I thought I would take a few minutes and share a few thoughts from the perspective of someone just dipping their feet into learning this craft...
First off, I will say that i got bit by the bug thanks to the Forged in Fire show. I've always kinda liked knives, but never really been a 'collector', just more of a user. I've pretty much always carried some sort of knife, though basically always semi-cheap folders. By that I mean the $30ish level stuff, partially because I beat the crap out of them on cardboard and other assorted packaging, and also because I seem to lose them once in a while, and I don't feel so bad if I lose a $30 knife. I carried a Gerber EZ-out for a number of years, untill i lost that, followed by another Gerber that I wasn't as happy with, and then the latch spring broke, so now I'm toting a Kershaw Brawler, which I'm actually quite happy with.
Anyhow, one of the things that strikes me about making knives is that it's really a remarkably simple process, and yet it's also very detailed and meticulous. Making something with an edge that will cut is very simple, but making it look good, and function at a high level requires that you really pay attention, and think ahead.
Another thing is the amount of knowledge/skills involved. I find myself applying skils I've learned in carpentry, woodworking, general metalwork, sheetmetal/autobody work, and general 'building stuff' skills, and that doesn't even touch on the metallurgy side of things, which is an ever-expanding can of worms. The metallurgy side of things is both fascinating, and confusing. For me, it seems that for every 2 or 3 things that I learn, it raises 5 or 6 more questions from those things.
If I could also say a couple other things that maybe someone else considering trying their hand at this may read, and perhaps learn something from my experiences, I think there are 2 main points.
1) DON'T DO THE MYSTERY STEEL THING!! I did/am doing that, and while I'm fairly confident that the steel I'm using will harden, and at least be somewhat knifelike when I'm done, I've discovered what the real issue with doing that is. It's this. I don't know what I really need to do to maximize my chances of getting a good result, and I can't really research it, because I don't know what I'm actually working with. I'm going to have to kind of go middle of the road, hope for a satisfactory result, and pray that I get lucky, and get something better than that. It's something that I did knowing sirt of what I was doing, but only now, part way through the process, do I really understand why so many of the more experienced guys here are so passionate about the topic.
Secondly, do as much research, read, and watch as many videos as you can. That said, there's alot of crap out there on YouTube by alot of people who don't really know what they're doing, and you kind of have to sift through it, and find the good stuff. If I could recommend a few, Caleb White has a very good series titled "Knifemaking for Knewbs", Walter Sorrells has a lot of very good vids, and Nick Wheeler also has a number of very informative videos as well. I would very much like to hear the thouhht of some of the more experinced members here in those guys though, as, while they seem to me to know what they're doing, I might well be mistaken.
Anyhow, just a few thoughts that I was hoping might be helpful to someone, and may perhaps can spark some interesting discussion that I, or others can learn more from.
First off, I will say that i got bit by the bug thanks to the Forged in Fire show. I've always kinda liked knives, but never really been a 'collector', just more of a user. I've pretty much always carried some sort of knife, though basically always semi-cheap folders. By that I mean the $30ish level stuff, partially because I beat the crap out of them on cardboard and other assorted packaging, and also because I seem to lose them once in a while, and I don't feel so bad if I lose a $30 knife. I carried a Gerber EZ-out for a number of years, untill i lost that, followed by another Gerber that I wasn't as happy with, and then the latch spring broke, so now I'm toting a Kershaw Brawler, which I'm actually quite happy with.
Anyhow, one of the things that strikes me about making knives is that it's really a remarkably simple process, and yet it's also very detailed and meticulous. Making something with an edge that will cut is very simple, but making it look good, and function at a high level requires that you really pay attention, and think ahead.
Another thing is the amount of knowledge/skills involved. I find myself applying skils I've learned in carpentry, woodworking, general metalwork, sheetmetal/autobody work, and general 'building stuff' skills, and that doesn't even touch on the metallurgy side of things, which is an ever-expanding can of worms. The metallurgy side of things is both fascinating, and confusing. For me, it seems that for every 2 or 3 things that I learn, it raises 5 or 6 more questions from those things.
If I could also say a couple other things that maybe someone else considering trying their hand at this may read, and perhaps learn something from my experiences, I think there are 2 main points.
1) DON'T DO THE MYSTERY STEEL THING!! I did/am doing that, and while I'm fairly confident that the steel I'm using will harden, and at least be somewhat knifelike when I'm done, I've discovered what the real issue with doing that is. It's this. I don't know what I really need to do to maximize my chances of getting a good result, and I can't really research it, because I don't know what I'm actually working with. I'm going to have to kind of go middle of the road, hope for a satisfactory result, and pray that I get lucky, and get something better than that. It's something that I did knowing sirt of what I was doing, but only now, part way through the process, do I really understand why so many of the more experienced guys here are so passionate about the topic.
Secondly, do as much research, read, and watch as many videos as you can. That said, there's alot of crap out there on YouTube by alot of people who don't really know what they're doing, and you kind of have to sift through it, and find the good stuff. If I could recommend a few, Caleb White has a very good series titled "Knifemaking for Knewbs", Walter Sorrells has a lot of very good vids, and Nick Wheeler also has a number of very informative videos as well. I would very much like to hear the thouhht of some of the more experinced members here in those guys though, as, while they seem to me to know what they're doing, I might well be mistaken.
Anyhow, just a few thoughts that I was hoping might be helpful to someone, and may perhaps can spark some interesting discussion that I, or others can learn more from.