2014 Forum Knife

I bought the 2013 and love it, I use it often. I was lucky enough in that it ticked all the boxes for me as far as specification criteria goes. For that reason I didn't go for the 2012 which didn't do it for me. I was too late to the party and missed out on the 2011 which was a massive success, and I constantly search for one on the exchange and the auction site but to no success yet :)

I can sense the mods cringing and shrinking back with a sigh at the thought of going through the process again. There was a great deal of discontent and moaning (I moaned too I'm ashamed to say) towards the end of 2013 and I can understand why Frank is reluctant to go through it all again.

Aside from the actual manufacturer who will build the design picked by the forum, is there anything else that could be changed? As in; could the process itself be changed so that there isn't as much trouble as last year? Mr Waynorth, for instance, has SFO patterns made for him all the time, without us all making accusations at him and they are always (as far as I can tell) a huge success. Is there something that could be done differently this time?

All in all I would be interested in the 2014 as long as I like the sound of it when the specs have been picked by the majority, if that's the case I will be happy to pre-order and pay up front as I did last year.

:) Paul
 
bwperdue said:
You know, I kind of like that idea, to be honest. It's a very traditional, very useful knife.
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Honestly, I would think that we could get almost whatever wood we wanted. I don't think it would take much to adapt to a different wood. Might be a good idea.
 
What about a barlow from GEC? Or a barlow from Queen, the custom collaboration with Dan Burke?

If Spark still has these in his store, and based on the hassle everyone went through I think the possibility of it happening again is slim (the 2012 is a perfect knife to me, but the 2013 would appeal with different covers, to me anyway).
 
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knarfeng said:
Last year's knife was a major pain in the derriere for the mods and the design team, both on the forum and behind the scenes. The path forward on this year's knife has a major additional roadblock compared to the previous two years. I will not elucidate on that at this time.

However, I will talk to Gary this week and discuss whether we want anything to do with such a thing.
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Frank and Gary,

Perhaps one way to ease the burden/pressure would be to get rid of the idea of a yearly knife. Pick a pattern, do a run and call it *THE* forum knife until it sells out.

I get itchy when you say "design team" and you're talking about a group of interested hobbyists. Makes more sense I think to talk about working up a set of specifications for a special run of an already designed production knife. Easier on all fronts.

Either way, this shouldn't be a load on the moderators. You guys have it hard enough already.
 
Some of our dealers here know a thing or two about Special Factory Orders (SFO). I'd be really interested to get their insight on how best to approach this.

A wise lady once said re: the 2013 process:

pertinux said:
[...]

I am watching with interest and bemusement as Mike Latham creates and completes his broadstrokes polls, quickly ascertaining frame, blade, and cover preferences among participating enthusiasts in our midst. Sure, it's different from commissioning an entirely new frame, but close observation of GEC's pattern releases indicates that middle ground can be reached (tooling used for an SFO subsequently used for GEC's own runs, other variations, etc.). What if, with nary a (money-down) preorder, he delivers his anon?

(Again, an eye towards future Bladeforums knives: How to do this less painfully, and with clear communication?)


[...]

Even more, I hope that-- going forward-- the process and its completion are not so fraught and/or uncomfortable for those who put their time and effort (and money!) into seeing each forum knife come into being.

Wishful thinking, perhaps, but SFOs don't seem to have to be this hard...?

~ P.
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I "vote" for a Texas Jack with stainless blades and jigged chestnut bone ... never seen one?!

But, a BF-Soddy would be OK too :)
 
MerryMadMonk said:
Some of our dealers here know a thing or two about Special Factory Orders (SFO). I'd be really interested to get their insight on how best to approach this.
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I agree and they certainly can provide useful insight on numbers and what might be popular. I support a popular design rather than something total unique. The uniqueness quickly ends when GEC builds essentially the same knife with their name on it and at a lower price point in most cases. If you are collecting, the BF stamp might be appealing, if it's a user, I see no particular attraction over a regular production model.

My suggestions are: Unless it's a peanut, nothing shorter than 3.5" overall length. No more than two blades. No Stockman or Congress. I prefer something about 4" to 4.25", but that is me and I certainly do not appear to be in a majority as the 3.5" > 3 7/8" size seems to be the most popular closed length. A Wharncliffe blade is good, but on a large blade. Handle material can be anything that looks good and not plastic. Green camel bone might be an interesting color since BF seems to be a green place.
 
As I mentioned earlier, and some of the other posts are echoing "Charlie never has a problem .... Mike Latham never has a problem ...." is that they are business people who know what will sell. They may gather info through informal polls, but that's more like doing market research to gauge demand, and end result is what they know will work and sell. They may listen to input, but they make the decisions. If they are wrong, they pay the price by not selling their products that they had to buy up front.
 
What about the GEC #48 frame, shadow with either one of these blades.... But with a lock back
DSC_4697_1200__89428.1381192644.730.500.jpg
 
In the past I think Spark has fronted a lot of the costs and efforts involved. I get a feel from the past year's postings that he's not as keen to deal with it as before. Maybe an option is that one of the other vendors / SFO producers runs the show this year instead of putting the burden on Kevin. Or a consortium of several of them. We have four GEC dealers that frequent the forum here, plus Waynorth. I know at least three of them do regular SFOs.

Maybe it would be as simple as the famed model #15 Waynorth Charlow, with "BFC" instead of "TC" on the bolster, in a couple of handle options.
 
No! Must have multiple blades! Death to the single-bladers! :D

[and so begins the descent into anarchy and bloodshed].
 
If you want a cheap one, a sodbuster is probably the easiest to achieve.
A new pattern will cost more because of tooling.
The headache of dealing with two levels of administration is just too daunting for me though! I am reluctant to be involved in any way.
As far as numbers go, we were way past 200 knives, on our way to 300 before the regime change. And prices went too high, IMO.
Another forum does annual knives without "audience participation". They just make them and sell them. I don't know how satisfying that is for all parties.
 
Ms Pertinux's wisdom, notwithstanding, I would have put up the necessary funds for a simple forum knife, but reading the 50 or so posts so far tells me to just fuggetaboutit. I really don't care one way or the other, if it comes to be for this year or not. If it's something I like, and the price is right, sure; if not, then it saves me a trip to the vet...no dog in this fight.
 
waynorth said:
If you want a cheap one, a sodbuster is probably the easiest to achieve.
A new pattern will cost more because of tooling.
The headache of dealing with two levels of administration is just too daunting for me though! I am reluctant to be involved in any way.
As far as numbers go, we were way past 200 knives, on our way to 300 before the regime change. And prices went too high, IMO.
Another forum does annual knives without "audience participation". They just make them and sell them. I don't know how satisfying that is for all parties.
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I think Charlie has hit on it. Forum knife without "audience participaiton". Pattern is shown then those that want it anty up. If orders dont reach a certain number then no 2014 knife. Plain and simple.
 
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