going to suggest some sort of CNC next

Have a look at what Brian Tighe is doing with CNC Framelocks

http://www.tigheknives.com/


You could do alot of cabinet work with it also - such as inlays and fitted joints
 
I would suggest visiting some of the higher end makers shops to check out what they have, and what they use...and some classes as stated above. Understand everything involved that way your purchases are the wisest possible. Good luck. I'd rather see you get it than GM.

-Steve
 
You are lucky man. You can start a great small factory with that amount.
Few basical things you must have and you can buy:

a nice grinder
a nice heat treat oven
a nice metal bandsaw
a nice drill press
a sturdy workbench to work on.

I think that starting with this three basic and with your passion and expertise you can realise a lot.

Cheers
 
Just my opinion..............

Before I bought tools, etc. I'd take that money and attend as many classes/workshops that I could find.
 
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