SQUARE HOUSES

PART XIV

“Why do you make knives?” is a question every knifemaker will be asked somewhere down the line. For many it is a simple question, and the response is typically the last one they read that sounded good.

Some of us makers build knives for financial expectations; we see where one maker sold a knife for $2,000 or more and decide that is one way to make a living without having to work a traditional 9-to-5 job and avoid the structure of the workplace. Little do we know what the maker was forced to put into that knife, both from the equipment standpoint and the time and learning how to design and make the knife he only has seen as a finished product.

In my time making knives I know of only two who made their living without a wife who works or has some retirement income from a previous job. It is tough trying