A reality check for most makers

Joss said:
Can someone translate what Tai just wrote? :confused::D
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I figured out a several posts and a couple threads ago that it was not worth my effort. What Tai COULD contribute to the forums is some tremendously valuable and unique insight. What Tai has CHOSEN to contribute in the past several posts on this thread and others is troll poop.

Roger
 
Peter, it can be done without learning from a master but one must have the drive and focus to 'Get-r-Done' :)
 
"The truth of the matter is that, the work of a majority of custom knife makers, is simply not worth the time and effort to critique, or to collect."

So I guess the fifty makers you were talking about were never at this point.
:jerkit:
 
What about the "levels of incompliments"?

Hey, I'm sorry Roger. I'm just having a hard time taking some of it seriously. Just being an asshat! :D

You're right I should just shut up!
 
aztecminds said:
"The truth of the matter is that, the work of a majority of custom knife makers, is simply not worth the time and effort to critique, or to collect." So I guess the fifty makers you were talking about were never at this point.
:jerkit:
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Randy,

Of course they were. Your grasp of the obvious is truely remarkable.

If there is a point you are trying to make, please elaborate.

P
 
Sorry but I'm not Randy, and I think what I'm saying is that a statement like that, to collectively dismiss the work of a majority of custom makers, is not very positive for the custom knife industry.
 
Sooooo this thread is only for knifemakers who make knives for collectors? :confused: Good, all the knives I make are actually used. :D

Do you have a level of competence below 1? like a Level of Competence of 1 with a Masterless Knifemaking index of -2? :p
 
I make knives that I like. I sell a few to support my habit. I like comments about my knives(good or bad), but I keep negative comments about other peoples knives to myself unless the maker specifically asks. I feel bad for people who only have the joy of "collecting knives". Don't get me wrong I LOVE collecting knives, but making a "crappy" knife that you dreamed up can be more satisfying than buying a masterpiece from someone else.
 
Hargis,

I completely get your point. I get tremendous satisfaction making a knife. It's hard to compare with collecting as the feeling is so different, but I get your point.
 
Some of the most uninteresting custom knives I've seen are priced in the $1,500 to $8,000 range. Price neither assures quality nor defines good taste. There's nothing wrong with focusing primarily on the "top 50" knifemakers, although it might be more accurate to identify them as your personal favorites, but if you focus on them exclusively you may miss out on some truly great work created by upcoming knifemakers as well as experienced but lesser-known masters of the craft.

There is an abundance of very well made and beautiful knives, including both traditional and innovative designs, that talented custom knife makers are offering for anywhere from $150 to $1,200, with most priced well below $1,000. And whether perceived and evaluated as works of art, fine craftsmanship, tools to be used, or all of the above, the key to satisfaction and good value lies in the buyer's ability to discern the inherent quality of a knife without regard to price. While there are plenty of superb knives by long-established knifemakers that completely warrant their high price tags, any fool with money can plop down $2,500 and own a knife by a big-name maker. More than a few high-end knife collections are little more than embarrassing displays of tasteless excess.

The collectors I most respect are the antithesis of snobs. They don't follow trends in collecting. They aren't trying to impress anyone with the quantity of knives they own by famous makers. They often treasure knives made by anonymous knifemakers from halfway around the world and treat them with the same loving regard they have for knives crafted by the finest American masters. They delight in supporting new and unknown knifemakers, and they are the leaders in recognizing quality. By the time the investment crowd begins to pay attention, they've already been friends with these rising stars for years. And despite having much broader knowledge than most of us and being in the forefront of collecting, they tend to be humble and exceptionally generous. Arrogant pontifications and unsolicited criticism do nothing to promote knifemaking or knife collecting and only serve to discourage those just entering the field who may have limited experience and resources. All knifemakers at every level of ability deserve courtesy, respect and encouragement. No exceptions. If they ask for your advice, offer it with kindness. If you have nothing positive to say, then say nothing at all.
 
Tai Goo said:
I am not intimated by a few elitist collectors, metallurgists or knifemakers. Isn't that what everyone is asking for?

Why ask for it,... if you don’t really want it?

A collector asks for thick skin, you give the skin, and then he doesn't like it.

I think it's ironic!

Some of you don't even know what you are asking for, or what to do with it if you had it.
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Translation-elitist snobs don't want the people that make their hobby possible to be offended when the snobs try to place their tastes above those of these people that do the actual work, or when they say that their tastes matters more than those of every other human being on the planet. Collectors would like it if makers would disregard their own muse and just try to make their work look more like the other pieces bought and sold a hundred times before, cause that's where the money is.

The irony is that when the maker isn't intimidated, the snobs still get pissy.

I'll be nicer when the trolls get smarter .
 
ptgdvc said:
The same fifty top makers get mentioned here on the Forum by the snobby collectors, time and again, for one reason and one reason only. THEY DO THE BEST WORK.

P
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just curious , is there a list of these top 50 or is that a hypothetical top 50 ? Just asking in case I missed a different thread.

much appreciated.

JTW
 
I'm pretty sure that there would be a lot of disagreement as to who the top 50 makers are. I know that my list would have some different makers than others would have.
 
Here's a novel idea. Maybe there aren't a bunch of snobs out there. Maybe there isn't this conspiracy by the snobs to keep the new guys down. What if 99.9 percent of actual knife collectors/users really are just great people, and when they see a knife that can be improved upon they offer their wise words to help that maker out. And if he so chooses he can say thanks but I like what I make and don't want to change, and more power to that guy. Maybe it's really not that complicated after all.
 
Josh I agree. I think it should not be so complicated, however I do think snobs exist and that we can even benefit from their knowledge. Trends are trends but almost seem necessary in any collectors market. Some folks have made me feel un welcomed but I just move on and find other people in the knife world who are great people. Since this is a forum we only get a limited perspective of the knife world and I think the internet forums tend to open people up to disagreement and criticism. It is alot easier behind the computer, Id imagine.
 
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