Question. How to money from my knife hobby?

Check the exchange on this and other forums and you will notice the bubble has popped...
Prices are going down across the board, and it's not easy to sell anything.

Your timing for this to be anything else then a hobby you enjoy has passed.
It may return to the days when everything sells for whatever money, but it's gonna be a while.

It's a great time to buy, but if you're doing it for investment purposes, good luck on trying to figure out what to buy, and when it will be worth more then what you paid for it....
 
You'll never get it to pay for itself, but you can make a bit of money sharpening knives for "non-knife" people that you know if you are good at it. Maybe in 10 years or so I will have paid for my wicked edge! :P
 
I've owned my current 1/3hp 1x42 belt grinder for 9 months. It has paid for itself probably 20X over.
 
Metalhed2434 said:
I tip my hat to you sir, I just don't trust my shaky hands with any sort of powered belt system :P
Click to expand...

Just wait until I set up the 2x72 and start using a grinding fixture on a work rest!
 
A wise man (well, wiser than I :D) once told me the 2 step secret of making a small fortune making knives -

Step 1 - Start with a large fortune

Step 2 - Loose most of it making knives. :D:D
 
Here is one thing that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet .
I know of one gentleman that acts as a broker for folks that wish to
sell their collections or parts thereof.
So he is selling on consignment, I suppose he must know a lot about knife values,
 
I've known people who received great enjoyment from going to garage/yard sales, estate sales, swap meets, flea markets, etc. And even if they never bought anything they still enjoyed themselves. But every once in awhile they would come across something very valuable, far more valuable than the price the seller was asking. These people would buy these items and sell them. They made a lot more money from those sales then all the money they spent buying stuff that they wanted to keep combined.

Every once in awhile someone will post on this forum about a knife that they bought at a garage/yard/estate sale etc, or at a pawn shop. In some cases the knife they bought was a rare and valuable one, or some other desirable knife that was being sold for a fraction of it's used retail value.

I suppose if a person enjoyed going to garage/yard/estate sales, pawn shops, etc, looking for knives, that they might find some that could be sold for a good profit. They might even get lucky and find some really valuable knife being sold cheap by someone who doesn't know what they have.

If a person enjoys going to such places looking for knives, then that enjoyment alone would be worth the gas and time. And if they were able to make some money from such activities, then that would be a bonus.
 
Last edited:
I wonder if it would be a good idea
to share a good idea.
In the economic sense.
Meanwhile I enjoy the discussion, as the thought has crossed my mind.
 
red mag said:
I wonder if it would be a good idea
to share a good idea.
In the economic sense.
Meanwhile I enjoy the discussion, as the thought has crossed my mind.
Click to expand...

Yes... but it must be in the form of a sonnet.

;)
 
Last edited:
red mag said:
I wonder if it would be a good idea
to share a good idea.
In the economic sense.
Meanwhile I enjoy the discussion, as the thought has crossed my mind.
Click to expand...

That's the rub isn't it? I bet there are quite a few of the more experienced enthusiasts here either cringing or laughing that this thread even exists. After all, with the internet written in digital stone and all this wont be going anywhere. It'll just sit here, available for all those little searching bots to find, even the ones that speak in foreign tongues. Metaphorical tongues anyway.

How do you make money at anything could have been a better title? The answer is always the same, work hard, put a lot into it and hopefully you can break even.

Honestly, I've spent wayyyyyyyyy more than I've made and can see some of the knives I bought devaluing by the minute. Example, there's a Horizon D for sale on the exchange for $325, it's a pretty rare Reate knife and I paid about $100 more for mine. And that one is not selling. So, right there, is an example of how I might have lost any amount I made from reselling the knives I choose not to keep. However, I'm super happy with that knife and intend on using it one day.

I think that one of the real tricks of this whole hobby is not to end up with too much stuff that you aren't using, or will ever use. As long as you're using them, then your collection will always maintain value.

In summation, if there is a way to make money from this hobby, it's through hard work OR, nobody who is doing it is going to share that information. And they shouldn't.

Whispers are the way to find the dragons teeth in the forest
My hands weary from sharpening metals, if only I'd been a florist
Oh weary are the days, and long for a grinder of steel
Go to school for banking, financing and learning the art of the deal
That's my advice to the young lads and lassies who wish to own stuff
For all but gold and silver will eventually succumb and wither to rust.

I don't even know what a sonnet is anymore, but that's my best quick attempt.
 
I was just joking about the sonnet part :D
 
Would love to have a reasonably good belt grinder such as the one you linked Charlie Mike. My problem with belt sanders is "fear"... I have had my hands torn up several times with belts that have broken back when I worked in a factory summer jobs during college. Each required trips to the emergency room and a sling.
 
I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but you could also start a knife review site. If you enjoy them enough, you could write some analysis and take some great pictures. Places like BladeHQ and Knife Depot have affiliate programs I believe, so you could make a little money from your site that way. You may also get sent knives to review and there's nothing better than free knives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top