Another hair-brained idea... pin-up knife

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Thanks for the comments, Tai. I'm still not sure how serious I want to get about this thing... for me it's still a hobby. But your points are well taken.

- Greg
 
O.K. Greg.

To be honest, your work just seems unconvincing and insincere to me,... but, if that's what you are going for, then that's fine.

I really think you need to take a closer look at things like, basic design, balance, form, composition, craftsmanship etc., before you try and do anything profound... or profoundly humorous, hobby or otherwise.

Trust me, it'll be more fun. :)
 
I never considered anything I did "profound". That's certainly not the goal. Fun... interesting. Those are proper words to describe what I do. Humor isn't really a goal either.... at least not consciously. The best way to understand what I do and why I do it is I want to see what I can do... and I don't want to do what everyone else is doing. If that's insincere, then so be it. I never considered it as such though.

- Greg
 
Generally speaking, we imitate before we innovate. No one wants to do the same thing everyone else is doing, but knowing how to do it is a great start in setting yourself apart.
 
I trust you'll all take this with a very large grain of salt... I honestly mean no offense; each person's vision is their own and I respect that.

"Knives" that aren't functional reek of flea market junk, late-night cable-TV "50 knives for $50!" specials, mall ninjas and velvet paintings of dogs playing poker to me. No class and no point (pardon the pun). To my mind any knife, no matter how plain or fancy, should be a useful cutting tool first and foremost.

I say again, there's art, there's knives, and there are art knives... but simply slapping some components together and grinding an edge on it doesn't make it any of those things.

Carry on :)
 
Truly, I take no offense to any of this. We are each entitled to our opinions. I knew when I started down this path most of the members of this forum would think my work was total crap. That was never in question. If I wasn't okay with that I wouldn't start these threads.

One thing I do know is that I'm enjoying what I do... and even what I am turning out.

I will say, however, that some of you could stand to break out of the routines you're dug into. Try something different... be willing to do something you haven't got down to a science. Be willing to experiment beyond what you know. You might just find that there are rewards for doing so that you didn't anticipate. I know that's what I find every time I take on one of these weird projects.

I realize I'm out there beyond the pale of reason. From where I stand most of you play it WAY too safe.

I know your work is better than mine, and I want you to know I know that. I'd still be willing to bet I'm having as much fun though.

- Greg
 
I'm with you Greg, you enjoy what you're doing, and that's what matters.
But hey, I'm a guy that likes dogs playing poker and an occasional Elvis on black velvet.
 
tryppyr said:
We are each entitled to our opinions.
Click to expand...

Darn tootin'! I applaud your willingness to follow your own muse and I certainly don't intend to discourage anyone.

Opinions are like belly-buttons, everyone has one. :D
 
It's just hard for me to tell where you are coming from. On the one hand you do seem to be serious about art, knives and design, but on the other hand you just seem to be making a mockery of yourself.

Humor is one of the hardest things to pull off in a knife, and I do admire anyone who makes a "serious" attempt at it. There really aren't too many good examples of it. Right off hand I can only think of a few makers who've done it successfully, like Larry Fuegen and Virgil England, but it's only because of their technical excellence that it works. Humor in general is hard to pull off. It's like a stand up comedian who's trying to be funny and thinks he's funny, but isn't.

I like the fact that you try to think out side the box. It takes a lot of courage. It's just that finished product isn't living up to the ideas. They make it look like the ideas where no good or insincere to begin with.

Dogs playing Poker is a goofy image, but it's only successful because of the technical excellence behind it. If it wasn't well executed and well thought out, it would just be a flop and no one would give it a second thought.

In the long run, it takes a lot more than just an idea and hours and hours of mindless labor to pull these kinds of things off.

I wouldn't waist my time with you if I didn't think you have a lot of potential, but I would really like to see you put more substance behind work, and take it to the next level, rather than simply justifying your work by saying "most of you play it way too safe". If you are going to take these kinds of risks you need to be able to back them up or it just looks distasteful and silly.
 
I'm not sure where you get the notion I'm trying to pull off humor. None of the projects I've worked on was intended to be funny. The caduceus knife was, in part, a response to hearing that my father was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. The leaf knife sprang from my love of the green environment I live in here in WA. This trench knife project is about finding a unique way to use this badly damaged handle.

Though you and others may think I'm not being serious, I'll tell you straight up my sense of humor is not in evidence in my work. Until this thread arose, it never occurred to me to try to make a humorous knife. Likewise, I know I'm not an artist. At heart I'm an engineer who likes to solve problems. And oddly enough, for me it is more satisfying to solve them myself than to be taught the "right way" to do something.

When I was working on the caduceus knife I had no idea how to do carved through designs. I'd seen a few examples of varying quality, but no real sense for how it was accomplished. I saw one post showing someone drilling holes and then filing from there, so that's where I started. Where I ended, however, involved techniques I'd never seen or heard of before. Were they the "right" or "best" techniques? Who knows. Did they work to my satisfaction? Yes they did. Do I want to spend my life refining them? No I don't. That project is done. It doesn't need to be redone. However, if I decide to do another project that requires those techniques I may choose to extend or refine them to meet the next challenges. But extending or refining them as a separate exercise is not in the cards.

I realize you are very serious about your work, and I appreciate that you took the time to write to me. You probably realize now that I'm not (and likely never will be) as serious as you about making knives. I have eschewed the title knifemaker for a reason. I'm an engineer and a manager... one who knows too much and too little at the same time... and is comfortable with that paradox. Making knives gives me a chance for closure that my REAL work does not afford.

So I'm sorry if I wasted your time. It was not my intention. Hopefully now you better understand where I'm coming from (and by extension where I'm heading).

- Greg
 
Greg, in your original post you said, "Another complete impractical idea brought to you by the producer of clownish knives." That's where I got the notion you were trying to be funny or attempting humor.

I’m actually more confused about where you are coming from now than before. But, if you are happy with what you are doing, that’s all that really matters.
 
Ah... I see now.

That comment was an indirect response to a comment Nick Wheeler made in another thread, in which he asserted that any attempt to go beyond your skill level resulted in <insert incredibly long description amounting to "clownish" knives>. I was simply acknowledging that I'm guilty of the sin he described.
 
O.K. I didn't read that thread.

Yes, I agree. I do think you are guilty of that, and you might want to consider backing up a little and just try to make a nice clean original knife design that cuts. Hone your skills a little first. Just doing that might be more satisfying and profound than you think. Your personality, humor and individuality will surely come out without even making a conscious effort at it... as long as it's sincere.
 
I think it's unfair to say that Nick claimed that any attempt to go beyond your skill level resulted in "clownish" knives. Actually, I think that you've taken offense to most of the critiques and are just lashing out at him and others.

Saying "you need to try something different" to people like Tai, Andy Sharpe and Nick just doesn't sit with reality. You can say it to me, you don't know what kind of knives I make and have no idea if I ever go outside the box. I probably don't, because I don't really worry about being "different". I just worry about being good at what I do. Of course, that's not to say I am.

Speaking of clownish - I spent 11 years in a military town. In that town, every year we'd get new young marines in who'd spend tons of money and time working on their cars, hanging coffee cans off of them, or giant demon horned spoilers or whatever. Most of the guys that I talked to about it didn't actually think they were making their cars better or faster, they just wanted to be different. Turns out they were all pretty much the same. After a couple of years, most of them grow out of it.
 
To that end I am working on a more "normal" project now... a balisong. I haven't started the blade yet, but it is my intention to make this blade technically superior to the ones I have produced until now.
 
I check all of Greg's threads regularly because I'm a fan of his work. I think the main reason I like his work is because it is unique and original. If his work isn't executed flawlessly I think that is because he is somewhat new to this compared to some of you guys but I don't think he wants it to look clownish. Keep up the good work.
 
Greg, not that there's anything wrong with the balisong genre or any genre, (there can be originality within those), but what I meant by, nice clean "original" knife design that cuts, was something personal that doesn't fit neatly into any genre. I think you would be good at it. :)
 
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