My dream of becoming a knife maker!

TheseusTheDestroyer

TheseusTheDestroyer

Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
175
I've always wanted to be a knife maker. I've got some pretty interesting designs but I've never had the guts to invest the time and money to do so, I've also never really had any support from my loved ones.

I have a belt sander, but the cost of the rest of the tools I would need would add up to more than I can afford at the moment..

A reason I've not invested my time and money into it too is because I'm afraid people won't like and buy my knives. I'm sure it takes quite a while to get good enough to make a living out of it or even just to make enough to justify buying all the tools.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom? Is it worth it or should I forget about it and keep focused on having a real job?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and/or answer it!
 
Knife and Tool Making is one of many things I want to do for a living. That comes with machining and art design which I am passionate about as well. Do both, it is not that hard to have two jobs. You just need to go for it and not talk about it. ;) That is what my wife tells me. I dont think of it as a job at all. I do it because it is fun.
A few months in and I have a small shop and my DBA thanks to my "hobby". A design ready for a folder and fixed blade for later this year that I came up with in my dreams and late nights playing around.
I am doing this with a real job, while the wife is in school and with two girls under the age of 2.
You will do just fine. I wont lie. I am only able to do this and really see where my heart is by doing knife work 9PM-2AM . Then Work from 6:30AM-4:30PM+. The rest of the time is family time. Alot of the time that I spend in the shop is just practice and getting to know machining techniques, finishes and making mistakes along the way to learn.
You need to start somewhere. Invest into yourself before you pay yourself and everything will work out fine.
If all my cards fall in place I will have a nice mill and lathe all to myself by the end of the year.
It is worth it. My tools were payed for after the first week worth of jobs.
 
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TheseusTheDestroyer said:
I've always wanted to be a knife maker. I've got some pretty interesting designs but I've never had the guts to invest the time and money to do so, I've also never really had any support from my loved ones.

I have a belt sander, but the cost of the rest of the tools I would need would add up to more than I can afford at the moment..

A reason I've not invested my time and money into it too is because I'm afraid people won't like and buy my knives. I'm sure it takes quite a while to get good enough to make a living out of it or even just to make enough to justify buying all the tools.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom? Is it worth it or should I forget about it and keep focused on having a real job?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and/or answer it!
Click to expand...

Yea man I'm actually in the same boat. Currently a junior in college and have been loving knives since a little kid as my dad is a colonel in the Air Force and a green beret as well so I've always been exposed to guns/knives. Me and my dad both decided this summer we would start making our own knives and I've never been more excited to do anything. It's definitely gonna be tough for a while but it'll definitely be worth it! So here's to your dream, I wish you nothing but the best and for all the success you hope for!
 
BellaBlades said:
Knife and Tool Making is one of many things I want to do for a living. That comes with machining and art design which I am passionate about as well. Do both, it is not that hard to have two jobs. You just need to go for it and not talk about it. ;) That is what my wife tells me. I dont think of it as a job at all. I do it because it is fun.
A few months in and I have a small shop and my DBA thanks to my "hobby". A design ready for a folder and fixed blade for later this year that I came up with in my dreams and late nights playing around.
I am doing this with a real job, while the wife is in school and with two girls under the age of 2.
You will do just fine. I wont lie. I am only able to do this and really see where my heart is by doing knife work 9PM-2AM . Then Work from 6:30AM-4:30PM+. The rest of the time is family time. Alot of the time that I spend in the shop is just practice and getting to know machining techniques, finishes and making mistakes along the way to learn.
You need to start somewhere. Invest into yourself before you pay yourself and everything will work out fine.
If all my cards fall in place I will have a nice mill and lathe all to myself by the end of the year.
It is worth it. My tools were payed for after the first week worth of jobs.
Click to expand...

Great advise, thanks! I'll have to develop and keep such a schedule to make sure I also have time for work and family in order to stay sane and keep everyone else happy and fed.
 
I had a similar desire to build musical instruments. Not so much for a living but just to make them. I built a few, and that kind of quenched the fire. I'll build more some day and the next one will be good enough to sell for $2k ish. But I got the bulk of it out of my system. My point is it's ok to go at something as a hobby.

You can make fixed blades with very little equipment. And you can send them out for heat treat. Personally, I've got a small milling machine showing up this week and it will get converted to CNC pretty soon. That, a belt sander, and some cleverness is about all you need to make folders.
 
Well, for folders a surface grinder is the choice of most who are or want to make folding knives. But, I've been making liner locks for 35 years and don't have one or a milling machine. Frank
 
you can get started with a belt grinder and a drill press and a hacksaw and some files. And begin by rehandling some knives or doing other mods to them. Once you see how much work it is you may be ok with keeping it as a hobby, like zhyla mentioned. Or maybe the bug will bite you deep!
 
There are probably 100 threads concerning making knives as a business. You can find old threads and topics using this search engine:
https://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra

Most have lots of good advice, and a lot of serious warnings about the knifemaking career path.
The Cliff Notes version is -
"Stay in college and get your degree." If making knives as a hobby morphs into making knives for a living, great, but 99% of makers have one of two things:
1) A good day job with insurance and retirement.
or
2) A spouse who has a good day job with insurance and retirement.
 
I see a lot of these threads that start with "I always wanted to be a knife maker." I can't even imagine that. But then, I'm an old fart.

Back when I was growing up in the '60s, we were enthralled by the space race. As a result, I always wanted to be an astronaut. I knew (or thought I knew) that astronauts were exceptional at math and science, so I studied hard and became very strong at math and science. I even won math and science awards in high school. Of course, becoming an astronaut requires more than math and science skills. At some point I realized it was an unrealistic goal. Very few people can follow that path, and I simply acknowledged I wasn't ever going to be one of them.

I never gave up my interest in space travel. Even now, as I am closer to the grave than the cradle, I still find myself hoping some day civilian space travel will be a viable option.

Of course, making knives is nothing like being an astronaut. Anyone with a little ambition and a few tools can make a knife. You don't need to be a professional to make nice knives.

However, there's more to running a business than turning out nice product.

When I was 23 my best friend and I started a company (Xytex Systems). We bought a computer for $25K (cheap at the time, since then computers were strictly for large businesses) and developed some software. It was really cool groundbreaking software for the day that would allow developers to turn their text-based programs into graphical interfaces (at a time before graphics was even a thing). We got the product market ready... we sent out free samples... and never sold a single copy. Turns out software companies needed marketing, and neither of us had marketing skills.

But marketing knives isn't like marketing software. However, the point remains that there's more to running a business than just doing the thing you love doing.

I'm not trying to talk you out of (or into) anything. I just want you to understand that your passions can lead you places, but those places may not be ALL about your passions.
 
Like most of these guys said, finish whatever schooling you're currently involved in, and get/keep a day job.

Part time knifemaking can be very rewarding. Less stressful too. I make knives on the weekends, or when I have some free time. It really helps pay some bills, and lets the family go out and have some fun. I basically use the money I make to put back into the hobby, and for having a bit of a good time. I know I'm limited in tools and space, and I'm not going to give this a full time go right now, but the things I have accomplished and the customers that I have make me very happy.

Before I started, I spent years researching, reading books, watching videos and drawing. I slowly bought the basic tools that I needed. It didnt happen for me overnight, but I am glad that I spent the time preparing before I jumped in.

I will go ahead and say this.... If you do not have a good and solid 2x72 belt grinder, you're going to have a hard time with this. Forget all the Craftsman and Harbor freight budget grinders. A good 2x72 is an absolute must.

If you have designs of your own, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. I'd say that's what most knifemakers ultimately want more than anything. To have a piece of theirs be recognizable from across the room. Don't be afraid that people won't like your stuff and it wont sell. I've seen things on here that I simply would not spend a dime on, but it may be another guy's bread and butter.

Good luck!
 
bladsmth said:
99% of makers have one of two things:
1) A good day job with insurance and retirement.
or
2) A spouse who has a good day job with insurance and retirement.
Click to expand...

That made me smile. I wonder what percentage fall into category 2?
 
tryppyr said:
I'm not trying to talk you out of (or into) anything. I just want you to understand that your passions can lead you places, but those places may not be ALL about your passions.
Click to expand...

Wow I've never even thought about this and now that I consider it for the first time I find it to be very true. I've had a past experience in which my passions have taken me to places that I never thought I'd go, however I wasn't fully prepared for those places. Thank you so much for this advice!

Josh Mason said:
I will go ahead and say this.... If you do not have a good and solid 2x72 belt grinder, you're going to have a hard time with this. Forget all the Craftsman and Harbor freight budget grinders. A good 2x72 is an absolute must.
Click to expand...

This is also great technical advise. I'll keep an eye out and save up for one of these. Thanks!
 
A while ago I started making tactical gear to sell (pistol holsters, mag pouches, you know, small stuff). I slowly bought materials with my tiny budget and sold things using the materials I had accumulated, and joined a forum on it (not going to advertise that forum here). It actually started kicking off as I made custom gear, and I started making templates for various pouches and got a good old singer 15-91 sewing machine.

What happened was I found sitting at a sewing machine for hours at a time wasn't really my thing. So I dropped it. I still sell the occasional piece of gear when someone requests it, but I certainly don't advertise it anymore.

Moral of that story is to get minimal equipment at first and just play with it as a hobby while selling the occasional piece, and if it isn't for you, you can drop it without worrying about having spent too much already. If you do drop it, you might still be able to make something out of the bought materials and still make a profit. Also, since I'm young, it's not like I was relying on it to make money, which leads into the point everyone else said, which is don't make yourself dependent on it.
 
Knife making is one of those things that can be as cheap or expensive as you want to make it. Don't let lack of money and fancy tools stop you from getting started.

Show us some drawings. Start with something simple and build from there.
 
Dreaming and doing, though not mutually exclusive, are not the same thing. I spent a lot of time "wanting to make knives" "wanting to build a forge" "wanting to build/buy a grinder". In the end, I got metal and a file and started removing stock. My advice is: Just start. We all started somewhere. I still cringe at the first knife-shaped object I made, but it was an immeasurably valuable experience. As my skills increased and I found a few extra dollars here and there, I upgraded my equipment and challenged my skills. I'm still fairly new to this--less than 20 completed knives under my belt--but I'm miles above where I started just over a year ago.
 
I am at about a year and a half into this addiction. I am for the first time in my life unemployed, but only thought about knifemaking as a job for about 30 seconds. I simply don't have the skills or name recognition to support my family. I am taking this time to finish my Masters Degree, and will go private practice as a family therapist/consultant, something I have 20+ years experience at, and know the ins and outs of the business. Think of pursuing your dreams as wanting to be a pro athlete, or a rock star. Some do it, but 1 in 50,000 succeed at getting rich off of it. 80% of small businesses fail.
 
Langadune said:
In the end, I got metal and a file and started removing stock. My advice is: Just start.
Click to expand...

I love this. Some things in life can be awful intimidating. So much so, that you stand on the sidelines fearing participation. I am guilty to this day of this very thing. Forging, heat treating my own stuff etc. The issues never stop coming.

I think back to when I was nervous and nearly shaking when I first put a blade to my 2x72 grinder. The very first sparks I made and that first awful bevel. Nowadays, I am pretty handy behind it, and it's comfortable. I will one day feel the same about the things I haven't tried, and fear trying right now. It's a profound and beautiful feeling for me.
 
Rather than focusing on knife making as a source of income, I would suggest approaching it as a hobby that you do for your own enjoyment.

I will never become a full time maker because I'm 100% certain that it would destroy the enjoyment I get from knife making.

I don't HAVE to make knives; I GET to make knives when the mood strikes me.

If knife making is your sole source of income, you don't get that option.

Also, I've never heard of a rich full time knife maker.
 
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