Thinking about knifemaking as a hobby

W

winstonsmith

Joined
Jun 22, 2003
Messages
8
Hi guys,

I've always had a fascination with knives. I buy, sell, trade and so on. But what would be really fun, and potentially profitable :D .

So I was wondering what advice you have for a teenager looking to get into this? Got any good book reccomendations? What kind of equipment would I need? Is there anyone in the area of San Francisco that is looking to take on an apprentice who asks to many questions? How hard is it to make a profit doing it?

And so on.
 
Hello Winston, and welcome to knife making! Believe me, if you get into knife making as a hobby, you will amaze yourself with the fact that you can actually make your own working knife. Before starting knife making, I thought that nice knives were all factory made. I believe you need more patience than skill when it comes to getting into knife making. If you have the patience to stick with it, the skill will come along.

The book that I always recommend to a beginner is "Custom Knifemaking: 10 Projects from a Master Craftsman" by Tim McCreight. The book "How to make Knives" and "The $50 Knife Shop" are also good books, but Tim McCreight's book shows you 10 step-by-step different projects that all move up in difficulty as you go through the book. The nice thing about this book is that the projects are all done with simple shop tools, and you don't have to invest in expensive equipment to get started. Here is a link to some info on that book:
Custom Knifemaking: 10 Projects from a Master Craftsman

Also check out Scott "Jonesy" Jones' tutorial "Absolute Cheapskate Way To Start Making Knives" which is in a PDF format and can be downloaded from Jerry Hossom's website. This is the tutorial that got me started in knife making and lead to my first knife.
Absolute Cheapskate Way To Start Making Knives

Hope this helps. -chris

__________________
Chris Crawford Knives

 
Winston,

Chris has given you some good leads. That will get you started.

I've helped a couple of guys start knife making. Neither has finished their first knife yet. (Either the teacher was awful or they just don't have the patience to stick it out.)

I live about 3 hours south of SF. If you'd like to make the drive I'll set you up with a piece of annealed steel, wood, and pins and show you how to get started. You can send it back to me for heat treating.

As far as profit goes. Well, don't count on it. For every $ I make, I spend $$$ getting more equipment. I used to think that any day now I'd have everything I need. hahahahha

There are guys on this forum that make a living at it. However, they have to spend a lot of money on marketing, attending shows, etc. It ain't easy. On the other hand you can usually find a few friends that want a good, hand made knife. Profit of about $50 for 20 to 30 hours of labor. That's great money in certain parts of the world.

Shoot me an email, if you'd like to visit.

Steve
 
Yep, you can save a lot of money making your own knives. Heck I saved $25 by not buying a Henckels paring knife a few years back. The Burr King cost me only... well that was before the variable speed motor, so figure... never mind.
Start with a file, sandpaper and a hacksaw to check your dedication level. Most of all, have fun.
 
I figure I make about minimum wage on the knives I sell. Making em beats the crap outta flipping burgers and I'll never complain. There are no wealthy knife makers; maybe a handful make a good living, and the rest of the pros work hard for a decent living. There is nothing in my life more satisfying than making knives (well, there's no work in my life more satisfying... :D ) But don't expect to make money off your hobby; be happy if it's a hobby that will pay for itself - knifemaking can, and it's one of the few hobbies like that. Be happy!

Knifemaking allows you to exploit your creativity in almost infinite ways. The more creative your work is, the more value it will ultimately offer. That is not to say flashy; there are many apparently plain knives that will blow an alert enthusiast's socks off. Creativity can simply mean perfection in unexpected ways.

You will find that "perfection" is the only standard in knifemaking. No one ever completely achieves perfection but the closer one's work is to "perfect" the better one's compensation will be. This is why I make minimum wage. ;) I'm workin on it.

As others have mentioned, you can make knives with very few tools; files, sandpaper, a drill...that should do it. But soon you will want to take advantage of the time and work savings of better tooling, and like Steve said, that will ever end! Oh, my... I like to say I started making knives because I couldn't afford to buy them; but the truth is I could much better have afforded buying them than making them! Yet I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. Ever.

The basic tools you will want are: belt grinder; drill press; metal cutting bandsaw; misc hand tools; lots and lots of abrasive paper and belts. The skills you need are simple: Basic hand-eye coordination and patience. When Chris said you need patience, he said it in a rather understated manner, but this cannot be overstated. "Perfection" is approached only through patience. The more knives I make, the longer they take. And I'm only worth minimum wage (on a good day!).

If any of this discourages you or sounds boring, be happy as a collector! Good knife collectors are truly rare, and are appreciated. And few can afford to be both collector and maker! :D

Have fun, and welcome to the greatest community there is.

Dave
 
Dave, well said.:D

I think it was Jim Sornberger who said, "If I win a million dollars in the lottery, I'll make knives till I go broke".;)
 
I started knife making to escape paying for high buck knives as well...lets just say that plan is failing but You can build every thing you need out of junk belt grinders forge anvil a oven to heat treat SS is expensive but sometimes you can grab a great deal It depends how much of a scrounger you are

Its a great artistical outlet if you cant draw or paint like me the only thing i can draw is knives....
 
I also started making knives 2 years ago because i couldn't afford the "good" knives i wanted.

If i calculate, how much i spent on machinery, steel, titanium, wood, drill bits, belts, files and so on... i could own a nice collection of very nice knives now...

What you need in the beginning is: A Drill press, a saw, files, sandpaper and a place to mess up.

I made 5 or 6 knives with nothing more than that.
 
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