When the hobby becomes work... and the excitement fades.... !!

Battle Creek Knives

Battle Creek Knives

Joined
Feb 23, 2010
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used to be I was excited to go out and thrash some metal, but lately I've noticed the desire fading.... I'd say I've even considered it work rather then a hobby at times.. It probably has a little to do with the fact that I sold some knife shaped objects on the exchange and people wanting to add a sheath etc.. Now its like a deadline or something, I have to make a kydex or leather sheath to go with this one, package up this, send that, order this, don't forget that..!!!

Whew, I'm really started to feel a work load... I have a 3 car garage and have divided the single part for knife making, and have found myself almost avoiding that area... I'm self employed and my last contract is ending next week and the future work load looks a little grim, so in fear I may have to step up my game and take my hobby to the next level...

which will make it WORK... (now) I enjoy it more then my current occupation but I don't want to (have) to go to work but rather (get) to work on knives, I mean if its work that will never leave me the opportunity to make something just for fun, or something (I)can play with for once...

in a nutshell I'm looking for advice from you guys, in the worse case scenario I have to escalate this to a business perspective what can I do to keep the spice/interest/desire/love for knife making there?? rather then I (have) to go out there again..........

I appreciate any and all advice and want to apolagize for my rant in advance......:)

how do you guys do it??
 
Continually challenging yourself to do better, designing new tools and fixtures to make the job easier, and designing challenging knives to make can help keep it fresh.
But, it's still "work," if you sell your product-and you should consider it a business. Run it that way.
 
I started trying this because its totally the opposite of what I do for work. I can relate to your dilemma and have noticed that the saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" applies to many things.
 
Its tough, I went through this with my sailing. Going from a competitive ameture to paid professional took a bit of the fun out of it. Look for new things to do, myself I am a perfectionist and can work on one thing for a long time til I get it right, which takes up plenty of time.

But in the end I still had to make a concious effort to go for a sail, just for me. It served as a reminder of why I love it!


Good luck!

-Xander
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Continually challenging yourself to do better, designing new tools and fixtures to make the job easier, and designing challenging knives to make can help keep it fresh.
But, it's still "work," if you sell your product-and you should consider it a business. Run it that way.
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I think what Bill said really nails it....... :thumbup:
 
I know what you are talking about concerning the hobby becoming work or another job. I will occasionally get tired of it and back off for a few days.
 
Sounds to me like you need a helper who does leather and kydex work, boxing and shipping, etc. Of course then you have to pay the helper wages, social insecurity and all that jazz.
 
Sounds like you have a job and knives are your hobby. You can't treat them both the same. If you want to make a job of knifemaking there is no "easing into it" you either make the jump or keep it as a hobby that makes a bit of money. If you want to keep your day job, DON'T take knife orders at all. Just make them when you can and post them when they are done. NO DELIVERY DATES or MONEY UPFRONT. You are obviously wearing yourself thin and continuing on this path will kill your love for making knives.

Do you think it is viable to quit your job and start taking orders? If the answer is "Yes" go for it. If the answer is "Maybe" request a leave and give it a shot. If the answer is "NO" keep to your day job and amke knives when you feel like it.... and do not take orders!

Rick
 
I can sympathize. I am an Engineer and my wife is a dept Sheriff. We don't make knives but we do make some of the coolest pet id tags in the world. This little side job had turned into a 7 day a week affair. What we do is set some goals for ourselves and when the goals are met we treat ourselves. It might be buying something that we want but wouldn't normally purchase or a nice dinner out or a mini vacation. It is important reward yourself for your hard work.

One person you might look to as an example is Tinny from Minibulldesign. He makes alcohol stoves, and you can find him on Youtube. He makes videos everyday. It is intersting how he has structured his life. Up early working on the days orders, a little nap, finish working by 1 or 2 in the afternoon then some play time. He seems to be really enjoying what he is doing and works hard to keep things from becoming overwhelming.

Best of luck on finding the balance!
 
And, I must say your dilemna is why I don't generally take orders for custom knives. If a customer's idea appeals to me, that's fine. If it doesn't, I try to refer them to a maker who can accomodate their needs. Most of my workload is restoration and repair-so building the occasional knife isn't a chore.
 
Rick,
I still have my day job, but I'm definitely making a go at this on a business level. I have had multiple jobs at once for many years now and am used to a sixty to sixty five hour work week as the norm. By cutting my day job back to a normal forty hour week I have been able to devote a lot of hours to knife making, and I do take orders. I think it's possible to have a day job and treat making as a job as well. It doesn't have to stay at the hobby level just because you get up and go to work in the morning. Just my two cents buddy;)

Rick Marchand said:
Sounds like you have a job and knives are your hobby. You can't treat them both the same. If you want to make a job of knifemaking there is no "easing into it" you either make the jump or keep it as a hobby that makes a bit of money. If you want to keep your day job, DON'T take knife orders at all. Just make them when you can and post them when they are done. NO DELIVERY DATES or MONEY UPFRONT. You are obviously wearing yourself thin and continuing on this path will kill your love for making knives.

Do you think it is viable to quit your job and start taking orders? If the answer is "Yes" go for it. If the answer is "Maybe" request a leave and give it a shot. If the answer is "NO" keep to your day job and amke knives when you feel like it.... and do not take orders!

Rick
Click to expand...
 
Work doesn't have to be a bad word. It has become so, since we've grown used to working to benefit someone else's agenda, and largely for the profit of others. Our hobbies are the things we do on our own time, that are intrinsically enjoyable. It's difficult to reconcile oneself at times to the fact that it's possible to work, and to love what you do- but to apply the work ethic learned in the salt mines.

Being your own boss requires that you learn more about yourself- your best work rhythms, your naturally most productive hours, how to tell when you are actually burnt for the day, how to keep your creativity flowing. I find overstimulation to be a big enemy of focus in the shop, and a clear head- and those are essential to not burning out. I'm not a naturally clean and organized person, but I find that my shop being cluttered and dirty contributes to a creative and productive malaise. Taking a half day or so once a week to keep it fairly nice to work in helps me feel motivated as well.

Not taking orders any longer is something I've been considering for a while. I don't think I can afford to take that leap yet, though.

Another thing is, this I find is cyclical. You'll come into a fresh period of inspiration sooner or later. You just have to put one foot in front of the other until then.
 
jonnymac44 said:
It doesn't have to stay at the hobby level just because you get up and go to work in the morning. Just my two cents buddy;)
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That gives hope to folks, J-Mac. I couldn't do it. I was at 60hrs a week with my job as it was. I hated it. I went from a job that payed as close to 6digits as you can get to a home business that made under 10K the first year. Way to go buddy.... show em how its done..... and remind me to kick you in the nads at Blade this year.
 
Do some stuff completely out of your comfort zone... if you do fulltang slabs, try a few hidden tangs. If You do stainless, try a few carbon steel with hamons... that will keep your craft interesting.
 
I hear ya buddy!

As far as Blade goes, I'm committed to doing the OKCA show in April, and I'm still working out the details for Atlanta. I'm hoping I can swing it. Let's put it this way.......if I'm around at Blade so you can kick me in the nads, it will mean all worked out for me! You can buy the beer;)

Rick Marchand said:
That gives hope to folks, J-Mac. I couldn't do it. I was at 60hrs a week with my job as it was. I hated it. I went from a job that payed as close to 6digits as you can get to a home business that made under 10K the first year. Way to go buddy.... show em how its done..... and remind me to kick you in the nads at Blade this year.
Click to expand...
 
Make.
What.
You.
Want.

Don't feel pressure to reach beyond, unless the pressure comes from within. I spent all last year striving to make knives that weren't my style, and hated it. Wasn't satisfied with any of it, and it showed in the work. Felt like I was struggling with it, and it sucked.

Decided to make a few that I was interested in. Suddenly I'm enjoying myself, and people want the knives, and I WANT to make more of them. They find their own homes, the pressure doesn't exist, and even if they don't move I feel a sense of accomplishment -- the whole point in this hobby for me, to begin with!!!!!!

Everything else we deal with ends up inducing stress - don't make your passion a chore.
 
I have reached this point a few times in the last year. It can feel almost like you are doing all the work but customers have started making most of the decisions. I found new inspiration in picking up an old project that I had shelved a long time ago, and starting it again as my own project, not something intended for sale but for my own collection. The fact that I didn't have a completion date for it, or have to put a price on it when it was finished, or have to apply any of the usual priorites or standards to it, made it seem almost like a hobby again:)

I dug up a couple of other projects like it and am feelin' a new groove these days. To be honest it does take time away from paying work, and the time spent has to be made up, but on the other hand I find it inspiring enough to make me want to spend a couple extra hours in the shop now and then. The fact that there is no customer, time frame, budget, etc. to answer to means that you can be as ambitious as you want, push your boundaries without worrying if you can make it add up to profit, and be a little bit obsessive about it.

My advice: Take a bit of the hobby back and keep it for yourself. Have a project or two of your own somewhere that you can pick up and "whittle on" for a while, on those days when it almost feels like the customers are actually standing there in the shop, waiting for their knives...
 
I think Salem's post is brilliant. Read it carefully, six or nineteen times. ;) :)


As a side note, I'm always kind of fascinated by the folks who say knifemaking was a fun, relaxing hobby but it turned to work.

For me, it has ALWAYS been work--- very little of it has been fun or relaxing. It's often dirty, tiring work that can also be incredibly frustrating. Maybe the biggest reason for me, is I always want to do whatever it is I do, as the best level I can.... so right off the git-go, I was struggling to learn to grind and buff and forge and worked hard to try and do it well, not just to do it.....

Fun and relaxing for me is going on a hike, a walk on the beach, playing with the puppies....

Making a knife from a pile of materials has always been work to me. But work that I enjoy, and it feels extremely rewarding once there is a finished knife in hand. ;) :)

So if I have to work (and most of us do! ;) ).... then I'd rather it be at something I enjoy and find rewarding. :) If i thought making a knife was supposed to be relaxing, then I'd have quit 20 years ago. ;) :) (but I didn't quit!)
 
Robert, just relax and enjoy the ride. If you feel like the fun is being sucked out, take some time off and refocus on your career and landing a new contract. I don't think anyone is going to have that magic answer because we're all wired differently. I can't wait to get into the shop. But I think that has more to do with how little time I actually have to work in there. Between my career, my family and my real love, coaching youth football and baseball, my time to work on steel isn't always as much as I'd like.

I can't tell from your post if you want it to remain your hobby or if you want it to become your career. If you want it to remain your hobby, find your balance.
 
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