Hooray!

[Dixieblade57]

First I am so glad to see that this part of the forum has been opened to basic members now. I never could post here before. I keep planning to upgrade my membership but it seems like something always comes up where I need the money somewhere else.
Some of you folks have become like an extended family and not being able to post here. Well that's kind of like members of the family saying they have a problem and not being able to respond, whether with a kind word or just a "Hey I hear you"!

I still have not made my first knife for this year. The wife continues to be sick since Nov. of this past year and even though we have had several diagnoses, they have all eventually been proven wrong. I find when I go to the shop to work my heart is just not in it and can't seem to concentrate on anything! About the only things I have managed to do it mark out some blade profiles on some 1080 I have in the shop. I haven’t even had the will to cut them out!

However the one bright shinning moment of late was my second Grandson being born Monday. He sure is a striking young man but of course that is just a Papaw’s opinion. Here are the pics of both of my grandsons. The older one is two and by the look on his face he is still trying to decide if he is thrilled about holding his little brother!

Click on thumbnail for larger view:





I can't wait till papaw can get them out hunting and fishing!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Congrats on your grandson, and prayers for your wife.

I am not as glad as you that this area is open to all who wish to pop in.

The posts from first time users ( and not-so-new members) ,who don't have any idea what "Around the Grinder" is about will soon mess up this sub-forum. There are already several posts that should be in "Shop Talk". The original purpose of this area was a somewhat more private spot for non-knife making chit chat and personal topics. While not exclusively a "good ol Boys" area, it tended to be used mostly by the older and more down to earth members and left alone by many of the kids and weirdos that are frequenters of some other BF areas.

 

[sharpeknives]

Now thats a pair. Congrats.

 

[David Stifle]

I'm glad to see guys like Dixieblade, but I agree with Stacy. While I've never posted here much, when I did I pretty much knew the type of fellas who would respond. Looking at the list of topics now, it seems Shoptalk is spilling over into this subforum.

Dave

 

[Justin King]

Congratulations on the grandson! I am sorry to hear about your wife's health problems. Mine is having some issues of her own, I understand what you mean about not being able to focus on knifemaking. I do find that 20 or 30 minutes of not-so-intense shop work, when I can manage it, helps to return my emotions to some kind of level, which helps myself and my wife both when things seem overwhelmingly heavy.

Hopefully the free-for-all won't ruin this forum for those of you who have been posting here for a while. It helps to encourage the appropriate threads by responding and bumping them to the top, and let the ones that don't belong fall off the page from a lack of resonses.
Unfortunately the folks who post inapproriate topics here probably don't read the stickies, but it may be worth posting one anyway.

 

[Dixieblade57]

Thanks to all who have responded about my Grandson's! Today being Father’s Day, above all day's it makes me especially proud of them and their parents. It makes me think that me and the misses did a pretty good job at raising those grandbabys parents. At least one of them and the other one, well his parents done a good job too. It just makes you say, "I guess I can be proud of myself"!

To address the problem of inappropriate posts for this section. I hope that those who seem to continue too abuse the privilege of being able to post in this section do not ruin it for all!

It might be good for the moderators to cruise this area more often for a while and move these inappropriate posts to the proper area. Along with a stern warning being posted privately to the individual, stating that this forum is for

From the top of the page:
Around the Grinder KnifeMaker's Chit Chat Area. For off topic posting, humor, bs'ing, etc for our hard working Knifemakers. Private Forum, posting & response to open to Basic Members & above only.

I have just found out that I can no longer post here again but thanks to the edit feature, I still have the ability to say this!
I think it is a terrible shame that we no longer have a place without paying a fee to express ourselves on subjects other than knives! This section was a place in my opinion where I could go to speak to other members of this forum on subjects, like I would have the members of my family! You know just a place to say hope you are feeling better, or I am sorry to hear about your family, or love the pictures you posted! I hope those that have lobbyed from the begining to get this closed down again are now happy! Since I won't be able to say it later Thanks to all the kind words about my Grandsons and those the kind words about my wife being sick!

 

[Troop]

Congratulations! You are a lucky man! :thumbup: