Gratefulness, Jack O’Neill, and the Inheritance of Virtue

Mimic Knife & Tool

Mimic Knife & Tool

The super part time maker
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Joined
Mar 15, 2021
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722
Hey BF people,

This post could serve as a thank you, and belong in the Hall of fame section in the exchange, but it may not get seen much. I want due attention to be given to Jack O’Neill and to the spirit of people like him, so I’m posting here. Besides that, such a spirit transcends categories, and has the ability to make BladeForums a more pleasant place for the general community to enjoy its shared passion.

Jack O’Neill is an old school maker, and has mastered his craft in the few decades he’s been at it. I am a newbie just starting my craft. Jack recently retired, and he’s been getting rid of some of his stuff on the exchange. I have been looking around recently for tools to build my shop with. Last weekend I bought a KMG grinder off of Jack, and I got a smokin deal! I live about a 3 hour car ride away from him, so I picked it up from his house. However, here’s where my experience of Jacks’ old school virtue starts. You see, Jack waited nearly 2 months for me to come get this thing. I wanted to wait to grab it until I was already in his area, so I offered to give him a deposit until I could come by and give him cash. He just cited that he “still believes in a man’s word”, and I could pay it all later. If I didn’t follow through, he would have waited for nothing, and could have missed out on other opportunities to sell….and in fact he did! Jack checked in with me along the way and mentioned that there was a local interested in the machine. However, he kept his own word and held it for me after I confirmed I still wanted it. I see that as rare display of integrity and trust in a person… Jack had never met me and knew nothing of my character. As Jack waited the 2 months for me to come by, he took time to clean up and piece together what he had for the KMG. When I arrived at his place, he not only had what I had agreed to buy, but also had a plethora of attachments and hundreds of dollars of extra stuff for me to take home. He showed me around the machine, shared some knowledge with me, and seemed genuinely eager to see that I was equipped and satisfied. I was thoroughly pleased. I then gave him a stack of bills that he said he didn’t need to count, since he trusted me, and sent me on my way with the invitation to contact him whenever I needed.

To be clear, I personally have always had a good experience with people here on the forum, but I know that’s not the case for everyone. I’ve seen displays of malice, arrogance, and selfishness towards others that passed down a spirit of bitterness, pride, and greed like a disease. And I as well have regretfully participated and chosen to succumb to such a spirit. What do people watching and receiving such things inherit? THE SAME EXACT SPIRIT (or disease, or whatever you wanna call it). The way we conduct our business and social interactions here, (publicly and privately) inevitably pass on virtue or vice to others. I inherited a bit more of the spirit virtue and goodness from Jack through my experience with him. I am grateful for that experience, and hope to continue the legacy that he and people like him have kept alive!

May all of us here on BladeForums and in our personal lives, choose to embody virtue and goodness. The way that we act and interact with others makes this a concrete reality, and not just an abstract concept that sounds nice.



Thank you Jack.



P.S. - comment as you will, and share positive stories of similar positive experiences that you are grateful for.. avoid negative ones😉
 
Jack could have made a lot more money off of me, but instead he chose to simply give me a good deal, and help out a new maker starting his journey.
 
Jack is a good man. Good luck in your knife making journey.
 
This is an awesome post! Thank you for sharing.

I don't know who Mr. O'Neill is, but he's the type of guy I love to hear about and deal with. Wish I could shake his hand.

I agree with his and your sentiments and hope this continues to spread across the community.

Thankfully I can say I've had nothing but good experiences here so far.

What a great way to add memories and a boost of encouragement as you start your journey!
 
Thank you Andrew for all the kind words , it was a pleasure meeting you and hope you had a great time at Apple Hill . Enjoy your journey in the knife making world and community . After seeing a couple of knives you have made you are on your way already to being a master knifemaker .
 
Makes one proud to have been a part of this community from its inception. Congrats to each of you.
 
SimplyMinded said:
Awesome post and wonderful holiday story but may I ask how some folks can "Like" this? I don't even see the button.
Click to expand...
The like button was removed from the Exchange except in the "Knifemaker's: For Sale" area.

The reason was because of the abuse of emojis by members who decided to pile on sale threads where they didn't care for the price, the member or what have you. This caused us, the moderators, to spend hours per day cleaning up after repeated "reports" were made by disgruntled sellers.

So, the owner, Spark, removed the ability to use emojis except in the limited instance I mentioned above. That has saved us untold hours of wasted time.

You can thank those who felt entitled to rain on everyone else's parade.
 
Jack has been everything all else said and more. In my scant two years of knives Jack not only became a mentor, but my friend. As always Jack, good on you and yours.
 
DrubieG__MimicKnives said:
Jack could have made a lot more money off of me, but instead he chose to simply give me a good deal, and help out a new maker starting his journey.
Click to expand...
Jack has a habit of doing that. I bought his wood stash when he retired from knifemaking, opening the floodgates. I even got a big ol' box of shop supplies ranging from cool little cotton pads to Swiss jimping files and everything in between. Refused to let me even pay him back shipping. The main things I got/get from Jack are intangible but priceless. All he ever asked me of me is to pass everything I have and learn about knifemaking along when it is time. "Help keep it rolling" may be how he phrased it. I will.
 
“Like” I know I’m relatively new here but have had nothing but good experiences on BF! Love the honest and respectful experiences you all have had and continue to have with Jack. Other experiences from members on here have been the same. It's nice to come on here and be around like minded people, even if its from a distance. Seems harder and harder to find now-a days. Hats off
 
DrubieG__MimicKnives said:
Hey BF people,

This post could serve as a thank you, and belong in the Hall of fame section in the exchange, but it may not get seen much. I want due attention to be given to Jack O’Neill and to the spirit of people like him, so I’m posting here. Besides that, such a spirit transcends categories, and has the ability to make BladeForums a more pleasant place for the general community to enjoy its shared passion.

Jack O’Neill is an old school maker, and has mastered his craft in the few decades he’s been at it. I am a newbie just starting my craft. Jack recently retired, and he’s been getting rid of some of his stuff on the exchange. I have been looking around recently for tools to build my shop with. Last weekend I bought a KMG grinder off of Jack, and I got a smokin deal! I live about a 3 hour car ride away from him, so I picked it up from his house. However, here’s where my experience of Jacks’ old school virtue starts. You see, Jack waited nearly 2 months for me to come get this thing. I wanted to wait to grab it until I was already in his area, so I offered to give him a deposit until I could come by and give him cash. He just cited that he “still believes in a man’s word”, and I could pay it all later. If I didn’t follow through, he would have waited for nothing, and could have missed out on other opportunities to sell….and in fact he did! Jack checked in with me along the way and mentioned that there was a local interested in the machine. However, he kept his own word and held it for me after I confirmed I still wanted it. I see that as rare display of integrity and trust in a person… Jack had never met me and knew nothing of my character. As Jack waited the 2 months for me to come by, he took time to clean up and piece together what he had for the KMG. When I arrived at his place, he not only had what I had agreed to buy, but also had a plethora of attachments and hundreds of dollars of extra stuff for me to take home. He showed me around the machine, shared some knowledge with me, and seemed genuinely eager to see that I was equipped and satisfied. I was thoroughly pleased. I then gave him a stack of bills that he said he didn’t need to count, since he trusted me, and sent me on my way with the invitation to contact him whenever I needed.

To be clear, I personally have always had a good experience with people here on the forum, but I know that’s not the case for everyone. I’ve seen displays of malice, arrogance, and selfishness towards others that passed down a spirit of bitterness, pride, and greed like a disease. And I as well have regretfully participated and chosen to succumb to such a spirit. What do people watching and receiving such things inherit? THE SAME EXACT SPIRIT (or disease, or whatever you wanna call it). The way we conduct our business and social interactions here, (publicly and privately) inevitably pass on virtue or vice to others. I inherited a bit more of the spirit virtue and goodness from Jack through my experience with him. I am grateful for that experience, and hope to continue the legacy that he and people like him have kept alive!

May all of us here on BladeForums and in our personal lives, choose to embody virtue and goodness. The way that we act and interact with others makes this a concrete reality, and not just an abstract concept that sounds nice.



Thank you Jack.



P.S. - comment as you will, and share positive stories of similar positive experiences that you are grateful for.. avoid negative ones😉
Click to expand...
You get what you give. I know it to be true. Nice post Sir.
 
Blues said:
The like button was removed from the Exchange except in the "Knifemaker's: For Sale" area.

The reason was because of the abuse of emojis by members who decided to pile on sale threads where they didn't care for the price, the member or what have you. This caused us, the moderators, to spend hours per day cleaning up after repeated "reports" were made by disgruntled sellers.

So, the owner, Spark, removed the ability to use emojis except in the limited instance I mentioned above. That has saved us untold hours of wasted time.

You can thank those who felt entitled to rain on everyone else's parade.
Click to expand...
Like :thumbsup:
 
Good stuff. I was very proud to get one of his last B&T’s. Jack has always seemed like one of the rare gems.
 
Jack was always good to work with and his knives were really well thought out and useful. I especially liked his photo back drop. It made his knives really pop out. :)
 
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