Having knife making withdraws

JPSWorks

JPSWorks

Well-Known Member
Was out of the country for a couple of weeks over the holidays and started a new job the day after we got back. I was only able to work for a couple of hours on a new slip joint this last Saturday. Other than that I haven't had time to work on anything knife making related for just over a month now. Funny how much it's driving me nuts!

Sorry, just rambling.

John
 
Lol John I feel your pain. Since we had the baby and the weeks leading up to it I have done nothing managed to squeeze about an hour in today. I have been reading and drawing up a design for a frame lock and how to make it to easy the pain :)
 
I haven't done much myself. Don't have any excuses as good as either of yours but it's been bugging me as well. I have a couple projects coming up I need to get started that might hopefully get me back in gear. Still need to sit down and draw up a slip joint pattern myself.

John, I enjoyed visiting with you at the shop tour and hope your new job is going well. Justin, I pray Ashley and Macoy are doing well!

Chris
 
Guys I too feel the pain. Foot surgery 4 months ago, and still off my feet recovering. Haven't seen the shop once in all that time.

My best wishes to all!
 
I'm sure my shop wonders where I'm at as well, I have been taking care of my mothers estate but almost done and back to knives.
 
I completely understand. One the one hand, this "hobby" has become a full time job and my family thinks I have abandoned them. But in the downtime (current batch done, waiting on blades to come back from heat treat, etc) all I do is suffer anxiety over not working on knives. Then, when I do have knives I'm working on all I do is obsess over getting them done so I can take a break. And then I lay in bed and obsess over some hurdle I've been presented on a knife and dwell on how I'm going to solve the problem.

I know I sound like a crazy person. I feel blessed that my knives have received the response they have from people who have seen them. And I am truly grateful for people who want to buy them. But I'm stuck somewhere between a hobby I enjoy and the demands of what has become a side business with deadlines and obligations and all that that entails.
 
John Wilson said:
I completely understand. One the one hand, this "hobby" has become a full time job and my family thinks I have abandoned them. But in the downtime (current batch done, waiting on blades to come back from heat treat, etc) all I do is suffer anxiety over not working on knives. Then, when I do have knives I'm working on all I do is obsess over getting them done so I can take a break. And then I lay in bed and obsess over some hurdle I've been presented on a knife and dwell on how I'm going to solve the problem.

I know I sound like a crazy person. I feel blessed that my knives have received the response they have from people who have seen them. And I am truly grateful for people who want to buy them. But I'm stuck somewhere between a hobby I enjoy and the demands of what has become a side business with deadlines and obligations and all that that entails.
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John you are so right, it is a weird obsession/addiction that gets in ya.
I'm lucky enough to have a good job that provides for my family and I have decided to try and not take orders and make what I want and sell them....we will see how it goes.
 
We are all "birds of a feather". I could not have said it any better that John Wilson. I feel the exact same way. Over the winter in Nebraska it gets cold in the garage. I do not get my "knife" time nearly as much. With the end of the year and the holidays - I just naturally slow down and spend more time with the family. My day job keeps me busy. But, I obsess over knives. I draw them, I internet scout for them, I lay in bed thinking about the next great idea. I am not sure if it is a "passion" or a "sickness".

This statement by Justin really hit home for me. "I have decided to try and not take orders and make what I want and sell them....we will see how it goes." I could not agree more. As a hobby maker that sells very little - I can come and go as I want to and from knife making. I do not rely whatsoever on knife income to pay the bills. I do not even want to imagine what a full-time maker feels when financial times get tough or you do not feel like working for a day or two.

I will just continue to dabble and try and improve my skills knowing that their are like minded individuals out there obsessing over knives - just like me. See you on KD.

DeMo
 
I thought it was just me... Having a busy job and family, I get very little time to "create". I did get a couple hours last night though!
If I can learn a new skill every couple weeks and if every knife is getting better, then I guess that is good enough for now.
- J
 
Justin Presson said:
John you are so right, it is a weird obsession/addiction that gets in ya.
I'm lucky enough to have a good job that provides for my family and I have decided to try and not take orders and make what I want and sell them....we will see how it goes.
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absolutely right. Same here. I can't pay the bills on knives (not at the rate it takes me to finish them) and so this needs to be a hobby. Any hobby that pays for itself is the greatest hobby possible. That's enough, and I need to remember that.

At first I fell into the trap of "sure, I can make that for you" and quickly realized that being a one-off "custom knifemaker" is the fast lane to psychoville. Every single thing is a challenge you have to overcome, and then you don't even get the benefit of learning from it because you aren't going to make a bunch more like it where you can recoup all that time lost, or material you ruined.

I'm still trying new things, as I'm sure you are from looking at the super impressive knives you are putting out. But now I'm going to focus on a handful of "core" designs and, God forbid, turn some small profit (at least on the material cost).
 
DeMo said:
I do not even want to imagine what a full-time maker feels when financial times get tough or you do not feel like working for a day or two.

I will just continue to dabble and try and improve my skills knowing that their are like minded individuals out there obsessing over knives - just like me. See you on KD.

DeMo
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How true is that. I feel guilty watching TV if I know I could be finishing a knife right now. If I had to pay the bills with this I'm not sure I'd like knifemaking nearly as much.


I'm also really happy to know that I'm not a complete weirdo. Or at least not the only one, ha!
 
John Wilson said:
I'm also really happy to know that I'm not a complete weirdo. Or at least not the only one, ha!
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The key word in that sentence is "complete". Right? I feel the same way.

It is hard to explain to people that are not "obsessed' or "infected" with knife making just how crazy it is to try and master this art form. I have looked at thousands upon thousands of pages of knife pictures and related material. I try and glean "how-to" make that handle, "how-to" shape that guard, "why" did they make it with that material, "what" steel is best, "who" made that knife, "where" do you get that material, etc., etc., ect. Perhaps everybody does the "who", "what", "where", "when" and "how" questioning.

It is an obsession and I have proven to my wife that I am truly nuts, over and over and over again. There are times when I wish I could devote all of my time to knife making and then there are times when I wish I had taken up rock climbing.

Knife making is an evil mistress!!!

Here is the one that gets to me the most . . . when Mr. Bump, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Caffrey, Mr. Nielsen or one of the other masters posts a new knife and I just sit there in a puddle of drool in front of my computer and mumble "WOW!" over and over to myself. It gets me suckered in deeper, every time.

Hello, my name is DeMo and I'm a knife addict.

DeMo
 
John Wilson said:
Any hobby that pays for itself is the greatest hobby possible.
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That's what I was thinking until I actually added it up. Back in the first of December, I sold my first knife. On that day, I started writing down every penny I spend on knife making. I figure anything before that day, was just learning the hobby and something we just have to eat. So, just yesterday, I sat down with all my little notes and receipts and added it up. HOLY CRAP! I'm in the hole big time! Only sold 7 so far, but still amazing if you're honest with yourself about every penny you spend. I've got to sell 6 more, just to break even with what I've got so far. Like gambling, just one more and I'll be one top, just one more....
 
You're right- in the big picture it's a pretty deep hole to start out in. But every hobby has a buy-in cost.

I've been working in batches which does help. The first batch I had enough materials to make 9. I sold 6, kept 2, and one I destroyed in the process of finish grinding. The cost if the first batch I chalked up to getting started, along with tools and materials. We can conveniently throw that number away for now.... (Ugh)

But those 6 I sold paid for the whole next batch of materials to make 9 more. Those 9 sold for enough to make the next batch of 14.

Sure, I've bought some extra doodads along the way but honestly the cost is at least HUGELY offset by having a hobby that produces a salable product.

If this was a business I'd be losing my shirt. But it's not.

I have been competing in Armwrestling for a lot of years. I have spent many fortunes traveling and competing. There is no money in the sport to speak of. A big win might pay enough to cover what it cost to get there.

So I'm ecstatic that this hobby at least has the opportunity to finance itself. How well it does that is up to me. I just have to get better and more well known. I'd much rather be making half the knives for twice the money....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'll be way ahead eventually, just looks bad on paper. I've got enough steel, wood, g10, etc for about the next 40. I've just had a buying problem lately, combined with cold shop, not selling much.
 
Self Made Knives said:
I'll be way ahead eventually, just looks bad on paper. I've got enough steel, wood, g10, etc for about the next 40. I've just had a buying problem lately...
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I totally agree on all points. If I can keep my Tool Acquisition Syndrome under control, I could be ahead sooner rather than later. But in all honestly, if I wasn't binge shopping on knife supplies I'd be buying other crap. At least knife supplies are like toilet paper. You can't really waste money on something you'll eventually use up anyway, right?

Example: I need a better drill press. I didn't use to put a value on my time since it's a hobby, but now I have seen the light. There are only so many hours in a day. Do you want to spend knife time actually making progress, or drilling every single hole twice because your piss-pot drill press needs a pilot hole to drill a 1/4in hole? Then I find myself drilling 187 eighth-inch holes in the tang because I don't want to change bits several times to make several big holes, during which time my drill bit is constantly snagging and stalling. Sometimes NOT spending money on good tools is very easily false economy. If I could make a knife in half the time, I could make the same number of knives in... half the time and not be a slave to every knife. OR- I could make twice the knives in the same time. If every knife I make sells, then every knife I don't make is money down the toilet since I'm already putting the time in.

I want my knives to pay for these new things. That's happening, but it's a long process. But I have to remind myself that it is in fact happening. If I didn't have any more tools to buy, I could actually see myself paying off my initial buy-in cost in a year or so. Faster if I get my prices up.

And that's a whole other can of worms, isn't it...
 
Self Made Knives said:
George, I've got a bunch of hand sanding I can send you, if you miss it that much.
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Anthony I just started hand sanding a small damascus chasing hammer. As soon as I finish it your up! Biggest problem Doc only lets me out of the bed for 2 one hour sessions a day. So far this winter here we have had great days for forging nearly every day. I'll be back forging when the heat gets unbearable and you fry in the shade here. Life isn't always what you want but, living sure is fun!
 
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