Will This Year Test Your Mettle? Networking, Value, And Living In The Now, Small Blade Shop In 2024

Sharing some thoughts as we start a new year while I work on some knives and a sheath.
firecreekforge.com
firecreekmercantile.etsy.com
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#knife #smallbusiness #2024

[@FireCreekForge]

THANK YOU to everyone who watched a video, left a comment, purchased a knife, axe, or hammer in 2023! You all help make this happen and we appreciate it!

[@rodgerklindt3165]

I always appreciate your videos, whether pounding or talking. As a retired guy and hobbyist bladesmith I can't keep inventory. Word of mouth sells most of my stuff at a rate I'm pleased with, and I only do one show a year. I sell my stuff dirt cheap because I don't make a living at it and I'm ok with $2 an hour,,,it's a hobby. My reward is the guy who shows up a year later and tells me it's the best knife he ever had. Thanks again for your vids.

[@HeavyForge]

My wife got me that coffee mug for xmas. She said she randomly found it on Etsy. It’s my new go to mug!

[@donscottvansandt4139]

I've never been one to care whether things are trendy .I march to the beat of my own drum .I like making things and have been pounding tin all my. And I find it a necessity more than a hobby. And believe in this new year it will become more so for many others...

[@randylippert6416]

Your straight forward shoot from the hip is great, Blessings in 2024 on your journey. I'll be watching 👍👍

[@jerveyroper2966]

Appreciate your work, wisdom, faith, and family commitment. I enjoy watching your handiwork, and even more so, the commentary on the process/craft. Thanks to you and others like you, I am working towards getting into both bladesmithing and blacksmithing as personal hobbies and tangible skills. Thanks, Brother!

[@TJ-hd5ym]

One thing I noticed you don't cut corners and your quality is topnotch .. I have 3 kitchen knives, 1 bowie, 1 kephart, 1 belt carry 1 hatchet 1 axe 1 kukri of yours. And it's American made.

[@FireCreekForge]

Thank you!

[@brysonalden5414]

Thanks for your thoughts. My impression is that customers for smithed products, be they knives or art, will always be there, perhaps not in the numbers they have been, but still there. I forge because I love it, and will always forge no matter what the market is doing.

[@millroyboy07]

Beautiful knife. I’m excited to see what your new year brings for us. Happy New Year.

[@daleleslie6425]

Knife making excetera may have a serge due to media making it look so easy. When the metal hits the anvil it's a whole different story. I do enjoy you sharing your knowledge and skills, with many thanks.

[@scottlanghorst1483]

Best Wishes for 2024 🎉 I'm gonna make canister damascus with Canadian coins containing nickel. Should be a cool pattern. 😎

[@wadeking]

Amigo I love your videos and your content and the whole thing::))!! And yes I am learning how to make knives ...... bought a grinder, an oven, a drill press, an anvil, and a handful of small tools.....a forge will be soon...... so please don't slow down::::))))!!!!

[@yehudit5506]

Nice cool knife keep going JJ. Beautful!!!

[@davehine724]

rock on brother!!!

[@drpickle9817]

Starting out this year strong

[@beb32225]

kis-mif......Keep It Simple-Make It Fun...don't burden yourself with over thinking it....if it is true to you, then it will be true to others...

[@donscottvansandt4139]

I haven't sold any of the blades I've made .I've given many as gifts but i use them everyday. I do sell blades mostly vintage cutlery...and have done pretty well just doing that .I also sell all sorts of things mostly estate sale things...

[@RRINTHESHOP]

You do a great job at your job Elijah, I how the new year does well for you. You make some beautiful knives and tools. I love your hammer. You inspired me to make 3 knives for Christmas presents this year. Keep up the great inspirational work. HNY

[@lowbudgetbob1155]

I don't really keep up with the trade. I took an interest in this watching Forged in Fire and find it really interesting. I have way too many hobbies to want to try forging although I'd like to try it. I'll keep watching your content and see the new creations you come up and hope you make more kitchen knives this year. I need a 10"-12" carving/slicing knife if you're looking for ideas lol. Something I need to learn is sharpening. I have several knives I use constantly and I can get by putting an edge back on them but to make them razor sharp again is something I don't have enough skill at. Kyle Royer, I've watched some of his videos and that dude builds some beautiful pieces of art and his skill level is off the charts.

[@dillonhinkle9257]

I make knives on the side and I do sell them to afford more equipment.. and I’m wanting to start making knives to go to a show.. I’m still not real experienced but people tell me That my knives are good quality… I’ve learned a lot from you and I appreciate the videos you post they have helped me a lot

[@stephenjohnson6841]

I don't really have an opinion on whether blacksmithing/bladesmithing is ebbing or flowing? I do know that I've met and know more people who are doing those trades! As always thanks for sharing and Happy New Year to you and your family!

[@krissteel4074]

I think the bar to entry on learning is still low enough on entry prices that people can afford to get a foot in the door and provided they aren't going nuts on high end grinders and kilns, you can still make stuff as a hobby. In terms of selling, at least at the place I sell through they're getting plenty of foot traffic, business and people interested in buying stuff. However, they are not necessarily buying expensive knives and will show interest in picking up something in that 200 dollar mark most of the time for gifts or they just put it away on lay-buy. So for me at least I'm making lots of smaller knives that are quicker to manufacture and still delivering some really handsome performance in terms of their cutting ability. Which I can still do with various high alloy tool steels, but I'm more or less priced out of the market using stainless. I just can't afford the turn-around on say, buying a $1500 sheet of some steels and then making enough out of it at a price that will move products quickly enough that I'm not going backwards on each item, because it does require some things a simple carbon steel doesn't have like higher quench and tempering temperatures which is harder on equipment. For this year I had been planning to start forging a lot more as I put out some tasters and people liked them a lot, however for me forging isn't as economical due to health reasons, time spent and quite a lot of best practice in normalising steels after forging. So to make it worth the time/effort it would require higher prices that the market in my area won't really bear very well and the steels I was planning on using are fairly rare and expensive carbon steels that took a long time to source. Guess I'll have to do them one way or another! Thing with markets as well is that they can change quite quickly, like in the middle of last year it was looking pretty dire. Then since July its just been record sales moving through all the way up to christmas, its a little bit of a buffer but my gut tells me to go a little more conservative for the first half of 2024 at least where I am.

[@minnesotatomcat]

Do people really pay $15,000+ for Kyle Royer knives or is that just thumbnail bullshit? I realize the work that goes into them but i just cant see paying thousands for a knife.

[@FireCreekForge]

Yep, he's got a unique market.

[@franotoole2702]

Yes most definately they do. But kyle is on a different level than alot of us knife makers. He has his own unique market as such. He likes to push boundaries with styles and materials that only a certain clientele would be willing to pay for. Some of his blades take many months to finish, its not like hes just putting a price tag on them and say thats it buy it. Expensive materials come with expensive mistakes. We all have our own markets that we cator for. Sometimes we stay in them and sometimes we move on, realy just depends on where you are at that time and where you want to end up.

[@lorneclose7312]

I don't think bladesmithing is in decline. The economy here in Oz is in the toilet largely due to the monkeys in Government and I have noted that my sales are down 8k since July over previous year. However my website visits are up so sales are in decline popularity isnt

[@FireCreekForge]

Thanks for the perspective!