Why do you make knives?

Mark Behnke

Well-Known Member
To make tangible the vision in my head.

When I get it right it just makes me feel good in so many ways.

Working with metals, learning and solving problems, the challenge to do better.

Been thinking about this since lately it's been mostly frustration and failures.
 
Mark ,
I know how you feel . Making blades of any kind can be frustrating and down right depressing . The failures are good in a way , It teaches us what we did wrong . When I first started making Japanese style blades , it was one cracked or broken blade after another , crooked blades, bent blades, and just about any other failure you can think of . I never relented kept it up until they were presentable . I n my twilight years I look back and it wasnt really that bad . The greatest times in my life is pounding steel. Not as good as I used to be , lost a lot of strenth and stamina but, the feeling is still there. Today I am living , Im happy and I'm free. For that I am gratefull and I thank God for each and every day I can work...... sincerely Bubba-san ( James)
 
Mark
Some advise I recived years ago.
No matter at what stage you make a mistake ALWAYS finish the knife. I found that once a blade has been "ruined" you dont have the pressure of worrying about messing it up. Because of this you will be more willing to try things. As a result, you are learning problem solving techniques you might otherwise not have tried. I was pleasantly suprised that even the "ruined" blades sometime actually turned out nicely. Not always to the original design, but nice all the same. I have several around the shop as bench knives that I use for a variety of things, from opening paint cans to cutting sand paper. I know mistakes are discouraging, but keep at it. We ALL make mistakes although I seem to make more of them! Another piece of advise came from a MS Jim Crowell, "Knife making is a journey not a destination, be sure and enjoy the ride"

God Bless and Good Luck!
Mike
 
James
I've changed my outlook , and focusing more on each process and procedure instead of the finished knife, when those come together so will the end product.


Mike
Taking your advice and making design changes and trying new ideas with those failures, I'm excited about things I'm learning, thanks
Enjoying the journey more.
 
Informative and fun as usual. I do know that after a few other classes with him I need to attend one that concentrates only on grinding. Dave can spot you making a mistake before you even start making it :) I highly recommend that anyone starting out and seriously wanting to make good knives take some classes with a good maker.
 
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