- Joined
- Jul 9, 2007
- Messages
- 7
Hello Everyone!
I am sort of new to BladeForums.com and let me explain.
I was originally a member a long long long long long long time ago
(in fact it was a Tuesday
) under the name Calvin Cooledge.
Well, life got crazy after I bought my business and things slipped,
and I got out of the loop for a while, although I was pretty active on
an old email list, TKCL. Some of you might remember The Knife Collectors
List. It went down one day and I have been moping around looking for
good knife talk, and my buddy, who shall remain nameless (Gus K.)
suggested I come back. I tried, but the old Calvin Cooledge account was
under my ancient email address (back with the old @home network).
So, I had to choose among all my web names and of course this is my
SECOND favorite name, which I've used a lot. I also go by Norm Daggere, oh, and Burl Ivory. (Knife puns, can there be too many?
)
In addition to collecting knives and guns, I collect guitars and amps, hiking sticks and walking canes, boxes of all kinds (duh!), and armadillos.
So, where's the knife content, you might be asking yourself by now? It's all right here...
First, good or bad, I've been an Honorary Member of the Knifemakers Guild for 30 years (a lot of good THAT did me:yawn: ) and I'm proud of that. Jim Hammond sponsored me in 1978 (OK, I know, that's 29 years, but I'm only 7-8 months off.)
Also, I've been going to the Blade Show since it was in Knoxville. But it all started in Birmingham, when I attended my first gun and custom(!) knife show in 1977. This was at the Birmingham Civic Center which is a Big Honkin' venue (I coined the term Big Honkin' back in 1972, BTW. It's nice to see it melded into the American lexicon!). THAT show opened my eyes to the wacky wacky world of custom knives. Back then, I think there were probably 30 custom makers in the USA. And I think they were all at that show. Amazing stuff, even back then. Much of it was less refined than the stuff we see today, but I expected the trade to improve over time. And it did!
I had always been a knife collector, since I was 8 years old. I remember all too well my first knife. It was made by a company called GEM, and they made these little knives usually available at barber shops, with sheepsfoot blade and a finger nail file and had a folded chrome handle (I think it cost 59 cents!). Anyway, my Grandmother was in town and she asked me if there was anything she could buy me. I said yeh, a GEM pocket knife from my barber! So we went there and then to the jewelry store where she had it engraved with my initials! I was in heaven. Then somehow I slipped into hell. That night, I was enjoying my Father's new leather chair that had just been delivered that day, and decided to test how sharp my new knife was on the armrests of his chair. (He hadn't even been home to see it, it had JUST been delivered.)
I stabbed those arms really good, and sure enough, my knife was indeed sharp. And so was the sting of my Father's belt on my sorry butt! I think I still have red marks on it (I can't tell, because it's, well, behind me... ). I don't think anyone here would care to confirm it, either.
I collect custom knives primarily and I like so many kinds of them, I can't categorize my tastes in them. I like Big Honkin' Bowies (there's that term again!), Hunters, Folders of all types and descriptions, and I also love factory knives, which brung me to this party in the first place.
I've met so many fine people over the years. Some I consider lifelong friends. I've been pictured in Blade Magazine several times, wrote an article for them (even got paid!), and I exhibit at the Blade Show, which, BTW, is my own private knife show, to which I invite my 10,000 closest friends! Or so I'm told...
Anyway, sorry for the long winded first post as Hayword N. Edgewise. As you can see, the name is appropriate...
Calvin Cooledge
"Life's Too Short To Carry An Ugly Knife" - uh, Me!
(PS-I'll be posting pics of some of my knives in the coming months-there are some nice ones...)
I am sort of new to BladeForums.com and let me explain.
I was originally a member a long long long long long long time ago
(in fact it was a Tuesday
) under the name Calvin Cooledge. Well, life got crazy after I bought my business and things slipped,
and I got out of the loop for a while, although I was pretty active on
an old email list, TKCL. Some of you might remember The Knife Collectors
List. It went down one day and I have been moping around looking for
good knife talk, and my buddy, who shall remain nameless (Gus K.)
suggested I come back. I tried, but the old Calvin Cooledge account was
under my ancient email address (back with the old @home network).
So, I had to choose among all my web names and of course this is my
SECOND favorite name, which I've used a lot. I also go by Norm Daggere, oh, and Burl Ivory. (Knife puns, can there be too many?
)In addition to collecting knives and guns, I collect guitars and amps, hiking sticks and walking canes, boxes of all kinds (duh!), and armadillos.
So, where's the knife content, you might be asking yourself by now? It's all right here...
First, good or bad, I've been an Honorary Member of the Knifemakers Guild for 30 years (a lot of good THAT did me:yawn: ) and I'm proud of that. Jim Hammond sponsored me in 1978 (OK, I know, that's 29 years, but I'm only 7-8 months off.)
Also, I've been going to the Blade Show since it was in Knoxville. But it all started in Birmingham, when I attended my first gun and custom(!) knife show in 1977. This was at the Birmingham Civic Center which is a Big Honkin' venue (I coined the term Big Honkin' back in 1972, BTW. It's nice to see it melded into the American lexicon!). THAT show opened my eyes to the wacky wacky world of custom knives. Back then, I think there were probably 30 custom makers in the USA. And I think they were all at that show. Amazing stuff, even back then. Much of it was less refined than the stuff we see today, but I expected the trade to improve over time. And it did!
I had always been a knife collector, since I was 8 years old. I remember all too well my first knife. It was made by a company called GEM, and they made these little knives usually available at barber shops, with sheepsfoot blade and a finger nail file and had a folded chrome handle (I think it cost 59 cents!). Anyway, my Grandmother was in town and she asked me if there was anything she could buy me. I said yeh, a GEM pocket knife from my barber! So we went there and then to the jewelry store where she had it engraved with my initials! I was in heaven. Then somehow I slipped into hell. That night, I was enjoying my Father's new leather chair that had just been delivered that day, and decided to test how sharp my new knife was on the armrests of his chair. (He hadn't even been home to see it, it had JUST been delivered.)
I stabbed those arms really good, and sure enough, my knife was indeed sharp. And so was the sting of my Father's belt on my sorry butt! I think I still have red marks on it (I can't tell, because it's, well, behind me...
). I don't think anyone here would care to confirm it, either.I collect custom knives primarily and I like so many kinds of them, I can't categorize my tastes in them. I like Big Honkin' Bowies (there's that term again!), Hunters, Folders of all types and descriptions, and I also love factory knives, which brung me to this party in the first place.
I've met so many fine people over the years. Some I consider lifelong friends. I've been pictured in Blade Magazine several times, wrote an article for them (even got paid!), and I exhibit at the Blade Show, which, BTW, is my own private knife show, to which I invite my 10,000 closest friends! Or so I'm told...
Anyway, sorry for the long winded first post as Hayword N. Edgewise. As you can see, the name is appropriate...
Calvin Cooledge
"Life's Too Short To Carry An Ugly Knife" - uh, Me!
(PS-I'll be posting pics of some of my knives in the coming months-there are some nice ones...)
