THE FIFTY DOLLAR KNIFE SHOP?

DanF

DanF

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 17, 2017
Messages
1,442
What would (or should) it be called today?
 
5 Bitcoin knife shop ;)
or 0,005😂I don't know how much is bitcoin worth now :)
 
Last edited:
chumaman said:
5 Bitcoin knife shop ;)
or 0,005😂I don't know how much is bitcoin worth now :)
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Bitcoin today 44,152.00 USD 😳
So somewhere just south of, THE QUARTER MILLION DOLLAR KNIFE SHOP. Yeah, that has a ring to it!😆
 
12345678910 said:
I stay away from any reference to that because it implies that that book is a good source of info.

The title was a marketing stroke of genius, but the book is a terrible how to.
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Agreed, but it was popular and still sells. Was even touted on major knife making forums at one time as one of the top three books on knife making to read.
There weren’t that many really good books available way back when it was written and known good makers kept a very small, tight circle of acquaintances to share with. When Jim H. wrote his book I remember known knifemakers complaining about him giving away too much to the masses (paraphrasing).
The title wasn’t so much a stroke of genius as it filled a how-to void that existed then. This was before good old Al invented the internet (I believe) when EVERYONE became an overnight expert.
Anyway, the post was tongue in cheek, as I doubt you could find a $50 one-off knife (or shop) today by anyone trying to produce a decent, good knife.
All that aside , I’ll take that honest attempt by that author over Hollywood entertainment FiF any day of the week.
 
In the book he said that $50 is an arbitrary number and the intent is to stress that knifemaking doesn’t need to be expensive. The first edition was 2001, with inflation that’s about $80.
 
Realistically?

Probably "The $5,000 Knife Shop".

You can do it for less, but I'd rather spend more and do things efficiently.
 
I never read anything he wrote that didn't somehow add to or advance the art or attempt to expand it to others. The best lesson in my whole life might be to use the proper tool. But now, 30 years into it, my favorite tools are the ones I make myself. That's pretty much what I took from that book. That said, I couldn't find a RR rail for an anvil to save my life. Now I know where several are laying around and don't care because I have a proper one. I couldn't ever figure out a dang grinder from a treadmill motor, esurplus was easier. Learning to make knives meant learning to make all kinds of random crap though. It seemed impossible, but then some dude wrote a whole book on it. Ll
 
Each of us travel different roads in bladesmithing. Some can afford to spend big bucks other can't. Wayne provided some basic ideas that helped a lot of young makers get into making knives. To some, the fun part of the journey is making nice knives from equipment they made themselves. His 50$ book did just that. Never met the man, but I wish I had, he inspired alot of people in this art.
 
I think that book is a good start.
If you find that you like knife making, you can always buy more and better tools.
It lowers the hurdle for someone to start
 
Should be re-titled: "DON'T QUENCH IN "GOOP"!"
other than ruining blades down that detour, I found it fun and inspiring.
 
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