Suppliers

Taz575 said:
With the FiF show, everyone thinks they are the next champion! LOL. Knifemaking is the path to bankruptcy!! LOL! I am waiting for all of the deals on stuff these guys buy up and then decide they aren't going to continue with it and stop!
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I've heard that knifemakers can make a small fortune... as long as they start with a big fortune :)
 
bladegrinder said:
Know how to make 1 million dollars making knives? Start out with 2 million and keep going till you have 1 million left. ‍
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So true that it hurts. And if you start out on a shoestring like most of us, the secret to getting profitable is to only steal operating cash from the joint bank account a little at a time. Don't buy belts and steel in the same pay period. Make a big deal to your wife every time you make a sale.
 
Taz575 said:
With the FiF show, everyone thinks they are the next champion! LOL. Knifemaking is the path to bankruptcy!! LOL! I am waiting for all of the deals on stuff these guys buy up and then decide they aren't going to continue with it and stop!
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Ya, I kind of wonder how many people are influenced into starting this by that show, only to find out that it’s not easy to make a decent knife.
 
I also think that people see the work done on the first two rounds of FiF as normal quality and don't understand the difference between a fast quick knife for the show to hopefully pass the test (which often look very poorly made) versus what people really expect from a custom knife. It would be nice for them to show a couple quick pics of what the maker usually makes and how it looks when they introduce them to give an idea of what they can really do w/o the time constraints and parameters.
 
Taz575 said:
I also think that people see the work done on the first two rounds of FiF as normal quality and don't understand the difference between a fast quick knife for the show to hopefully pass the test (which often look very poorly made) versus what people really expect from a custom knife. It would be nice for them to show a couple quick pics of what the maker usually makes and how it looks when they introduce them to give an idea of what they can really do w/o the time constraints and parameters.
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I want them to show them sitting there staring at the tempering oven and twiddling their thumbs. :) So much of that TV show is entertainment. But that is the point. Personally, there are very few blades on that show I would be interested in reproducing, ever. Let alone, under such pressure. I really have no interest in blacksmithing either. I don't want a forge, and I don't want to swing a hammer more than a few ounces, or make billets of steel. I am much more interested in the "machinery" of knives. From friction folders, to slipjoints to lockbacks, maybe automatics someday, and those ratchetty sounding spanish ones too. I sure enjoy FiF the show, but it has very little to do with my interest in blades, repair, restoration, and re-creation. So I might just be a cat of a different color, or perhaps a strange breed of horse... :) But it seems that the interest the show brings is raising up much more in the way or suppliers. I have seen where apparently now Princess Auto now carries handle material and the such... Don't know for sure, I haven't been on that side of the line in a long time.
 
Edwardshandmadeknives said:
Ya, I kind of wonder how many people are influenced into starting this by that show, only to find out that it’s not easy to make a decent knife.
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Not a big problem. They just sell their not so good knives that are "rustic forged looking" for next to nothing and crash the market. :p
 
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52 Ford said:
I've never had luck making a "rustic" looking knife. I either have to go all the way with finishing it or it looks like Ray Charles made it with his feet.

Sent from my Champion Forge using Tapatalk
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I'm not sure what to think about the guys who get big bucks for their "rustic" knives. ESPECIALLY The guys that essentially pass off a mill scale finish on the flats as some kind of evidence of "hand forging." There are a some makers guys who have "forge" in their company name. Closest they get to forging is beating up on the cold steel with a ball peen hammer or some kind of patterning die to get that "rustic look." ;)
 
jmforge said:
I'm not sure what to think about the guys who get big bucks for their "rustic" knives. ESPECIALLY The guys that essentially pass off a mill scale finish on the flats as some kind of evidence of "hand forging." There are a some makers guys who have "forge" in their company name. Closest they get to forging is beating up on the cold steel with a ball peen hammer or some kind of patterning die to get that "rustic look." ;)
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Getting a GOOD texture from a ball pein is a HUGE pain in the butt. I think if I was going to do that a lot, I'd regrind the ball pein to have a much larger radius. Even something like a 2 pound ball pein is a bit too "sharp" in my opinion. I've used the corner of a rounding hammer with decent luck. Not on a knife, though. I was texturing some copper for a bird feeder roof.

Leaving forge scale is just lazy. Even with basic tools it's easy enough to get off.

On a budget, I'd grab a Harbor Freight angle grinder and a steel wire cup wheel to take the scale off.

Sent from my Champion Forge using Tapatalk
 
52 Ford said:
Getting a GOOD texture from a ball pein is a HUGE pain in the butt. I think if I was going to do that a lot, I'd regrind the ball pein to have a much larger radius. Even something like a 2 pound ball pein is a bit too "sharp" in my opinion. I've used the corner of a rounding hammer with decent luck. Not on a knife, though. I was texturing some copper for a bird feeder roof.

Leaving forge scale is just lazy. Even with basic tools it's easy enough to get off.

On a budget, I'd grab a Harbor Freight angle grinder and a steel wire cup wheel to take the scale off.

Sent from my Champion Forge using Tapatalk
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Why mess with Harbor Freight when you can just go to the supermarket and grab a gallon of store brand white vinegar? ;) Assuming best practices when forging because you are planning to not grind away all of your mistakes, overnight soak in vinegar and a session with the scotchbrite belt will do you good in most cases.
 
jmforge said:
I'm not sure what to think about the guys who get big bucks for their "rustic" knives. ESPECIALLY The guys that essentially pass off a mill scale finish on the flats as some kind of evidence of "hand forging." There are a some makers guys who have "forge" in their company name. Closest they get to forging is beating up on the cold steel with a ball peen hammer or some kind of patterning die to get that "rustic look." ;)
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Well I won't claim it. And have no interest in doing it. The way I see it, I don't have to raise chickens to make an omelet. Or work the oilfields to drive a car. No intent of swinging a hammer bigger than necessary to peen a pin. :)
 
Not a big fan of "rustic" period. Guitar makers do "relic-ing". I have no love of the relic'ed guitar, and rustic knife better be knapped flint and you need to be wearing a loin cloth while making it.
 
I like brute de forge. But people who are good at forging don't leave hammer marks in the work. In fact, I ain't good at it and it's still easier not to leave hammer marks than it is to leave a well-done finish with hammer marks, like @52 Ford said it's a pain in the butt to do a good ball pein finish.
 
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