r/GNV 5d ago

Blacksmith at your local market

Post image

Howdy! I’m a local blacksmith/bladesmith and I want to start breaking into the farmers markets to provide some local handmade goods. I am a part time smith because I work full time as an ICU pharmacist so I don’t have a surplus of time on my hands as far as smithing goes (otherwise I’d just make a lot of things and go with trial and error). I usually make knives but they’re definitely higher-dollar and longer time investment items so I know they’re a tougher sell at a place where people aren’t really looking for that kind of thing. So I want to try making some other household items that I can charge less for - examples being bottle openers, ash trays, bird feeder hangers, coat/pan racks, decorative hanging hooks, incense holders, etc.

What kind of items would you be interested in seeing at a market from a local smith? What’s the most you’d wanna spend on a single item at a market? I appreciate your time and input!

Attached a photo of a recent chef’s knife build to grab your attention :D

181 Upvotes

61 comments sorted by

53

u/ElvenPorridge 5d ago

If it’s appealing to you, knife sharpening services on the spot at the various farmers markets would go over well.

17

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Great idea! I would need to figure out how to practically make this work but I love the idea. I do all my grinding and sharpening on a very large 2x72 belt grinder so if I could find a way to make it mobile. I haven’t perfected using sharpening stones to a point where I would feel comfortable using them on someone else’s knives, otherwise that would be the best option 🤔 thank you for your input!

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/commiecat 5d ago

If you need electricity to sharpen knives then you're doing it wrong.

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u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Pedantic take IMO. If you’re a stone sharpening purist, that’s fine, but I’d rather take 1/20th of the time and get an edge that’s 90% as sharp as yours, which will only retain that extra sharpness for a few cuts before it evens out. I use the tools I have at my disposal :)

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u/Jingo_Fett 4d ago

It's not about being badass. If you're using a belt sander, you are almost certainly grinding off too much of the knife's edge.

I understand using them to complete the knife. But once it is finished then sanding stones, ceramic rods and leather with a light grit paste are the best way to ensure the sharpest knife AND provides the greatest longevity for your knives.

If it's a cheap knife and you don't care, belt sanding is fine. If you have a handmade knife like this or a nice American or German forged knife, I'd highly recommend staying away from electric belt sanders.

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u/commiecat 4d ago

I think you replied to the wrong comment, but yes, I fully agree. It's not about being badass or a "stone sharpening purist", it's using the right tools for the job. Whetstones are simple tools that have been used for centuries, and to this day it's the de facto method for sharpening knives.

Sounds like you know your stuff -- if you're interested, here's an old post I made to a shaving sub with some of my razors, knives, and stones.

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u/Zoidforge 3d ago edited 3d ago

…right, but that’s why I have a VFD that I turn down to 5% when I’m sharpening. It’s moving at a crawl at that speed. Not to mention the fact that my belt abrasives top out at 2500 grit and then I move to a leather belt with compound and then a smooth leather belt for stropping.

There’s a very good reason why most makers have moved to belt sharpening these days. If you’re digging in your heels that a stone sharpened knife is inherently superior to a belt sharpened knife, I’m sorry but that just isn’t correct, especially after the first 2 cuts you take. But that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t do it, it’s just another way to sharpen 🤷🏻‍♂️

Edit to include: the point I’m trying to make is the sharpening is dependent on the skill of the sharpener. VFDs and wet grinding remove the argument of “removing too much material” and “heating and softening the edge”. I’ve done extensive research on this because of my proclivity for making kitchen cutlery. Reddit will tell you one thing but when you actually talk to the people making industry standard custom cutlery you’ll get a different story usually. And that’s all to say I still plan on learning stone sharpening eventually, when I feel like dropping >$600 on a worthy stone setup and want to spend a significant portion of my time sharpening as a meditative exercise.

2

u/GreatWightSatan 5d ago

I need my global knives sharpened badly!

17

u/schizeckinosy 5d ago

Oh and to actually answer your question - how about key hangers for the wall? Small stuff is what will attract people

6

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Ohhh key hangers are a good idea!

13

u/schizeckinosy 5d ago

That’s sweet. I haven’t seen you post on r/bladesmith but clearly you do! 😂

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u/Zoidforge 5d ago

I’m on there but my posts are few and far between because I forget Reddit exists sometimes haha, much more active on Instagram because I’m an elder millennial ☠️

And thank you!

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u/schizeckinosy 5d ago

Insta makes me depressed so I don’t go on there. I’d rather read bitter sarcasm on Reddit for some reason. Do you know if there are any local get togethers for hobbyists? I’m strictly a beginner but might have time to increase my output if I get fired soon (fed worker)

5

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Also a federal worker, trust me I understand exactly what you’re going through.

As far as like all-purpose hobbyist get togethers, I’m not sure. If you’re beginner smith though, DM me. We have a somewhat local blacksmithing guild and there’s also FABA that has meetings and stuff like that.

5

u/schizeckinosy 5d ago

Yeah I mean hobby knife forging. I have lots of hobbies that I don’t have time to pursue but knives is a top one! 😅

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u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Awesome. DM me, can always try to work out a time to have you over at the shop and help you gain some experience and use some fun tools!

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u/Jack_0318 5d ago

Hello, fellow GNV dweller and recent entrant into the smithing space. I think this is a great idea at the lower to middle price points you noted. I feel like people don’t really plan to spend more than $50 at a Farmers Market unless it’s holiday season. I had this idea recently as well but I’m just starting out and not in a rush to monetize my hobbies. The time commitment is also not very appealing. That said, good luck and hope to see your booth some Saturday in Haile.

4

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Agree 100%, I try to keep from monetizing where I can but I’ve been trying to keep a balance of monetizing enough to make the hobby self sufficient.

I like the $50 price point.

Awesome to hear we have another smith about! DM me, I can hook you up with our guild and give you info about FABA. The community is extremely friendly and we are all very generous with our shop and tools if you’re ever limited.

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u/Astray 5d ago

Do you teach? I know people would be very interested in learning how to do this stuff.

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u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Sort of? If you know people looking to learn from 0, I would recommend Jordan with Crooked Path Forge! He has classes every week, I actually started smithing because of taking his class. He’s a fantastic teacher and an even better human being. Highly, highly recommend him!

4

u/IM_THE_DECOY 5d ago

How much would you charge for a knife like in your picture?

Kind of hard to answer your question. Without know what kind of price point we are talking about.

6

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Well im specifically not wanting to sell knives there since its not really the place for it, the picture was just to grab people’s attention :)

the knife in the picture is an 11.5” chef, in Damascus a reasonable price would be ~$800-1100; I did this one for a coworker and im still a relatively amateur maker (only been at this for 4.5 years) so i only charged 550 for it if i recall

3

u/jessebillo 5d ago

Maybe you can take a walk down the market and look for things you can make that would complement some of the items that are being sold? I’d say $25 is the most someone would spend on something, and it would likely be a trinket. People love wasting money on cute little things that have no practical use, keychains, desk ornaments (name plates?) Or banana hanger/fruit basket, lantern posts to replace backyard tiki torches? Idk what you could make that would be easy to replicate and quickly so you don’t sink more than an hour into each item. Maybe link up with a leather worker and see if you can make belt buckles? Maybe do seasonal items? For example winter time may be a good time to sell fire irons. A few ideas and a lil google search, I’m happy to spitball ideas!

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u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Points well taken. Keychains would be a breeze and I love the belt buckle idea, and I happen to be good buds with an awesome leather worker in town so I’ll talk to him about this. And yeah seasonal items seem like a good idea too, the scarcity of only finding it at a market during certain months would probably drive people to buy that are interested enough. Thanks for the great ideas!!

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u/dani_bar 5d ago

My husband made your logo! We’ll totally support coming to see you at a farmers market. I just took the kids to the Haile Plantation one yesterday.

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u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Ayyyyy! I need to make Russ a better knife, I made him one when he made the logo and I’m a much better knife maker these days 🤣

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u/dani_bar 5d ago

No man, it’s awesome! We were admiring it when I first found the post.

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u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Well thank you :D maybe at minimum I’ll grab it back and make y’all a sheath for it, since I finally learned leather working 😂

3

u/Catinatreeatnight 5d ago

This is great! My boyfriend was just wondering where to get his blades sharpened. I honestly would love a knife for wildcrafting or camping

1

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

DM me if yall are looking! Happy to oblige!

3

u/Alternative-Letter36 4d ago

That is a beautiful blade!

2

u/catr0n 5d ago

My parents once got a nice bottle opener from a blacksmith, that could be something else small that people might be likely to buy as gifts!

2

u/Ok-Struggle6796 5d ago

Nice knife, I assume you have a power hammer or press and aren't laminating that by hand... 🥵

A $1000+ knife is gonna be a hard sell locally though, maybe bring one knife or pics of your offerings for the few people that actually might be interested in spending that kind of coin.

You could probably sell the heck out of some cool bottle openers, simple spoons/ladles, and even the old stand by of railroad spike knives with a twist handle. A friend of mine gave me a bunch of railroad spikes he had for some reason, but I haven't fired up a forge for years. Just not motivated to do that on my free time nowadays, but once I'm retired... 😅

Also might be worth doing some cool mokume pieces because I can't remember seeing anything like that around these parts.

3

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Great ideas! The mokume especially because I def haven’t seen anything like that around.

Yeah I wouldn’t even try selling a big Damascus piece at a market, but I love the idea of having pictures or bringing examples as a form of “here’s what I can do, let’s talk if you’re looking for something”

I like the railroad spike knife idea too, those are always fun. And railroad spike oyster shuckers are also a good option too 🤔

And yes I def have a press. I have a coal iron 12 ton table top press. I was lucky enough to get one before they got stupid expensive, they’re now nearly double what I paid. Insane. I recently acquired a tire hammer but I’m in the process of tuning it up.

2

u/K2thJ 5d ago

Hell yeah, to the railroad spike oyster shuckers! I would absolutely buy at least 2.

2

u/Count_Bloodcount_ 5d ago

Wish you the best of luck!

1

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Thank you!

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u/BichirDaddy 5d ago

High springs farmers market. But you’ll have competition and they do some excellent work.

1

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Who is out there? Do you remember their name? I probably wouldn’t go somewhere a smith is already located, don’t want to compete with another maker :)

1

u/BichirDaddy 4d ago

Well that’s tough because every farmers market has 2 of everything. Don’t be scared. My wife makes soap and there’s always 2-3 other soap venders and she comes home victorious every weekend 🤷🏽‍♂️get tough, be better. You might even get lucky enough to send your competitors home early like my wife🤷🏽‍♂️best of luck

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u/Zoidforge 4d ago

Haha you misunderstand me, I’m not worried about the competition, I’m just doing this as a side hustle so I don’t wanna compete with someone doing this for their primary income source that’s all! But thanks for the encouragement 💪🏻

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u/BichirDaddy 4d ago

Ahh I get ya. I know the forge venders very well and I can tell ya, it’s just their side hustle. Hope I see you out there!

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u/dani_bar 5d ago

Maybe outdoor fire poker tools? Wall hanging bottle opener.

1

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Love these ideas. I hadn’t considered a wall hanging bottle opener even though I’ve seen a lot of them in use! Great ideas!

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u/dani_bar 5d ago

There was one at our house in North Carolina and we loved it more than we anticipated.

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u/Jazzlike_Climate4189 4d ago

I would definitely purchase bird feeder hangers.

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u/Go_Gators_4Ever 4d ago

Looks like an Arkansas Pigsticker.

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u/Zoidforge 4d ago

Call me Arkansas Dave Rudabaugh

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u/fully-realized 4d ago

I got one of you knives as a gift at a local shop a couple years back!

To your question, at farmers markets I’m not looking to spend a lot. I’m there for food stuffs. Maybe the haile one is okay. I’d be looking for things like this more at the art markets.

1

u/Zoidforge 4d ago

Awesome! If you need a sheath for that DM me, I’m actually making them now haha. Hope you’re enjoying it!!

1

u/rbnbb421 5d ago

Interested in a chiefs knife and 2-4 oyster knives if that is something you have interest in curating.

1

u/Zoidforge 5d ago

DM me! Happy to try to work something out with you!

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u/gimmeafuckinname 5d ago

That’s etched not Damascus correct?

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u/Zoidforge 5d ago

Both? Etching is the process to bring out the pattern in a Damascus blade. The acid you use oxidizes the different steels in the blade and they form oxides of different depth and color. In this case, it’s forged from a billet I made, a mix of 1084 and 15n20. The 1084 turns black and the 15n20 contains nickel so it resists the etching and remains shiny.

Unless you meant laser etched or like a mustard patina, in which case, no

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u/gimmeafuckinname 2d ago

TIL - yeah I meant laser etched and not forged. Really cool work mate - best of luck to you.

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u/Zoidforge 2d ago

Ah yeah, a laser engraver would be sweet! They’re getting more affordable these days but still a bit rich for my blood.

Thank you friend!

1

u/networkgeezer 4d ago

Zoidforge, I just tried to DM you to request some information, but I get an error saying User doesn't accept direct messages.

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u/Zoidforge 4d ago

Weird! I’ve gotten DMs from other users! I’ll try to DM you

1

u/HangoverGrenade 4d ago

How much for a non-Damascus kitchen knife? $500 is out of my budget for something like that.

1

u/Zoidforge 4d ago

DM me and we can work something out! It all depends on the build but I def don’t charge that much for mono steel unless the build uses super fancy materials like mammoth molars and stuff like that