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I'd opt for the zombie apocalypse, then I can put the collection to beneficial use, and finally show my wife they aren't a waste of money lol
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Question. How to money from my knife hobby?
- Thread starter raschalt2000
- Start date
NJBillK
Custom Leather and Fixed Blade modifications.
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Exactly, waking up and looking forward to going to work...
bodog
BANNED
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Acting like a wanna be mod again.
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I do occasionally but its only with the desirable custom models and such. With lower end production stuff you either have to get a very good deal or get lucky and a model be discontinued or landing a rare one. But even with the custom stuff sometimes makers fall out of favor just look at Hinderer knives.
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Yeah. I have customs/handmade knives by folks that most people have never heard of.
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How to make money from it?
Buy low, sell high, like with any other collectable...but timing has to be impeccable (look at what happened with XM-18 speculation
).
Or, some people turn the hobby into an obsession then into a career; knife-making.
Hard to make money at that too, but some folks manage.
My suggestion is just forget about making money, and simple enjoy the knives.
If you like trading them, go for it, but still just enjoy the activity rather than chasing that cash.
A minimum wage job will net you more cash, generally.
Buy low, sell high, like with any other collectable...but timing has to be impeccable (look at what happened with XM-18 speculation
).Or, some people turn the hobby into an obsession then into a career; knife-making.
Hard to make money at that too, but some folks manage.
My suggestion is just forget about making money, and simple enjoy the knives.
If you like trading them, go for it, but still just enjoy the activity rather than chasing that cash.
A minimum wage job will net you more cash, generally.
If you know exactly what to buy, you can sell at a profit.
If you sit at home all day every day constantly refreshing your computer you can catch some new releases when they are first offered and you can buy them up and sell them at profit.
Otherwise you will be doing real good to just break even.
For the effort you put into the knife hobby, you would make more money by working in a fast food restaurant.
If you want to make money at the hobby, you would have to find something you can make or sell, some aspect of the hobby that isn't well served. There are things that are scarce and in demand, you just have to find one that you can provide.
If you sit at home all day every day constantly refreshing your computer you can catch some new releases when they are first offered and you can buy them up and sell them at profit.
Otherwise you will be doing real good to just break even.
For the effort you put into the knife hobby, you would make more money by working in a fast food restaurant.
If you want to make money at the hobby, you would have to find something you can make or sell, some aspect of the hobby that isn't well served. There are things that are scarce and in demand, you just have to find one that you can provide.
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Hahahahaha
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- Nov 1, 2000
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I can say that my knifemaking pays for itself and not much beyond that. Every knife I make sells... but there's no way I can "cash out" and continue making knives.
Bigfattyt
Gold Member
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Glad some one enjoyed the comment. It's harder to write nonsense than it looks!
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You apparently hit my humor button with that comment, 2 days later it still makes me laugh to read it. Well done.
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These things are unbelievably expensive, I have two, we don't bread and don't race they are for riding and localish competitions and they are a small mortgage payment a month to keep fed and healthy. Horses are really a rich persons game.
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That's the way I am now. I buy what I want and use it. Long gone are the days where I buy a knife because someone else likes it (PM2 & ZT's), and I definitely don't buy knives because I look at them as a way to make a profit. I also don't see them as an investment. I see them as quality tools, some fancier than others, but tools nonetheless.
Cobalt
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Funny and accurate all in one.....Since Yoda asked the question it is only fair that Yoda answer it.
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I have never made any money off hobbies and I have tried to an extent. I have recouped money and not taken a huge hit.. I used to frag corals as well and there is not much money in that. Like knives and such it is a hobby not a business.
Lately I have sharpened a couple peoples knives for a favor and because I like to sharpen so now I have quite a few people coming up to me and offering to pay me to sharpen. Since it is a hobby and they are co workers I usually just tell them to buy me lunch or something. They likely wouldn't pay 25-30$ for a mirror edge so I don't even go there. If they want a knife sharp I'll take 3-4$ as it's relatively quick. If they want something better the most I'll take is 10$. I see it as a bonus. I get free lunch and get I sharpen knives on my free time. It will probably take me years to recoup the money I have spent on my sharpening supplies though lol.
Lately I have sharpened a couple peoples knives for a favor and because I like to sharpen so now I have quite a few people coming up to me and offering to pay me to sharpen. Since it is a hobby and they are co workers I usually just tell them to buy me lunch or something. They likely wouldn't pay 25-30$ for a mirror edge so I don't even go there. If they want a knife sharp I'll take 3-4$ as it's relatively quick. If they want something better the most I'll take is 10$. I see it as a bonus. I get free lunch and get I sharpen knives on my free time. It will probably take me years to recoup the money I have spent on my sharpening supplies though lol.
I don't have a suggestion pertaining to the original question.
However, regarding the difficulty of "making money from hobbies"...we went from having one dog to opening a pet daycare. Going on 7 years now, business is strong BUT it takes a lot of effort. While others are out enjoying their holidays, we are cleaning, feeding and moving dogs around.
Still beats working for someone else, though. I won't quit my other job soon...my wife is handling everything when I am programming.
However, regarding the difficulty of "making money from hobbies"...we went from having one dog to opening a pet daycare. Going on 7 years now, business is strong BUT it takes a lot of effort. While others are out enjoying their holidays, we are cleaning, feeding and moving dogs around.
Still beats working for someone else, though. I won't quit my other job soon...my wife is handling everything when I am programming
.
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- May 23, 2015
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- 790
I've been a hobbyist my whole life. Two things that every hobbyist needs to be aware of, 1. Value is subjective. 2. Subjective reasoning is temporal.
How to make money from it?
Buy low, sell high, like with any other collectable...but timing has to be impeccable (look at what happened with XM-18 speculation
Or, some people turn the hobby into an obsession then into a career; knife-making.
Hard to make money at that too, but some folks manage.
My suggestion is just forget about making money, and simple enjoy the knives.
If you like trading them, go for it, but still just enjoy the activity rather than chasing that cash.
A minimum wage job will net you more cash, generally.
- Joined
- May 23, 2015
- Messages
- 790
I've been a hobbyist and collector my whole life. I've collected many things. My opinion is this
Funny opinion - - The easiest way to make money off of a hobby is collect until you grow bored of the hobby and then stuff the items in a box and forget about them. When you go back to them what you paid will have been forgotten and now everything you make off of them is straight profit.
Strict enjoyment from being a Hobbyist opinion (with no thought of how the money spent could be a burden on other living expenses.) - - You'll profit most by using your items and seeing it as an investment in a happy life. You don't ask for a financial return when you go have fun outdoors do you? You don't need to get paid to go to the gym cuz it enhances your life. You don't ask to be paid for sex (well, not most of us...)
My opinion - -
The hobbies I participate in have transformed my life. I am now aware that everything I buy has a "life" with me and that once that life is over the item will have a new life with someone else, which could bring me $. As far as a hobby paying for itself, here is something nobody else has mentioned. This is a fact that very few people, other than those who are money savvy, pay much attention to when it comes to purchases. If you take money and put it into say, an Amazing Spider-Man #1, it will appreciate at a regular rate and thus "make you money". However, it can never make as much money as if you had put that money into investments and that base investment had increased and now you are making money off of the gain as well. Accrued interest I believe is the term. The same goes for all hobbies. You pay to play. I've been selling some of the knives I buy back to people and keeping records of my purchases. BTW, if you want to make money at anything, you MUST keep tight records, who, where, when, how much etc. you bought it for and sold it for. In the end, my existence in this hobby doesn't pay for itself, no way, and since I use and customize ( a sure way to loose money when the resale time comes) my knives they depreciate. But I do try to find my knives cheap and enjoy the hell out of them everyday. I only wish I was younger cuz I would have used them more when I was.
So, all in all, my advice is to be more aware of what and for how much you buy and that will give you the information you need to know how much you can sell for. The main question I ask myself when buying anything is "Do I buy the best quality/name brand, or the beater/user." Each has it's purpose and whether or not you believe you will be reselling the item is THE major factor in that decision.
As far as buying hobby stuff, I find that two things really help to make sure I get good deals, 1. A very long "I want" list 2. patience.
With all that said, I missed out on a regular old production knife that happens to be kinda rare, a fox knives bantay, and now I can only find it new. If I buy it new I'll never get even near what I paid for it if/when I ever resell it. So I don't buy it. I wait, and if I never get it, oh well, I'll get something else. The way I see it is that the people here, on this site are primarily Collectors (collectors do not necessarily need to keep things, they can pass them on, but they keep collecting) first and knife enthusiasts second. I doubt many of these guys have three knives, the same three knives they've had for 25 years etc. The collecting mentality is one that cannot be afforded to remain un examined lest it run like wild horses all through the free range of your wallet. Knowing that the next item is not necessarily going to be better than what you have is also something to keep in mind. Besides the financial investment there is also a mental/emotional one.
All in all, I've made a few bucks on some knives, it felt good, I've lost a few bucks on knifes, it sucked, but I have a nice collection, some of which I don't know why I'm still keeping, some of which I will "never" let go, meh, it's something to do.
BTW, I open a new studio this week. In it I will be making art/selling stuff online and doing some knife stuff. I am a lifelong craftsman and I intend on starting into this hobby by making scales and then getting my own belt sander/grinder so that I can start making blades out of basic stock steels until I'm good enough to make my own blades. Prolly fixed blades at first and then, hopefully, eventually, I'll be making my own pocket knives. One day.....
Sorry, kinda verbose this morning, maybe it was the coffee.
Funny opinion - - The easiest way to make money off of a hobby is collect until you grow bored of the hobby and then stuff the items in a box and forget about them. When you go back to them what you paid will have been forgotten and now everything you make off of them is straight profit.
Strict enjoyment from being a Hobbyist opinion (with no thought of how the money spent could be a burden on other living expenses.) - - You'll profit most by using your items and seeing it as an investment in a happy life. You don't ask for a financial return when you go have fun outdoors do you? You don't need to get paid to go to the gym cuz it enhances your life. You don't ask to be paid for sex (well, not most of us...)
My opinion - -
The hobbies I participate in have transformed my life. I am now aware that everything I buy has a "life" with me and that once that life is over the item will have a new life with someone else, which could bring me $. As far as a hobby paying for itself, here is something nobody else has mentioned. This is a fact that very few people, other than those who are money savvy, pay much attention to when it comes to purchases. If you take money and put it into say, an Amazing Spider-Man #1, it will appreciate at a regular rate and thus "make you money". However, it can never make as much money as if you had put that money into investments and that base investment had increased and now you are making money off of the gain as well. Accrued interest I believe is the term. The same goes for all hobbies. You pay to play. I've been selling some of the knives I buy back to people and keeping records of my purchases. BTW, if you want to make money at anything, you MUST keep tight records, who, where, when, how much etc. you bought it for and sold it for. In the end, my existence in this hobby doesn't pay for itself, no way, and since I use and customize ( a sure way to loose money when the resale time comes) my knives they depreciate. But I do try to find my knives cheap and enjoy the hell out of them everyday. I only wish I was younger cuz I would have used them more when I was.
So, all in all, my advice is to be more aware of what and for how much you buy and that will give you the information you need to know how much you can sell for. The main question I ask myself when buying anything is "Do I buy the best quality/name brand, or the beater/user." Each has it's purpose and whether or not you believe you will be reselling the item is THE major factor in that decision.
As far as buying hobby stuff, I find that two things really help to make sure I get good deals, 1. A very long "I want" list 2. patience.
With all that said, I missed out on a regular old production knife that happens to be kinda rare, a fox knives bantay, and now I can only find it new. If I buy it new I'll never get even near what I paid for it if/when I ever resell it. So I don't buy it. I wait, and if I never get it, oh well, I'll get something else. The way I see it is that the people here, on this site are primarily Collectors (collectors do not necessarily need to keep things, they can pass them on, but they keep collecting) first and knife enthusiasts second. I doubt many of these guys have three knives, the same three knives they've had for 25 years etc. The collecting mentality is one that cannot be afforded to remain un examined lest it run like wild horses all through the free range of your wallet. Knowing that the next item is not necessarily going to be better than what you have is also something to keep in mind. Besides the financial investment there is also a mental/emotional one.
All in all, I've made a few bucks on some knives, it felt good, I've lost a few bucks on knifes, it sucked, but I have a nice collection, some of which I don't know why I'm still keeping, some of which I will "never" let go, meh, it's something to do.
BTW, I open a new studio this week. In it I will be making art/selling stuff online and doing some knife stuff. I am a lifelong craftsman and I intend on starting into this hobby by making scales and then getting my own belt sander/grinder so that I can start making blades out of basic stock steels until I'm good enough to make my own blades. Prolly fixed blades at first and then, hopefully, eventually, I'll be making my own pocket knives. One day.....
Sorry, kinda verbose this morning, maybe it was the coffee.
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