If you are a Knifemaker....then be a Knifemaker

That is one reason I am glad I am not a moderator. I think I would have a harder time dealing with stuff like that in a polite manner.

I think this is a perfectly fine fee to pay when I dont have to deal with any stupid advertisements or banners or any other crap. I have sold one knife and a few pieces of wood and a couple of leather work items and feel completely fine with that. The guys that are complaining should check out some of the other knife forums, if you are a knife maker at all then you have to pay a few much more then here. This is just if you are a known knife maker.

I dont think this pushes guys away that are experienced and trying to help or pass on information. I think it will for those trying to nudge advertisements toward there blades.
 
Justin.Mercier said:
I've never sold a blade in my life and only make 1 or 2 knives a year and I've received warnings for mysterious infractions recently too, I have NO idea what I've done wrong, and hell, in the last year I've only posted maybe a dozen times. It really puts a sour taste in your mouth getting warned and a demand to pay up or stop posting when you have NO CLUE what you've done wrong. I mean hell, I've NEVER sold a knife in my life, I'm a pure hobbyist. I dont even have a sig, the only thing I can think is that iv'e been warned for linking to my website with photos from the ashokan gatherings. It's a personal website thats sole purpose is to host photos for other people to browse, bladesmithign, blacksmithing and car shows.
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If that's true, that is poor moderation.


The point of moderation should be to change the offending behaviour.

Infraction without adequate communication is pretty useless.
 
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Not sure that I ever posted something wrong or not. I've never had an email stating that I did. However I do come here quite often and learn lots of valuable info. Yes there is times that I don't like the way some of the threads go, but that's life. If I don't like it I quit looking at that thread and move on to other very informative threads. That's enough for me to pay a membership. I just sent payment for my membership. Thanks to all for posting valuable info regarding the craft of knife making.
Jim
 
Justin.Mercier said:
I've never sold a blade in my life and only make 1 or 2 knives a year and I've received warnings for mysterious infractions recently too, I have NO idea what I've done wrong, and hell, in the last year I've only posted maybe a dozen times. It really puts a sour taste in your mouth getting warned and a demand to pay up or stop posting when you have NO CLUE what you've done wrong. I mean hell, I've NEVER sold a knife in my life, I'm a pure hobbyist. I dont even have a sig, the only thing I can think is that iv'e been warned for linking to my website with photos from the ashokan gatherings. It's a personal website thats sole purpose is to host photos for other people to browse, bladesmithign, blacksmithing and car shows.
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Personally I think you answered your own question. You linked to an alternate website. That is against the rules. Where you trying to sell something? I believe you when you say no. Did you intentionally break the rules? I don't think you did that either. Your situation might seem a "grey" area, being as you weren't trying to sell something but you did link your website. Selling something or not, this promotes you, and you haven't paid for said privileges. Maybe it could have been explained to you a bit better as to what you were doing wrong, maybe they just thought it obvious.

I would like to thank all of the experienced makers who take the time to help a hard headed beginner like myself a trick or two. We really appreciate it. Maybe one day sooner or later I can achieve a point in my own experience to warrant my name in orange.

Chris
 
I always manage to trip myself up talking about these things. Plus I'm new here as a maker, so not in much of a position to talk about this with any real authority. I'll just say that I feel the fee is more than fair for what I've gotten out of it, and I really hope that this all comes to a good resolution, however it may.

I picked up one of my best customers from this site, and would have gladly paid the fee for that customer alone. I made my career in handcrafting, so a lot of Knifemaking was familiar to my current skillset, but the info on this site (and a few others) helped me get up to speed much more quickly than I would have on my own.
 
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I'm glad that we have someplace to share our stories / trials / tribulations / success. I have been able to gain from the wealth of experience here. I would hate to see this go by the wayside if Spark could no longer afford to keep it going. To me the small amount I pay for the knife maker membership is small I relation to what I have gained. Heck I spend more on beer:thumbup:

Bing
 
I don't see a lot of arguing against this... ???

Nathan brought up some very good points, IMHO.



For me personally, the fee here is cheap, because I have sold a lot of knives through the forum.


FWIW- to some of the fellas who are feeling like we're being hammered down on here.... I registered at another forum where there is a banner stating knife makers are not allowed to announce themselves as such, but you are supposed to make a post in the intro section. So I posted a hello, no mention of being a maker, but a couple members asked--- followed by a friend jokingly posting a pic of me in my shop.

My account there was shut-down almost immediately---- after my one post, which did not include ANYTHING pointing toward me being a knifemaker.

An entry level "hobby" membership there costs $250! :eek:

^^^ Something to think about if you think it's too harsh around here. :)
 
NickWheeler said:
I don't see a lot of arguing against this... ???

Nathan brought up some very good points, IMHO.



For me personally, the fee here is cheap, because I have sold a lot of knives through the forum.


FWIW- to some of the fellas who are feeling like we're being hammered down on here.... I registered at another forum where there is a banner stating knife makers are not allowed to announce themselves as such, but you are supposed to make a post in the intro section. So I posted a hello, no mention of being a maker, but a couple members asked--- followed by a friend jokingly posting a pic of me in my shop.

My account there was shut-down almost immediately---- after my one post, which did not include ANYTHING pointing toward me being a knifemaker.

An entry level "hobby" membership there costs $250! :eek:

^^^ Something to think about if you think it's too harsh around here. :)
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That's pretty brutal.

I feel that the fee here is extremely reasonable. There is some magic number where it becomes unreasonable, but I don't really know enough to know what that is.

When your vendor membership is so expensive that you're afraid to post the price publicly, and you offer a payment plan, that's pushing it IMO. Once you get into that kind of price range, you're pretty much stomping out the "middle class" knifemakers, which is probably a huge chunk of the potential membership. There are a lot of guys whose benefit from the site in sales wont cover the cost of high dollar memberships, but that doesn't mean those people fall into the "hobbyist" category.

Either way, if the benefit of my attendance to this site continues as it has (as I suspect it will), I'll gladly renew my membership this coming year, and the year after.

Even if I wasn't selling knives, I'm still the type just to support sites I enjoy because it's the right thing to do IMO. :)
 
I tell ya what, this is hands down THE best money I have ever spent in my life. For very little money I have the opportunity to promote myself as a craftsman, learn a million new things, sell a few knives to keep the lights on and bellies full, and meet alot of great friends.

This has literally saved and changed my entire life.
 
Justin.Mercier said:
I've never sold a blade in my life and only make 1 or 2 knives a year and I've received warnings for mysterious infractions recently too, I have NO idea what I've done wrong, and hell, in the last year I've only posted maybe a dozen times. It really puts a sour taste in your mouth getting warned and a demand to pay up or stop posting when you have NO CLUE what you've done wrong. I mean hell, I've NEVER sold a knife in my life, I'm a pure hobbyist. I dont even have a sig, the only thing I can think is that iv'e been warned for linking to my website with photos from the ashokan gatherings. It's a personal website thats sole purpose is to host photos for other people to browse, bladesmithign, blacksmithing and car shows.
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After looking at your warning/infraction history, you've only received one warning for having a "homepage" listed in your profile. I don't know what was on your website before but there isn't anything on your site for sale or even advertising any services offered. We (mods) do our best to be fair and understanding but we do make mistakes sometimes. When in doubt, get in touch with the moderator and ask what's up. If you're not satisfied, you can always take concerns/complaints etc. to the Tech Support forum.
 
i was sent an email asking to join a knife forum. the price they were asking was $600 a year :eek:. i told the guy i already belong to the worlds largest knife forum. why would i want to pay $600 a year to join yours and i never even heard of it before?
i told him from what i seen of his website, its not worth 10¢ to join. never heard from him again. i'm glad i joined up here and i'll gladly continue to pay my knifemakers membership so i can sell my knives and offer my sharpening service.
 
Hello.
It's been about a year since I have posted here. Not much has changed for me. I am still making knives and still giving free blacksmithing and knife making lessons to any who want to learn. Currently have two active students. Just delivered a knife yesterday to a new Eagle Scout. The Scoutmaster also let me know that another one will be needed next month. (Been giving a knife free to anyone who achieves Eagle Scout rating for years)
I joined this forum over 9 years ago, learned a lot, made some new friends, and maybe even helped a few times. A lot of people have come and gone in that time. I check this forum every couple of months and saw this post today. It looked very familiar. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/955471-Posting-Photos-Who-can-and-can-t?
Over the years, 99.0% of my knife sales have been by word of mouth. At one time I was a paying member and when I retired, money got tight. Rather than walking the fine line between posting info and being a freeloader/thief, I chose not to post. What does this mean in the great scheme of things? Nothing, except to me personally.
To all on this forum who have helped me, I offer my sincere thanks. Unfortunately many of those are no longer here. To those who remain, keep fighting the good fight. I am too old and tired and wish to spend my remaining time making knives and teaching in peace.
Respectfully,
Mike Broach
 
It's quite fair to pay a small knife-maker membership fee, in order to pitch/advertise and sell products & services on BF. I'll upgrade when I get close to make my first penny from this expensive hobby. I learned (quickly forget & re-learn) invaluable amount from here - I'm quite rich above the shoulder:cool:
 
I feel a little funny seeing that "knifemaker" moniker under my name because I have yet to make one, but with the information I have here at my fingertips and the ability to ask questions and get responses from guys with decades of experience I figured it was well worth making the donation.
Buying a few books or videos would have cost me at least $75 and I still wouldn't have learned as much and there is no interaction with a book or video.
 
centennial said:
I feel a little funny seeing that "knifemaker" moniker under my name because I have yet to make one, but with the information I have here at my fingertips and the ability to ask questions and get responses from guys with decades of experience I figured it was well worth making the donation.
Buying a few books or videos would have cost me at least $75 and I still wouldn't have learned as much and there is no interaction with a book or video.
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You can change it to say whatever you want. Edit your Profile and enter a Custom User Title. Some folks use "Aspiring KnifeMaker" for example.:thumbup:
 
Josh Mason said:
I tell ya what, this is hands down THE best money I have ever spent in my life. For very little money I have the opportunity to promote myself as a craftsman, learn a million new things, sell a few knives..., and meet alot of great friends....
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Same here Josh. :thumbup: And to me, the friends I made and will continue to make here are worth as much as the actual knifemaking info.
 
Patrice Lemée;12986982 said:
the friends I made and will continue to make here are worth as much as the actual knifemaking info.
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Amen to that my friend!!! Both fellow makers and collectors. A huge percentage of the people I know in the knife world have come about because of Bladeforums.
 
bladsmth said:
The main thing that caused this situation is people with links in their signature line, and in their profile, to the home page of their knife selling website.
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A while back I got dinged for exactly this. I had let me "Knifemaker" membership lapse, but unknowingly left my website link active in my profile. Karda saw this and had a tizzy. He went ballistic!! I was given 10 demerit points and told to go stand quietly in the corner for a while.
I was pissed too. At myself. I broke the rules and screwed up. That's what happens.
I found out what the problem was and took care of it. I then coughed up some cash to re-up my membership. Now the mods are cool(especially Karda, phewwww). I'm cool. And, my website link is back in my profile. Go take a look. I sell knives there!

That's the way it works.

[Spam removed]
 
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NickWheeler said:
Amen to that my friend!!! Both fellow makers and collectors. A huge percentage of the people I know in the knife world have come about because of Bladeforums.
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My knives would still look like low-end prison shanks if it was not for all the information here. I have sold maybe 3 knives on this site and still find it more than worth every penny. So long as I'm making knives, BF is in my future. Thanks to all of you who contribute freely!
 
I still don't understand why everytime these threads come up it turns into a big multi page discussion, therules are clear, the mods have been clear and its simple to understand.

Don't pay, then don't advertise your wares. Demonstrating, discussing, showing pics relevant to discussion at hand is all fine.

I still have a bad taste in my mouth over some of the regulars here throwing a huge fit and threatening to quit the site (boo hoo...) a while back when some truely lgendary makers showed some of their knives in another section of the site that they were taking to a big show. The mods deleted the pics, edited the posts and clearly stated th rules we all agreed to, to the offenders when doing so.

Yes, I loved the pics, but if I have to pay to show my neanderthal grade knives, then I feel everyone else who does should as well, irregardless of knife quality. Especially when they have their own forums elsewhere. They shuld be allowed to "advertise" here for free just because of who they are? Last I checked, Ferarri still has to pay for any advertising they want to do...


Just my $0.02....


-X
 
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