Kohai999
Second Degree Cutter
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2003
- Messages
- 12,554
Started "accumulating" knives when I was about 13.....and started collecting handmade knives in 1985. Use a lot of knives that are purchased, sometimes I buy them to use, and sometimes, they just start getting used for whatever reason. These are all in regular rotation:
There are four handmades here, a Pat Crawford, Allen Elishewitz, Don Hanson and a Warren Osborne.
Sometimes knifemakers and manufacturers will give me a knife for evaluation. When that happens, if I post about it, I always try to be clear that this knife was a gift, and not paid for by me. I've never said something good about any knife that I didn't believe.
I came into this hobby/obsession as an outsider, that is....I knew one person who collected knives before I went to my first knife show. There was a crazy collector named Michael Reape(who pretty much single handedly allowed Kemal(Don Fogg and Murad Sayen) to flourish, because he paid what was asked for their knives, no haggling) who encouraged me to attend the Ashokan Conference, which I did. Have written about that experience in Dr. Darom's book "The World of Art Knives". I still feel like an outsider, and am fine with that
This quote was taken from another thread, one that Coop started about the ECCKS, where he was the official show photographer.
The statement is absolutely true, and that is, in my mind, a good thing.
There are many more knifemakers than there are custom knife collectors. There are plenty of knife users, and some of them buy handmade knives, and they are the ones who generally will put some food on the tables of those many more knifemakers. You know, go to a gun show, see a handmade knife, find it tickles your fancy, and bam....custom knife user.
The collectors though, they are the ones that a knifemaker can and does call around Christmas time to see if they can start that order that had been placed. Maybe not putting food on the table, but certainly putting presents under the tree.
If a person didn't have refined tastes after collecting knives for 30 years, that pursuit would most certainly have been a waste of time. Would like to think that my time has not been wasted.
There are numerous knifemakers and more than a few collectors that actively seek me out for a critique on knives and styles in general. I generally don't comment MUCH anymore unless it seems that the maker can benefit from what is said and has enough backbone to not get their nose bent out of shape when when my OPINION is voiced . If the maker is not benefiting, and hearing what I have to say, then....either they are not ready for the truth as I see it, or my presentation needs help. Sometimes is a bit of both.
It's more fun to be involved with knives as a hobby than it is to move from it being a hobby to a business. In the last 30 years, I have gone from being a collector to a rather serious collector, to a knife shop owner, an employee at three knifemaking companies(GT Knives, Buck and V-Tech), a salesperson at a wholesaler, and now, the Director of Sales for a damascus steel manufacturer. The pressure to "conform" is always there, and I have to watch what I say a lot more carefully, so as not to negatively affect my employer's business. That would be sort of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
That said, my overall agenda still remains one of doing my best to provide benefit to the knife world in general. To present knives to both those in and outside of the knife community not solely as weapons, but also as superlative examples of a place where art and craft meet. To show how the knife community uses cutting edge materials and methods to create these miniature(in some cases quite massive, but still smaller than say, a bicycle or tractor)pieces of wonderment. To encourage all to some degree, and some to the highest degree. This doesn't just extend to knife or sheath makers...but also material providers, photographers, retailers and members of the media....and any that I have forgotten to mention by avocation or interest.
As a reader, it is important for you to ask yourself what people in the knife community have for an agenda, and how it manifests itself. Some wish to give the appearance of knowledge and wisdom without having either. Some wish to get rich or die trying. Some wish to promote one maker, but ignore others completely, simply because that maker is not a "friend". Some wish to promote materials they "approve" of, while disparaging others.
This last one can be quite laughable. If a maker or dealer of knives for example, speaks of wood handled knives as lacking desirability, durability or value....it is time to find another maker or dealer to work with. Truly first rate wood can compete in ANY arena against other materials...and anyone who espouses an opinion to the contrary.....has a suspect agenda.
It is up to you as an individual to develop a criteria of what matters to you, who matters to you, and what is unacceptable. Some find ivory handled knives to be the peak of desirability, others find them anathema. While we can and should do our best to present our opinions and passions eloquently, we should also accept and attempt to understand the other person's point of view.
If we cannot have some baseline of acceptance and unity on any aspect of knives, we are doomed, because we are in fact, stronger together than we are individually, and law makers and politicians would love to take our knives away. I have been striving(sometimes without achieving) to be more of a unifier than a divider. Comes back to that outsider thing. I'm in the middle of this....it makes it difficult to consider myself as an outsider, and I'm often at odds with the differences between self-perception and what constitutes "reality".
Nobody has a right to make money making knives and nobody has a right to be a "successful" collector......everybody does have the right to try. If we continue to educate each other and keep communication lanes open for impassioned and KNOWLEDGEABLE discussion, it facilitates ability for everyone to achieve their goals and enjoy themselves.
Unfortunately, there isn't room for everyone at the table. Some don't deserve that space and others have actively taken steps to disassociate themselves from the community by committing crimes, behaving unethically and frankly taking a lot more than giving. While I have espoused predominately positive thoughts in this thread, I'll be frank and say that there are scumbags amongst us, and as they reveal themselves, they should be shunned and "outed" for their trespass.
We are a community, only as strong as the weakest person amongst us. I'll work on strengthening my compassion, but it is up to you all to identify what you stand for and rally those around you to stand with you.
Paul Long, I am STeven Garsson, and I wrote this all by my ownself, under the influence of nothing other than a need to read what has been brewing inside my addled head for a few weeks.
Thank you all for reading this far.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
There are four handmades here, a Pat Crawford, Allen Elishewitz, Don Hanson and a Warren Osborne.
Sometimes knifemakers and manufacturers will give me a knife for evaluation. When that happens, if I post about it, I always try to be clear that this knife was a gift, and not paid for by me. I've never said something good about any knife that I didn't believe.
I came into this hobby/obsession as an outsider, that is....I knew one person who collected knives before I went to my first knife show. There was a crazy collector named Michael Reape(who pretty much single handedly allowed Kemal(Don Fogg and Murad Sayen) to flourish, because he paid what was asked for their knives, no haggling) who encouraged me to attend the Ashokan Conference, which I did. Have written about that experience in Dr. Darom's book "The World of Art Knives". I still feel like an outsider, and am fine with that
This quote was taken from another thread, one that Coop started about the ECCKS, where he was the official show photographer.
The statement is absolutely true, and that is, in my mind, a good thing.
There are many more knifemakers than there are custom knife collectors. There are plenty of knife users, and some of them buy handmade knives, and they are the ones who generally will put some food on the tables of those many more knifemakers. You know, go to a gun show, see a handmade knife, find it tickles your fancy, and bam....custom knife user.
The collectors though, they are the ones that a knifemaker can and does call around Christmas time to see if they can start that order that had been placed. Maybe not putting food on the table, but certainly putting presents under the tree.
If a person didn't have refined tastes after collecting knives for 30 years, that pursuit would most certainly have been a waste of time. Would like to think that my time has not been wasted.
There are numerous knifemakers and more than a few collectors that actively seek me out for a critique on knives and styles in general. I generally don't comment MUCH anymore unless it seems that the maker can benefit from what is said and has enough backbone to not get their nose bent out of shape when when my OPINION is voiced . If the maker is not benefiting, and hearing what I have to say, then....either they are not ready for the truth as I see it, or my presentation needs help. Sometimes is a bit of both.
It's more fun to be involved with knives as a hobby than it is to move from it being a hobby to a business. In the last 30 years, I have gone from being a collector to a rather serious collector, to a knife shop owner, an employee at three knifemaking companies(GT Knives, Buck and V-Tech), a salesperson at a wholesaler, and now, the Director of Sales for a damascus steel manufacturer. The pressure to "conform" is always there, and I have to watch what I say a lot more carefully, so as not to negatively affect my employer's business. That would be sort of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
That said, my overall agenda still remains one of doing my best to provide benefit to the knife world in general. To present knives to both those in and outside of the knife community not solely as weapons, but also as superlative examples of a place where art and craft meet. To show how the knife community uses cutting edge materials and methods to create these miniature(in some cases quite massive, but still smaller than say, a bicycle or tractor)pieces of wonderment. To encourage all to some degree, and some to the highest degree. This doesn't just extend to knife or sheath makers...but also material providers, photographers, retailers and members of the media....and any that I have forgotten to mention by avocation or interest.
As a reader, it is important for you to ask yourself what people in the knife community have for an agenda, and how it manifests itself. Some wish to give the appearance of knowledge and wisdom without having either. Some wish to get rich or die trying. Some wish to promote one maker, but ignore others completely, simply because that maker is not a "friend". Some wish to promote materials they "approve" of, while disparaging others.
This last one can be quite laughable. If a maker or dealer of knives for example, speaks of wood handled knives as lacking desirability, durability or value....it is time to find another maker or dealer to work with. Truly first rate wood can compete in ANY arena against other materials...and anyone who espouses an opinion to the contrary.....has a suspect agenda.
It is up to you as an individual to develop a criteria of what matters to you, who matters to you, and what is unacceptable. Some find ivory handled knives to be the peak of desirability, others find them anathema. While we can and should do our best to present our opinions and passions eloquently, we should also accept and attempt to understand the other person's point of view.
If we cannot have some baseline of acceptance and unity on any aspect of knives, we are doomed, because we are in fact, stronger together than we are individually, and law makers and politicians would love to take our knives away. I have been striving(sometimes without achieving) to be more of a unifier than a divider. Comes back to that outsider thing. I'm in the middle of this....it makes it difficult to consider myself as an outsider, and I'm often at odds with the differences between self-perception and what constitutes "reality".
Nobody has a right to make money making knives and nobody has a right to be a "successful" collector......everybody does have the right to try. If we continue to educate each other and keep communication lanes open for impassioned and KNOWLEDGEABLE discussion, it facilitates ability for everyone to achieve their goals and enjoy themselves.
Unfortunately, there isn't room for everyone at the table. Some don't deserve that space and others have actively taken steps to disassociate themselves from the community by committing crimes, behaving unethically and frankly taking a lot more than giving. While I have espoused predominately positive thoughts in this thread, I'll be frank and say that there are scumbags amongst us, and as they reveal themselves, they should be shunned and "outed" for their trespass.
We are a community, only as strong as the weakest person amongst us. I'll work on strengthening my compassion, but it is up to you all to identify what you stand for and rally those around you to stand with you.
Paul Long, I am STeven Garsson, and I wrote this all by my ownself, under the influence of nothing other than a need to read what has been brewing inside my addled head for a few weeks.
Thank you all for reading this far.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
Last edited:
