how to win friends and influence knifemaking - maybe

J. Doyle said:
In what other area of life would anyone sensible take advice from a stranger(for lack of a better term) with just their own words to go on? Would you hire a contractor without any credentials? How about a lawyer? Or a mechanic? Would you let a stranger invest your money in stocks and mutual funds without looking at his portfolio?

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You shouldn't trust what they tell you either.
 
John,
Use the Google search engine and search things like "Stacy wakizaski" or "Stacy Sword" ,"Stacy miniature", "Stacy photos", "Stacy naginata", etc.

I have 1750 photos of my knives and projects both finished and in progress on bladeforums. All the "Ashokan Photos" threads should have some, too.

Here are a few blades:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...tting-some-shop-time-in-lately-Pictures-added
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/825693-Rockizashi?p=9343801

I'll pull a few photos off the BF storage of a variety of what I do in knives, pumpkin carving, engraving, miniatures, etc.:
 

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Chris is still over in Yorktown, AFIK. He and Grace were still happily married last time I heard. A new wife and his job took a good bit of his forging time away.
Here is the full thread about the wakizashi ( scroll down to post #18):
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/638090-Stacy-Apelt-s-Wakizashi

Here is the thread about us making the ring:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/605499-My-engagement-ring-(no-not-a-knife)

He hasn't posted in about two years. Here is his last threads with some of his recent work:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/search.php?searchid=12604988
 
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It's my assumption that this thread has run it's course. It is my hope that it spurs folks to use the tools they have available to them in order to illustrate their point, and that it gets new and old members alike to question the opinion of the voice offering it. It shouldn't require faith to determine that someone knows what they're talking about, especially in this highly-connected, digital age.
 
I think this thread should be refreshed from time to time, maybe even annually.

Matthew Gregory said:
I DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. In fact, I'm about twelve or thirteen years into this ride, and the longer I continue the less I realize I understand. What I do understand, though, is just how much bullshit is allowed to propagate from people that regurgitate what they've heard, as if it's what they've achieved. Maybe they have! I couldn't say - they've never provided proof. Even when asked for it. Suspicious, no?
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That hits the nail on the head. Instead of picking up speed and improving the methods i'm using, I'm finding that some of the methods I was using were ineffecient or just plain wrong.

I've heard guys say it over and over again that when you're new, "you don't know what you don't know", and it's very humbling to find out you were doing something wrong because of bad advice from someone you assumed knew better.
There's a lot of advice being thrown around here. If you're not careful, you could find yourself spending lots and lots of money and wasting lots and lots of time when you don't need to.
 
Josh Rider said:
I think this thread should be refreshed from time to time, maybe even annually.



That hits the nail on the head. Instead of picking up speed and improving the methods i'm using, I'm finding that some of the methods I was using were ineffecient or just plain wrong.

I've heard guys say it over and over again that when you're new, "you don't know what you don't know", and it's very humbling to find out you were doing something wrong because of bad advice from someone you assumed knew better.
There's a lot of advice being thrown around here. If you're not careful, you could find yourself spending lots and lots of money and wasting lots and lots of time when you don't need to.
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This is very true. There are a number of things commonly recommended on forums that I completely disagree with from experience.

Forums are full of knowledge, and I'm on several and have learned plenty from them.
But I strongly believe the best way to really learn how to do things well is to look back on how the previous generation of masters did it. I don't believe I've ever tried something recommended by Loveless, warenski, Draper, Moran, ect that didn't work better and quicker than what is the common practice today. I'm all for trying new things, but you can't forget to look back on how things used to be done.

Mirroring blades is the biggest thing that comes to mind......
 
Geoff, this thread has absolutely nothing to do with mimicking the methods of 'old masters'. For those just tuning in, please consider reading it from the beginning, as it's just as valid now as it was when I posted it, I think.
 
Sorry, I tend to get off topic at times...

It is a very valid point, and is the same as I have experienced on many other forums. It takes time and evidence to build a reputation, and there is no shortcut to that.
 
I've recently found myself turning more towards this self testing method and documentation lately for what I do..

People ask all the time what wood is strongest, or would do best in the dishwasher if ummmm that happened. I've been going off hear say and "general knowledge" but as I've taken my wood business more seriously and decided I need to know more about what I sell if I'm going to sell it well, I've been running my own tests.

I did my wood drop many of you saw, I'm currently designing a wood wear resistance test, and upcoming I'll be making pseudo knives "basically just the handle portion of a full tang knife" with several different wood types and leaving them in the dishwasher to run through as many cycles as possible. I've also talked to a chef I know to have them run through an industrial dishwasher over and over as a brutal torture test.

We all want to make the best product, to be the guy with the answers, to know what we are doing. The best way to go out and test. Experiment and practice and find out for yourself
 
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