- Joined
- Jan 27, 2007
- Messages
- 6,518
To my friends here on bladeforums: I'm taking a hiatus from forums participation for the foreseeable future. I can still be contacted through my profile.
I joined the forum here on this day in 2007, so I thinks it's fitting that I take my hiatus on my seventh anniversary as well. Ill be taking this hiatus from all the forums I'm a member of for the foreseeable future.
My family has had a roller-coaster year here: My wife lost her job in November of 2012, and while we're doing okay, we're obviously not in the best financial situation. I really do believe God has taken care of us in amazing ways, but life is still overwhelming at times. I've been a stay-at-home dad for the last seven years, and I have decided to return to work starting this year. My wife's mother died in July last year, and we're also helping with her stepdad right now, and his health is slowly deteriorating. The emotional drain on her (and me) has been significant, as those of you with elderly and frail parents know. I now have a pension from the VA for my PTSD, and I'm still coming to grips with that, along with going to school full-time on the VA's VRAP program. I can't stress this enough – if you’re a military veteran, look into your benefits, all of them. You'd be amazed what our country will do for you. (Richard Thurman can help with a list if you want it.)
With that said, I feel the need to establish some new priorities now. From this point on, I need to re-prioritize my interests: helping with our Boy Scout troop, my school schedule, my wife's job search, my (eventually) new job, our elderly stepdad's needs, helping with our church ministry, helping my son navigate the next few years in high school, and many other issues as well. Unfortunately, all of this leaves my participation in online forums and other similar interests pretty far down on the list.
-----------------------------------------------------
In 2003, I inherited my maternal grandfather's Camillus TL-29 Electrician's Knife, and in 2005 I inherited a Schrade-Walden Riggers knife that had belonged to my paternal grandfather. Historical research on these two knives, and looking for info on Ethan Becker's line of knives, is what brought me here in 2007.
It's been a great experience for me here, and having knife collecting as a hobby, and bladeforums as a resource, has been one of the most fruitful learning experiences I've ever had. Things I've learned here have allowed me to educate Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts on the history and usage of knives and cutting tools, as well as helping friends and family learn a new respect for knives too. Bladeforums has helped me refine my tastes in knives, and after owning, selling, and trading almost 400 knives over the last six years, BF helped me realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Some of the things I've learned over the last seven years:
~ Some people should never be allowed near a computer.
~ U.S. Schrade's 1095 carbon steel is some of the best blade steel ever made; the old U.S.-made Imperial's blade steels are pretty dang good too.
~ A 3-7/8" Serpentine Stockman pattern is just about perfect for a "life-time" knife.
~ Ethan Becker has designed the best fixed blades on the planet.
~ A dull knife is a useless knife.
~ You can live your entire life with only one knife – but it wouldn't be much fun.
~ Small yellow & red rectangles in the lower left corner of your post are NOT good things to have (unless it's a Jolly Rancher) - I've had to explain that to my son more than once.
~ Just because you own a huge "Rambo" knife doesn't mean you know what you're doing with it.
~ Respect the edge; it bites.
~ Stainless steel can & will rust – and some people cry when it does.
~ A well-placed hole is a good thing, for snipers and for knives. (Spyderco is still my favorite clipped-folder brand.)
~ Sal Glesser is one of the nicest people in the industry.
~ So is Yangdu, of Himalayan Imports. (If you haven't "met" her here, check out the HI forum. It's a great place.)
~ At some point in their lives, everyone should own a Buck 110, an Opinel, a Douk-Douk, a Spyderco Delica, a Case Peanut, a Kabar, and a Swiss Army Knife.
~ And finally: if we ban robot cannons, only tin plated third-world despots (and internet forum moderators) will have robot cannons. Those of you who've been around a while will know what I mean.
I'll probably be back, eventually. But for right now, to all my friends here, I bid my adieu. Goodbye and good luck to all of you, and to those of you whom I've met and "friended" here, you have a place at our table anytime, with a glass of sweetea waiting for you.
And lastly, for Spark and the Mods, thanks for a great site. I've said before and it's worth repeating: this is the only site I would let me son sit with me and look at. (The dog pic threads are still our favorites.) You guys do an amazing and oftentimes unrecognized job, and my hat is off to you. Thank you.
Keep 'em sharp, guys.
:thumbup:
PS – I'll be back in over the next day or two, while I finish up some buying and trading deals. To those of you who I have active transactions with, you can still contact me through my profile here.
I joined the forum here on this day in 2007, so I thinks it's fitting that I take my hiatus on my seventh anniversary as well. Ill be taking this hiatus from all the forums I'm a member of for the foreseeable future.
My family has had a roller-coaster year here: My wife lost her job in November of 2012, and while we're doing okay, we're obviously not in the best financial situation. I really do believe God has taken care of us in amazing ways, but life is still overwhelming at times. I've been a stay-at-home dad for the last seven years, and I have decided to return to work starting this year. My wife's mother died in July last year, and we're also helping with her stepdad right now, and his health is slowly deteriorating. The emotional drain on her (and me) has been significant, as those of you with elderly and frail parents know. I now have a pension from the VA for my PTSD, and I'm still coming to grips with that, along with going to school full-time on the VA's VRAP program. I can't stress this enough – if you’re a military veteran, look into your benefits, all of them. You'd be amazed what our country will do for you. (Richard Thurman can help with a list if you want it.)
With that said, I feel the need to establish some new priorities now. From this point on, I need to re-prioritize my interests: helping with our Boy Scout troop, my school schedule, my wife's job search, my (eventually) new job, our elderly stepdad's needs, helping with our church ministry, helping my son navigate the next few years in high school, and many other issues as well. Unfortunately, all of this leaves my participation in online forums and other similar interests pretty far down on the list.
-----------------------------------------------------
In 2003, I inherited my maternal grandfather's Camillus TL-29 Electrician's Knife, and in 2005 I inherited a Schrade-Walden Riggers knife that had belonged to my paternal grandfather. Historical research on these two knives, and looking for info on Ethan Becker's line of knives, is what brought me here in 2007.
It's been a great experience for me here, and having knife collecting as a hobby, and bladeforums as a resource, has been one of the most fruitful learning experiences I've ever had. Things I've learned here have allowed me to educate Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts on the history and usage of knives and cutting tools, as well as helping friends and family learn a new respect for knives too. Bladeforums has helped me refine my tastes in knives, and after owning, selling, and trading almost 400 knives over the last six years, BF helped me realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Some of the things I've learned over the last seven years:
~ Some people should never be allowed near a computer.
~ U.S. Schrade's 1095 carbon steel is some of the best blade steel ever made; the old U.S.-made Imperial's blade steels are pretty dang good too.
~ A 3-7/8" Serpentine Stockman pattern is just about perfect for a "life-time" knife.
~ Ethan Becker has designed the best fixed blades on the planet.
~ A dull knife is a useless knife.
~ You can live your entire life with only one knife – but it wouldn't be much fun.
~ Small yellow & red rectangles in the lower left corner of your post are NOT good things to have (unless it's a Jolly Rancher) - I've had to explain that to my son more than once.
~ Just because you own a huge "Rambo" knife doesn't mean you know what you're doing with it.
~ Respect the edge; it bites.
~ Stainless steel can & will rust – and some people cry when it does.
~ A well-placed hole is a good thing, for snipers and for knives. (Spyderco is still my favorite clipped-folder brand.)
~ Sal Glesser is one of the nicest people in the industry.
~ So is Yangdu, of Himalayan Imports. (If you haven't "met" her here, check out the HI forum. It's a great place.)
~ At some point in their lives, everyone should own a Buck 110, an Opinel, a Douk-Douk, a Spyderco Delica, a Case Peanut, a Kabar, and a Swiss Army Knife.
~ And finally: if we ban robot cannons, only tin plated third-world despots (and internet forum moderators) will have robot cannons. Those of you who've been around a while will know what I mean.
I'll probably be back, eventually. But for right now, to all my friends here, I bid my adieu. Goodbye and good luck to all of you, and to those of you whom I've met and "friended" here, you have a place at our table anytime, with a glass of sweetea waiting for you.
And lastly, for Spark and the Mods, thanks for a great site. I've said before and it's worth repeating: this is the only site I would let me son sit with me and look at. (The dog pic threads are still our favorites.) You guys do an amazing and oftentimes unrecognized job, and my hat is off to you. Thank you.
Keep 'em sharp, guys.
:thumbup:PS – I'll be back in over the next day or two, while I finish up some buying and trading deals. To those of you who I have active transactions with, you can still contact me through my profile here.
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