one step foward and two steps back

T

The Zodiac

Joined
May 30, 2001
Messages
243
Has any one felt like they were getting some were and then the bottom
feels like it has dropped out and you question yourself,why you were
making knives,I was just wondering if anyone feels this way,
seems like when you are just starting thing look so big when you take a step back and look at what you are doing.Making knives is something that I just cant explain the feeling to anyone who does not do it.I would like to here some other peoples point of view.
Nathan
 
I know the one step forward and two step back dance!!:)
I have lately been expirementing with building folders and cut one out with everything lining up perfectly. Thought the slip joint could use one or two more polishing strokes. Apparently it didn't need the extra strokes as they destroyed the fit. Now I have to remake the blade. Oh well what else did I have to do?:)
 
I know the feeling, I`m there now.
It`s to the point that I haven`t turn the
ginder on for a week now:confused:
I think every knifemaker experience
this at one time or the other. For me it seems
like the more knowledge I gain the less I
like the quality of work that I am doing:mad:
Just hang in there man it`ll past.:D
 
NATHAN, THE BETTER YOUR TECHNIQUES GET, FOR MAKING KNIVES, THE KEENER YOUR EYE GETS, FOR SEEING FLAWS. WHEN I START A NEW TYPE OR PATTERN OF BLADE, I USUALLY SPEND UP TO 6-12 MONTHS JUST GETTING THE GRIND RIGHT AND ALL THE FIT UP RIGHT. TO ME THATS WHAT KEEPS IT INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING. THE MORE TIME YOU SPEND ON DESIGN AND PREP. THE BETTER THE FINISHED KNIFE. JUST MY .02 WORTH.
KEN (WWJD)
 
Ragoor
I am new,I can grind with no problem,makeing knives with different styles is the neat part of it,When you spend so much time on a blade
and it is finished,and you sell it have you felt a little depressed when it goes after spending so much time with it,it is like you are selling a pieace of yourself,I guess that is a good thing.
Nathan ><>
;)
 
For a while I was making quite a few knives all at once, and I burned myself out. Not to mention the hassles I was getting over in the custom forum, but that's another story. In any case, I haven't made anything for about wo months and I went into the basement to etch a blade, etched it, and decided I had absolutely no interest in making a knife, so that's all I did. I go in spurts with it. If it's a hobby and it isn't fun at the time, set it aside and do something else. If it's a career and it doesn't feel fun at the time, then keep working, and either find something about it that does excite you to get recharged, or start looking for another career. Life is WAY too short to devote your energy to something that's a hassle. I think a large part of my problem is equipment, too. I do everything (well, 90%) by hanc, so I am greatly limited to what I can do, and the length of time it takes me to make an idea a reality. That stinks. Even then, if I had all the equipment in the world I doubt I would be making knives right now, just because it is a hobby and I don't have any time for hobbies right now. Anyway, good luck!
 
Chiro
Very well spoken,I can feel what you are saying and I know what you are saying.I am at the point were I don't know if I want to do it full time or as a hobby.seems like when I go it with a hobby in mind I make better blade then I would if I went at it with a full time maker,I will just wait and see how it goes.
Nathan ><>;)
 
It`s not that it`s a hassele,I enjoy what I do.
1- I get aggravated because i`m not at skill level
that I think I should be
2- I`ve only seen a hand full of custom knives in
person so it`s hard for me to judge my work.
If I go by what Camerer does than I have a long
way to go.
3- Better would equipment would help but equipment
does`nt make a knifemaker.
4- I`m my own worse enemy. If I had a boss like me
I would quit.
5- The bottom line is I always go back to it because
I can`t imagine doing any think else.
 
I think what Ken said is absolutely true -- the better you get the higher your standards become. I look at knives I've finished lately and feel a little ashamed of myself for making such a piece of junk much less thinking anybody would like it, and then I see one I made a few months or years ago and realize how far I've come. (Which ain't far enough.)

Knives and knifemaking are among the most important things in my life, right up there with my wife and science fiction. :D When I retire I hope to supplement my income and fill my need for creativity making knives, and I figure right now I'm practicing up for that. I make very few knives; I might finish 10 this year. At that rate it's not easy to get the practice practice practice that you need to get truly good at this (or anything else).

And some days when everything goes to pot (like that knife I made 4 sets of bolsters for) I feel like throwing in the towel. So I go wash dishes or fold clothes or something, which has the double effect of making my wife feel marginally better towards me (which has its benefits, wink), and allowing me to complete a task successfully, good for the ego.

Then a few days later, I go try something simple and before you know it I'm back to building knives. I wouldn't have much to contribute to the world if it weren't for knifemaking, so I guess I'll keep hacking away at it. Overall it makes me feel real good.

Dave
 
I think we will see all the flaws in our knives and I think we are th probably only one who will see them,I truly do not think me or any other knife maker will make the perfect knife.I have seen knives I have just been crazy about and the maker said it has some flaws,even after making knives i have a hard time finding them. So that proves
what was said we are our own worst enemy,somtimes I don't know how I got to have a blade in my hands with a wheel inches from my hand
one mistake and there goes a finger or hand.I really don't think of it when I am grinding,the only thing I see is what it will look like
my head.I hope other makers fell this way,I know I would not have it any other way.Even the grit, burns and cuts seem a small price when you are done what you have set out to do.
Nathan><>
;)
 
Boy can you guys say a mouth full.At the present it seems that everything I touch goes backwards.But since I am full time I can't give up.
I keep looking at my knives and though everybody else says that they are as close to perfect as I could get them I feel they are far from that and so I still get flustered with myself,I feel that I shold be allot farther ahead on the fit and finish of the blade sthan I am(in my head)I really feel for you now as I am going through the same things.
I think now allot of mine is that I am not used to being behind on bills at all in fact i am usually a month ahead on them and now I am behind so I am a little depressed about it and it is hard to get that kick in the pants like I used to get by trying something new,I am having to fight myself to get into the shop and work.I am getting over it though as I hve just decided it wasn't worth worrying over and the money will come if I keep making something cool.
So keep your head up and just set the knife down for a day and go try it again,Sometimes it works to just go aout and throw one together no matter how it looks just to get your head back on.
Bruce:)
 
BRUCE, AND EVERYONE ELSE, TAKE HEART. BELEIVE IT OR NOT, THINGS ARE SLOW, IN THE KNIFE BUSINES. I SELL TOP LINE PRODUCTION KNIVES, AS WELL AS MY HAND MADE AND MY BUSINESS IS OFF 50% FROM LAST YEAR. GAS IS HIGH,1.24, AND MY UTILITIES HAVE ALMOST DOUBLED, FROM LAST YEAR. AT THIS TIME, THE AVERAGE KNIFE BUYER, DOESN'T HAVE ANY XTRA TO SHELL OUT FOR ANOTHER KNIFE. IF IT WASN'T FOR A FEW WHLOESALE CUSTOMERS, I WOULD NOT BE MOVING ANY KNIVES AT ALL. THINGS WILL PICK UP, TIMES LIKE THIS LETS YOU FIND OUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE KNIVES. SOME PEOPLE CALL IT CHARACTER BUILDING AND SOME CALL IT STARVING. I KNOW A FEW WELL KNOWN MAKERS, WHO GOT SKUNKED AT THEIR LAST SHOW. TAKE HEART AND DON'T GET DISCOURAGED, I PERAONALLY WILL NOT GIVE UP.

KEN (WWJD)
 
Bruce
You are a very liked knife maker and very respected you good acts will not go unseen by knife makers or our maker you will be back on top in no time,I learned how to do vine work through your web page
and picked up alot of tips from your posts.I can not work a a main stream job,I have crohn's diease so I have to stay close to the house
and I have liked knives from child hood.My father collects switch blades so the love for a knife has always been there,So
I think God give me the talent with my hands to make somthing that
if taken care of will last for ever,and may be pasted down through father to son or daughter,I fill honered if one of my knives goes that fair.I know everyone has to eat and pay bills.Here is what I live by,the good book says it so I know it is true.(Do not worry were
your earthly things shall come from for I feed the fowl of the air and I love you more than the fowl,my eye is on the sparrow so I know he is watching me
Nathan ><>;)
 
Seems we all pick on our knives a lot. But frankly, virtually any handmade knife will outperform any production knife all day long. Many uneducated potential buyers of custom knives don't have a clue about this; they think their buck is the equivalent of your work. Ha! Aside from cutting, though, it really is fit and finish that distinguish a good handmade knife from the production knives -- it's where someone who really cares gets involved on a personal basis with each piece. Still, even the most poorly finished handmade knife has more character in my eyes than any production knife made. Period.

Off my soapbox now! :D

Dave
 
Dave,

I agree with what your opinion is on knife performance, I've owned a lot of production knives in my life but I never had a real good knife until I made it. I put a lot of time and patience in forging, heat treating and testing my knives to try to get the best performance from the steel I use,to me thats most important, and it is depressing to have some one judge your knives as good or bad by looks alone.( a small gap somewhere, or a scratch you missed or etc.etc)
I've been full time now for almost 2 yrs and have had times of wonder why I was doing this, but when it comes down to it, its for the love of the art, to take a piece of scrap steel and heat and shape into something beautiful and useful, and to know that not everyone has the ability to do this or should I say the patience and commitment to do this.
I was at a knife and gun show last weekend and it makes you wonder why do I do this when people walk right by your stuff and stop and buy production knife after production knife at the table next to you, but then that person that knows quality stops and comments, and you tell him your technic and he stands there in aw and others hear what your saying and they stop to listen, all listening and amazed at what it takes to make a good knife, then your damn proud to be making knives. So far it sure hasn't been for the money, there are a lot easier ways to make that but the rewards go deeper than money.
Just my throughts and feelings, not meant to sway anyone opinion of knifemaking oneway or another.

I do love what I do ;)

Bill
 
Hope there is room for a quick post by a non-maker here.

Bill, anyone who can cover the basic bills and say what you did about loving what he/she does, is one of the relatively few happy people on earth -- IMO.

Beyond that, those of you that truly have artistic ability, that can envision something beautiful, and grind or bang on steel to make that beauty can achieve a level of accomplishment few people do. Something physical results. If kept well, they can last for generations as a tribute to the skills you learned to enable yourself to communicate your art to the world. I even tend to think sometimes -- not always by any means -- that there must be a special surge of satisfaction when the art is primarily a user. Yes, things in museums are often beautiful beyond imagination. But to be able to create a high performance tool that can provide it's owner with uncounted hours of happiness using a tool he knows is great, is another pretty rare thing, I think.

While your way may not always be easy, or even fun sometimes, I think you all have chosen a truly noble profession, that brings a lot of good into the world. I'm honored to hang out with you all here on these forums.
 
I like what I hear I see all true makers have the same passion
about what we do,some times we may not agree with each other I see
from the forums and from makers I have had a one on one talk with
that it is not about money it is about somthing knife makers can't
put into words,amung all the makers and people that hang out here
there is something magical about it.We all have a different way at
looking at things but I see the circle of makers have the same thing
in mind and that is what makes it truly different and a true circle of freinds
Nathan><>;)
if there is any one on this forum or any other if I have offend any
I am sorry,I have the passion and I know what making knives is truly about
 
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