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any ky knife makers offer a class
- Thread starter crank78
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Gil Hibben class is excellent. Taking into consideration that he is legend in his field. The class is not pricey at all! Actually it is the cheapest way u could get a knife from him/youMake sure u check back often as his classes tend to sell out in matter of hours
I will also try to register for the next year(this year) coming from Illinois
http://www.hibbenknives.com/class_knives.htm
Sorry, I would NOT recommend Gil Hibben's class. I took his class in 2012. Teddy
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Well Teddy I was looking for your knife under year 2012 I I don't see one !? So what is your bitter story? As there is a lot of people that are really happy they took the class
Josh Mason
Tombstone hand. Graveyard mind.
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I'm sorry that I can't offer any classes or anything, but I sure do like seeing some Kentucky knifemakers here. Give me a shout if you like any of my work and want to ask questions though. I have a few tricks up my sleeve and maybe a few things I can send your way to help out. Used to stomp around the Danville area a bit, so I know where you are.
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There is a maker named Steve Dunn that used to teach classes at different places. He's in central KY. Actually, the only 2 Master ABS Smiths in KY are really close to each other, the other guy teaches in France sometimes. He married a French WOman. The Dunn guy has a website, the other guy doesn't.
People have already mentioned Hibben's class. I wouldn't expect post class instruction, and the idea of a class is to teach multiple students at once. For the price, you're not going to get a personal tutoring from one of the most famous knife makers in the country, and have him at your beck and call for future questions. That's just asking too much from what he advertises.
People have already mentioned Hibben's class. I wouldn't expect post class instruction, and the idea of a class is to teach multiple students at once. For the price, you're not going to get a personal tutoring from one of the most famous knife makers in the country, and have him at your beck and call for future questions. That's just asking too much from what he advertises.
Josh Mason
Tombstone hand. Graveyard mind.
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Thanks man! I have never been there. I have seen and heard of the silver cue in Lexington on New Circle.
Like I said I may not be able to offer you a class (Hell, I don't even have a shop) but i have a few things sitting around that you might be able to use. What are some things that you need? What direction do you want to go? What style?
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Then you have taken his class? Being famous does not translate to being a good teacher.
BTW...the knifemaker with the french wife is Joe Kessler. He has been a demonstrator at ABS hammer-in's for years. I learned more at the ABS hammer-in at Troy Ohio last year. Joe even demonstrated his wire inlay.
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Keep in mind, you want to learn from somebody that makes something you would like to make.
Gil Hibben is well known, but the stuff he makes is mostly Klingon Krap
I don't ever want to build in that style, so there is no point learning from a guy who does mostly that.
Hammer in's and videos are a great place to learn and get a feel for who you like as teachers.
Gil Hibben is well known, but the stuff he makes is mostly Klingon Krap
I don't ever want to build in that style, so there is no point learning from a guy who does mostly that.
Hammer in's and videos are a great place to learn and get a feel for who you like as teachers.
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Well apparently you know nothing about him or his knives so please don't judge his work on your limited knowledge !
(I my self don't like fantasy blades )
True that but...
What did u expect ?
-I sign up for the class with objective to make knife by my self ! Did you? or did u expect him to build it for you?
-I had very good idea what I want ! Did you ? or did u expect him to tell u what u want to build ?
-If I asked him he helped me . I didn't sign up to wait what Gil will come up with .
Stuff like cutting metal and so on are pretty obvious but if he was asked by other guys he told them!
-You have to ask and know what u want to build so he can help you
Also u should take it more like this : He gives you opportunity to use his shop ( I felt like in candy shop) to create whatever u like and that is what we all did with some advise now and than.
There are guys who need more help and those that don't need as much help.
Take it as first lesson and in first lesson you can't learn everything u would like about making knives. He says "come make your self a knife I will make sure u leave the shop with nice piece even if we have to fix something". He doesn't say u will become knife maker in 5 days Lol. However a lot of famous knife makers started in his shop !
Also he has repeating students (Myself included)
that speaks for itself
So if u want to learn from the best there is your opportunity you just have to have the right attitude
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Well obvouisly you're a fan and will defend him.
Enter "whoever" Knives into Google images and look at the first 500 photos.
In this case I don't like any of them.
It's more of a general comment to whatever teacher you are looking at.
The closest one is not necessarily the best one.
Pick the one who's work you admire.
Crank78, have you thought about contacting the Knife Makers Guild in Louisville? Not sure if they offer classes but they can make recommendations and get you in touch with other makers. Might be a good first place to start.
What specifically are you looking to learn?
By the way I'm in Verona KY.
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True that but...
What did u expect ?
-I sign up for the class with objective to make knife by my self ! Did you? or did u expect him to build it for you?
-I had very good idea what I want ! Did you ? or did u expect him to tell u what u want to build ?
-If I asked him he helped me . I didn't sign up to wait what Gil will come up with .
Stuff like cutting metal and so on are pretty obvious but if he was asked by other guys he told them!
-You have to ask and know what u want to build so he can help you
Also u should take it more like this : He gives you opportunity to use his shop ( I felt like in candy shop) to create whatever u like and that is what we all did with some advise now and than.
There are guys who need more help and those that don't need as much help.
Take it as first lesson and in first lesson you can't learn everything u would like about making knives. He says "come make your self a knife I will make sure u leave the shop with nice piece even if we have to fix something". He doesn't say u will become knife maker in 5 days Lol. However a lot of famous knife makers started in his shop !
Also he has repeating students (Myself included)
that speaks for itself
So if u want to learn from the best there is your opportunity you just have to have the right attitude
I did not take Gil Hibben's class to make a knife. I took it to learn how to make a knife. I expected more from such a 'famous' knife maker. But then, I'm not a Gil Hibben groupie. Teddy
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You're way off base. You're he one who said that "most of the knives he makes is klingon crap", which isn't true at all. Using Google image search might be indicative of the knives that some makers make, but it won't be a very good example for a lot of makers (it has more to do with what images are uploaded to the Internet and optimized to show up for those terms). I can make 300 knives from traditional patterns, but if I make one knife that gets picked up in the next Rambo movie and then make a deal with Boker to do a line of knives based off that style, you're not going to get a very good idea about the majority of knives I've made looking at pictures of those. I can also Google Bomb any maker and when you search their knives you would get 500 pictures of Snooki - Google reads IMG tags and descriptions, and once I got a dozen pictures of Snooki showing up for your knives, Google would start pulling in other picture of Snooki organically. If you want to see a maker's portfolio, look up their portfolio - but there's no need to make an inaccurate, broad comment putting down their work with little more to go on than one single knife from a 30+ year career.
In this case, several people have linked to the page where people that have taken that class post their pictures. Do you see any Klingon crap coming from that class? Maybe the Klingon crap is in an advanced class, I don't know, but the knives that he's teaching people to make in that class varies widely. I'm sure he could teach you to make whatever knife you wanted to make.
Goldsmithy,
Being famous might not make you a good teacher, but it does command a premium no matter what you do. I get the feeling from your complaints that you're expecting too much from a class that doesn't promise the things you're complaining about.
There are definitely better teachers than Gil Hibben, but the majority of people I know that have taken the class have been satisfied with the results (you're actually the first person I've ever heard of complaining about it). Hibben's class is more like going to the Daytona 500 racing experience to learn to drive a race car. You aren't paying tuition for college, you're paying to meet Dale Earnhardt JR. and drive a Race car at 200mph. Hibben has dozens of avenues to make $$$, would you really expect to pay him 800$ for a week of 1 on 1 tutoring and then have him available indefinitely for instruction over the phone? That just doesn't seem realistic at all to me, so I don't understand why you're so burnt. I think you're doing a disservice to yourself by holding on to your expectations. At the very least you now know that taking a week long class from a world famous knife maker isn't what you thought it would be, and that you're looking more for something like a college offers, and you got the chance to experience the former which is very limited and an experience unlike the latter. His website doesn't market the class to apprentice knifemakers - it's more aimed at regular people that have very little knife making experience that want to learn a somewhat obscure skill and get a souvenir of their experience.
There isn't anything else like it in KY - you would have to work out a special deal with any other maker with anywhere near as much experience around here. I would strongly suggest Dunn or Kesslar, moreso than taking Gil Hibben's class, but they're both very busy and as far as I know do not offer an immersive week long class like the one Hibben does. There are a handful of other makers with excellent products in the state, but Gil Hibben's class almost meets OP's needs perfectly except that he doesn't have an entire week.
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I didn't complain about Gil Hibben's class--I just won't recommend him as a teacher conducting a class in knife making. I will grant you that Gil Hibben is one of the best knifemaker's of this century. He was a well respected maker long before Stallone found him at a knife show. His skill on a grinder is something to behold.
I just expected more actual, procedural information than I received. if you take that as a complaint---so be it. Anyone who wants to discuss it further, please PM me. Teddy
I just expected more actual, procedural information than I received. if you take that as a complaint---so be it. Anyone who wants to discuss it further, please PM me. Teddy
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Gil Hibben has a fascinating history. Anyone else remember when he was in the Family of David cult and known as "Peter David"?....those were crazy times for Gil Hibben.
I do like the Bowie he made for the Expendables but his style seems to reflect the 1970's and really not advanced with the times like many other makers have from that same time period.
I do like the Bowie he made for the Expendables but his style seems to reflect the 1970's and really not advanced with the times like many other makers have from that same time period.
No im really new i wasn't aware that there was a guild in Louisville. Lol