Honest Opinion!

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Getting an honest opinion
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Here's what I have found when you want an honest opinion on the way a knife looks.
Show it to a neighbor, friend or relative and you get:
"Thats a nice knife, Did you really make that?" Or "How much do you want to make me one of those?"
Ask your 12 year old or your wife and you get:
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"Well it's OK but what about this scratch"
Or "Are you relly going to use that for a handle?"
 
bobH,

I know where your coming from.
However-- others opinions only matter so much to me. Knife making is not a profession to me so I can make knives that I want to make. Knife making is theropy for me when I have the time to tinker. I am far from an artist but I do consider myself a craftsman (there is a huge difference). I make knives I think will be neat. Most of the time they don't look anything like what I had in my pea brain (this is the difference between artist/craftsman). The finished product is not nearly as important as the road there, although its great when the finished product is nice too. Its great when people googoo over your knives but I take it with a grain of salt. Normally they googoo over the one you can point out a hundred flaws. For me most of the pleasure comes from the crafting, then on to the next challange. The great thing is I know I will never make the perfect knife, but its like fishing-- the next one could be HUGE.

John


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http://www.toptexknives.com/yeackley.htm My contribution to the world of knife fanatics.

http://www.sixgunner.com/blumagnum/default.htm
 
Yup. And don't forget about seeing every defect when you look as something you just built. I did the roof on our workshop/storage shed, and everyone says it's great, but as soon as I look at it I see that one row of shingles that is just slightly off. I'm sure the same thing will happen if/when I start making knives.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
i believe that the best people to ask for opinions on a knife is other knifemakers, becuase we can pick out flaws, and tell you if you need to change the design and other stuff. or if it's a really nice knife, we'll tell you that to.
 
Robert, you're absolutely right. My wife is my QC department as well, and she can spot any of my most subtle flaws in a heartbeat. But I love her anyway!

Magnum, not true about knifemakers. While many could give a good critique of a knife, I've never known one to do it. Even a bad knife will usually get, "nice knife" or "interesting design", everytime. I have at times comiserated with another maker when I know we share a problem, but that is only with one who is a friend and I know very well. Self-confidence is too important a part of knifemaking to risk damaging someone's ego with too much honesty.

Ocassionally I will say something like, "Nice knife. Let me tell you how I do such and such. It might help you refine your so and so's. a little" But even that is with someone who clearly needs help.

Now, suppose I said something like, "Boy, that really sucks" as is sometimes done on the Reviews Forum?
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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
I'm going to add this as another post, because it may help beginners know how to get the help they need. You usually know when there are things that are not right about one of your knives. Instead of asking a more experienced maker to critique the knife. Ask him how he does something you're having trouble with.

I'm often asked about how I get tight bolster fits. I give the same answer I got when I asked Dee Holder how he got his tight bolster fits. How do I get my mirror polishes? The same way Dee told me he got his mirror polishes.

Once when I handed Dee one of my knives, the best I had made up to that point, and asked him to critique it, to tell me what was wrong with it. He told me I shouldn't do that unless I wanted the honest truth. I said I did. He looked at the knife for quite awhile, then handed it back to me.

"What's wrong with it," I asked?

"Nothing," he replied.

I was elated, especially since he said it in front of a couple friends. That really charged my batteries about knifemaking.

Today I know the truth....

The knife sucked!

Dee is why I am making knives professionally today.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
your correct jerry, but we're the best at being able to see flaws, also we know weather or not to point them out. so i guess the best person to critique your work is only your self. i would be pretty tuff starting off if everyone said you were bad at it.

[This message has been edited by magnum .44 (edited 05-28-2000).]
 
Great stories Jerry and wonderful insight! When I finally make my first knife, I'll know who to show it to and ask an opinion.
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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
youre absolutely correct jerry, that knife sucked....well you asked for it...i could say more but dont want to hurt your fragile ego before the upcoming show....your pal tom
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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Actually getting an "Ego Bruise" every now and again is a good thing
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For me, it makes me stop and really look at what I am doing on that knife. Next time I try not to repeat the same mistake.

By the way Jerry, what did De Holder tell you about his mirror finishing steps? I am right now trying to get a decent mirror finish on a blade!
 
After complete scratch removal with the belts, Holder (and I now) use K&G Dark Green Rouge on a hard buff, followed by Scratchless Pink on a loose buff. Both on a 3600rpm Buffer. I dont' think you can quite get the same dark mirror finish on a lower speed buffer. Dee's polishes are flawless. Mine aren't too bad. Besides the high speed buffer, the key is to get rid of the scratches on the grinder. I use a very very worn 400 grit belt, and if it's a big blade I will sometimes use a Trizact 16 to get out those last few lines.

Be careful with the dark green rouge. It will remove steel pretty well, and can leave annoying little grooves in your blade if you hang around in one spot too long with too much pressure. Also be extremely careful with the loose buff. It will rip a blade out of your hands in a heartbeat. Wear gloves and try not to let the buff touch the upper edge while you're buffing the lower edge.

Generally, I can polish a large 6" Skinner in about 7-10 minutes.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
Jerry
I sent you a picture of amy first blade in rough stage,and you told me I had talent.
that has pushed me more than anything
I have now profiled and ground 4 blades
they each keep getting better,now it is time
to send them away for heat treat,there are
people on this very page,that would shatter
peoples dreams of making good blades with some of there harsh comment.My hat is out to you Jerry,you have answered all my question no matter how small,I Would like to say Thanks, Nathan
 
Your are right about the buffer Jerry. Two days ago I was buffing a practice blade and in the blink of an eye it was out of my hands. Looked like slow motion, but it was extremely fast in real time. By the time I felt it grab the blade I saw it rotate with the buffing wheel and smartley whacked me across the index finger. It bounced off the floor and let a nice scratch on the car. Luckily I was wearing gloves with tape wraped around them. Left a nice bruise, that would have been a slice to the bone or worse.
Thanks for the tip Jerry
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K&G are local guys so I will order some of there buffing compound.
I will post a pic. of my new blades in a week or so.
 
I asked a knifemaker what he thought of a knife I made, about 15 years ago. He said the knife was alright, for a knifemaker just starting out. He then suggested that I try doing something in a little different way. He told me that he did so and so this way and it might not work for me, if it didn't, to try to improve on the way I was doing it. I've never talked to a maker where I didn't learn something, to include new knifemakers.
Tom

[This message has been edited by T. Militano (edited 05-28-2000).]
 
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