What do you do for a living?

Will Leavitt said:
Dan I'm sorry but I have this mental image of someone with a metal JD tractor playing in a mound of manure like it's a sandpile :p

Ed... gotta love C4, when I was in Saudi we were doing 2-10 ton shots 3 times a week destroying captured or bad ordnance. :thumbup:
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Hehehe, its kinda like that when the manure freezes during winter... only smellier and colder. Will, you wouldn't happen to be the fella that Aldo told me to call 3 months ago about my oil burner? Sorry if I'm mistaken.
 
IT (Information Technology)Project Manager Usually have big data and fiber optic cabling projects to run. Started as a cable puller in 2001.
 
I've done so many different jobs, I've lost track of them all. I was brought up around craftsmen, mechanics, poets and musicians. I've always been happiest when at the end of the day, I can look with pride on something I MADE with my own hands and skills, or created a piece of music and performed it well.

Throughout my 20's and early 30's, I sang and played lead guitar in various local bands. It was great fun and rewarding in its own way, but I've since drifted away from the rock'n'roll scene... my body and brain can't take the abuse anymore ;) Not to mention there's no damn money in it.

I spent most of my "career" as a printing press operator. I worked in small shops where us pressmen were responsible for everything from plate-making to machine maintenance to final inspection of the product. I enjoyed the variety of the work, and the feeling of pride that comes from being productive/profitable and exceeding quality expectations. The bottom slowly fell out of that industry; too many layoffs/shrinking wages, etc, etc. Due to that and my distinct aversion to punching a time clock and busting my tail to make someone else rich, I abandoned the sinking ship. I'm currently living off my meager savings and working to learn the skills needed to become a serious knifemaker. I don't expect to get rich, but I do hope to put bread on the table by doing something I truly enjoy.

Holy crap, I sure talk a lot! Sorry boys.
 
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Yes Dan, that is me... although he didn't tell me who I was supposed to call :p you know Aldo.

Ask Charlie about how hot one of those little burners get :eek: :p
 
I did 32 years in the HVAC trade . The last 20 were with the city if reno which gave me a retirement . So now I play in the shop and wait for my monthly check .
 
For the last 21 years I have worked on riverboats on our inland rivers, Mississippi, Ohio, ect...The position I have held for the last 10 or 11 years is as an engineer. I work in the belly of the beast keeping the engines maintained, making repairs as need to the plumbing and electrical, hell. I even cook lunch for myself and the rest of the crew.
So I guess I am a glorified handyman:DI work 30 days on and 15 off.I would die of boredom sometimes if we did'nt have crew computers with internet access:thumbup:
 
During the day I work as an associate engineer in a plant where we make the metal inside jet engines and rocket nozzles. Basically I do all sorts of hands on stuff for the actual engineers, metallography, defect analysis, designing stuff, it's never the same day to day, and I get to work on some stuff that's really state of the art (and unfortunately so secret I can't even give details to my wife)
At night I'm a goldsmith.

Before that I did prepress, before that I was an aluminum fabricator, before that I was a bench jeweler (I have been a goldsmith on and off since I was 18) I got a Masters in printing management 2 months after 5 companies bought 90% of the printing capacity in the world and laid off several hundred thousand people worldwide in 2000. Before that I was a professional photographer for 20+ years, doing other stuff on the side as needed, or as it seemed interesting , acting, DJing, projectionist at a drive in theater, prep chef, bodyman, musician, professor, motorcycle mechanic.

-Page
 
i've worked mostly in social service settings for about 11 years total, worked at a juvenile lockup, drove semi for a while, corprate travel agent for about a year and a half, and i been back in the social service arena for the last 5 years. i am hoping and praying that i will have my final job in the next year or so and that is being a credentialed minister.

i've made a couple knives over the years, none were good. i need/want to make knives as an escape. i'm also busy with 4 kids the oldest being 9. pounding on some steel just seems like a cool thing to do!

thanks

jake
 
I have held a bunch of jobs, surveyors assistant, martial arts instructor, waiter at a restaurant. Now I am a middle school special education teacher, and I hope to retire from my present job.
 
I'm a neurologically specialized physical therapist. I work in an out patient rehab clinic helping patients with strokes, head injuries, spinal cord injuries, parkinsons, MS, etc. One of my focuses is in the orthopedic treatment of the neurolocally involved patient.

--nathan
 
Well I really seem to be the odd one out here, all of you guys seem to have some sort of engenereing or mechanical back ground which led you to knife making! I on the other hand am a personal trainer and certified nutritionalist. I am not really sure how I got started in knife making but, now I could not imagine life with out. I have always been good with my hands, as my father owned a construction company and I worked with him for many years, but now I make a living at making knives, and going to the gym( not too bad I guess) and it pays the bills for me and my son who I am raising on my own.
Jason
 
I'm back in escuela... dual enrolled in welding and machining. I am going for a two year associates in both.

I also have a mechanical engineering degree, but most of my working life was 5 years as a personal trainer, 5 years as a full time knifemaker, and close to 3 on an industrial construction crew.

Man... what a loser! :eek:
 
Guys this is all very interesting!!! Knifemakers come from every trade!!! and Yes Dan the oil burner opens the fires from hell!!!!! No joke I made one and it got so hot the devil came out and we talked for awhile.
 
I'm a software engineer, with a degree in electrical engineering. Blacksmithing and bladesmtihing are my weekend hobbies
 
As of late I'm working as a machinist. Formerly I was Federal LEO, Production Manager for Devin Thomas, and a Machinist Mate in the Navy for 11 years.
 
Charlie,
I hand make jewelery in gold, platinum, and silver. I cut stones, and set diamonds.
Many of the tools I use are just smaller and more precise versions of my knife shop tools.
When I get bored at work, I take out these little hammers, and a twelve pound anvil, and make tiny forged knives.They are exact replicas of full sized knives - crown stag handles, 8/0 threaded tangs and acorn nuts, guards, etc. - only about 10-15mm long. I make tiny stock reduction blades,too. The smallest to date is 1.5mm. I make a working folder that was 10mm long, with MOP scales that have diamonds set in them.

A couple years back I was commissioned to make a gift for the Queen of England.

Stacy
 
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