The more knives I make the worse they get

P

PlaceKnives

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Well, I'm at my wits end here. It looks like the more knives I make the worse they get! The first knives I made a few years ago came out great, but now I can't seem to grind a straight line, drill a hole in the right place or anything. I'm at the point where I'm ruining more blades than I'm able to finish, like 1 out of 3. For a guy who can't even seem to sell a dang knife to anyone I don't know what to do.

I just got a new bandsaw and 2 sets of stamps for marking my blades, invested in a new set of drill bits, belts, sandpaper, files, vise etc. but the more I think about it the more I'm staring to think I'm wasting my money. Maybe I just don't have "it", whatever it takes to do this. I'm feeling all bummed out. I'm only able to make a few knives a year on comission, maybe it's just more practice I need but I can't keep blowing materials like this especially since I'm not making any money making knives. I think my ambition far exceeds my ability.

Does this happen to anyone else?
 
I know that I got a little bit more ambitious than I could handle. I would hardly call myself a seasoned maker, but I noticed a few things that seemed to help me.

One of the biggest things is that I got over confident and started rushing through my later knives, where on my first ones I went a lot slower because I didn't know what I was doing. Another thing for me was that I tried to do things that where way beyond my skill level, I need to be patient and work my way up to it.

As far as selling your knives, try eBay. I have pretty good luck selling mine on there, though for a little bit less than a premium price. Also if you are interested you can make a free profile at www.makerprofiles.com/knives

Hang in there....making knives is great!
 
you have to try to not worry sometimes all the stress is what kills you
and as said work your way up to it
so far as using up all your steel use wood shim stock as "blade" blanks
i have sold just 3 knives and have i bet 6 finished on my desk i dont think i will sell there just not up to par for what i think i can do
this i think is one of the dont try to make $ on it right now things
its a hobby treat it as such till your dam good and ready to start selling stuff
your friends and fam. will be ok with not just right knives if you made them i bet i have more then a few sharp knife like tools out there with my friends that i didnt think to sell they just like the fact that its hand made and by you also they tend to keep there eyes open for knife making stuff they think could help you

like all my friends are saving there jeans now so i can make handles out of them
another has found 1.5 inch cable that i might be able to make knives out of
i hope this helps or something
butch
 
Could it be you tools are wearing out? You said this is happening over a few
years, so I would check to see if your platen and wheels are still flat if your grinds are going all over the place. Sometimes it isn't you, just that the tooling needs repair.
 
Right brain - left brain, break your current habits. If you stand to grind, sit down. If your starting the grind with the blade point facing right than start on the other side. If your flat grinding try hollow. Change knife styles. Break the old habits to find new ones - then the comfort zone and confidence will come back.
 
just a little ra-ra i think most newer makers get the blues and start douting their abilities.i know i sure have at times.usally i just say the hell with and make blades for fun.usally these sell first.it sure is nice to grind for fun!!!!!!!!!
take heart freddie h.aka blueedgemaker ps good luck
 
I just took a 1 year hiatus, now my grinds are cleaner and designs better -although I barely have time to make 1 small knife every two months.

It helps to just stand back and think about it for a little while before going at it.

Also not having all my power equipment for a year was a good thing, I had to start from the basics (hacksaw, file, etc) -which I skipped by buying a KMG (only after a few months with a crappy 1"x 30" sander) and shoving every piece of metal I could find into it... fun, but as a knifemaker my skills didn't progress.

Don't get me wrong, it was a good investment, an invaluable tool -but one should learn to "write" before "typing."

-Just my .02. Stick with it man. You will get better.
 
Oh yeah, SLOW the grinder down.

Fast speeds are for profiling the blank. Slower speeds are much better for grinding the blade.

Worked for me -and don't be afraid to break out the files and sandpaper to clean up the grinds.
 
I'm going through the same sort of thing myself, though I've only been at this a short while. For me, it's because I'm trying to do more with my grinder, and less with files/sanding, in an attempt to speed things up. I end up ruining more materials, but hope, in the long run, I'll get better with the grinder and be able to reduce the amount of "arm work". I may be wrong, though, and end up reverting back to files for the final cleanup, and plenty of sanding.

Also, I know I'm being a lot more picky about my work than on the first few knives - perhaps you are too? I think that is only natural, and I've read a lot of threads about the perfectionist bent of knifemakers giving them grief.

The biggest problems seem to begin with impatience and end with frustration. Control the impatience and frustration, go slow, walk away when impatience starts to rear its ugly head, and things go much better.

Another trick -- when you start to get frustrated (or even excited) while grinding, slow the grinder way down, and maybe go to a finer grit. Forces you to calm down and go slow.

As far as ambition exceeding ability -- in any endeavor it usually does, but with perseverance, the ability always catches up.
 
PlaceKnives, I'm right there with you! I took a year break due to a move and lots of business. Right now, though, I'm getting back at the shop 'n grinder and, GRAR! my grinds are driving me nuts!

I think that, largely, it's a matter of slowing down and being patient. Wayne Goddard, in one of his books, said that it used to be a matter of 10 years' diligent effort before a person was a good, established maker. Patience, persistence, and diligence are perhaps the best tools that we aspiring knifemakers can wield. Hang in there, bud! :)
 
Something else occured to me.
A while back, I posted a thread about my frustrations with grinding: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397624

I got a lot of great advice. As I reflected on the advice, I realized one of the reasons I was getting impatient and messing up my grinding was because I wanted to get the knife finished and hold it in my hand (I love knives, as do we all!)

To combat the impulse to rush, I've started to make the knife in wood first, including the bevels, and including guard and handles colored in with markers. I drill the holes where I want them etc. I end up holding the wooden knife in my hand and playing around with it before I even begin on the metal. That way, I expend the excitement and impatience on the wood, and can focus more methodically on the metal. I find that, once the wooden model is done, I'm able to grind without wanting to rush to get the knife done. I think, also, knowing that I have a good "blank" makes me less worried about messing up (I can always use the blank to start over), and being less worried about it makes it less likely to happen. Basically, by modelling first, I'm better able to focus on (and enjoy) each process of making the knife, rather than focusing on the "image" in my mind of the completed knife.
 
PlaceKnives said:
Well, I'm at my wits end here. It looks like the more knives I make the worse they get! The first knives I made a few years ago came out great, but now I can't seem to grind a straight line, drill a hole in the right place or anything. I'm at the point where I'm ruining more blades than I'm able to finish, like 1 out of 3. For a guy who can't even seem to sell a dang knife to anyone I don't know what to do.

I just got a new bandsaw and 2 sets of stamps for marking my blades, invested in a new set of drill bits, belts, sandpaper, files, vise etc. but the more I think about it the more I'm staring to think I'm wasting my money. Maybe I just don't have "it", whatever it takes to do this. I'm feeling all bummed out. I'm only able to make a few knives a year on comission, maybe it's just more practice I need but I can't keep blowing materials like this especially since I'm not making any money making knives. I think my ambition far exceeds my ability.

Does this happen to anyone else?
Click to expand...
Slow down... I used to have allot of trouble when I first started doing guns..a loooong time ago.
Metal checkering was a nightmare ! Only because of me not spending time in the layout phase.
Ge yourself some prussian blue, some good scribes, a pair of calipers and spend 10 times more time laying out than you do working.

As soon as you said " drill a hole in the right place" " grind straight line" I thought about layout...
Its virtually impossible to drill a hole in the wrong place.. IF your jigged up, clamped down, and have it all layed out.

I looked at your site.. You have done some very nice work and have a great eye for style.
GitRdun..... slowly..
 
If I was to break down the amount of mental energy, or thought I input into building a knife, I would have to say its around 90/10. I conceptualize the entire knife from tip to pommel, and every material and finish process used before the blade it even profiled. I have the whole knife built inside my head before my hands ever touch the materials used. I'd say that although it may take me a week to make a great knife, that time only represents about 10% of the total amount of time spent on the project.

Another thing: Don't rush it. I know others here are telling you to slow down, Place, but I am saying not to run before you can walk. Dont rush into making something that is beyond your abilities. If your spirit is not attuned to what you are doing with your hands and eyes, your work will show it. Instead, concentrate on a simpler knife. Make a few of them. try to make each one the same. Your skills will grow to the point that each and every process or step you take to comkplete that knife will become more relaxed and easier to do. Your progression in skills will then become a natural.
 
Hey Jeff.
I just hit your site...
Do you make drill bushings to fit in your tapper jig so a guy could use a battery drill or something and have a pseudo drill press ?

That'd make for a nice newbie kit...
Nice piece of work BTW.. :thumbup:
 
I just visited your site also, and I think your knives look great. I'll bet what's really happening to you isn't that each knife you make gets worse, but you get more critical of yourself and the defects get smaller each time, but they look bigger. Do you know what I mean? I haven't seen the knives your talking about as getting worse, but I've noticed this with myself. Just don't let it get you down. And do like everybody else said, and take it slow.
BTW, I really enjoyed your website. I don't remember hearing about the Zombie outbreak of 1978. How did that turn out? Did it make the national news? :D
 
Thanks for all the support guys and I hear what your saying. I've been getting ahead of myself and rushing through things. I really do need to slow down. I've been up till 2 or 3 am finishing a comission job and then getting up at 7 for my real job for about 2 weeks now and I'm dead tired. At last I sent the knife I'm working on out to be heat treated and it came out great. I broke out the sandpaper and files and went old school to finish it.
Patience is a virtue and I'm learning. Thanks again.
J.P.
 
The best advice I can give that has worked for me is stay focused and positive. Don't give up. Above all don't try to work when you're tired. That leads to frustration. It takes time, so press on.:thumbup:
Scott
 
I am no mental magician, but I do know that if it is not enjoyable put it down for a while and come back later. Mounting pressure to complete an order is self defeating. Personally, I will take no orders forever.
 
Since I sent the blade out this morning I feel alot better. The pressures off for a while and I can relax for a week or so until I get it back. AT that point finishing it will be easy and I can look forward to my next no-pressure project.
Thanks.
 
I used to work on one knife at a time. Recently, i have started a number of knives in different sytles. its a huge advantage to be able to pick what process you feel like doing on that day. There used to be times when a knife would get me in a rut. These days if i get frustrated, I put it down and turn to a process that i feel like doing. If you keep enough steel handy, profiling blades is a good stress reliever and only increases your cache of knives to work on. it also lessens the blow when one goes south and you have a bunch more to work on....
 
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