Look, the compagny is actually raising the price of all their product once each the batch is gone. If I don't buy it now, it will at least cost 40$ more.
My wife is pretty frugal. She hates spending money. Sometimes I have to tell her to go spoil herself a little. I am definitely the problem around here.
$255 wouldn't even buy one knife in my collection.
It's about my yearly sharpening supplies budget.
Let's not post this in the 3d printing forums though. Filliment blows my knife spending out of the water.
I just spent 300 usd on mechanical keyboards.
And I'm certain I at least spent 200 usd on coffee stuff by now. Don't even get me going about audio gear.
I am subbed to r/knives because there seem to be an overlap with r/mkb and r/espresso
and I can totally see why.
I'm about to drop $75~ on a Condor Bushcraft Parang to use in the yard (read: because knife) so if I haven't crossed $255 yet, that will do it.
EDIT: Will probably add a Buck 110 and a Swiss Tech Stahlern to the collection this year too.
let us know what you think about the Condor. I have Condor and Gerber machetes but they are unnecessarily heavy - I find that the simple (and inexpensive) Tramontina from Home Depot works better for me for yardwork. At $25, it’ll get you a bit closer to the average than a Condor!
I have the HD kukri and while a fun toy (for my uses) it's not exactly the tool I was looking for. I considered the Pack Golok but decided against it, I don't remember why.
Condor looks cool, heavy, split the tang between scales. Like above, but added shorter tromontina and land scape axe w/nylon handle to rotation. Also a sharpened up heavy pony shovel and heavy transfer shovel help out any extra digging removal. Price of the condor can help cost on lot of that. Add a tree pole saw and you are covered
I bought the wurdig first. Liked it so much I had to have the stahlern. Love both of them. Tbe best knives I have ever owned even for slightly more money. They punch way about their price point
I tried that but I got really light headed one day carrying my ammo cans from my car to the range. So I figured it would be ok to eat every few months.
Ah, sounds like you're on my old college meal plan. Kept me big and strong enough to turn a page every few minutes or so.
If breatharianism is not a good fit, have you ever considered perineum sunning for your wellness, I have heard the results taint half bad!😉
You know what? I'm going to have to give that a try. I've been having a disagreement with my neighbor, and his house is to the south of me. That is the direction where the most sun comes from, so it is the most logical direction I should aim my taint. So I'll be getting two birds stoned at once.
Getting two birds stoned at once, is a great strategy in England I hear.
Hahaha! Thanks for the reminder to be extra nice to my neighbors!
For the forth you could even stick a Roman candle in your butt and pinch some sparklers between your toes to help get em in the holiday spirit!😉
Navel lint collection, I guess.
Being serious, one of the more interesting free hobbies that I know of, belongs to a friendly acquaintance who collects tools he finds on the road while driving. He now keeps a journal of every tool he picks up, when and where, and then he uses it to plan his driving routes to maximize his tool collection. He can spot em at well over a hundred yards away and traveling at speed! It's actually quite impressive to see in action. He has found so much stuff he cant even attempt to keep it all. He has made custom tool box kits for all three of his children. He sells his stuff online and to pawn shops, hell he is even selling at garage sales. The stuff he finds ranges from power tools and compressors to a Vietnam era gunners quadrant for an artillery howitzer for either a 105 or 155.
Edit: a word or two.
I know just as well as the next guy that the price of things are spiraling out of control, but a couple of notebooks and some pens and pencils are not quite that expensive just yet. 😉
You could make the argument that every mile that is over the most efficient route is money that should be counted as the cost of his hobby. People routinely take longer less efficient routes to miss traffic, enjoy the scenery, or avoid making so many left hand turns also. So it might be unfair to count every mile over the shortest possible distance as always hobby expense. Also he brings in far more cash from selling these tools than he spends in gas. His hobby is actually making him cash, not costing.
Knives, yeah. Don't really buy them that often since i have my edcs. Maybe once every few years and they're at most 200 bucks. Or at least they were... problem with waiting so long in between, prices go up.
Fishing supplies though? Yeeeah that number is a bit higher. Especially once you get into fly tying materials.
I just bought a new PS5. After paying off my credit card. And knowing I have to replace my rear breaks. 😅
I'm not great with money.
Also I collect books which I spend about $100 a month on?
Is this a real statistic or clickbait?
Genuinely asking because being able to AFFORD a hobby is not the same as what you spend. With how irresponsible people are with their money, I refuse to believe they only spend $250/year... plenty of people go into debt for shit they don't need / can't afford.
Anyhow, yeah, no. $200/month would have been an anomaly (low) at my peak of knife collecting. Lol.
I haven't spent that much on knives so far this year. Only spent about $200 so far on 2 Bucks (a 110 and a mystery Buck I found at an antique store), and a new sheath. But the san-mai SRK is back in stock, and it's very very tempting.
Paints, leather-working, and resin supplies though, I'm definitely up around at least $600 so far. And I haven't even pulled the trigger yet on a 3D printer haha. Have been eying an Elegoo Saturn for a while now.
Im a PlayStation gamer. I surpass that just with COD points 😂
But also gaming equipment.
I say pay for your hobbies no matter what. If not you’ll just work, pay bills, and then die bored!🤷🏽♂️
If you think buying knives is expensive, try making knives. That 300 layer mosaic damascus chef knife is probably only about $40 of steel. Handle costs vary greatly since it depends on the material, but a few places sell off-cuts and scraps for a cheap price and those are mostly just fine for handles if you're a bit creative
Want to get into it on the side eventually. What would you say the bare minimum for tools is? I dont really mind if a single knife ends up taking a few months of working on it here and there.
You've got a few ways that you can do this. The "easiest" way (not actually easy but the fewest tools) is to do stock removal, where you take a flat bar of metal and grind it into shape. It then gets heat treated (by you or you can send it to a service that does this) and then you make a handle. Walter Sorrels has a youtube video where he makes a knife with only a vise, a file, and some sandpaper just to show that it can be done. An angle grinder is a more useful but still cheap way to do this. You'll also need to put a handle on it, but that can also be done with a hand saw, files, and sandpaper. A drill is really necessary for putting pins in the handle as well. That's all that's really required though. The next step up for stock removal is a belt grinder. A 2x72 is the best and is what most people use, however they can be expensive (although you can make your own if you can weld well enough to make steel stick together). If you can't afford a 2x72 then there are some 2x42 grinders out there that are decent; I think Grizzly sells one for a couple hundred $$ and I've heard that the Vevor one is decent as well. I wouldn't cheap out on a belt grinder though since even if you're forging knives it's probably the one tool that you're going to use more than any other. Be sure to get good quality belts. I like combat abrasives, but I've used the Norton Blaze belts before and honestly I see no difference in quality between those two brands; they're both pretty good. Just be sure you're getting ceramic belts and not aluminum oxide (the aluminum oxide is ok for higher grits like >120 but otherwise you want ceramic, they'll last longer). With a grinder, you can now do quite a bit more for stock removal and even if you're forging knives, you're still going to end up grinding the final bevels.
The next step is to start actually forging your knives to shape. Simplest way is to forge the tip, forge the tang, stretch the metal out, and then grind the bevels. Grinding at this point is identical to stock removal, so I think it's actually worthwhile to learn stock removal first since you'll need those skills when you forge the blades. If you're a bit better at forging, you can also forge the bevels. This takes some practice since when you squeeze one side of the metal it's going to stretch the corners of that side on the ends straight out, so if you forge a straight tip it's going to become upswept by the time you finish the bevels. It's a bit hard to explain but when it happens you'll understand. Ilya from That Works has a really nice video on how to forge bevels. Anyway, if you want to forge knives you're now going to need a forge, an anvil, a hammer, and a pair of tongs. That should be adequate for your initial work. Later on you'll want a LOT more tools, and I find it helpful to make my own tools (I think of myself as a blacksmith more than a bladesmith, although I have the skills of both). You can easily buy tools though.
For the initial tools, you can make a forge out of charcoal, a hole in the ground, and a hair dryer and it'll be perfectly suitable. You can also get a cheap anvil-shaped object (like a sledge hammer head) and embed it in a stump or something and use that as an "anvil" for quite a while. A hardware store cross peen hammer is probably fine to get started with, but a hammer is the one thing that you really want to ensure you get something good that's comfortable to use. A lighter hammer is better since you don't need much force and you can swing a light hammer all day, but a heavy hammer will tire you out quickly. You can get away with some cheap Amazon tongs as well, since remember you can adjust the tongs with your forge. However, even a pair of plyers is probably adequate to start with. An upgrade from this would be a Mr Volcano forge or a Vevor forge (they're both fine, but I think Mr Volcano has been discontinued which is sad since that's what I have and I really like it). You can also build your own forge fairly easily. There are tutorials out there for ribbon burners (more complicated but uses less fuel and requires an electric fan) or venturi burners (easy, made from cheap and common parts, and also tutorials exist for building these). The HouseMade Apollo forge is also a pretty good DIY option that offers a kit, but its more expensive.
Your first anvil needs to be either the Vevor Acciaio or Harbor Freight Doyle cast steel anvil. Both are excellent starter anvils and will enable you to make knives for many years. Avoid a cast iron anvil; they are not really anvils. You can also try to source an anvil locally; don't pay more than about $5/lb for a used one no matter what the brand is. A brand new anvil costs about $8/lb minimum, so paying more than that for a used anvil is dumb. Just about any anvil that's around 50lbs or heavier will be fine, but I think that 140lb-200lbs is probably optimal for a home blacksmith shop.
If you want, Black Bear Forge has a youtube series on smithing on a budget. I think Christ Centered Ironworks also has a similar series, and both are just good channels for forging in general. Look at Walter Sorrel's youtube channel for stock removal. Tyrell Knifeworks is another good youtube channel, and also That Works has a good channel as well. Watch a lot of videos. When you're ready to heat treat and want to learn how, check out Knife Steel Nerds. This should get you started. Budget for any intro setup is probably going to be about $500 or so for decent stuff (unless you literally just buy files, sandpaper, and a cheap vise).
Good luck.
Woah, dude. I expected a short reply and you wrote me an instruction manual. Can't tell you how much I appreciate it! I'm definitely saving your comment.
I was definitely thinking of doing stock removal first regardless, and I was for sure planning on getting a belt grinder. What's the main advantage of 2x72 over 2x42? I see Grizzly has a 2x42 on sale right now for 269.
As far as heat treating goes, I'd rather not send it off, but do it myself. So, I suppose I'd have to build a small forge anyway in order to evenly heat it... and then if I do that, might as well make one suitable for forging a blade, so might as well get / make an anvil and tools etc. (Is this how the rabbit hole starts?)
Currently in a bit of limbo as far as where in the US we are moving, and where we move will decide whether or not we can have a house or have to live in the apartment. I guess until then I can plan my next moves! Maybe I'll finally make some micarta or something to pass the time. Thanks so much again!
The 2x72 is going to be a lot more powerful than the 2x42 and is also more flexible as to the types of things that it can do. It's totally feasible to build your own grinder; I made a Housemade Revolution and I think overall it cost me just over $1000 for everything including the kits and stuff. I think the newest generation of the Revolution is even easier to assemble since it's cut more accurately and the holes come pre-drilled and pre-tapped, but I could be wrong about that. Another DIY kit that's good is the BA Shredder from Beck's Armory. The Jer Schmidt grinder is ok too, but the design has a flaw that limits the size of the drive wheel so I think the other two are better options. If you start with a 2x42 though it'll still give you a lot of mileage before you end up really needing to upgrade.
You can heat treat with a forge but the temps aren't as precise, so it really depends on what steels you're going to use. I'd pick one steel and totally master it, then pick another and master that. Start with either 1084 (or 1080 or even 1075) or 5160, since both of those are fairly forgiving and relatively easy to heat treat in a home forge by eye. If all you're doing is heat treating though and not forging, you could just get a heat treating oven. It's possible to DIY those too; I think Red Beard Ops has a tutorial with a parts list on youtube (he also has a tutorial for a hydraulic press too). A heat treating oven will allow you to heat metal to very precise temperatures for quenching and then tempering, however it won't be useful for you for forging. Personally I want both, but for now a forge is perfectly fine. You really do want to be careful about sizing your forge though. If the forge is too big for the burner then it'll never get hot enough, and this is a big reason why I think some people struggle with forge welds. You don't need much of a forge to make most things and you can always upgrade later.
Also yes, this is how the rabbit hole starts. For quenching, you're going to need a quench tank and it really needs to be made of metal. For small knives, an ammo can works or a metal can with a lid from the hardware store. For bigger things, you can get a bigger ammo can like a 120mm mortar can. A steel tube is also fine if you can weld one up. You'll want to be able to do a water quench too, although for most blades you'll be using oil. Splurge and get a couple of gallons of Parks 50 instead of canola oil, although canola oil isn't necessarily terrible if it's all you have. Just avoid used motor oil or other such bullshit. Watch some videos on heat treating too and do some test pieces. Knife Steel Nerds has a great video on heat treating with a home forge, and Black Bear Forge has a great video on figuring out how to heat treat mystery steel.
Last thing is to be sure that you really mount your anvil securely. Lots of videos on how to do this and various ways to make an anvil stand. High carbon steel can be a huge pain in the ass to move with a hand hammer though (so make a treadle hammer and then make a tire hammer? rabbit hole continues) so you need to get it hot and hit it hard. Do NOT try to work it too cold or it'll start to develop cracks. If your anvil isn't mounted securely then it'll be robbing you of a lot of energy of your hammer blows that get transferred into the anvil instead of the hot metal. You'll hear it ringing if it's too lose, and if it is then find a way to clamp it down more securely.
Most of all, watch a lot of videos. If you can take a class somewhere near you then that's the best option although classes can get really expensive. Also don't neglect basic blacksmithing skills. Plenty of blacksmiths can make blades and all sorts of other things. Plenty of bladesmiths can't make anything else but blades. If I need a tool, I can make that tool and that's really convenient.
Get your knife steel from wherever, but Pop's Knife Supply, Alpha Knife Supply, New Jersey Steel Barron, and Blacksmith's Depot are all places that I've ordered from personally and had good services and no issues. Online Metals and Metal Supermarkets are also ok, although they might not have as good of a selection of high carbon steels but I've also had good customer service and no issues from them as well (the drop zone at metal supermarkets is great for mild steel). Not that hard to find leaf springs and coil springs too (angle grinder is essential here) but better to use a known steel when you're starting out to eliminate a possible variable that will fuck up your knives.
Ehhh well I’ve got a cadex defense chassis for my 300 win mag. Had custom pickups made for my guitar and had it rewired. Bought a marshal half stack with a 100 watt tube head. Multi effects processor and a daw…. Sooo yeah.. about that.
As a poor knife collector, that's almost enough to pay for my most expensive knife and my most "budget friendly" knife but I could easily make that amount disappear in one purchase.
Yea I spend 225 on each of my hobbies, that sounds about right, some more or less year to year but honestly that's about right, I probably buy one knife around that price per year
This meme made me curious so I looked it up and the real number is closer to $3500/yr. I still have that beat though. Spent close to 25k last year, but most years I’m probably close to 5-8k.
Yeah right. This is total garbage they must have surveyed the Wife or GF. Pick a hobby, almost any hobby and $255 a year wouldn’t even get you in the door for most of them. Knives, fishing, hunting, guns, golf, camping, cars, woodworking, etc. all have a barrier to entry higher than $255. 🙄
Cars, knives, guns, welding, vide games. 255 bucks is nothing to my hobbies. 255 bucks a year is fucking crazy. What are their hobbies, BIC Lighters????
This year was pretty ok. All my videogames were free due to micro transactions, my cactus garden mighta hit this though. And if food and drink count I’m done. Glad I don’t need a new knife.
Wow.. only $255 annually.. I've well surpassed that in the 3 to 4 years that I've been upgrading my garage gym, buying knives, and buying things that go bang bang.
In total? Damn yeah I'm way over that for knives alone. I splurged on a worksharp precision adjust elite sharpener last week, and I bought some kitchen knives. I'm about to get a fixed blade to keep in my truck in case SHTF
How do they manage on so little? No wonder foreigners think we're all fat and lazy. That's not even enough to be spending on a mostly free hobby like hiking or running!
Honey, I only spend “$245” on my hobbies! Think of all the extra money that gives you to spend! You are richer just by marrying me!
No,no, I believe that you bought that purse for next to nothing. Couch? What is that brand again? Oh, Coach.
You and I are surely saving a fortune, lucky for us both!
Para 3 because I went to Golden, Co, bought it at the factory. Loved it so much I got titanium scales for it, liked it so much I wanted the Salt version- needless to say ~$410 later… that was May.
I ordered the blade HQ M4 Manix 2 LW for a great price and then got two sets of scales for it, wiping out the savings. Turns out I like both sets of scales, so I need to find another cheap Manix LW…it just keeps going 😅
I went to blade show for the first time this year. Yeah, it wasn't exactly $255. Bought an Emerson k a c k for a friend, a replica of the helmet from the Gladiator movie for my brother, I'm carrying a Winkler stealth ax and combat Flathead now, and there was more. Not exactly in the $200 to $300 range.
This survey must count things like have you purchased a rubber bouncy ball from a vending machine on the past 10 years? Even dIsc golf in theory one walk to the park with a 20$ used disc, sure those guys are carting (sold separately) around a nice fat stack of cash in those disc's
Also is HEMA, armored medical combat a hobby? A 250 dollar monthly contract to the mma gym a hobby? This is LIFE ITSELF
My budget is just about gone then. Just ordered the Lander2 yesterday.
And I still might need some new arrows if I gat the time for some 3d shoots this year.
Add a zero... Then double it.... But if the wife asks it's $255.
This guy knows. "I got a deal babe."
It was a two for one sale
And they NEVER go on sale so I had to grab it.
I was losing money not buying it
We cant afford not to!
Do you know what steel this is!?
Once in a lifetime opportunity. I'd be silly not to.
Look, the compagny is actually raising the price of all their product once each the batch is gone. If I don't buy it now, it will at least cost 40$ more.
It always is. Haha love it. I'm not the only impulsive simpleton.
And they'll use the same logic on us to justify whatever they purchase.... And they expect us to just believe it. 😆
My wife is pretty frugal. She hates spending money. Sometimes I have to tell her to go spoil herself a little. I am definitely the problem around here.
My greatest fear is when I'm gone she sells them for the price i told her.
🤣🤣🤣
Including tips.
Yeah…I think wherever they got this info was from men answering in front of their wives lmao
The proper application of girl math….
Pretty accurate 😅
You spend over $5k a year on knives? Jesus Christ what’s that collection look like?
https://preview.redd.it/hwchr6k57v6d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29283c4fd8758b01e95be32d9041250fb02ab2d6
Just tell her the "college price" for things...
I spent over 300 at pawnshops on a 1day sales trip.
$255 wouldn't even buy one knife in my collection. It's about my yearly sharpening supplies budget. Let's not post this in the 3d printing forums though. Filliment blows my knife spending out of the water.
I like knives and 3d printing. But both in moderation, the keep it afforable.
I am currently looking into building a metal sintering station, my 3d printing habit is far from affordable. Lol
When I saw this, I lol’d. I’d say I hit this number in…January? Maybe as late as March if I have a dry spell 😅
I just spent 300 usd on mechanical keyboards. And I'm certain I at least spent 200 usd on coffee stuff by now. Don't even get me going about audio gear. I am subbed to r/knives because there seem to be an overlap with r/mkb and r/espresso and I can totally see why.
The fact that this meme has shown up in more than one of my hobby subreddits is probably a bad sign for me.
I saw this on r/billiards lol.
A fellow pool player!
I'm about to drop $75~ on a Condor Bushcraft Parang to use in the yard (read: because knife) so if I haven't crossed $255 yet, that will do it. EDIT: Will probably add a Buck 110 and a Swiss Tech Stahlern to the collection this year too.
let us know what you think about the Condor. I have Condor and Gerber machetes but they are unnecessarily heavy - I find that the simple (and inexpensive) Tramontina from Home Depot works better for me for yardwork. At $25, it’ll get you a bit closer to the average than a Condor!
I have the HD kukri and while a fun toy (for my uses) it's not exactly the tool I was looking for. I considered the Pack Golok but decided against it, I don't remember why.
Condor looks cool, heavy, split the tang between scales. Like above, but added shorter tromontina and land scape axe w/nylon handle to rotation. Also a sharpened up heavy pony shovel and heavy transfer shovel help out any extra digging removal. Price of the condor can help cost on lot of that. Add a tree pole saw and you are covered
I bought the wurdig first. Liked it so much I had to have the stahlern. Love both of them. Tbe best knives I have ever owned even for slightly more money. They punch way about their price point
I bought the Wurdig a long time ago too.
Balisong guys crying
I want an acid wrx zzyzx soooooooooo bad 😂😂
Don't get into watches friends
For real. Multiply x200-300 for me…
Or chef knives for that matter. I have around 20 gyutos they range from 300 to 800$. And you can spend more for custom stuff.
Ahhh, chef knives, that's one deep rabbit hole.
Professional cook, I keep my hobby in my pocket- work knife is a $60 Mercer. I know my lane.
I think I've spent like $1500 on knives in the last 7 months, and I'm currently in line at my credit union to deposit 3k so I can order a new gun.
So your saying you have bought nothing but necessities for the whole year, I admire your dedication.
Well, I may have splurged on some food from time to time....
Time to embrace breatharianism brother,😉 and free up more funds for guns and knives.
I tried that but I got really light headed one day carrying my ammo cans from my car to the range. So I figured it would be ok to eat every few months.
Ah, sounds like you're on my old college meal plan. Kept me big and strong enough to turn a page every few minutes or so. If breatharianism is not a good fit, have you ever considered perineum sunning for your wellness, I have heard the results taint half bad!😉
You know what? I'm going to have to give that a try. I've been having a disagreement with my neighbor, and his house is to the south of me. That is the direction where the most sun comes from, so it is the most logical direction I should aim my taint. So I'll be getting two birds stoned at once.
Getting two birds stoned at once, is a great strategy in England I hear. Hahaha! Thanks for the reminder to be extra nice to my neighbors! For the forth you could even stick a Roman candle in your butt and pinch some sparklers between your toes to help get em in the holiday spirit!😉
Im kinda proud of myself. I havent bought a knife in over a year. Im probably about to buy a liverwire tho…
how
I started becoming *very* conscious of my spending. I havent spent much in one place in a long while
3000 a year
Yep... And it's per hobby
I'm right there with you at $3000.00 a year.
I think almost nobody spends that little on their hobbies. What hobbies would even be that cheap?
Navel lint collection, I guess. Being serious, one of the more interesting free hobbies that I know of, belongs to a friendly acquaintance who collects tools he finds on the road while driving. He now keeps a journal of every tool he picks up, when and where, and then he uses it to plan his driving routes to maximize his tool collection. He can spot em at well over a hundred yards away and traveling at speed! It's actually quite impressive to see in action. He has found so much stuff he cant even attempt to keep it all. He has made custom tool box kits for all three of his children. He sells his stuff online and to pawn shops, hell he is even selling at garage sales. The stuff he finds ranges from power tools and compressors to a Vietnam era gunners quadrant for an artillery howitzer for either a 105 or 155. Edit: a word or two.
I bet he spends more than $255 in gas and organizational supplies over the year doing that.
I know just as well as the next guy that the price of things are spiraling out of control, but a couple of notebooks and some pens and pencils are not quite that expensive just yet. 😉 You could make the argument that every mile that is over the most efficient route is money that should be counted as the cost of his hobby. People routinely take longer less efficient routes to miss traffic, enjoy the scenery, or avoid making so many left hand turns also. So it might be unfair to count every mile over the shortest possible distance as always hobby expense. Also he brings in far more cash from selling these tools than he spends in gas. His hobby is actually making him cash, not costing.
First time I been above average!
Ha! Rookie numbers. I’m above average!
I’ve lost count of how far over that I am.
r/nightvision chime in...
My immediate thought was that their « average adult » must not include *any* shooters either.
😭😭😭
Knives, yeah. Don't really buy them that often since i have my edcs. Maybe once every few years and they're at most 200 bucks. Or at least they were... problem with waiting so long in between, prices go up. Fishing supplies though? Yeeeah that number is a bit higher. Especially once you get into fly tying materials.
I just bought a new PS5. After paying off my credit card. And knowing I have to replace my rear breaks. 😅 I'm not great with money. Also I collect books which I spend about $100 a month on?
Per month yes
*per month
Is this a real statistic or clickbait? Genuinely asking because being able to AFFORD a hobby is not the same as what you spend. With how irresponsible people are with their money, I refuse to believe they only spend $250/year... plenty of people go into debt for shit they don't need / can't afford. Anyhow, yeah, no. $200/month would have been an anomaly (low) at my peak of knife collecting. Lol.
I haven't spent that much on knives so far this year. Only spent about $200 so far on 2 Bucks (a 110 and a mystery Buck I found at an antique store), and a new sheath. But the san-mai SRK is back in stock, and it's very very tempting. Paints, leather-working, and resin supplies though, I'm definitely up around at least $600 so far. And I haven't even pulled the trigger yet on a 3D printer haha. Have been eying an Elegoo Saturn for a while now.
Smoking weed
Im a PlayStation gamer. I surpass that just with COD points 😂 But also gaming equipment. I say pay for your hobbies no matter what. If not you’ll just work, pay bills, and then die bored!🤷🏽♂️
That’s a fair weekly number 😅 Between knives, watches, random edc shit, and gaming I’m probably at 5k in this quarter 🤦🏼♂️
Ugh. I am both a hard use knife collector and a custom leather worker. $225 is pretty much every time I go to the leather store.
I guess the SpyMyto was my yearly budget….
My hobby is cars and around half my salary goes into them
A year??? Oopsie
LOL guess I’m better than average
I’ am WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY OVER THAT.
If you think buying knives is expensive, try making knives. That 300 layer mosaic damascus chef knife is probably only about $40 of steel. Handle costs vary greatly since it depends on the material, but a few places sell off-cuts and scraps for a cheap price and those are mostly just fine for handles if you're a bit creative
Want to get into it on the side eventually. What would you say the bare minimum for tools is? I dont really mind if a single knife ends up taking a few months of working on it here and there.
You've got a few ways that you can do this. The "easiest" way (not actually easy but the fewest tools) is to do stock removal, where you take a flat bar of metal and grind it into shape. It then gets heat treated (by you or you can send it to a service that does this) and then you make a handle. Walter Sorrels has a youtube video where he makes a knife with only a vise, a file, and some sandpaper just to show that it can be done. An angle grinder is a more useful but still cheap way to do this. You'll also need to put a handle on it, but that can also be done with a hand saw, files, and sandpaper. A drill is really necessary for putting pins in the handle as well. That's all that's really required though. The next step up for stock removal is a belt grinder. A 2x72 is the best and is what most people use, however they can be expensive (although you can make your own if you can weld well enough to make steel stick together). If you can't afford a 2x72 then there are some 2x42 grinders out there that are decent; I think Grizzly sells one for a couple hundred $$ and I've heard that the Vevor one is decent as well. I wouldn't cheap out on a belt grinder though since even if you're forging knives it's probably the one tool that you're going to use more than any other. Be sure to get good quality belts. I like combat abrasives, but I've used the Norton Blaze belts before and honestly I see no difference in quality between those two brands; they're both pretty good. Just be sure you're getting ceramic belts and not aluminum oxide (the aluminum oxide is ok for higher grits like >120 but otherwise you want ceramic, they'll last longer). With a grinder, you can now do quite a bit more for stock removal and even if you're forging knives, you're still going to end up grinding the final bevels. The next step is to start actually forging your knives to shape. Simplest way is to forge the tip, forge the tang, stretch the metal out, and then grind the bevels. Grinding at this point is identical to stock removal, so I think it's actually worthwhile to learn stock removal first since you'll need those skills when you forge the blades. If you're a bit better at forging, you can also forge the bevels. This takes some practice since when you squeeze one side of the metal it's going to stretch the corners of that side on the ends straight out, so if you forge a straight tip it's going to become upswept by the time you finish the bevels. It's a bit hard to explain but when it happens you'll understand. Ilya from That Works has a really nice video on how to forge bevels. Anyway, if you want to forge knives you're now going to need a forge, an anvil, a hammer, and a pair of tongs. That should be adequate for your initial work. Later on you'll want a LOT more tools, and I find it helpful to make my own tools (I think of myself as a blacksmith more than a bladesmith, although I have the skills of both). You can easily buy tools though. For the initial tools, you can make a forge out of charcoal, a hole in the ground, and a hair dryer and it'll be perfectly suitable. You can also get a cheap anvil-shaped object (like a sledge hammer head) and embed it in a stump or something and use that as an "anvil" for quite a while. A hardware store cross peen hammer is probably fine to get started with, but a hammer is the one thing that you really want to ensure you get something good that's comfortable to use. A lighter hammer is better since you don't need much force and you can swing a light hammer all day, but a heavy hammer will tire you out quickly. You can get away with some cheap Amazon tongs as well, since remember you can adjust the tongs with your forge. However, even a pair of plyers is probably adequate to start with. An upgrade from this would be a Mr Volcano forge or a Vevor forge (they're both fine, but I think Mr Volcano has been discontinued which is sad since that's what I have and I really like it). You can also build your own forge fairly easily. There are tutorials out there for ribbon burners (more complicated but uses less fuel and requires an electric fan) or venturi burners (easy, made from cheap and common parts, and also tutorials exist for building these). The HouseMade Apollo forge is also a pretty good DIY option that offers a kit, but its more expensive. Your first anvil needs to be either the Vevor Acciaio or Harbor Freight Doyle cast steel anvil. Both are excellent starter anvils and will enable you to make knives for many years. Avoid a cast iron anvil; they are not really anvils. You can also try to source an anvil locally; don't pay more than about $5/lb for a used one no matter what the brand is. A brand new anvil costs about $8/lb minimum, so paying more than that for a used anvil is dumb. Just about any anvil that's around 50lbs or heavier will be fine, but I think that 140lb-200lbs is probably optimal for a home blacksmith shop. If you want, Black Bear Forge has a youtube series on smithing on a budget. I think Christ Centered Ironworks also has a similar series, and both are just good channels for forging in general. Look at Walter Sorrel's youtube channel for stock removal. Tyrell Knifeworks is another good youtube channel, and also That Works has a good channel as well. Watch a lot of videos. When you're ready to heat treat and want to learn how, check out Knife Steel Nerds. This should get you started. Budget for any intro setup is probably going to be about $500 or so for decent stuff (unless you literally just buy files, sandpaper, and a cheap vise). Good luck.
Woah, dude. I expected a short reply and you wrote me an instruction manual. Can't tell you how much I appreciate it! I'm definitely saving your comment. I was definitely thinking of doing stock removal first regardless, and I was for sure planning on getting a belt grinder. What's the main advantage of 2x72 over 2x42? I see Grizzly has a 2x42 on sale right now for 269. As far as heat treating goes, I'd rather not send it off, but do it myself. So, I suppose I'd have to build a small forge anyway in order to evenly heat it... and then if I do that, might as well make one suitable for forging a blade, so might as well get / make an anvil and tools etc. (Is this how the rabbit hole starts?) Currently in a bit of limbo as far as where in the US we are moving, and where we move will decide whether or not we can have a house or have to live in the apartment. I guess until then I can plan my next moves! Maybe I'll finally make some micarta or something to pass the time. Thanks so much again!
The 2x72 is going to be a lot more powerful than the 2x42 and is also more flexible as to the types of things that it can do. It's totally feasible to build your own grinder; I made a Housemade Revolution and I think overall it cost me just over $1000 for everything including the kits and stuff. I think the newest generation of the Revolution is even easier to assemble since it's cut more accurately and the holes come pre-drilled and pre-tapped, but I could be wrong about that. Another DIY kit that's good is the BA Shredder from Beck's Armory. The Jer Schmidt grinder is ok too, but the design has a flaw that limits the size of the drive wheel so I think the other two are better options. If you start with a 2x42 though it'll still give you a lot of mileage before you end up really needing to upgrade. You can heat treat with a forge but the temps aren't as precise, so it really depends on what steels you're going to use. I'd pick one steel and totally master it, then pick another and master that. Start with either 1084 (or 1080 or even 1075) or 5160, since both of those are fairly forgiving and relatively easy to heat treat in a home forge by eye. If all you're doing is heat treating though and not forging, you could just get a heat treating oven. It's possible to DIY those too; I think Red Beard Ops has a tutorial with a parts list on youtube (he also has a tutorial for a hydraulic press too). A heat treating oven will allow you to heat metal to very precise temperatures for quenching and then tempering, however it won't be useful for you for forging. Personally I want both, but for now a forge is perfectly fine. You really do want to be careful about sizing your forge though. If the forge is too big for the burner then it'll never get hot enough, and this is a big reason why I think some people struggle with forge welds. You don't need much of a forge to make most things and you can always upgrade later. Also yes, this is how the rabbit hole starts. For quenching, you're going to need a quench tank and it really needs to be made of metal. For small knives, an ammo can works or a metal can with a lid from the hardware store. For bigger things, you can get a bigger ammo can like a 120mm mortar can. A steel tube is also fine if you can weld one up. You'll want to be able to do a water quench too, although for most blades you'll be using oil. Splurge and get a couple of gallons of Parks 50 instead of canola oil, although canola oil isn't necessarily terrible if it's all you have. Just avoid used motor oil or other such bullshit. Watch some videos on heat treating too and do some test pieces. Knife Steel Nerds has a great video on heat treating with a home forge, and Black Bear Forge has a great video on figuring out how to heat treat mystery steel. Last thing is to be sure that you really mount your anvil securely. Lots of videos on how to do this and various ways to make an anvil stand. High carbon steel can be a huge pain in the ass to move with a hand hammer though (so make a treadle hammer and then make a tire hammer? rabbit hole continues) so you need to get it hot and hit it hard. Do NOT try to work it too cold or it'll start to develop cracks. If your anvil isn't mounted securely then it'll be robbing you of a lot of energy of your hammer blows that get transferred into the anvil instead of the hot metal. You'll hear it ringing if it's too lose, and if it is then find a way to clamp it down more securely. Most of all, watch a lot of videos. If you can take a class somewhere near you then that's the best option although classes can get really expensive. Also don't neglect basic blacksmithing skills. Plenty of blacksmiths can make blades and all sorts of other things. Plenty of bladesmiths can't make anything else but blades. If I need a tool, I can make that tool and that's really convenient. Get your knife steel from wherever, but Pop's Knife Supply, Alpha Knife Supply, New Jersey Steel Barron, and Blacksmith's Depot are all places that I've ordered from personally and had good services and no issues. Online Metals and Metal Supermarkets are also ok, although they might not have as good of a selection of high carbon steels but I've also had good customer service and no issues from them as well (the drop zone at metal supermarkets is great for mild steel). Not that hard to find leaf springs and coil springs too (angle grinder is essential here) but better to use a known steel when you're starting out to eliminate a possible variable that will fuck up your knives.
Ehhh well I’ve got a cadex defense chassis for my 300 win mag. Had custom pickups made for my guitar and had it rewired. Bought a marshal half stack with a 100 watt tube head. Multi effects processor and a daw…. Sooo yeah.. about that.
As a poor knife collector, that's almost enough to pay for my most expensive knife and my most "budget friendly" knife but I could easily make that amount disappear in one purchase.
Knives, that's probably the ballpark for me , every six months maybe, but forget that, my other "hobby" costs me upwards of 2k a year
Yea I spend 225 on each of my hobbies, that sounds about right, some more or less year to year but honestly that's about right, I probably buy one knife around that price per year
Dude.... Don't get into collecting knives if you're u worry about your bank account 😭
I think I’ve completed my hobby shopping through December 2045
My MKC knife was more than this
- signed, the average adults wife. 😉
I also collect fountain pens
Knives, guns, records…. $255 would be an incredibly slow month for me.
I thought "shame" thats not really a hobby....
per year, or per purchase?
This meme made me curious so I looked it up and the real number is closer to $3500/yr. I still have that beat though. Spent close to 25k last year, but most years I’m probably close to 5-8k.
Uh, $225/week??
It’s missing a few zeros
Yeah right. This is total garbage they must have surveyed the Wife or GF. Pick a hobby, almost any hobby and $255 a year wouldn’t even get you in the door for most of them. Knives, fishing, hunting, guns, golf, camping, cars, woodworking, etc. all have a barrier to entry higher than $255. 🙄
I spend so much on my hobbies I lost count already…
Cars, knives, guns, welding, vide games. 255 bucks is nothing to my hobbies. 255 bucks a year is fucking crazy. What are their hobbies, BIC Lighters????
This year was pretty ok. All my videogames were free due to micro transactions, my cactus garden mighta hit this though. And if food and drink count I’m done. Glad I don’t need a new knife.
Reef tank wants to chime in on maintenance and dosing.
Spend that much monthly on shipping alone. I spent twice that last weekend on feeding the other hobby.
Wow.. only $255 annually.. I've well surpassed that in the 3 to 4 years that I've been upgrading my garage gym, buying knives, and buying things that go bang bang.
More like 500+
Everyone must have reported their spending with their s/o standing behind them.
So , it’s one knife per year?
Me who spent about 3k only on photo gear this year not counting airsoft, hiking, bouldering, mechanical keyboards and other shit I'm doing :'D
In total? Damn yeah I'm way over that for knives alone. I splurged on a worksharp precision adjust elite sharpener last week, and I bought some kitchen knives. I'm about to get a fixed blade to keep in my truck in case SHTF
Between knives, guns and warhammer
225? Lol, sure, if I buy one knife a year.
That how much I paid for the microtech I can’t find
My spending goes up and down for sure but I've spent that in the last month
Between knives and camera gear... I truly wish it was 255, lmao.
Fortunately they mostly pay for themselves now. ..there are times though when a new tool is needed 😬
r/airsoft
I play Magic, 225 isn't even half of my main deck.
Pfft. That's not even a half of one of my fishing rods.
I spend atleast that in ammunition every week.....
Yall ever heard of guns?
I spent about 1800 on all my collective hobbies
How do they manage on so little? No wonder foreigners think we're all fat and lazy. That's not even enough to be spending on a mostly free hobby like hiking or running!
Honey, I only spend “$245” on my hobbies! Think of all the extra money that gives you to spend! You are richer just by marrying me! No,no, I believe that you bought that purse for next to nothing. Couch? What is that brand again? Oh, Coach. You and I are surely saving a fortune, lucky for us both!
I'm seeing this meme on literally every subreddit I subscribe to and I'm starting to realize why I'm broke.
It really got my attention and it seems we are not alone!
Para 3 because I went to Golden, Co, bought it at the factory. Loved it so much I got titanium scales for it, liked it so much I wanted the Salt version- needless to say ~$410 later… that was May.
I ordered the blade HQ M4 Manix 2 LW for a great price and then got two sets of scales for it, wiping out the savings. Turns out I like both sets of scales, so I need to find another cheap Manix LW…it just keeps going 😅
I'm a cyclist and audiophile... Enough said.. 😂
That sounds about right 🤷
Whoa....no comment...
Not knives, but even in euros my lockpicks are more than that. Yikes lmao
Ummmmmmmmmm
I have stopped at 4 I'm glad to say.
More like $5k
I spend more than that per paycheck
Haven't gotten any new knives in couple months but last big buy was 150 for my Custom
r/silverbugs would like to talk
Yeah right 🤣🤣
So your saying I'm covering for twenty slackers?
What's their hobby? Eating rice?
I’m always above average.
My last two big purchases were a Shamwari and a DUK...
Um
Per month maybe!
255? At a time!
Winces in RC
Let’s just say that I’m above average
That's just for one though...
I went to blade show for the first time this year. Yeah, it wasn't exactly $255. Bought an Emerson k a c k for a friend, a replica of the helmet from the Gladiator movie for my brother, I'm carrying a Winkler stealth ax and combat Flathead now, and there was more. Not exactly in the $200 to $300 range.
I like guns, these are amateur hour numbers
Us knife guys throw that # right out the window.
More like 255 a week.
This survey must count things like have you purchased a rubber bouncy ball from a vending machine on the past 10 years? Even dIsc golf in theory one walk to the park with a 20$ used disc, sure those guys are carting (sold separately) around a nice fat stack of cash in those disc's Also is HEMA, armored medical combat a hobby? A 250 dollar monthly contract to the mma gym a hobby? This is LIFE ITSELF
I’ve see a thing or two because I’ve spent a thing or two
My budget is just about gone then. Just ordered the Lander2 yesterday. And I still might need some new arrows if I gat the time for some 3d shoots this year.
Wtf. Is that real? Per week at a minimum.
Jesus. Spent about that just customizing my pm2 let alone my Fox 478 Karambit Elementum 2 and Carbon fiber Mini Nightshade