How can I improve the KnifeMaker's forums for you guys?

Free Ice Cream for EVERYONE!!! ;)

I have been coming here for over ten years... so I'd say it's pretty good as it is Spark :)
 
How about adding more sub forums for popular topics like one for heat treat, fit and finish, folder making, ect.
 
NickWheeler said:
Free Ice Cream for EVERYONE!!! ;)

I have been coming here for over ten years... so I'd say it's pretty good as it is Spark :)
Click to expand...

I agree Nick,

If it's not broke - don't fix it......:rolleyes::D

Thanks for asking - shows your on the ball. :)

Todd



.
 
A section to show off first knives would be awesome. And like Alden said, somethibg to make pics more permanent.
 
I will sound like a broken record, but I say it every time this sort of thing comes up.

PLEASE DON'T SUB-DIVIDE THE FORUM!!!

One of the reasons I like Bladeforums Shop Talk so much is that everything is in one place. I can come in and look at what I want, and leave alone what doesn't interest me. It keeps things moving along and keeps things interesting.

There are a lot of other forums that I like, but most of them I don't look at very often because they are divided up so much. Heck, I don't even see the point of having a separate knife maker's gallery. This is shop talk.... in my shop it's been common practice for a friend to bring in a knife and say "here's one I finished, what do you think?"

Which seems like how it should be here as well (IMHO). :)
 
Hey Spark and Mods,

I agree with Nick, don't chop up the forums.

Seems like the most prevalent suggestion/request has been about consolidating and cleaning up the stickies. Sounds like you might need a task force for that one, at least as regards cleaning through dead links. Consolidation should be pretty easy though.

If search could be improved any that would be REAL cool!

Thanks for a cool forum, Phil
 
I don't see a need to chop this forum up any further, unless you guys want a subforum dedicated to tutorials or newbies.
 
Shaughnessy said:
Kevin,
It would be great to have an area that makers could upload and store PDF type files and video. This would eliminate the need for "sticky posts" and would allow users to download the tutorial / FAQ as needed. This would also keep original pictures intact as well because its not linked its actually inside the PDF file.

It's a fairly common approach on a lot of the woodworking websites and I think there is 1 or 2 moderators to control content. The IAP pen board is a good example. They keep them by year, in an area they call "the library" and all the content inside is in PDF format or video.

Inside "the library" they also have video tutorials that have been uploaded by makers in various formats. I think this would create an invaluable knowledge base for all makers, in an easy to use format. People could search, download, and store these tutorials as needed on their own PC's as well.

Thanks Larry
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I think that this holds great promise.

As the stickies age, they will further degrade, especially those who link to external photos or websites.

If you started a Library type file now, it would be built up by the time the stickeis are gone.

The use of PDF tutorial files, or maybe larger zip files of photo collections would be helpful.
Especially if hosted on this forum they will be stable. As it is now, the info is lost with changes in websites and photobucket folder revisions.
(hopefully larger bandwidth use will be offset by membership fees.
(ironic since I currently use an unpaid membership)

It would be a great resource for pros and newbies, increasing name recgonition for those that post tutorials and helpful info for newbies.
(I know that the primary reason I visit Knife Dogs is Bruce Bump's WIP threads.)
 
You could use the DownloadsII plugin to set up categories where people can upload pictures or files. The stickies could be converted to .pdf files and upload in the same manner.
 
The problem is I don't want to allow unlimited uploads. I'm fine linking to PDF's and such, but once they are on the server we have no way to selectively prune them. Youtube videos (on the other hand) can stay around forever.

I'm all for keeping links fresh in stickies - if there's ever a bunch of dead ones, feel free to make a new post with the live ones, and we can edit for content.

Stacy has been put in place as the mod for the forum.
 
NickWheeler said:
I will sound like a broken record, but I say it every time this sort of thing comes up.

PLEASE DON'T SUB-DIVIDE THE FORUM!!!

One of the reasons I like Bladeforums Shop Talk so much is that everything is in one place. I can come in and look at what I want, and leave alone what doesn't interest me. It keeps things moving along and keeps things interesting.

There are a lot of other forums that I like, but most of them I don't look at very often because they are divided up so much. Heck, I don't even see the point of having a separate knife maker's gallery. This is shop talk.... in my shop it's been common practice for a friend to bring in a knife and say "here's one I finished, what do you think?"

Which seems like how it should be here as well (IMHO). :)
Click to expand...

I really think that a sub forum or a sticky with tutorials would be a really good thing. I have learned so much from reading the WIP from the pros and more seasoned makers and it would be nice if the stand out ones were grouped together for other newbies and future reference for us slow learners:o
 
NickWheeler said:
Free Ice Cream for EVERYONE!!! ;)

I have been coming here for over ten years... so I'd say it's pretty good as it is Spark :)
Click to expand...
1. Free ice cream
2. Force Wheeler to actually finish at least two knives a year.:eek::D
3. Force the membership to buy my stuff.;)
Other than that, you are doing a bang up job.
 
jdm61 said:
1. Free ice cream
2. Force Wheeler to actually finish at least two knives a year.:eek::D
3. Force the membership to buy my stuff.;)
Other than that, you are doing a bang up job.
Click to expand...



We can't even get the members to buy your shtick! :D
 
Consolidate stickies and I agree with no more subdividing, I feel that the forum as a whole is subdivided enough, but I'm not that active of a maker so other professionals should be heeded moreso than I.
 
Get rid of the stickies and make a couple subforums, one for metallurgy and one for newbies.

Chopping the forum, or neatly slicing it up, would help slow it down a bit, which I think would be good for it. Right now, most stuff just gets buried in the back pages way too fast.
 
This probably won't mean anything but I am going to say it!
Leave It Alone

If you make a section for newbie’s you usually have newbie’s teaching newbie’s! I consider myself still a newbie even though I have been at this a while. The problem is that there is a group who seem to think they are above the newbie questions. Granted sometimes they are redundant questions but every once in a while if you open your mind you will learn something, even from a newbie or at least from the discussion they opened with that dumb question! When your too old to learn then......... your too old!

If you don't want to listen to the stupid question don't open that particular post! Once again, Leave It Alone
I am a member of several knife forums and this is one is tops on my list!
 
A few thoughts...

Joe Mandt for PRESIDENT!!! :D

I agree Joe...force that wheeler fellow to finish something for God's sake! ;) :p

I'll back peddle a little bit.

Adding a sub-forum where you could let WIP's reside is a good idea as it would be a base of evolving tutorials. That would be cool.

I don't think trying to start a sub-forum for new guys will work. Most of the guys that you would be trying to corral into an area to make it easier to help...are going to be the ones that don't bother looking to see if they're in the new maker area, the shop-talk area, or the custom section ANYWAY.

None of them read the stickies as is.

I think many people feel a negative connotation from the term "newbie" and just skip over it anyway. Title them simply "Want to make a knife, start by reading these threads"

There's still going to be 9 people a week that start a thread here about how to make a knife out of their Home Depot steel. :rolleyes:
 
I would like to see signatures required from those who post using their real names, this could easily make the for more sociable.
 
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