Day Jobs?

Bad Bama- I hear it all the time, well usually it is you F$%#ng Yankee. I was engaged to a girl from the Huntsville area, and maybe soon will be re-engaged to her.:D But only time will tell, but things are looking good so far.

The company I work for is building a new plant in Opelika to support some new business we got with Honda (I think). I would love to move down there, but I couldn't handle moving away from my kid. And the chances of me moving her down there is slim and none. Maybe in another decade or so when she gets into college or is done with high school. All I know is that I wouldn't miss the snow.
 
I work for an open die forging company. I program CNC lathes in the machining dept. Also spend 1 or 2 days a week with our sales dept helping them quote difficult jobs. Its pretty easy to find scrap steel to hammer on (our plant shipped 7,000,000 lbs of product out in January, all 3 plants combined shipped 16,000,000 lbs) but guys are starting to rib me about my dumpster diving.
 
Cripes I'm boring! Compared to the stories I just read, I must warn you to only read the following right before bedtime. :D

I work for John Deere Credit, modeling loan portfolios in Excel. I spend about 90% of my work life in that program. I suck at math, so how the hell did I get into such a mathematical and statistical job? Beats me. I'm very analytical by nature, and very process oriented. Got an MBA in 1989, and by the time I got to a point in my job I needed it, I'd forgotten everything I had learned. I'm also responsible for getting all the rates into our various computer systems and ensuring we're not breaking any lending laws; that sounds so simple and it's so stressful sometimes I want to start drinking... :D But I'm too old, I get hangovers now, and I'd still have to go to work...

I'm a classic underachiever, reasonably intelligent but never had much of a spark to do anything in particular. Except make knives. And that's a struggle for me, because I'm truly lazy, regardless what John Andrews says. ;)

Some of the other jobs I've had are kinda colorful; I enjoy watching people's faces when I tell them my job in the packing plant was cutting a$$holes out of cowhides. :D True story too.

Ten years to retirement seems like eternity but I know that it'll fly by. I too am working to get my tools and skills in order to become a real knifemaker in my second life. We're planning to move back to my spiritual home, New Mexico, either north of Albuquerque or, my hope, Cloudcroft or Riudoso. If you haven't been in the desert, you haven't met God. I recommend it.

Dan Hannon, I used to work in Kansas on a natural gas pipeline. Pulling really big wrenches! I'm 6' 4" and I could stand in the cylinders of some of our engines. Naturally, overhaul was during the summertime - imagine overhauling an engine you could stand in, in a 140 degree engine room... That was a great job, but I'm sure glad I didn't stick with it, because a few years later Enron bought them and all my old buddies are now berift of retirement. Still breaks my heart. A bunch of MBAs did that...

Doc Hollywood, my brother is a Linux administrator too, so naturally I'm very close to all the SCO uproar. (And Microsoft in its time.) I can't wait to see those 'wipes in court, I've never imagined a more ludicrous or obscene ploy for making money... MBAs again...

Recently I've found myself in a knifemaking slump. I've lost interest somewhat because, like Steve, all I've been doing is "making one of those." It's taken all the creativity out the work. (My wife doesn't miss an opportunity to mention the money is useful however.) Even so, I have quit taking orders. I have about a year's worth now, so maybe in 2005 I can start on some of the projects I've been dreaming of for years.

My desk is a mess and I haven't balanced the checkbook in three years. Still haven't filed income taxes! 'Ol Hickory is a savvy dude, he knows exactly how to get people talking! What you want to bet he's a fantastic PI? John is one of my favorite people in all this world. Good going friend. :cool:

Today is sheath making day, so see y'all later.

Dave
 
Thanks for the kind words,Dave! You are bored because you are so good at what you do.At Wilson's I spent most of that 8 years doing clenaup on the kill floor.My area to clean was the gut operation. To a novice,it was a scene in hell. End of the shift,everything shiney.Actually,it was a pretty good job.I worked for a couple of companies in CA,one as a N2 operator for an oil well service,NOWSCO. We worked in the oil fields and offshore for low pay,little or no sleep or food,for days when on land jobs. When I got hired away from my airline job by Belle Applications Corp.,I was back to the old Wilson plant that had been sold,on business,wearing a suit.Seemed strange being there again and not having to head for the kill floor. My PI work has been 90% bordom, the other 10% interesting. I decided to start packing again because of the 10%. Not all folks are happy campers or someone you would invite to dinner,or happy after court.By the way, driving my pickup and wearing work clothes and toolbelt is a great disguise.Especially small town cases,which are the most difficult, because everyone knows everyone.I ended up in the middle of some small town dope dealers one night.That's when you start figuring if it is really worth the extra $,and how much you should be in your shop.One thing I learned,just let people talk themselves into a hole during an investigation. I am gettin'too old for that 10% stuff,anyhow!
 
Laredo,
Well there are more than a few good Bladesmiths in the Huntsville area, Batson, Fogg, Dale Baxter, Alex Daniels and others I can't remember.

If you ever visit the plant in Opelika give me a holler, I'm only about an hour from there, maybe less depending on traffic. I understand about your child. The sacrifices we make for our chilluns :D
 
Hi Dave,

I've only been making knives for a few months finished two, first - a mosaic damascus bowie, second - an ats34 boss heat treated bowie with turquoise spacers; so the zeal is still there.

I am retired so I don't have to sell any of my knives (unless Mary puts on the pressure) so I make only what I want to make; just to please me. I hope my zeal will continue. I love damascus and just finished my second and third billets, one 300 layered and the second forged from the end of B.B's scrap for the Carbine/hawk he is making.

I guess the point is to stick with what pleases you most, the part of knifemaking that inspired you in the beginning. I look at all the different patterns that one can make in damascus, the different handle materials and knife designs and wonder if I have enough time in this lifetime to make all the possibilities.

What inspired you in the beginning?

Harry
 
I am a lowly greenskeeper at a golf course. I do just about everything from mowing to building new sandtraps, taking care of trees, weed eating, changing the flags, scrubbing toilets, etc. My favorite thing is taking care of the irrigation, nothing better than being waist deep in mud trying to piece back together a 6 inch main line that broke at midnight.

I'm just starting to really learn the art of knifemaking. Been learning from my good bud, Bruce Bump. Like NW Indian, I have a great teacher. I can only hope to be half as good as Bruce someday.

This is a great thread, I sure enjoyed reading it. Take care all.

Bob Jensen
 
Hi - is that you Bob? How was that last damascus? I didn't get to see it before you went home. You need to see "The Caddyshack" again.

Harry
 
I am a Captain for a major US Airline. Been flying for 28 years now, boy does time fly! :) I am married with children, 2 teenage boys and the oldest just started driving last summer. Now I know why people my age drink! ;) I enjoy riding Motorcycles, shooting guns and making knives. Love spending time in and around the house with the family and playing in the shop in the basement. Got 15 more years to go till the mandatory FAA retirement age of 60, then I will go into knifemaking full time. Going to get the Winnabago, tour the country doing knife shows and writing it all off! :D
 
Jim,you didn't happen to fly for a regional,Britt,years ago,before you hired on with the majors,did you?
 
Hello Harry:

It came out good. Not as good of basketweave pattern as that first one you did though, got mine stretched out a bit more.

As to the Caddyshack thing, I've often thought of wearing a camo boonie hat and getting some explosives for the gophers, but thought I might get in a bit of trouble.

Take care and hopefully we'll see each other again in the near future.

Bob Jensen
 
CAT Scan and radiologist technologist on 3rd shift for the last 16 years...99.9% of that all emergency. I make knives all afternoon and straight thru the weekends....two fulltime jobs really
 
John, I remember Britt. Back then the commutors didnt pay squat, so I went to work for Rynes Airlines up at O'hare in the early 80's instead. I was flying 135 Charter in King Air's and Lears for Rynes. I did have a close friend go to Britt before it was aquired by Peoples Express, Continental.
 
Hi Bob,

I just had a great idea for controlling gofers. How about feeding nightcrawlers growth harmones; make them big and fat - appealing to gofers, and send them down the gofers hole. When the gofers eat the worms they will swell, fill the hole, get stuck, and die for lack of oxygen and food. You can be the hero of the golf corse, get paid a gazillion dollars, retire, and make knives for fun. How's that sound?

Harry
 
i feel pretty low tech all of a sudden, i'm a johnson and wales full time student by day and a chef by night(weekends i spend finding IG's beer and missing tools while trying to produce a knife inbetween)
 
Jim, yep, and then we got sold to American. Pilots then only made about 20 G's, right seaters a little less, some of them. Northwestern hired a bunch away, and the guys that got hired by NW had their wages doubled, overnight. I was working for Britt and went through all the changeovers. The only thing good, we went back to American's Sabre system, same as Britt had.
 
What a great thread! I've been working for a company called IQMS. Its software that manufacturing companies use to keep track of payroll, inventory, production... Basically pretty boring but jobs are hard to come by here. I worked on a ranch for ten years when I wasn't going to school. Played baseball in college and got a degree in spec. ed (DeAnza for you bay area guys and Highlands for you New Mexico guys). The owner of the company was a friend before I started working for him and he gets me out of the office all the time to go play cowboy, especially during branding season. I'm 26, single, have a 401K job, calusus on my hands, a 1 x 30 belt grinder, forge, and four wheel drive. Life is good. I also build fly rods, tie flies, salt/freshwater fish, hunt birds, deer, but mostly pigs and yotes with my black mouth cur bitch Tess. Ive been known to "tie one on" every now and then too. ;)
 
I work as a construction estimator by day - pricing and selling projects. I'm building up real estate investments on the side so I can move into full time blade and blacksmithing and still hunt Africa like I've always dreamed about as a kid.

Tim
 
Hi Harry, thanks for your kind words. I found myself with a couple patterns that people wanted replicated...to the exclusion of all else! I agreed mostly because I'm not much good at saying "No" but also because I was honored that folks liked what I'd done. One of my knives was in a magazine !!!! which resulted in a few more calls...cripes, I'm just not prolific enough to keep up. I do this for amusment and a sense of putting something permanent in the world - which spreadsheets sure ain't.

Check this out though - my son (21) decided he wanted to make a knife for his girlfriend for Christmas, so he designed the most dificult imaginable project for his first knife: A very pointy and elaborate push dagger. Needless to say, it wasn't even close for Christmas (maybe next year :D ) but that fine man is truly sticking with it. I'm amazed and utterly pleased. One of his friends told him making a knife with his dad must be the best thing someone could do. I got all proud. He's kicking a$$ and maybe one day we'll show off his work here.

Anyway, I just want to knock out these orders - a couple are interesting too - and get on with the stuff that had me fired up 10 years ago. I'm plumb full of ideas and chomping at the bit... I've actually started saying, "No, but I'll add you to my mailing list for whenever I finish something new."

Dave
 
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