What really motivates us?

Makers how many times have spent hours working on a blade to give it away, or sell it for new materials? Constantly thinking about grinding, handle materials, heat treating, sheaths, stabilizing, forging, designing a style of blade for a purpose, making your own shop tools, shop layout, and list goes on and on? How many times have people asked you why would you make a blade when you can just buy one? Its a lot less at wally world, versus spending all that money on tools and materials and time.

I know the video seems like its geared more towards business and employees, etc but I guess the part in the video that struck me was the part about money and why people would give up 20-30 hours a week of their precious time doing highly technical work for FREE.....and then give it away instead of sell it. The whole challenge and mastery thing definately rang a bell for me.
 
my wife thinks it's a mental disorder. i don't know why i make knives, i just do. like you said it's not the money and i can't force my self to do it. when i do sell one i just buy more stuff to make more. maybe she's right.
 
i watched the video, it was very good. i had to take a leadership class at work that talked about alot of the same things. it hits the nail on the head with me also,i just hadn't though about it out side of my work world.
 
Gary Miller said:
my wife thinks it's a mental disorder. i don't know why i make knives, i just do. like you said it's not the money and i can't force my self to do it. when i do sell one i just buy more stuff to make more. maybe she's right.
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Thanks Gary,
That is exactly what I was talking about. ITs hard to explain why you do it. Theres no money in it, but yet I find myself thinking about how I can get better, but not so I can make money, just so I can get better. I mean it would be great to make money doing it, but it really doesnt matter to me that much. Thanks for your comments I appreciate it. -Larry
 
Meridian Blades said:
Booo.... James I want a full report tomorrow. HAHAHAHA Larry
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Thanks for the link Larry, I really enjoyed the video and found it very interesting. I definitely agree that I've always gotten more enjoyment and satisfaction by learning new skills and/or working on something that really intrigues me, than by slaving away simply for a paycheck. I also do much better work in general that way. Mostly because I care! But also because it's just more fun.

There are several studies showing that people retain and improve both mental stability and mental acuity well into their later years when they continue to learn/be challenged, regardless of their socio-economic status, or if there's any monetary compensation at all. I think there's a pretty powerful correlation between those findings and the concepts presented in the video. For instance, the presenter mentioned people who play music for fun; they're not getting paid for it, in fact they spent money to buy the instrument, take lessons, and so on. Yet time and again it's been proven that creative outlets help people be more relaxed and happy, and that leads to better general health and almost always better job-performance. Partly by stimulating the person's brain, partly by building confidence, and not least, by relieving stress and improving attitude.

I'm certain the same applies to those who make knives (or build furniture, knit mittens or fiddle with software for that matter) not because they're trying to make a living, just because they enjoy A) the challenge, B) the process of mastery, and C) the end result.

Of course we can all hit roadblocks and get frustrated, which can derail the whole thing. Then it's time to take a little break and have a beer or a nap. :)

I should add that I do intend to make money at this. Donald Trump money? Probably not. But blue-collar money? Yeah, I think it can be done. And I'll tell you this, I'm a lot easier to get along with these days than I was when I was busting my hump in a print shop, cranking out mediocre product just to meet a deadline, and getting treated like a piece of the machinery.
 
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Very Cool Video ! For me when money takes priority my creative skills go down and so does my quality. Been doing this for 22 years, full time. No heath care, and live on bare minimum, no vacations, but I have control and quality craftsmanship is my life. Something that is hard wired in my brain. It is a satisfaction that is hard explain! This is a great life lesson for anybody, money cannot fix relationships or problems of any kind, and the love of money is pure evil !!
Sincerely,
Clint
 
See I knew you'd like the video James, especially since I knew you were a musician too. Glad you guys took the 10 minutes to watch it. I think its worth it. It's helpful if you manage people as well. Larry
 
My whole family was into wood-working, music, drawing, building hot-rods, anything creative and it just seemed normal to me growing up. I can't imagine not having an outlet. I'd go even more bonkers than I already am!
 
Good discussion. Some time ago, I put a little essay on my web site that kind of addresses this same question. I thought I'd add it here for your consideration. Sorry if it's too long.

Why Is It That We Make Knives?​
There are probably almost as many reasons as there are people who make knives. I think the one I have heard the most is “Because I have to”. With many, it is a creative outlet or a pleasurable hobby that produces a tangible result. It may even produce enough income to support itself.
I remember the first time I went to the Blade Show in Atlanta. Although I had been kind of a knife fanatic for as long as I could remember, I didn’t even know there was any such thing as hand made or custom knives. They just weren’t offered for sale at the mall and grocery store where I shopped. When I was in school and thinking about career paths, I never saw “blade smith” or “knife maker” on the list. I guess I was kind of an egghead of sorts. My eye was on college so I never got into the different shop classes that some of the other guys took. That must have been where they kept those lists. Who knew?
If you’ve never been to a Blade Show, it’s really hard to describe or imagine. I walked into this room that seemed to be almost as big as a high school football field and every knife manufacturer that I ever heard of and a bunch that I never heard of were there. That was more than I had expected and these folks were just lined up around the walls. In the center of the room are row after row after row of tables manned by hundreds and hundreds of people who make knives by every means imaginable. Why had I never heard of this? How had this many people kept all of this a secret? There were thousands of people in this room. It is still a mystery to me how I had never even heard of hand made knives. The hand made knife industry had been growing for over thirty years and no one had told me.
I walked into this wonderland for the knife afflicted and was completely awe struck. I just hoped that I wouldn’t get in trouble for drooling all over some maker’s knife. The people were wonderful. Everyone would talk to you and tell you about their knives. It was kind of like a big family reunion but the crazy aunt or the black sheep brother weren’t there and everyone wanted to catch up and share life and stories and information on everything they knew.
After spending a number of hours on the floor talking to people and handling knives, something almost primordial welled up inside of me. I just knew with everything in me that if I could just get up next to the proper equipment, I could make a knife that a man would be proud to own, that would be a trusted companion, and that would stand him in good stead when the chips were down.
I soon began my quest. I studied and began to gather some equipment and slowly began to learn to forge and make knives. I was even fortunate enough to find the occasional person to give me a tip or two.
That first spark became an ember that threatened to become an all consuming fire.
I believe there is something in a man that calls him to do something with his life; to somehow leave a mark for future generations to see. We can’t all be Washingtons or Jeffersons or Einstiens or countless other world renowned heroes but we want to leave something when we’re gone. Sure, many of us have families who love us and will carry on our memories but those will soon fade in the cares of life.
With fire and anvil and the skill learned through time, I put my hammer to hot steel and bring forth a blade. With care and the knowledge born of time and the craftsmanship that is gained through countless hours of effort, this blade becomes a knife. If everything goes right and the knife measures up to my demands, I put my name on it and put it up for adoption.
When I am gone, the knife will live on. Maybe one day some man will hold her and proudly tell his son “This was my Granddad’s knife and one day son, it will be yours”. They will share the stories surrounding the knife and caress her and admire her lines and the way she feels in the hand and how good it feels to hold her. Maybe someone will even hold her and say “That guy Quinn, he sure made one hell of a knife”


Carey
 
carey thats a great piece i think that summed up almost everything i was thinking as i was reading this thread great read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
For me it just came naturally. Not that I was a natural talent at it (far from it!) but for as long as I can remember I have been messing around with them. My oldest knifemaking memory was when I was around 5yrs old and I would take popcicle sticks and rub them on a cement street curb to turn them into knife shapes. I then graduated into carving sticks into knife shapes. At age 14 I started making my first knives from steel (dismal failures). 20yrs later I'm still making them. I have no idea what made me get started in it...I didn't even know other people made them (in my ignorance I assumed they were all made at factories), its just something I wanted to do.

My mother still harps on me to this day that I should be a doctor, engineer, etc because of the better financial aspect to it but none of that really appeals to me. If I am going to be spending 8-12hours a day doing something, it better be something I enjoy. There is a saying I like "you can make a fortune, spend it, and make another one.....but time once spent can never be gotten back". I spend my time doing something I enjoy....thats one of the best investments a person can make.
 
What motivates me to make knives? I suppose there are a number of contributing factors to my motivation. Here are just a couple:

For one, it relaxes me. I love going out to my shop at the end of a long day and spending some alone time with just me and my tools. It's equally as rewarding to see a pile of raw, basic materials begin to tranform into a beautiful, functional tool.

I'm also motivated by the urge to keep pushing myself as a knife maker to put out something better than the last time.

To finish each new knife and see how much farther I've come since I first realized the concept of even being able to make my first knife.... well THAT's priceless. And money I make from it, whether $1 or $100... that's just icing on the cake.
 
Ecos said:
For me it just came naturally. Not that I was a natural talent at it (far from it!) but for as long as I can remember I have been messing around with them. My oldest knifemaking memory was when I was around 5yrs old and I would take popcicle sticks and rub them on a cement street curb to turn them into knife shapes. I then graduated into carving sticks into knife shapes. At age 14 I started making my first knives from steel (dismal failures). 20yrs later I'm still making them. I have no idea what made me get started in it...I didn't even know other people made them (in my ignorance I assumed they were all made at factories), its just something I wanted to do.
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I have a similar experience myself. I had always assumed that all knives were made in factories with 100s of thousands of dollars worth of machines and computer controlled equipment. It absolutely blew my mind when I first found out that guys where making their own blades with something like a belt sander. And when I found out that I could make my own belt sander? The rest was history.

That being said, I did make my share of wooden knives and swords, including a switchblade with a rubberband, clothes pins, and a popsicle stick. I can even remember hammering a 16 penny nail flat on the concrete to make a sword for my GI Joes... hahahah

My favorite memory was trying to cut the side off of a piece of 1.5" x 1/8" thick square tubing with an angle grinder so that I could have a piece of steel for a blade. Not only did I not understand they made regular "flat stock", but I didn't know they made wheels specifically for cutting, and not just for grinding. At any rate, the wheel was completely worn off by the time I got one side off of the square tube, and the piece I cut off curled up like a pretzel from the heat of the wheel.

Oh, and I didn't know mild steel wouldnt hold an edge.... hahah.
 
You know it funny, the things that really hit home with me were the self motivation and the mastery. A few years ago I went full time and self motivation was a big factor there, and lately I have been searching for projects that challenge me. Recently I have been making high performance kitch knives out of damascus. In fact I just finished 3 of them last night, after working on them for most of this week. They are the most challenging knives I have made so far. I am also working on a few other projects that challenge me. I am now finding that the most challenging projects are also the most satisfying.
I too started at an early age; 14, and made my first damascus that year. Now that I have been doing this for almost 25 years, it is very fulfilling to be able to create things that I know will outlast me.
 
I've always been a woodworker. My favorite job was when I worked in a machine shop. Knifemaking puts those two together. Plus growing up my dad had a tack and leather shop so that covers the sheath part of knifemaking. These are the things that made me start making knives. What motivates me is trying to grab the brass ring. Trying to reach perfection. I know it's probably unatainable but I gotta keep trying. It's definetly not the money. I won't take money for a knife before it's done. It causes to much pressure. Jimmy Coil told me if you take payment for a knife before you make it it will be the hardest knife you'll ever make.
My wife thinks I'm a nutjob for doing something that has so little return on it. She doesn't realize it's not the money that makes me do it it's how I keep my sanity.

Two weeks ago I said I wouldn't make in more knives. Today I laid out my next 8 knives to be cut out this week. Addiction!!!
 
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