So you want to be a knife maker
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- I often am asked about the business side of knife making. Here are a few quick yet very important things to thing about.
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This channel has sort of turned (inadvertently) into a knife making channel. But the original idea behind what we wanted it to be is this description below:
Videos on our journey to homesteading. With a recent purchase of a little piece of the Alberta prairie, we're looking to sell our nice suburban home in search of a more meaningful life beyond chasing the "American dream" working for some big company and making someone else rich. It's not about the money, it's about getting the most value from the work I do to improving the life of my family.
Some preparedness, DIY, building quality things with your hands, guns, gear, and outdoor exploration.
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Full time knife maker = Tool rich and money poor lol
You got that right buddy! 😆👍
A rare Ekim Knives appears on youtube?.... must be a glitch
Absolutely! I’ve been lucky enough to get a bunch of commissions recently - but that cash is now earmarked for a Paragon kiln. I have to view this as a funded hobby
Ekim is alive! Man, I love your content.
remember Ekim Knives? ... he's back! ...in pog form!
The easiest way to retire early as a knife make? Retire before you start making knives!
Hahahaha! That’s exactly right! 😆👍
@@Simplelittlelife I count some of the best knifemakers in the US as friends of mine, Johnny Stout, Harvey Dean, Luke Swenson, Bill Ruple, etc, one thing they have in common is that they are retired with multiple pensions. Even Harvey Dean (Chairman of the A.B.S.) who makes knives that cost well over 10k, he's not living the high life, very salt of the earth guy. I started smithing in 2015, won Forged in Fire in 2017, featured in multiple magazines, but I'm only just now seeing a profit from my work. BUT I enjoy my office day job, healthcare is pretty nice lol.
That’s me... 29 years in Law Enforcement and now its time to start hammering and grinding!
😂😂😂
I wish I could find a way to connect with other knife makers. I started making knives 6 months ago and have had to teach myself. Some of the you tube stuff helps, but most of these guys have top notch equipment. I can't afford or justify $2500 for a 2x72 belt sander or $1500-2000 for an oven, etc. I'm going to be 75 in a month and knife making and leather sheath making are fun new hobbies that take a lot of time. It would be nice to talk and make friends with others having similar interests. Tried to connect with a couple you tube knife makers, but they aren't interested regardless of saying they are open to talking with viewers. Likely because they are trying to run a business and don't have time to be sociable to non-customers.
Insane coincidence. I was JUST talking about this very thing with a buddy last night. We're a couple of middle aged guys who are still trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up, and every thing you discussed in this video was something we touched on in our chat. The thing is, my father-in-law is going to be liquidating his metal fab shop in a couple years, so I'll have access to a LOT of good gear to get a knife shop started, but I've still got to figure out if this is what I want to do for a living. I've got a couple years to figure it out, but that's not much time when it comes to putting together a not insignificant amount of capital to invest in gear all at once. I really appreciate your video, it's given me some new things to consider and a new podcast to listen to as well. Thanks!
So how did your plan turn out after 4 years, i am curious to know
This is fantastic information. I currently work at a maximum security prison and picked up blacksmithing and knife making as a hobby. My current job is fairly miserable and I am considering resigning and making knives full time. I really enjoyed this video. Inspiring and terrifying at the same time. Lots to consider.
I’m a knife maker on the threshold of selling my knives. You addressed a ton of my concerns. Thank you,
Right on. Glad it helped 👍
You should do more of these business topic vids I found them super helpful thanks🤘
This goes to say for ANY maker... not just knife making. Cheers for the needed info! Time to MAKE stuff!
100%. I am a woodworker that continually struggles with pricing products.
Great Video thank you for all the Info, I'm about 2 yrs from retirering from the Federal Government and I'm glad I watched your video because I want to go full time knife making soon after retirement.
Being retired and a new hobbyist knife maker, I think trying to turn it into a business would take the fun out of it. When you have to worry about advertising, taxes, insurance, schedules, book keeping, sales, costs, etc...that would take the fun out of it.
The business/marketing side is definitely my weakest point... I had a huge misconception that I get a following on TH-cam/Instagram & my knives will sell themselves... The thing i do when looking at a knife to sell, I ask myself "would I buy this knife" if the answer is no, back to the grinder... The guy that got me into knife making is the one that really got my butt in gear... I would think I had "the perfect" knife & he would tear it apart... It stung & I would make excuses, but then get to fixing everything... Thanks for all this... have a great day... take it easy...
Me too ... it really is discouraging when you put so much time and effort into learning a skill and then all you have to show for it is a pile of knives lol . I feel like part of the problem is how flooded the market is with sub par knives .I didnt try to sell until I was 110% confident in my work but there are ALOT and I mean alot of guys out there that go out buy a grinder and forge and think they can jump right into selling , then potential customers buy said knife from novice maker and then from that point forward won't see the point of buying a hand made knife because their mora or other walmart knife is better and they paid less .
How to retire early by working your butt off. Love your work J.
Just set up my makeshift knife making shop in my parents shed. Wish me luck
*Good luck man!*
I’m making my first knife at the moment and I’m so excited. I’m only 12 but my dad has taught me to use so many tools😂
Well said and to the point. It's never as easy as you think it will be. Once, it's a business you have to run it like it's a business. It's all about finding your niche and making it profitable.
I know allot of people that have been fantastic at a particular hobby and after making it a business lost interest. I’m a Big fan of yours and really respect you honesty instead of pumping BS out there. Some day hope I can be able to purchase one of your masterpieces.
I started making knives for the same reason. There are so many I love, and want, and They're pretty expensive. So I started making my own, and really enjoy it. I don't sell them (I just don't think they're good enough), but I really enjoy making them.
I ran a photography company for about 8 years. What you said is so true I would add quality control over prints so many potential clients just wanted a CD with photos I wouldn’t do that because of quality control my editing computer was professionally lab calibrated to the pro lab I was using so I could make measure color profiles were as close to the print as possible while editing. I had to explain to a man that Walmart doesn’t care about crop or color.
Great video with a lot of interesting insights. Thanks for Sharing!
Thank you! I’m glad you’ve found it useful. Cheers👍
Awesome Video im about to retire for the 2nd time and I cant wait to go full time knife making thank you again for the ideas!!!!!!!
Good advise Jeremy. I live in Australia and have thought about doing it full time. Trouble is it costs me approximately 100 dollars per knife before I even make the thing. Steel, quality handle material, pins, abrasives, power, glue, leather for the pouch. It all adds up for what a knife that takes you a day at the least to sell it competitively at 300 dollars. You do the math it's just not worth it here. People are doing it but I don't know how. Personally I do my full time job and make knifes as a cash sale on the side. I find I get more satisfaction turning in a perfect piece and asking 350 to 400 dollars is more rewarding. Alot of money for some people but if you are willing to sit on your work till it sells the right person will eventually come along. Cheers
I'm a bit late to the party. I started as a full time knife maker after losing my job. I am a creative and love working with my hands. It's all I know really. I am a goldsmith, so the transition to knife making was quite easy for me. Nevertheless, trying to sell knives at a good price is always a problem. It was a problem in the jewellery industry too for me. Your video helped me out a lot. Thank you for that. I think marketing myself or my business is the way to go.
Thank you for sharing your journey with me. Every man’s time on earth is limited. We do right to appreciate our own worth and price the value of work we create accordingly. I with you much success my friend. 👍
Hey! I heard you on knife talk a while ago letting Geoff win the quiz! Also, I managed to sell a knife for the second time last week for $300aud. You've been a large influence on me and my knife making. Thanks for your videos and for giving us all your knowledge.
I feel the best thing to do if you want to start knife making as a profession with the intention to make money is start off small. Neck knives, friction folders, simple bushcraft/hunting blades, things that arent super time consuming or complex so that you can sell them for ~$60-$100 without it being unsustainable. It allows you to learn as well as getting your name and your work out there before investing large chunks of time and money into making quality chefs knives, daggers, bowies, or choppers. Marketing is also 90% of the game in terms of business. Leveraging social media as well as word of mouth through customers and even wearing your work when out and about to catch potential customer's eyes are all solid ways to market your work.
Very, very informative video. Lots of food for thought. Thanks.
Tknx Jeremy! Great video and all so true. Love your videos!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. Cheers 👍
I liked that I started knife making cause I love knives I wanting certain knives and can always afford them so just start making them. And it’s been such a fun hobby learning and creating something. And having a badass knife at the end.
Great video. Not negative at all. I have been making knives for 2 years and I am taking the plunge. Quitting a full-time IT job, seeking part-time employment in community affairs, the other half of my week ( plus weekends) will be knife making. SUPER STOKED!
Right on! Thank you👍
I love your advice...word of mouth is more than enough for me. I grind one day a week due to full time job. Also don't be afraid to turn people away if your schedule is busy unless they're willing to wait.
By far my favorite channel on TH-cam. Your channel has inspired me to start making knives and taught me many things along the way. Thank you
No negative remarks at all I think this is a very frank and honest look into what goes into following a passion
Great video! Something important I would like to add to this: Just because you like doing something, doesn't mean you gonna like it as a job.
It's good to remember that hobbies are mainly done for your own enjoyment and you do it for YOURSELF. But when you turn your hobby into a full time job, a lot more responsibility and time schedules are introduced, meaning now you do it for OTHERS. There's a risk that will kill your original passion.
I think that is a great point. One that I have considered for myself. Personally, I am up for it. But I get what you are saying. We all need to give that a thought before making life changes.
As a new Bladesmith living in London I just want to say, here in the UK the government and society as a whole looks down on knife makers. I have had many many people say to me after finding out I make blades. "So what if criminals stab people with your knives does that bother you? I wish I lived in America.
I guess some Brits may look down on Nike because the company makes running shoes that are popular with some purse snatchers. 😂
Keep doing bro.. move across the pond of anything
Awesome thanks
I'm just getting started and have done a couple knives. The one I'm on now has taken a year on and off. It's for me and I'm in no rush obviously. I honestly didn't have the tools/supplies to do what I wanted to when I started this knife. I'm a perfectionist and maybe I'm too afraid to screw things up while learning, hehe. Right now I'm practicing spline file work on scrap. But I'm not confident enough to do the blade I'm working on yet. Filming it just seems like it would add a lot of time and effort. But what you are saying makes sense. And I appreciate the effort you put into this video. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I started a business with my bestfriend and I have to agree with you Jeremy, the actual business end of things is a necessary evil. Bookkeeping sucks but we've got to do it. Taxes suck. Insurance is a pain at times but I'm glad to do it all for the life we want to live.
Great information, thank you. Just retired and no have the freedom to pursue my dream of being a full time knife maker, an building on my shop right now. The business part is the most intimidating of the process, hell, I don’t even have a PayPal account.
Right on. I hope you have a blast and find great success in it 👍
Just what I needed to hear..been doing this for 18 years an I really under sell myself
Thank you for all the information good sir, as always you are very honest and informative
On your journey of becoming a knife maker, my advice is simple and an old adage, ‘Don’t give up your day job (just yet lol)!’ TH-cam and Instagram have inspired an exponential rise in ‘New Knife-makers,’ in the last ten years, myself included. I am very proud of the community, the way it supports makers, the free sharing of information within it and how it inspires people to make their ‘first knives,’ but it does romanticize the prospect of, ‘this is what I am going to do now for the rest of my life!’
Fact is, this may or may not happen for you, and it’s best not to put that kind of pressure on yourself, enjoy the journey of learning to make knives, enjoy the different aspects, both those that reward and frustrate you, it’s challenging in a good way.
So if after all that, during your journey, you are lucky enough to find a customer base and sell your knives, well that’s gravy. Keep yourself passionate about it and you’ll always love it. Turn it into a 9-5 grind (pun intended) before you are ready and you may start to hate it.
Good advice
Thanks for the video, just quit my dayjob (14 years at same job) and started my own business.
My plan is to do same shit that i used to do with my own company for 75 % of time and 25% new things (knife making and photography).
Not sure how its going to work but i felt that i needed to do something different with my life.
Good advices in this video, Knife talk rocks.
Keimo from Finland
Great post! Love it.
Thanks Jeremy I'll really think about it
You really give straightforward outstanding information. I appreciate your honesty and the effort you put I to your content. Thank you!
Thank you for this video and these valuable tips
Great video. So many truths in that statement. I think ideally so many people need to just answer one question: are you so passionate about this that it will consume all of your extra time and money. If the answer is unsureness, then maybe make a knife or so with basic tools and see if the juice is worth the squeeze. Otherwise, you could be way more into this than you expected with not enough return. Expectation management is always where the rubber meets the road.
Love your photography bit!! Coming from a full time photographer who just started grinding.
Excellent advice. And I do know what you are talking about regarding the Photography business. Always enjoy and learn a lot from your videos.
So I stumbled on your channel because of the Makita lc1230 review video, and sai to myself, "this dude looks neat, let's check what else he has on his channel", man I came looking for copper and found gold hahahaha. I'm starting on woodworking right now, I think I'm lucky because I found something that I love with all of my heart, and really makes me feel proud. Also my learning skills are pretty good, so I'm advancing really fast on this and decided to make it my fulltime job(have another one to be able to pay the bills while I get a steady income). Anyway, I really think your approach on this applies to literally anything one wants to do. As a side note, the first jobs that I have made, have been mostly for familly, so I decided than I wouldn't charge them, I think that I rather give something away and be patient, than selling my stuff cheap and spoil the clients. A good idea as well, might be to create different companies, like one for cheap stuff that give you a steady and fast income, and the one that goes along your current skills, and one to make and sell your masterpieces, I know is a pain to manage all that, but always remember that some people are willing to pay millions on useless stuff, why not my stuff?
Thanks for the video and the job, I'm glad to know that there is people out there that has got a grasp on what life is really about. Hope the best for you and your familly, I'll be seeing you on your next videos!
Thank you so much! I appreciate your comment. I wish you much enjoyment and great success with your new future endeavours 👍
Love the knife you made👍
Thank you!
I’m 12 I could work 12 hours on a knife a sell it for $90 and be happy with that “profit”
Btw the steel cost $40 aus.
Literally a perfect video.
I really REALLY needed this video
Thank you for taking the time to make this video, it help me a lot.
Right on, that’s great to hear. Thank you. 👍
Concise and spot on insight. Thanks.
Very good advice and great tips. Really appreciate you making this video.
Thank you very much.
Whether you are selling knives, decorating services, artwork, woodwork or otherwise, the selling price should reflect the end product. So when it comes to knives, if you have a good product, price it accordingly. For some knife makers it may take 20 hours to produce a functional piece of junk, but for others that 20 hours may produce a tool that is a thing of beauty that will last a lifetime. Ultimately the knife buying public will determine what they wish to spend their money on. 😉
I started selling my knives for 20 buck at first when he said 50 or 75 is way to low I face palmed to my self hard
Damn, I'd have trouble letting anything I made go for less than $200.
Great info, thanks for sharing.
Good Video. You are on point, I totally agree.
Thank you very much.
Awesome advice! I have been a pro photog since 2010 and started knives about 2 years ago. spot on!
Awesome video! Great info and Thanks for the podcast recommendation!!
Right on. Thank you and you’re welcome 👍
When I started making knives a year and a half ago I did it just cause I wanted to see if I could. All self taught. I started out just giving them away to friends and family for practice. The last 2 were commissioned sales. I do not want to do it full time. At that point it just becomes another job for me
I love making knives.. but only as a hobby.. 👍👍👍👍
Great points mate. I never went full time in my hobby because I enjoy it too much. Getting up knowing I've got to produce X by 3pm so I can post it. That's not enjoyable.
Cheers for this, info and encouragement/discouragement is brilliant, thanks for passing on the wisdom 👍🏻
Thank you. 👍
Having a social media presence is honestly one of the best ways to grow a business. There are numerous examples of companies that failed to create a proper online presence and suffered greatly because of that.
Reminds me of that saying "find a job you love and you"ll never work another day in your life."
My grandfather said that a lot
Que buen video amigo, no lo había visto pero tus consejos se me hacen muy atinados y muy útiles. Gracias !!!
Un abrazo desde Ecatepec, México 🇲🇽
This video put it all into perspective thank you so much for the help.
Thays strange. Im a photographer passionated with knives and bald. Heyyyyyyy brother
I make knives as a hobby I tattoo for a living, they work together which is pretty cool. Slowly building the workshop and amping it up while I’m working. So involving no wonder so many fail.. I see it all the time!
Sweet combo there man! I admire tattoo artists. What you do is so amazing. Which reminds me, I have a few tats I’ve been wanting that I need to get laid down. 👍
Might be able to trade mate, plenty of artists collect! Id be down if you lived in OZ;) @@Simplelittlelife
thanks a lot for this tips.just found this video ,cheers
thanks man ,)
You are welcome and thank you for watching!
This seems to happen with all craftsman that at least attempt to make a living at it. Prices start low, along with the quality and the confidence. Prices never stay low. Either they improve their quality, gain more confidence, and raise their prices, or they get discouraged and stop trying to sell.
I make rings. I remember the first paying, not-related-to-me customers that I had. I sold them a pair of rings for $45 each, and I was thrilled that someone would pay me that much. My rings are now at least 10 times that in most cases, and people are still telling me I'm under charging. They always wait until after they've paid to tell me that, of course. I've never once had a serious customer tell me I'm overpriced. Once in a while I'll get a comment from someone who thinks my rings should be $45, but they usually assure me that they couldn't afford them if they were.
Thank you so mich for the helpfull video, i'm a student right now and start making knives as a side hustle. Love your content 👍🏼
Haha great title. I retired at 39 and now I am a professional knife maker and production knife designer for TOPS. Haha plus, I TH-cam of course.
Lots of points you made that I’m struggling with right now. Great vid great info.
great video, love your channel!
great video... thx
Thanks for that video, i'm 15 years old, i hope to become a bladesmith, all the peoples around me says that i should start to sell blades, but i don't feel confortable with that, do i know if my edge retention is as it's best ? No..so i'm not sure.. i have a knife on my channel, looks good, but idk if my heat treat is, even if i did them in a kiln..i want to sell the best blades possible
The only way to find out is to test them.
Walter Sorrells have a dedicated video on his TH-cam channel about heat treatment testing, I suggest you to check it out first.
You can also try to buy a Morakniv knife - they are cheap & in general have good QC in terms of heat treatment. Then make a head-to-head testing between it & one of your knives. It should include edge retention test (like cutting rope or cardboard) & edge toughness test (like chopping wood or stag bone). It's important (especially for toughness test) that both knives have similar edge geometry. Maybe you should even make a direct Mora replica purely for testing purpose. It won't take much time because scandi grind takes less time to produce. All in all, your knives should be at least on par with Mora.
A lot of this is great advice for any self-employed entrepreneur.
An important step is to write a basic business plan. It doesn't have to be complicated but get down what you want to achieve, how much time/money/effort are you willing to spend, your costs to live and what your minimum income needs to be for the first year etc.
A business plan is not something you have to stick to but it will help to show if you are on track, doing well, doing badly etc. Keep it simple but relevant and it will help you see where you are going.
It's my retirement plan, I'm making knives and some general blacksmithing and welding work, bit of machining work
This is an absolutley fabulous video, i needed these tips for a long time, thanks!
Very useful and nice video, thank you for that! Everything is said very true and correct! Everyone to think and make the right decision for themselves! Thank you that there are people like you who "OPEN THE EYES" of other people thanks to your personal experience! Including for me!
thank you💯👍
My knife making addiction gave way to 2x72 grinder building addiction.
Very nice, do you have a platform where you show your work?
@@RIVERAEDGE I don't unfortunately.
This is great info. Applies to everything. Not just knives. Take pride in your work and you can dictate your future.
I’m doing the whole oil company full time, veeeery part time knife maker, in between sign orders! I do want to do it more. I absolutely love making them, but time is at a premium currently, and a lot of people still order signs from me, taking up a lot more time than I have
Awesome video brother, thanks for getting down and dirty!
how do you handel Overseas sales. are there problems with costoms?
No problems as long as the country you are shipping to allows the product. For e.g balisongs will be seized if sent to Australia
Great video. Truth is tough to hear sometimes but you told it. I see on social media how all these new young people are going to become full time knifemakers. Then they post pictures of thier knives and I think "Oh man hope you didn't quit your job yet". Your right it has to be a terribly hard business. Especially at this point in time with a the hupla and fanfair toward making knives. It is a totally saturated market. Hell, everyone is doing it. I find it kind of neat that you and I got into it for the exact same reasons. I have been collecting knives since I was a kid. I have boxes and bags of knives. I wanted to make some of my own. Totally a hobby for me. I own my own business and am 2 years from retirement. Last thing in the world I want to do is start another business. I know better. Been doing it 25 years. I enjoy the hobby. I'm a little obcessed with it to be honest. I do sell a few knives when I'm asked or when I just have to many. I don't push them though. I don't market them at all. I enjoy it just the way it is. If I were 30 years younger, maybe but for now I'll just keep my hobby that I love and sell a few here and there.
Thanks Jeremy, very informative for myself who as a lifelong wood worker have found a passion in knife making and am considering making this a career when my skills warrant. I’ve had my own business most of my life but am coming to a point where I wanna work from a shop at home. I’m tired of traveling daily,setting up shop on site and then having to pack it up every day and go home. I could dedicate much more time working at my home shop. Thanks so much for hitting on the basics of these necessary topics to consider the change in careers. Off topic. What motor did you switch to for your buffing wheel. Thanks
I don’t have any knowledge of knife making other than forged is better than stamped. This leads me to the question are knifes that are cut out from a slab of steel equal to knife that have been hammered and shaped from a block of steel.
Great advice im currently unable to work full time due to poor health so knife making is something I can do when I'm well enough and make a couple of extra dollars
I’ve been making knives and giving them away lol , I just like doing it , some ppl say I should sell them I say ok 300$ , they say no how 100$ I say if it ain’t worth 300 $ I loss money , might as well give them to ppl I love
Grate video it has given me something to think about. My personal goal is just to make knives and gather the skills to become a blade smith. Selling them might be difficult for me as I tend to get attached to the things I make. lol
I feel you, my brother. I never parted with stuff I made. Till I made one or two things specifically for other people. And while they weren't things I'd like to have or make for myself, and I wouldn't want them back, I'd still like to hold/see them again once or twice XD
So, if you're wanting to maybe become a little less attached, try a commission for a friend (birthday-gift?) in a style that isn't your favorite.
Great tips! A lot of the questions about knife making I had you just answered.
Very inspiring, thank you
Awesome video. Thank you!
Thank you for this. I feel like a padawan in training and you're the jedi. Hope to show you my handmade knife one day. Keep it up!