Excellent custom knife makers missing at Bladeforums

I think Jerry hit the nail on the head too.

Way to much behavior that is not part of what custom knives and the people who participate in the arena.

Tom hope you did not get upset. We have had fun with the pictures.

My post above was referring to a few who seldom if ever post anything but knives that are for sale. We have fun with the pics of TNT's, we have fun with the makers that hang around here, but they open themselves up to a lot of undeserved grief by statements that border on ignorance or some type of agenda.

As far as the sit with another moderator. I promise it is not a KFC or BFC moderator and I think he and I have the problem worked out
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" The real art of living is to keep alive the longing in human beings to become greater versions of themselves." Laurens Van der Post in memory of James Mattis
 
I would love to see more of the makers taking part in the forums, but I can understand why many do not. Many actually do not have the time that is required, most just want to avoid the politics involved. I have been told by makers that post on the forums that they can get some incredibly angry emails from members, and sometimes from moderators. Why would they want to go through that much aggravation.

Others have infomed me that the forums have been a real help to their business and that they have had very few problems.

I enjoy very much the information that I get from makers that take valuable time from a busy schedule to answer questions and put forth some great advice. My knowledge about knives has increased greatly because of this input. Thank you to all the makers that do take part, and here's hoping that in time more makers will find that the forums are something that will be of as much benifit to them as they are to the rest of us.

It is true that I find that as the forums have grown the content has suffered. This is bound to be the case as many people will post just to take part, not to impart any useful information. I do this myself sometimes, but hope that I have also been of some help to others since I have joined.

I have very much enjoyed my interaction with knife makers of this forum. All that I have dealt, with and have had discussions with, have been friendly, helpful and anxious to share things that have taken them a long time to learn. I would like them all to know that I appreciate all that they do, because without them these forums would not be a very interesting place. Quite frankly, if they were not here then I would not be either.

This has been a rather long post, but I felt that I needed to say what I said. I really do hope that many more makers take part in the forums. It would make this a far more interesting and informative place to hang out.



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Keith

AKTI Member #A001338
 
Many excellent craftsmen are simply not interested in the additional exposure. Some are part time makers that are so tied up with their regular job and familys that they do not have the time to spare. There are many well known makers that are so established that they are the teachers, but do not have the time to teach. Not all have computers, or access to same. Some are simply not joiners These craftsmen do not join organizations such as the Knifemaker`s Guild or State or Area organizations because they do not see personal benefits involved. When these people have orders on hand that they can not fill for months or years the desire to spend time on friendly banter and fraternization becomes less attractive.

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Golok, I for one wish I had more time to visit this forum, but between the job & the knifemaking, My beautiful wife of almost 19 years, three great daughters from 12-16 years of age, other family, & my church family, I'm very stretched for time. I love to talk knives but run out of time. Talk to yall later. I've come to believe also that some of the neatest people in the world are knife makers & collectors. Dwayne
 
It is a shame that talent the likes of Mr.'s Hossom & Carson (and the others) don't post more because of the foolish few "empty barrels"
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I do understand, though...
Please stick with us! There are alot of us that are more that willing to learn & listen...we may not all be able to afford 6 or 7 customs a year, but we can manage one now and then
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, besides it's about knowledge right?

And PhilL, thank you SO much for that link!
That was under my nose all this time? Doah!
Ebbtide out.
 
When we were smaller, and perhaps more relevant newer, we were a lot more receptive to knifemakers. As it sits to day I would find it hard for any maker to deal with the prevailing attitude on this site.

Anyone who tries to sell a fixed bladed knife is invariably compared with one of Jerry Busse's knives; we almost ask them to validate their existance, by providing proof that their knife can outperform a Busse knife. Then we flame them if they should dare to price their knives above Jerry's pricepoint. The same thing happens with folding knives and the Chris Reeves' Sebenza.

In, the subjective hobby we share, there are few rock solid benchmarks for comparison. It is only natural, that over time, our collective presence would define a few common reference points. Unfortunately, in doing so we have closed our minds to a wider range of knives.

There is nothing wrong with Busse knives or CRK. These are very strong and useful knives. But, we need to acknowlede that there are many other knives out there, and that many of these are superior to these two product lines.

N2S

BTW, I can almost date the closing of our collective minds to wild series of MADDOG threads we had in 2000. Our guard went up in response to a percieved attack, and we have yet to stand down. We are still treating every maker as though they had hidden notches under their knife handles.



[This message has been edited by not2sharp (edited 05-12-2001).]
 
I will throw my two cents in here.

I can see several reasons alot of makers see no interest in forums. Many have already been touched on, no time, no interest, no computor, ect.

But one of the biggest reasons I think is the members themselves. People get really bold when sitting in the privacy of their own home. Nobody knows them and they are really not held to call for what they post.

I am by no means a knifemaking expert. My 10 years as a knifemaker means I am just now really starting to learn. But I have seen true experts get totally bashed. When I used to hang around rec.knives I saw some amazing things. Guys would try to tell Bob Engnath how to flat grind. And would argue swordsmithing with Hrisoulas! I don't mean disagreeing, I mean outright attacks. I have seen similar things here. There is also a negative mob mentality. For example - I just had an unfortunate event with a past customer and it took place on the forums. Long after the two involved parties were sharing a beer (not really but you get the point) and enjoying private chat via e-mail, there was still flame postings being made. It seemed that they did not want us to settle the issue, but wanted to spur us into more fighting. They get off on it.

I hang around for several reasons. While not a new or unknown maker, I have done most of my work in pocket markets. I am now tired of that market and want to branch out. By posting, my name gets known (good or bad). I can keep an ear open for changing trends. I can also see what the market value is for certian styles from certain makers. And I even learn a thing or two. But man, if I was not thick skinned I would be out of here.

On-line everyone is an expert at everything and everyone is a Navy Seal Rambo. That S&*T gets real old real fast.

Maybe the moderators need to flex a little more muscle when things get out of hand (which is often). Don't flame, its just an idea.

R.W.Clark
 
The one thing I have noticed is that there isn't a lot of the forging questions lately. I have always tried to help some one that has problems on the forums, either this one or any other one that I happen to come across. I have had one person that has said "thanks", or that they even tried the solution I suggested. Did it work for the rest or not? After a while, you just wait and some one will offer a suggestion that might work.
The forums have been good to me in that I have met a lot of wonderful people, some that I have met and others I have yet to meet. It does take time out and especially this time of the year when the Blade show is just around the corner, you need all the time you can get. I would like to see some type of "forging" forum but it isn't a necessity to enjoy the information that is on here.
I live in a small town and carry my own knives so that most of the information on the factory knives are about something I don't see unless in a book.
I would probably say that one of the main reasons for some of the makers not posting as much is that people change and priorities change. That along with some of the other reasons stated would probably take care of most of the reasons.

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Ray Kirk
http://www.tah-usa.net/raker
 
Any forum is only as good as those who post and those who moderate. I think it's a shame when so much "negative", "assumed" and "unjustly biased" information is written that the number of lurkers becomes larger than the group of active participants.

Just do a search on someone and you'll soon see their true "motivations!" It seems that a number of members here never really have anything positive to contribute, unless it serves thier purpose. And, some folks appear to have nothing better to do than strike up controversy - not really wanting to learn anything.

Posting on these forums involves a risk that some makers just might not want to take - because the repercussions can be both humiliating and time consuming. Since time is the main "enemy" of a custom maker, why bother?

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives


www.andersoncustomknives.com

(Fixed typo
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[This message has been edited by Tom Anderson (edited 05-12-2001).]
 
I can certainly understand the feelings that many of the makers have about the forums. What Tom said makes perfect sense. When time is the biggest enemy of the maker, why take time out of a busy day to get crap from some people when all you were trying to do was help.

IMO though, without the makers this forum would soon degenerate to a bunch of: "What knife are you carrying today?, Flying to Armpit, what knife can I take on the plane?", or other such highly informative posts. That would soon signal the end for me.

I know that there would still be interesting stuff on the forums, just not enough to keep me coming back.

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Keith

AKTI Member #A001338
 
Sorry I missed Gus's context regarding the "advertising" and "pictures" issue. I had no idea that this particular sub-forum ("Custom Knives") was supposed to be non commercial for a reason.

It is sad but true that success brings its own problems, and no less with this forum as with BFC as a whole, and for that matter almost every other large-scale popular forum on the Internet and before it the usenet. Many of you have put fingers on the various reasons why this happens both in general, and here with respect to knife makers in particular.

For a public computer conference to be successful and grow you have to have a constant stream of new posts and topics. If you restrict what is said to what is really useful and always novel - minimizing repeat questions because you can always look those up in the archives, then the post rate falls so low that people stop coming back to see what "new" has come up. This is particularly the case where subjects, like knives and knife making, have been around for centuries and there is only so much "new" to be revealed. How do you keep the discussion fresh when its all been said before? This sort of problem doesn't pop up so much in other domains like chip design, cryptography, or genetic engineering because something new really is coming along almost every day.

For my part I can say unequivocally that BFC has launched my "knife knut" interest, especially in customs. Before BFC I owned a few (really three or four) nice factory knives like spyderco and benchmade. Since BFC the number of factory knives (mostly folders) has risen to a dozen or more, while customs like Dozier, Livesay, and Reeve have become my focus for the last couple of years. Now, thanks to encountering George Tichbourne's work (again thanks to BFC), I've ordered my first "true custom" in the sense that it will be a one-of-a-kind, and there are a half dozen other makers like Jerry H. and Mike S. whose work I would love to sample first hand thanks to trying the web links first seen here and reading about what others have gotten from them. They'll have to be patient though. Unlike some of you I must seriously restrict what I buy to a few items a year, and I've pretty well burned through the knife budget for this year anyway, though you never know what will happen come Christmas
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As for the "what knife to carry on an airplane" threads, oh well. So long as they stay where they belong in the general discussion I don't mind. I even participate once in a while, typically when I've just returned from an air trip and can actually report on the latest in airport security paranoia I've encountered. At the same time it is just this sort of repetitive banter, so long as some folks remain interested and newcomers keep coming along to keep the ball rolling, that keeps people here to see some really interesting stuff when it does come along. Personally I try never to start a new thread unless I have somthing concrete to contribute like my K-1 review in "Knife Reviews and Testing" last nite, but I've been into this medium for almost 20 years now...

In case anyone is interested in why I think I know so much about this medium, check out my book (if its still in print): Computer Mediated Communications: Bulletin Boards, Computer Conferencing, Electronic Mail, and Information Retrieval Pub. John Wiley, 1991. Yes it was pre-public internet, but the sociology of computer conferencing hasn't changed much since it all got started back in the early 80's


 
Mr. Rapaport - thanks for sharing your vast knowledge of the subject - its always refreshing to meet someone who really knows what he is talking about...I, too have been around the net for many years and agree that things always look the same. King Solomon was wise enough to notice that some 3000 years ago…


Anyway - I think this is one of the best threads of the last weeks if not months...

Gus, Jerry, Tom, DDR, Ray and all the rest of the makers and pro dealers - thank you for making this place so special and sharing your knowledge.

We could go on blabbing among ourselves - but without the makers - this place will become the home of couch ninjas and wannabe’s...

I think what we all need is more humility, modesty, respect and the ability to listen to other opinion and have the sense to gain from the sharing of knowledge.

As a relatively new collector - and having no knowledge whatsoever in knife making - I try to learn as much as I can, and I try to remember all of us - at some stage were ignorant of facts that seem obvious now.

Therefore, I try to extend the same curtsey I expect from older and wiser members - to new BF members asking redundant and old questions that have been answered many times before.

My 02

PS - Thanks to Golok for bringing this up.


[This message has been edited by Blilious (edited 05-12-2001).]
 
Ray has a point about having very little of any interest to respond to. I visit the site two or three times per day and try to find things to talk about, pretty difficult at times. If I see another post on "What is the best Steel?" I will scream and cut the phone line.

The comment about flames is also well founded, I find it very annoying to always watch my back when answering posts. Some individuals simply will not get a response from me because of past flames.

I dislike talking about my business on the net because of the nature of the audience response so I limit my input to answering others questions for the most part.

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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
This has been a most interesting, and somewhat disturbing thread to read. I have yet to become owner of a custom knife, but in looking at the changes that have come over me and my production purchases in the 3+ months I've participated, it sort of seems inevitable that I will.

Those who visit other forums I visit, know that I'm quite free with my postings. But, this and the Shop Talk forum, which I also monitor, have very few posts with my handle on them.

It is probably because I am so mechanically challenged that I have as much admiration as I do for people who can make/create things with their hands. I'm a regular reader of 2 of the 3 top magazines, and a frequent reader of the other one, and a sometimes reader of the 4th one of which I'm aware. Frankly, in part because of the attention given some of the makers who do participate here to one degree or another, I'm flat in awe of them. To me, you are "famous people". I can't imagine anyone with little or no knowledge or reputation arguing with or flaming you. It is just beyond my ken.

I've bookmarked a couple threads, because a post by one of these top makers acknowledged a post by me. I mean it's like meeting the president or something to me. I thoroughly enjoy and learn from the postings of the makers who do participate. To me it seems almost incredible that you all really care that much about your actual and potential customers. I posted once on the Shop Talk forum, just because I was astounded at the camaraderie and help offered each other by makers. It's kind of like a front row seat on history or something, to me.

I hope that more makers will participate, and share their great knowledge. For sure, I hope that none of you who are doing so will abandon us. As one of you said, I hope that you have some thick skin, and can just ignore the pettiness and "embarrassing" things loutish forumites post.

Please hang on,


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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
Bugs, that is a nice (and encouraging) post. I am convinced that most makers really want to share their experience, but not if it means climbing uphill or pushing the river. Comments like yours take some of the sting out of the troll mentality.

Don Cowles
www.cowlesknives.com
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Don Cowles:
Bugs, that is a nice (and encouraging) post...Comments like yours take some of the sting out of the troll mentality.
Don Cowles
www.cowlesknives.com
</font>


Well - if this is the case - and it seems that it is...

Then I second everything Bugs has said...(I am not THAT mechanically challenged...
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but I do appreciate immensely the makers contribution.




[This message has been edited by Blilious (edited 05-13-2001).]
 
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