Fiddleback sneak peak. Good idea or not so good.

J

johnnyraggs

Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Messages
109
Howdy,
What do you guys think about the sneak peak. Bamboo posted today you will need the full description to get that bone karda. Why? Because everyone knows it's there. When the post comes up one could just shoot.
I'll take the 3 finger bone karda, with out looking. But what if there are three different ones. They might ask for the full description of all knives in the future. I hope not, I'm too slow, I'll never get my fiddle on.
I put enough in description to I.D. the proper knife without any confusion. But the whole description? We'll see. Derrick may see more of my money.

Good luck to all Today,
J.R.
 
I think there is a balance. All the knives up for sale can be seen on the Fotki image hosting page for the brand http://public.fotki.com/FiddlebackForge/

And additional sneak peaks are seen on instagram.

The full description for a knife like that which is a special piece for someone out there actually eliminates some of the speed-posting we have seen, because the full descriptions aren't available until the second of the posting. But you can still speed post on the other knives :)

But I agree that some people will have a more difficult time posting, especially if there is a disability involved. It could be that one day we move to an auction style time limited offering for those knives (just a guess). For now just try your best and there should be a good availability of knives that fit your niche on any given week. One of the coolest ones I have was sharked a fair 2 hours or so after the posting. There are always pieces available, and when that special one comes around do your best. You can also try to message the winner to see if they are interested in a sale. Most won't be, but I have personally let go of knives in order for the second or third bidder to get a chance.

Good luck!
 
Thanks Vayu. I did not know about the Fotki page. I have mixed feelings about it myself. I like you have scored great knives hours after the post, As well as getting one in the first few minutes.
 
The sneak peaks are something we enjoy at the shop. Gives us a view from the outside in and we feel helps give everyone a snapshot of weekly progress and the whole process.

The topic on FF requirements has been disscused several times within the shop. We are trying to create a fair chance for all and we are constantly brainstorming to find the best solution for all. Please bare with us as we continue to fine tune everything and we all hope everyone enjoys the challenge of sharking and we greatly appreciate each and every one of you!
 
Last edited:
I like the sneak peeks.

It's cool to see the inside perspective of the shop. The guys and gal working hard to make these great tools, sparks flying, scales being epoxied, ninja poses, Bud's in hand shots. Various trays strewn about displaying shiny, sharp objects in different stages of completeness. It builds up some excitement (is that a Palmer profile in the third tray?!) and that can only be a good thing for FF.

The Fokti preview is up at least an hour before the sales post. That often renders the sneak peek moot anyway. Things we saw in threads and on Instagram this week were not in the sales thread.

On what is fair/not fair. I dunno... I can only say I understand FF's reasoning for not requiring a full copy and paste description. I still do it myself, even if I'm on my phone, because they do request it in every sales thread. Do I miss out sometimes because of it? Sure. Oh well, it's a knife. I have a few.

I do think the next logical step, to help level the field, might end up being a one knife per post rule. Little chance for hard feelings when the faster ones are only sharking one at a time.

My .02 on the subject - keep the change.
 
Two of my favorite days on the forums are Tuesday evenings waiting to see if Bud posts pictures of his regular weekly shop visits and Friday waiting for the Fotki photos to go up.

I'm hawking all over instagram now as photos go up there randomly throughout the week.

I hope the sneak peeks stay around.

Regarding how the sneak peeks play a role in the Friday sale: If you are not writing out a generic knife description based on the fotki pictures, copying it and immediately pasting that description into the Friday post as it goes up you will not most likely not get the knife you want. I use to follow the instructions to scroll through the Friday post, copy/paste the full knife description and cross my fingers...but I quickly found that was a certain guarantee I would not get the knife I wanted.

Unless rules change, If I want a real chance at a knife I would never try to copy/pasting the full description - even though I think it would level the playing field and make things a fair chance for everyone along with the already discussed 1 knife per post.
 
Bush.Hacker said:
Unless rules change, If I want a real chance at a knife I would never try to copy/pasting the full description - even though I think it would level the playing field and make things a fair chance for everyone along with the already discussed 1 knife per post.
Click to expand...

If you are quick, and only calling 1 knife, you can copy and paste the whole description fast enough. I did that with the bone 3fk this week and was the first reply.
 
Not saying it can't work, but given equal connections and load times; me simply turning off forum images and hitting Control-V in the quick reply box will be considerably faster than anyone scrolling down, finding the knife, and copy/pasting the decription.
 
I don't think the sneak peaks provide any kind of advantage or disadvantage. Fotki is another story. I couldn't care less if the sneak peak threads stay or go.

There are so many ways to score Fiddlebacks now, that if you can't score something you like within a month or two, the problem is you, not a disadvantage or lack of offerings.

The knife connection
Knives ship free
USA made blade
Bladeco
BladHq
Lee's Cutlery
Arizona custom knives
The knife exchange
The fiddleback flea market
fleabay
Like Vayu mentioned earlier, a respectful PM never hurt anybody.

The more people complain about advantages and not being able to score on Friday, the more the rules will change and the harder it will be to shark. It might be "fairer" tho, what ever that means.
 
Whenever you have a special item like that all but one are going to be in the disappointed section. Rule changes will not change that. Personally none of this is a problem to me-my computer is so slow that the item may have been shipped by the time I could reply:). I Love that flea market though. I can keep pace there.
They seem to be doing all they can to make the sales both fair and fun IMO
 
Peter Hartwig said:
Whenever you have a special item like that all but one are going to be in the disappointed section. Rule changes will not change that. Personally none of this is a problem to me-my computer is so slow that the item may have been shipped by the time I could reply:). I Love that flea market though. I can keep pace there.
They seem to be doing all they can to make the sales both fair and fun IMO
Click to expand...


I concur.:thumbup:
 
Peter Hartwig said:
Whenever you have a special item like that all but one are going to be in the disappointed section. Rule changes will not change that. Personally none of this is a problem to me-my computer is so slow that the item may have been shipped by the time I could reply:). I Love that flea market though. I can keep pace there.
They seem to be doing all they can to make the sales both fair and fun IMO
Click to expand...

I'll third that. :thumbup:
 
I'm not really sure what the OP is calling a Sneak Peek if he's saying Bamboo posted it and yet he's never heard of the Fokti, the site Fiddleback uses to remotely host their weekly for sale images. If ya dont like the sneak peek threads I post .. then dont click on it. I thought the pics I share each week were well liked. :confused:

As for the FBF stuff. The current config works for me. I applaud Ken's efforts of a semi-routine time frame. The practice of wide net casting was getting a bit frustrating to me personally, but i did not see that practice as unfair. If the stated rules say, 'post the entire description but it doesnt matter if you dont do it' and it's an accepted practice to otherwise .. then again, not unfair. If they say, 'you can not score this particular knife unless you follow this particular rule' .. then guess what? :rolleyes:

And I'm in agreement with Joe Duder's thoughts, if you cant score a Fiddleback these days .. then you're not looking hard enough. Starting a thread, crying about seller's rule, and warning you will start buying from an authorized dealer of Fiddlebacks? This seems ridiculous to me.
 
Please keep the sneak peeks coming!

Only thing that really matters to me is Andy and crew having a long and successful knife making career. Instant gratification is overrated. ... the chase is always more rewarding
 
Joe Duder said:
I don't think the sneak peaks provide any kind of advantage or disadvantage. Fotki is another story. I couldn't care less if the sneak peak threads stay or go.

There are so many ways to score Fiddlebacks now, that if you can't score something you like within a month or two, the problem is you, not a disadvantage or lack of offerings.

The knife connection
Knives ship free
USA made blade
Bladeco
BladHq
Lee's Cutlery
Arizona custom knives
The knife exchange
The fiddleback flea market
fleabay
Like Vayu mentioned earlier, a respectful PM never hurt anybody.

The more people complain about advantages and not being able to score on Friday, the more the rules will change and the harder it will be to shark. It might be "fairer" tho, what ever that means.
Click to expand...

This ^^

Here are some stats for consideration... There were 10 posts within the same minute as the original Friday listing was made... 3 of those sharks bid the Bone 3FK and 3 bid the Burlap Runt. That means nearly 25 knives were still available within one minute of posting. Now surely anyone can scroll down find 1-2 knives, copy/paste the full description and paste int the reply box within 60 seconds!

There were about 30 posts within the first five minutes and I suspect most knives were still available AFTER 5 MINUTES... I say It's still easy enough to get a great knife on Friday. It however, won't be easy to grab those 2-3 "star fiddlebacks" each week, but why should it? There were 70+ registered users online at 2:30 Friday, so that will be always a crapshoot no matter what "rules" are in place or where it's sold (Andy's thread, Vendor, Flea Market, etc).

Early bird gets the worm in everything in life and it's no different when a vendor lists new Fiddlebacks or in the Friday threads... Removing the FOTKI or Buds Sneak Peek preview will do nothing to change the demand or availability of the 2-3 star FBs. These things have however created an insanely loyal fan base and demand that has driven a great supply for us all! Keep the sneak peeks coming!

There are 3 dozen FBs currently at vendors, a solid handful on the exchange and so many willing members to potentially answer a WTB post. Remember that all "rare" models or handle configs usually get produced more in the future... I think back to all the buzz around the Recluses, Arête, ShadeTree Burlaps, etc that are now attainable.

There has never been a better time to grab a fiddleback!
 
Last edited:
Joe Duder said:
I don't think the sneak peaks provide any kind of advantage or disadvantage. Fotki is another story. I couldn't care less if the sneak peak threads stay or go.

There are so many ways to score Fiddlebacks now, that if you can't score something you like within a month or two, the problem is you, not a disadvantage or lack of offerings.

The knife connection
Knives ship free
USA made blade
Bladeco
BladHq
Lee's Cutlery
Arizona custom knives
The knife exchange
The fiddleback flea market
fleabay
Like Vayu mentioned earlier, a respectful PM never hurt anybody.

The more people complain about advantages and not being able to score on Friday, the more the rules will change and the harder it will be to shark. It might be "fairer" tho, what ever that means.
Click to expand...

I agree, and in today's world I don't know that Fotki offers any advantages either. It's view-able equally to anyone with access to the internet. Any advantages are going to be there for people who already have the "advantages" in life...faster internet, better and more powerful devices, time to spare during those hours, etc. Fiddleback Friday happens in Cumming Georgia usually around 2:30 lately (and heck many here haven't been around long enough to know how much the regular time thing has helped), but it is a global event with participants around the world. It happens at 9:30 am in Hawaii, 11:30 am in California, 6:30 pm in Ireland, 7:30 pm in the UK, 8:30 pm in Norway, and at 5:30 am on Saturday in Eastern Australia, and Fiddleback Forge has its followers in all of those places and more, and has since the very earliest days. Lots of folks are dealing with various "disadvantages" in their endeavors on Friday, and have to make adjustments in their lives if determined to shark a knife on Friday. I think Andy and the guys are doing their best to make it work as best as it can. For people for whom Friday is a hardship there are a lot more knives available through dealers than there once were, and the flea market is a great option. I have sold several, unfortunately, through the flea market. Great guys to deal with there, and often times people buy knives they like, but learn they would maybe rather have a different steel thickness, handle configuration, or blade geometry, and sell them in the flea market as new for what they paid for it, in order to fund the next purchase. So if you see a knife you feel you really like sharked by someone, write them a message or an email and express your interest. That way if they do a catch and release they already have a person to contact. I think Josiah here is right. With all of the options available, if you can't score a Fiddleback you like in a month or two, it's either a rare model - and that is what it is - or it's more more about the amount of effort put into it than any advantages or disadvantages, and I don't think there would be much the guys at the Forge would be able to do to change that.
 
Bush.Hacker said:
Please keep the sneak peeks coming!
Click to expand...

No worries. As long as I have the time to go visit the shop and Andy says it's ok for me to take/post pics of his works in progress - then I'll keep sharing them. :thumbup:
 
I agree with Bonafide in that the guys at fiddleback give us an approx time for the knives to go up. That way I can plan my day around it. I thank him for the sneak peaks. I look forward to it every week.
 
12/26/14 was my first time. I did lots of research prior to, knee the designs and components that appealed to me, printed the tray pic from sneak peak and scored my #1&2 pics (on one reply, hoping to get at least one) and later the 3rd pic on a second reply. I hoe to see my top 3 in the mail tomorrow!

I would not change a thing, just keep up the great design and craftsmanship!
 
I like the Sneak Peek threads, please keep them around. Gives us a view into the shop and at the knives in progress.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top