How I pay for my knives

Joined
Nov 7, 2014
Messages
880
In 2009 I started a small side business doing headlight restoration on cars. I stopped doing it a few years ago when I became part owner of a much better, more lucrative company. But as of the last year or so, I've been doing headlight restoration on the side because it's easy money and is actually enjoyable to do. I charge $89/set and it takes about an hour. Even though I took my website offline a long time ago, I still get calls from people who find me on Google maps. If I get 3 sets a month, I have $250 (after materials) or so to play with for that month.

Anybody else have something they do on the side to support their hobby??

Just to give you an idea, here's what my clients get:

before
ls.jpg


after
ls.jpg


Cheers!
 
I have the option to volunteer for overtime at work. Sometimes I'll work a Saturday or two to raise some extra knife money. I usually buy the knife first and then replace the money later when the overtime check comes in.
 
I buy, sell, and trade knives of all kinds. I guess that's my hobby "on the side" - LOL!

No, but really, if I see a knife that I want to try, I'll just sell-off or trade-away something(s) not being used or otherwise enjoyed. That way, the collection is constantly changing, and I get to try even more knives than I would if I kept everything I acquired all the time.
 
I use white toothpaste and a rag. Also, it's minty fresh.

I've seen those videos. It does about 25% of the job (if done right)...all it does is remove the thin layer of grime and some of the previous sealant but it'll come back...fortunately tooth paste is cheap and easy to find [emoji106]. I have my own system that involves resurfacing and re-sealing them...I guess it's not dissimilar to re-profiling a blade in some ways....heavy grit sandpaper progressively up to fine grit sandpaper followed by sealant!
 
I've seen those videos. It does about 25% of the job (if done right)...all it does is remove the thin layer of grime and some of the previous sealant but it'll come back...fortunately tooth paste is cheap and easy to find [emoji106]. I have my own system that involves resurfacing and re-sealing them...I guess it's not dissimilar to re-profiling a blade in some ways....heavy grit sandpaper progressively up to fine grit sandpaper followed by sealant!

Would you only do locally or have people send them to you in the mail? I would like to do something like this because my income doesn't really support the purchase of knives or extras because I just had a kid. Something like this would be very very helpful with my knife addiction lol
 
Would you only do locally or have people send them to you in the mail? I would like to do something like this because my income doesn't really support the purchase of knives or extras because I just had a kid. Something like this would be very very helpful with my knife addiction lol

It took me a little while to get the hang of it but it's not hard. Ironically I just did a set for the first time in a while about 2 hours ago. I don't accept lights in the mail because shipping there and back would be expensive and I wouldn't want to deal with damages. But if you look around your local grocery store parking lot you'll probably see dozens of potential customers.

2bcf540f56c72bdecdf0b58e5549e6ee.jpg

16a5b69f8574e3c09a8c1ee1f58b5f61.jpg
 
I support my knife purchases by :

1 - I walk the ditches along the highway adjacent to our farm picking up aluminum cans for recycling. It only brings in about $10 a week, but it gets me out and walking for exercise as well.

2 - I also constantly find scrap steel in the ditches, so I'll also make piles of the pieces and go back with the pickup and load it up. Used to be pretty good when scrap steel was up around 10 cents / pound - I could find at least $30 a week. Price is down to around 3 cents now, so I'm just making a big pile by the barn and waiting for the scrap steel to go back up.

3 - from November to January, I pick up pecans and sell them to a buyer down at the local feed store. Last year, (2014) I picked up nearly $1200 worth of pecans (51 cents last year) in the back yard and under the native pecans down by the creek. This year, the pecan crop is poor. Pecans are a biennial crop - usually a good year followed by a bad year followed by a good year. Because of that, the price was up to 70 cents, but I only picked up about 100 pounds. :grumpy:

I also budget EVERYTHING, including entertainment. What I do is every time I ask a woman out and she turns me down, I transfer $50 from the Entertainment line item over to the Knife Buying line item in my budgeting spreadsheet. On more than 1 occasion, when short of funds in the Knife line and I really wanted something, I have gone up to a woman and asked her to "Tell me NO, please." Usually they say "Huh?" or "What?". Then I'll ask them again. When they finally tell me NO, I'll say "Thank you." and turn away to leave. Most of the time they stop me and ask "Why?" When I tell them "So I can transfer money from my Entertainment budget to my Knife Buying budget." many of them will then ask more questions. And sometimes I get dates out of them anyway.
 
I bought a lot of knives and a few watches years ago when I had a better job, so now if I want to buy new knives I have to sell a few old knives or watches.

Regarding headlights- that sounds like a good business. I refinished mine a few months ago using a 3M system from my local auto parts store. I did some research and this brand was highly rated. Probably about 5 years ago I had taken my wife's car in for annual safety inspection and the guys in the inspection station offered to fix her very clouded headlights for $5 each. I went out to look and the lights did look a lot better. They wouldn't tell me their secret but then I spotted a spray can of clear paint on the counter behind one of the guys. Well this does work to some extent because the clear paint fills in the rough finish and makes it optically more clear. But it doesn't look nearly as good as new or properly polished lenses.

Another little one-person business that I think offers a good opportunity for a person willing to work at it is windshield chip repair. I had a couple of chips repaired recently to keep from having to replace an entire windshield. The guy came to my house, had his tools and materials, seemed to know exactly how to do the repair, did the repair fairly quickly, and charged a reasonable price. He doesn't have much overhead so he can travel to different places for repairs and earn a good living. And the insurance companies are probably happy to pay his repair rates because it is so much less money than paying to replace an entire windshield.
 
What I do is every time I ask a woman out and she turns me down, I transfer $50 from the Entertainment line item over to the Knife Buying line item

Nice!
 
I live off my VA service connected disability compensation. A couple years ago, I inherited a bit of money so I made a downpayment on a house and bought my last watch and some machinery. Knifemaking and buying/selling is a hobby that pays for itself (usually).
 
In 2009 I started a small side business doing headlight restoration on cars. I stopped doing it a few years ago when I became part owner of a much better, more lucrative company. But as of the last year or so, I've been doing headlight restoration on the side because it's easy money and is actually enjoyable to do. I charge $89/set and it takes about an hour. Even though I took my website offline a long time ago, I still get calls from people who find me on Google maps. If I get 3 sets a month, I have $250 (after materials) or so to play with for that month.

Anybody else have something they do on the side to support their hobby??

Just to give you an idea, here's what my clients get:

before
ls.jpg


after
ls.jpg


Cheers!
I'm curious to what you use as a sealant?
 
I'm curious to what you use as a sealant?

spar urethane clear gloss from helmsman diluted down with clear mineral spirits, roughly 70/30 ratio, applied with a folded blue scotch shop paper towel...it self levels and dries in about an hour. It'll usually hold strong for a year or so, but eventually will need reapplication. I tried this other stuff one time that bonded with the poly carbonate on a molecular level, but had to be airbrushed on and then cured under a UV lamp for 20 minutes, and required a very slim ambient temperature range or it would permanently fog the lens up from the inside! Too intense.
 
I have a part time self employed gig when I'm not at my main job.
I need expenses to avoid being savaged too badly by the taxman.
So I acquire 'tools'. For example, recently it transpired I needed a Slysz Bowie. And a Bradley 2. Also I need a bit of light from time to time, so I've ordered a Thrunite TN35 to go with my 6 Zebralights and Jetbeam RRT01.
 
I have a part time self employed gig when I'm not at my main job.
I need expenses to avoid being savaged too badly by the taxman.
So I acquire 'tools'. For example, recently it transpired I needed a Slysz Bowie. And a Bradley 2. Also I need a bit of light from time to time, so I've ordered a Thrunite TN35 to go with my 6 Zebralights and Jetbeam RRT01.

Awesome! Good call on the "tools" thing. I wonder how many people on here so that. I used to have a bunch of inova lights, I really liked them for fit and finish and quality but I lost them all (apparently my friends over the years liked them too) and now just have my trusty stream light rechargeable and a 2 x AA Fenix.
 
I teach a couple classes at my grad school, and have a few different screenplays in the works for a producer-friend of mine. The latter will fund quite a few knives...eventually. :D
 
When I drank beer I'd recycle the cans. The gift that keeps givin
 
I have a decent job @ a bank (made much more before moving 6 hrs away for my wife's job) wife makes better money and in a few years I'll be able to buy any knife I desire without hesitation from cost. I worked hard to make ends meet while my wife chased her dream of becoming a doctor. In a few more years it will all payoff.
 
I work a normal IT job during the day as a network architect, but make play money shooting weddings and senior pictures at $100/HR. I've paid for my equipment several times over, and, bought a few knives along the way. :)
 
Back
Top