A re-introduction.....back after a long time, looking forward to being back

jonnymac44

jonnymac44

Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
7,680
Hey all,
I've posted a few things the last couple days....but those have been my first posts in a very long time! I kind of feel like I need to reintroduce myself to the makers here. Many of you know me, but I see a lot of names that are new to me, tons of new posters and lots of work going on. Love seeing the creative process.

I'm Jon McCargar of JMK or Jonny Mac Knives...ground my first blade back in '09, quickly sold most of my precious knife collection to buy machinery and in a couple years had built a fairly solid and capable shop. I churned out as many knives as possible, started attending shows like Blade, OKCA, and the USN Gathering, got hooked up with dealers, TAD Gear......things were going good and I was grinding like a madman, supplementing my income with my longtime bartending gig. Money was good enough to pay the bills, but I have a family and there was no health care or retirement in either of my trades. I eventually had to give up my passion full time to go work for the water company and get some of the stability that a family needs....I am nearly 43 after all! :D Anyway, the water company is great but takes up WAY more time and energy than I expected. Crazy hours, overtime, being on call.....my time in the shop suffered horribly and I had to put down the grinder for a couple years. It seems that lately though I've gotten into a pretty good rhythm and am finding more time in the shop again. I feel pretty renewed creatively and am very excited about what's been going on with me and knives lately. I've decided to stop trying to be a national knife maker and instead want to focus on being the best local knife maker I can be, and I'm good with that. I am looking forward to participating in discussions with everyone here once again and can't wait to share ideas. I've missed the knowledge here and all of the guys very much. Glad to be back!!

Here are a few pics of me and my work......



















 
Good to see you back Jon. I've always enjoyed seeing your knives. Still on my list of knives I'd like to own.

Mike
 
Good to see you again bro.:thumbup:
 
Welcome Back....wondered what happened to all those great Swedges...:thumbup:
 
Welcome back. You bring up a good point about working your fingers to the bone to become a national knifemaker vs. a local one.
 
Jonnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaac

... is back.
 
Hey man. Good to see an old back member drift back in! There's so much turnover here, every year or two another "generation." Your knives are looking good, my fave is the one with toxic/black scales!
 
:) Welcome back Jon, good to see the shop is working again.
 
Thanks a lot for the responses guys! Great to be posting again.

Salem....the toxic and carbon fiber Model One is my personal EDC:D Not trying to name drop TOO much....but I was visiting Todd Begg at his shop a while back and he asked me what I was carrying. I pulled out my old first generation Mini Drop Point XL that was made way back when I first started, told him I carried it because it was sentimental. Todd said to me, when you tell someone you make knives and they ask to see one do you want to pull out the old rough around the edges sentimental version or some bad ass new piece you just made!?!? I made this blade soon after and switched it out with the old one ;)
 
Jon, good to see you back. I don't post as much as well because my job is very demanding. Didn't you get a mini mill? I thought you would have started making folders by now?
 
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