The Problem with Trying to Classify Every Knifemaker the Same Way

April 11, 2026 Neels Van Den Berg

Trying to classify every knifemaker the same way is where a lot of discussions start going wrong.

People often speak as if one label should be enough. Full-time. Part-time. Professional. Amateur. Hobbyist. Commercial.

The problem is that none of those labels can carry the full weight people try to put on them.

A maker’s relationship to knifemaking is shaped by multiple factors at once. Time matters. Income dependence matters. Formal recognition matters. Motivation matters. Market standing matters. Once those very different dimensions are collapsed into a single word, clarity disappears and arguments usually follow.

That becomes especially obvious when pricing enters the conversation.

Not every maker needs the same thing from knifemaking. Some need it to support a household. Some use it to generate supplemental income. Some sell work but do not depend on the money at all. Some are driven mainly by commercial goals, others by artistic exploration, teaching, or personal satisfaction. Some are still emerging in the market, while others already have established demand or collector followings.

If those makers are not operating from the same position, it makes no sense to expect them all to think about pricing, value, or marketing in exactly the same way.

That is the problem this article is addressing.

It is also the reason The Five-Axis Lens was developed.

The Five-Axis Lens is a descriptive model designed to separate five dimensions that are too often blurred together: Time Commitment, Income Dependence, Formal Recognition, Intent, and Market Standing.

This article explains why that model became necessary. And if you want to read the full paper, you can do so here:

Read the full paper:
https://www.blackdragonforge.com/blogs/knifemaking/the-five-axis-lens-a-descriptive-model-for-analysing-knifemaker-identity-recognition-and-market-position

Why The Five-Axis Lens Was Necessary

As I listened to how different knifemakers talk about pricing, one thing became increasingly clear: they are not all trying to achieve the same thing through knifemaking.

Some makers need knifemaking to support a household. Some use it to generate supplemental income. Some sell work but do not depend on the money at all. Some are driven mainly by commercial goals, others by artistic expression, teaching, or personal satisfaction. Some are still emerging in the market, while others already have established demand or collector followings.

Those differences matter.

They matter because pricing is not only a matter of steel cost, handle material, consumables, labour, and overhead. Pricing is also shaped by what the maker needs the work to do.

A maker who depends on knifemaking for primary income is operating under very different pressures from a maker who sells occasionally and does not rely on the income. A maker focused on artistic exploration may approach pricing differently from one focused on production, customer acquisition, or business growth. A maker with strong market demand and collector recognition will not occupy the same pricing position as a maker who is still trying to establish a name.

That means a single pricing model is unlikely to be sufficient for the whole field.

If a maker’s relationship to knifemaking differs, then the logic behind pricing will differ as well.

That is why The Five-Axis Lens was developed.

The model was created to provide a clearer way of describing how a maker is positioned in relation to knifemaking. By separating time commitment, income dependence, formal recognition, intent, and market standing, it becomes easier to understand why different makers may arrive at very different pricing decisions, even when they appear to be making broadly similar objects.

This also points to a second use for the model.

Once those differences are described more clearly, they can also be used to think more precisely about marketing. Different makers will not only price differently, they will also need different ways of presenting their work, communicating value, reaching buyers, and building demand. A maker whose work is commercially driven and income-dependent will not necessarily require the same marketing strategy as a maker whose work is primarily artistic, educational, or personal in orientation.

In that sense, The Five-Axis Lens is not only a descriptive model. It is also the foundation for a more useful discussion about pricing strategy and, later, marketing strategy in knifemaking.

The Problem With The Original Framework

The earlier version of this framework used three axes:

Time Commitment
Formal Standing
Intent

The categories were:

Full-time / Part-time
Professional / Amateur
Hobbyist / Commercial

In theory, that structure was trying to separate different dimensions.

In practice, the language caused problems.

The strongest objections centered on the words professional and amateur. Many readers understood professional in its ordinary sense, meaning someone who makes a living from the work. Others objected to any suggestion that institutions should define who is or is not legitimate within the field.

The word amateur caused a second layer of friction because, regardless of the intended meaning, many people heard it as dismissive or inferior.

The word hobbyist created less resistance, but it still proved too blunt. It did not adequately account for makers whose motivation is artistic, educational, or more complex than a simple hobby-versus-business split.

In other words, the original framework was not wrong in its intent, but it was too compressed in its language.

That is what led to the revision.

What The Feedback Revealed

The feedback made several things very clear.

First, knifemakers do not share one common understanding of words like professional, amateur, and hobbyist.

Second, people were arguing from different dimensions without always realising it. Some were arguing from livelihood. Some from institutional standing. Some from artistic motive. Some from reputation and market demand.

Third, the need for a framework was not disproved. If anything, it was reinforced.

The real lesson was that the framework needed to separate these dimensions more clearly and use less loaded language.

That is what The Five-Axis Lens now does.

If you want the full background and full analytical breakdown, read the paper here:

View the full paper:
https://www.blackdragonforge.com/blogs/knifemaking/the-five-axis-lens-a-descriptive-model-for-analysing-knifemaker-identity-recognition-and-market-position

The Five Axes

1. Time Commitment

Question: How much of the maker’s working time is allocated to knifemaking?

This axis describes time allocation only.

Categories:

Full-time: Knifemaking occupies the majority of the maker’s working time.
Part-time: Knifemaking is pursued alongside other work, responsibilities, or obligations and does not occupy the majority of working time.

This axis does not determine skill, seriousness, legitimacy, or income.

2. Income Dependence

Question: To what extent does the maker rely on knifemaking as a source of income?

This axis describes financial reliance only.

Categories:

Primary income dependence: Knifemaking is a principal source of financial support.
Supplemental income dependence: Knifemaking generates meaningful income, but is not a principal source of support.
No income dependence: The maker does not rely on knifemaking for financial support.

This axis does not determine time commitment, skill, seriousness, or formal recognition.

3. Formal Recognition

Question: What form of formal external recognition, affiliation, or credentialing does the maker hold within recognised bodies relevant to the field?

This axis records formal standing only.

Categories:

Independent: No formal affiliation, membership, or credentialed standing within a recognised body.
Affiliated: Formal membership or association with a recognised body, but no credentialed standing beyond affiliation itself.
Credentialed: Formally recognised, evaluated, ranked, tested, certified, or otherwise credentialed standing within a recognised body.

This axis does not determine skill, legitimacy, commercial success, seriousness, or market standing.

4. Intent

Question: What is the maker’s primary motivational orientation in relation to knifemaking?

This axis describes motive.

Categories:

Personal: Driven mainly by enjoyment, learning, challenge, or personal satisfaction.
Commercial: Driven mainly by income generation, business development, or market participation.
Artistic: Driven mainly by aesthetic exploration, design inquiry, or artistic identity.
Educational: Driven mainly by teaching, demonstration, mentorship, preservation of practice, or public instruction.
Hybrid: No single motive clearly dominates, or multiple motives are substantially integrated.

This axis does not determine income, market standing, or formal recognition.

5. Market Standing

Question: What is the maker’s current position in relation to recognition and demand within the market?

This axis describes market position.

Categories:

Emerging: Still developing visibility, recognition, buyer confidence, or demand.
Established: Has a stable body of work, a clear market presence, and reasonably consistent recognition or demand.
Sought-after: Strong demand, sustained collector interest, notable backlog, or pricing influenced materially by market recognition.

This axis does not determine skill, legitimacy, or personal worth.

Why This Version Is Stronger

The revised model is stronger because it no longer forces too many meanings into too few words.

It separates:

time from income
income from recognition
recognition from legitimacy
motivation from market standing

That matters because a maker can be:

full-time but not income-dependent
independent but sought-after
credentialed but not commercially focused
part-time but highly established
educational in intent but commercially active

Once those distinctions are separated, the discussion becomes clearer.

That is the real value of The Five-Axis Lens.

Why This Matters For Pricing

Pricing discussions often go wrong because makers are treated as if they are all operating under the same conditions.

They are not.

A commercially driven maker with primary income dependence and strong market demand is not pricing from the same position as a part-time maker with no income dependence and mainly personal intent.

Both may make excellent knives.
Both may use similar materials.
Both may spend serious time on the work.

But the role knifemaking plays in their lives is different.

That difference affects pricing.

The Five-Axis Lens does not replace pricing models. It provides a clearer basis for understanding why one pricing model will not fit every maker equally well.

Why This Matters For Marketing

The same principle applies to marketing.

Different makers will require different ways of presenting their work, communicating value, and building demand.

A maker with strong collector demand and commercial intent may need a very different marketing strategy from a maker whose work is mainly artistic or educational in orientation. A maker with no income dependence may not need the same communication strategy as one trying to build a full-time business.

That is why this model has practical value beyond classification.

It creates a better foundation for later discussions about how different kinds of makers should market their work.

A Few Quick Examples

A maker who works evenings and weekends after a day job, sells occasionally, does not rely on the income, and mainly enjoys the challenge of making could be described as:

Part-time
No income dependence
Independent
Personal
Emerging

A maker who earns a living from knifemaking, has strong collector demand, and sells most work before it is finished could be described as:

Full-time
Primary income dependence
Independent
Commercial
Sought-after

A maker who teaches, demonstrates, and preserves knowledge, while holding credentialed standing in a recognised body, could be described as:

Part-time or Full-time
Supplemental or Primary income dependence
Credentialed
Educational
Established

The point is not to rank these makers.
The point is to describe them more accurately.

Read The Full Paper

This article is an overview.

The full paper goes deeper into:

the original framework
the feedback it received
the conceptual problems that emerged
the revised structure of The Five-Axis Lens
the analytical logic behind each axis
classification examples and rules

Click here to read the full paper:
https://www.blackdragonforge.com/blogs/knifemaking/the-five-axis-lens-a-descriptive-model-for-analysing-knifemaker-identity-recognition-and-market-position

Conclusion

The Five-Axis Lens was developed because the language commonly used around knifemakers is often too vague, too compressed, and too emotionally loaded to do serious analytical work.

By separating time commitment, income dependence, formal recognition, intent, and market standing, the model offers a more precise way to describe how makers are positioned in relation to their work.

That clarity matters for discussion.
It matters for analysis.
It matters for pricing.
And it will matter later for marketing.

Most of all, it matters because different makers are not trying to achieve the same thing through knifemaking, and any useful framework has to start there.

For the complete paper, follow this link:
https://www.blackdragonforge.com/blogs/knifemaking/the-five-axis-lens-a-descriptive-model-for-analysing-knifemaker-identity-recognition-and-market-position

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The Problem with Trying to Classify Every Knifemaker the Same Way

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