How do i know if my knives are ready to sell?

[JHCC]

Good. Don't stop. Don't let anyone try to tell you that you're not "tough enough" if you're using PPE. I had a friend when I was your age who thought that way, and now he's deaf.

[rockstar.esq]

I'm going to suggest a different point of view here.

Accuracy is hitting the intended bullseye.  That's completely different from precision, the measure of consistency.  Sending one arrow into another robin hood style is precision.  Landing a lucky bullseye is accuracy.  Precision in one domain does not cause accuracy in another.  In other words, there's no point in aiming at stuff you can't hit.  

At this point you might be asking how does any of that answer your question?

You are asking how to tell if your work is good enough to sell.  That is asking for a consistency (precision) standard based on your past work, to achieve accuracy based on business performance (sales).  

I feel it's incredibly important to point out that selling a knife has very little to do with the process, or the skill of the maker.  Again, precision in one domain does not cause accuracy in another.

There are innumerable amazing masters of the craft who can't make a living, just as there are knife making machines banging out unsaleable junk.  Both examples have high precision in production, and low accuracy in sales.

Crafts-oriented people in business tend to focus on precision because it's process driven, and there are lots of reassuring ways to measure it.  Finding a viable market-share capable of profitably supporting the enterprise is how businesses succeed.  Some stumble into it via dumb luck, others do market research and target specific opportunities.  Most assume that merely existing as a craftsperson will pull in paying customers via the gravitational pull of their individual awesomeness.  Not surprisingly, most businesses fail, often ruining the lives of everyone involved.  "Build it and they will come" only works in Kevin Costner movies. 

In strictly business terms, I would suggest that you focus your business energies on defining your paying clients so you can find more of them.  Find out what they want, and find a way to supply them profitably.  It's very probable that you'll encounter demand for skills you'll need to develop.  It's even more probable that those skills will be different from what elders of the craft would recommend.

Many of mankind's greatest achievements came when an individual solved a problem from outside of the established discipline.

Ask a knifemaker how to be successful and they'll tell you to make better knives.  As a businessman how to be successful, and they'll tell you to find more and better paying customers.  Ask a successful knife maker how to be successful and they'll probably encourage you to go work for a successful knifemaker to see for yourself. 

 

 

[Virusds]

On 1/28/2020 at 3:39 AM, pnut said:

 I would suggest that you look into handle design so you can make handles from scales and other materials and not just wrapped handles. 

 

Totally forgot to respond to this part pnut but the short sword is actually the only knife ive ever made with a draped handle, and that was because the customer specifically asked for it based of a picture his wife made. The kriss dagger has a stacked leather handle and all the othe knife pictures ive uploaded have wood handles.

[ThomasPowers]

Home schooled:  So you can learn the FE/C phase diagram.  Do you know about ILL?  How far to town are you?

[Virusds]

Sorry abbreviations are my short skill and i dint understand any of those thinks. But i am about 5 miles from town.

[ThomasPowers]

Should have been Fe anyway.  Abbreviation for the element Iron,  C abbreviation for the element Carbon   The idea is that you can do in depth learning on a particular subject and not be told "That's too advanced for you."

ILL is Inter Library Loan a method where small public libraries in rural areas can access hard to find books; so while I doubt a local library might have a copy of "The Complete Bladesmith" by Hrisoulas or "Introduction to Knifemaking" by SLSells; (Both authors participate on IFI), you may be able to ILL them from your local public library.   Here in New Mexico, I can ILL from over 90 libraries, even university libraries. I pay US$1 per title and get to check it out for 3 weeks.  A great and cheap way to decide which books you need to own vs which you just need to read once. (Or even not at all.) At my local library I have to ask about it at the main desk and they can direct me to the online catalog/search system for it.  Books can get powerful pricey when you get into research grade stuff---look up "The Sword and the Crucible" Williams or "The Celtic Sword" by Pleiner for instance.

[pnut]

I tried to upload an image of the phase diagram but the resolution was poor. I will try to find a link to an image. 

Pnut

https://www.ispatguru.com/carbon-steels-and-the-iron-carbon-phase-diagram/

 

[JHCC]

Bladesmithing can be a great way to learn about some really interesting science. The kids across the street from me homeschool, and whenever they drop in to watch me smith, I've taken the opportunity to talk about some of the basic (and not-so-basic) chemistry and physics lessons in what I'm doing.

[Virusds]

Well i actually havent been to the library in a while because we usually fo into town for certain things then come right back. But i already own Practical Blacksmithing, which i havent read alot of yet. And a book called The Backyard Blacksmith (i don't know the author) the thing is a have alot of trouble learning from books and stuff i read. I learn the nest from stufc i can see and hear, mostly see. And i also read VARY slowly mostly by choice because if i read to fast i dont learn anything.  

Ok pnut ill make sure to keep on a lookout for that.