As Peter indicated, Google considers BFC a threat and made the Forums inaccessible for me yesterday, have made it here via MSN....up to work at 3:30 am yesterday and was a bit punchy by the time I got home.
I have a new job that allows me 15 hours LESS free time compared to the previous job. I averaged 4 hours a day on BFC while at that job, 2 hours at work, 2 hours at home.....we don't have kids, so my time is often my own....now, I average about 1-2 hours a day on BFC....and would like that time to be productive.
Thanks to most everyone for chiming in. The catalyst for this thread was primarily my telephone discussion with Coop, and two secondary threads recently, Lorien's Damascarbotanium thread and David Darom's thread on Italian maker Antonio Fogarizzu. In all three cases, I offered up opinions that were imo, on track. In Coop's case, he felt I was belittling him personally. In Lorien's case, he felt I was personally attacking him, and should have offered up specific areas to improve upon. In the Italian case, I pointed out specific areas of concern,(fat handle, skinny shortish blade), and no one seemed to seriously consider this as a problem.
This is an issue for myself in the long run, and certainly an issue in the short term for those feeling that they are being denigrated. I know what I am looking at (but not always saying, I called the Moss designed knife 2x a barong, Lorien called me ba-wrong(punny, eh?).....it is correctly termed a bolo, and stand by my design statements). So if I can't get you to see it the way that I see it, and my words are insufficient for you to understand my point.....it is a futile exercise...for both of us/all concerned.
As with collecting various knives, participation on a forum is largely one of perception. What you like may not be what others like and what you find unappealing may appeal to others. It doesnt mean either party is wrong, it means they have different perceptions on what they like and how they participate. How a maker makes a knife or a poster participates in a forum setting is entirely dependant on their interpretation of what is before them.
Most everything in life has a niche, a place, a purpose. A maker, collector, a user and a forum participant all must make judgement calls based on the interpretation of their interests. It doesnt mean that when one finds a blade or topic that doesnt conform to his preferred interest that he must critique and demean the effort. It means that one should focus on the things that interest them and ignore the things they don't.
Karda, your posts were interesting and informative to me. My last meltdown resulted in you pouncing on me when I was on the ropes, as Lorien stated. You started out rational and then got just plain mean and bitter, and left me with two thoughts of note.....
1) You are not entirely wrong, and I should consider your words.
2) JUST like me, you don't know when to shut up. You last volley of words in the meltdown in two distinct threads left me with a big FU...as you were hunting/hounding me. If you had just left it with the zen calming/peaceful stuff, I would have considered just about ALL you say. Physician, heal thine self.
The last volley between you, Roger and Joseph reveals how inappropriate you can be and how little you can see it....not so different from me at times.
Steven,
I will be posting pictures soon of some Loveless style knives. I will be applying for membership in the Knifemakers Guild.I look forward to your comments.We will disagree on some points and that will great.
Best Regards Rick
Thanks, Rick....would love to be of some service, appreciate your posting!
Randy Morgan had a stroke a few years back and didn't do much posting after that....he did/does a lot of fishing. Vietnam Veteran, big guy, wore loud ass Hawaiian shirts, I knew him for years as a person before I posted on BladeForums. Loved him back then, still do. ALWAYS fair, not above telling me or anyone else that he thought they were full of BS....then we laughed.
....I find your involvement in this thread to be unnecessarily polarizing. I like your tone most of the time, but I think you could really help to simmer things down here by bowing out of this one.
Lorien, you have amazing class.....something not many would say about me. Thanks for posting in this thread. I am sorry that you don't see where I am coming from, but it doesn't make EITHER one of us wrong, and it hasn't in the past. You think you suffered more abuse than anyone, but that delightful honor goes to a fair bunch of other people including our own David Mullin(s)? 2knife....who seems to be in good shape, regardless of the insults slinged.
No matter who we are on this forum (and I am glad I am a nobody), we are a NOTHING to the grand scheme of things to custom knife collecting over the course of human history. If every regular to this forum was vaporized with their collections tomorrow, we would have lost some great knowledgeable people and some great knives. However custom knifemaking will go on, and new collectors/makers will take their place. Something I think we should all be able to keep in mind when finding ourselves feeling superior to others. Your opinion is no better than mine, it is just different- no matter how many thousands of dollars each knife you own is or isn't worth. Nor does who you know make your opinion more valid. Bill Bagwell's opinions on Bowies may have more historical fact and research behind them than mine does- but it does not mean he knows what works best for me, both of our opinions are valid for ourselves within the context of WHY we formed our opinions. (for the record I've never held a Bagwell, talked to the man, or have any true opinion of what I think of his opinions as I am not much of a bowie guy- just a name to throw out that carries a lot more clout than mine does).
I am kind of sick of the "take my ball and go home" attitude that seems to be growing lately. If you see a deficiency in something- do what you can to fix it, and understand that others may not see the deficiency as you do. Accept it and move on. Don't like what somebody says- then ignore them! It shouldn't need to be said to adults, but you do not need to reply to everything that pisses you off in life! I've avoided most conflicts in life by understanding when something really didn't matter, and ignoring those not worth my time. I love BladeForums, the people within, and the atmosphere here. I've electronically met some great people, and as such try to be one of the good guys for others- as my online persona is still my persona and I hold myself accountable to it. I'm not perfect- I have once called out a member that I was sick of, said my piece and moved on. I do kind of regret it as I do not like acting like that, but the other member was getting mighty big in his britches and sticking his nose where it wasn't wanted just to be a jackass, and I was sick of how it made the forum look in my view- bullying isn't something I like to put up with if I perceive it as such.
I think that part of the conflict in this forum is the overwhelming feel of Custom Collector Forum moreso than just the Custom forum. In my perception many arguments are based on future projections of profit/collectability/desireable traits for the future. Why not discuss the knife itself?!? OR how about discussing desirability rather than value? The Collector aspect can drive people away as there are a few major collectors here, yet they are the overwhelming voice on this forum, complete with back history with each other, positive and negative. I know that when I started visiting this forum it seemed that one almost had to pick a side to stand on- alienating some posters as a result. I know that it had kept me from giving my opinion, just based on hostility that others give each other here. THIS THREAD SHOWS THAT CLEARLY AND I THINK THIS NEEDS TO STOP- IT IS THE FACTOR THAT I FEEL IS CAUSING THE MOST EROSION OF THE QUALITY OF THE FORUM! WE ALL LOVE KNIVES- LETS START SHOWING WHY, GROW THE HELL UP AND REALIZE THERE IS AN ENTIRE WORLD WATCHING- NOT JUST THOSE PARTICIPATING.
1. Appreciate the time it took you to post that.
2. The history of American custom knifemaking/collecting is new/unwritten. Each of us is a part of it, I had hoped to illustrate that in my first post. Take that as you will. Human history is one thing....our thing certainly fits within it, but is another thing to some degree.
3. It takes a very strong personality and willpower to actively collect and order custom knives.....in my EXPERIENCE, some of the "biggest" collectors have some of the biggest egos, are the loudest people and have the strongest opinions of anyone else in the room. That this comes out on the Custom Knife s/f of BFC should neither be a surprise nor a problem. It should be an aspect.....and the sooner beginning collectors and makers accept this, the more likely it will be that they have "
the stuff" to be a long-term maker or collector....will unapologetically state that is a big aspect of my agenda.
Why not knock it all off and talk knives. The good, the bad, and the ugly of KNIVES. Stop talking about each other. I don't come to this forum section for the BS. I am here for the knives.
Bill....how you doing, buddy?
With customs, it's about the person AND the knives. Impossible to divide Loveless the man from his work....they are one and the same, and that always creates debate. Same as D.E Henry....not one collector or knife aficionado can say anything about his creamy satin finishes and overall superior designs than "WOW", but ask them about the man? Everyone has an opinion.
Me? I would rather talk about the knives alone, as they are quite interesting, but when you say something bad about a maker's knife, well in some cases, you just insulted their children. Said it before, believe it....isn't about me, isn't about you....it is about US. With analyzing the US in the scenario, WE might benefit if I didn't post a negative position unless I have the time to fully explore it, explain it and defend it.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
