In Memoriam Give Away-Our Porch Members

[Rockon75]

I suppose it is tough to say who to discuss first but alphabetically I suppose it would be bigbiscuit. Bob and I got to know each other over the years as I developed my knife interests, chatting here in the threads and messages, eventually even adding him on facebook for ease of contact when his illness had gotten worse. We were hoping he was gonna make that 2017 rendezvous actually. That way he wouldve met some of us in person. But for his part, he was partially responsible for getting me into barlows. See, I had always been obsessed with my knives having endcaps, even insisting upon them. I wouldn't consider knives without endcaps. But Bob kept up the discussion and spurred the interest. He even let this go to me at cost, one of eventually many as his illness progressed .

It had begun a small obsession in barlows that continues to this day.

Another issue Bob had sought to help me with is my difficulty with carrying new knives. If i liked a knife enough, I tended to by a few examples, making sure to keep one mint and perhaps buying a user to carry. I had lamented that GEC seems to refuse to make a 15 long pull clip with an endcap in single blade, in fact one of the earliest knives ive ever purchased was a LNIT 151213 which Ive had modified to be single clip. Seeing as I never found another pop up, I wouldn't carry my knife. He would joke about buying a knife and kicking it down the drive way so id be comfortable using it. Bob actually tried to remedy this by sending this gift,

A knife he had modded by rescaling with thicker hand shaped ebony wood. We shared quite an appreciation for the GEC 15 model and modifying them which we even discussed in detail in the modification thread. Of course this knife's tremendous sentimental value makes it edc quite difficult.

Which brings us to this beauty:

An old spey blade barlow bigbiscuit had modified into a spear which I had a 15 clip donor swapped in from the 2018 rendezvous specials. This was offered by @LastRodeo at cost. A knife that I carry in loving memory of our dear forum friend. A piece of appreciation for the 15, the clip and its model's endless modification fun.

Now our other pal Ron, Half/Stop , Ive actually gotten the chance to meet in person at the GEC rendezvouses Ive attended. Ive had the pleasure of dining with Ron and his wife Pam and everyone else over the course of several meals. At one of my latest rendezvous, Pam wanted to buy a present for Ron, my ironwood barlow which she had kept an eye on for him the whole trip! I hope he enjoyed that knife! I was quite shocked to hear of his passing as I had saw it in another thread during my time away from the forums. Ron was part of a group of guys that know who they are, that were part of an effort to help Bigbiscuit during the course of his illness. Most of us in that group managed to meet at that rendezvous actually for 2017. What a great time,

That was the loot haul for that rendezvous.

We're gonna miss you Ron. Not only on these forum threads but at the rendezvouses and all future rendezvouses. We're gonna miss the both of you.

Not an entry, but thanks for the opportunity and the trip down memory lane .

Wonderful memories!!!

 

[GaiusJulius]

Not an entry, but thanks for this thread. I never had the pleasure to meet any of the fine gentlemen thus far mentioned in this thread in person, but I enjoyed their posts, and their contributions to the hobby we love.

Bob was my go-to dealer, and I was very saddened when I heard he’d passed away. One of the few knives I really regret selling, in fact, was his red Micarta Viper SFO. That was a slick knife. I bought more than a few knives from Derrick, too. I always enjoyed his upbeat attitude and friendliness. Bob (BigBiscuit) was in his last illness when I started posting on the forum... I remember well the charitable sales to help him with his medical expenses, and to make sure the man had something nice to carry in his pocket, even if he had to sell his own personal knives. I didn’t really “know” him but the outpouring of support spoke volumes about the integrity and kindness of the longtime posters in this little corner of the Internet.

 

[btb01]

Rockon75 great idea for a thread.

Cory Hess that story about your visit to KSF is just too funny!

I don’t think I realized until reading through this thread that Bob / BigBiscuit had only joined BF a few months before I became active here on the Porch. I could have sworn he’d already been here for years!

Bob and I conversed many times via PM, bought and sold a few knives from each other, and several times he let me pick his brain about mods (like adding EO notches to knives GEC didn’t seem to think needed them even though they were an obvious improvement). One thing that always impressed me the most about Bob was his friendliness and cheerfulness — that grinning avatar was incredibly fitting, wasn’t it? — despite all he was going through with his illness.

Here’s a little spearpoint #25 that I bought from Bob around Christmas in 2015. (You know how sometimes you can vividly recall details about a relatively unimportant event? I don’t know why but I distinctly remember messaging back and forth with Bob about this knife while my wife drove us from NW Arkansas, where we were spending Christmas with our families, to Missouri to visit some of her extended family. Anyways, that’s why I remember it was around Christmas.) Bob added the EO notch to this one, and a hot apple cider vinegar patina to the blade. Like the deck of cards says, it’s a keeper.

I didn’t know Bob Andrews all that well, but I did buy a few knives from him, and always appreciated that he would take time to communicate with you, answer questions, and even reach out with some new information or to let you know about a knife maybe you had enquired about previously. He gave a nice personal touch to his work, and I always liked that. This is one of my favorite knives that I bought from him, a #71 Bull Nose SFO he had done in Tortoise Shell Acrylic. I think it might be my best looking Bull Nose (and I have a few). Haven’t been able to bring myself to carry it… yet.

I am not free with my grief and emotions usually but I took Ron's unexpected passing pretty hard - he was a friend and one of my favorite Porch contributors. He always had nothing but kindness to show for the folks here, whether they were new or well established, and his enthusiasm for knives was infectious - still is, if one happens to venture across some of his past posts.

Dylan, I hope you don’t mind me quoting you here, but I don’t know that I could say how I feel about Ron any better than you have here. He really was one of the friendliest guys here on the Porch, and seemed to go out of his way to make folks feel welcome. Like you, the news of his death hit me pretty hard.

Last spring, H herder and I had planned to drive down to Wisconsin together and meet up with Ron, Harry / Old Engineer and a few others at the Janeville knife show, but the show was cancelled due to Covid. I was disappointed about it at the time, but even more so now, as it meant missing the opportunity to meet Ron in person.

Surprisingly, I never bought or traded for a knife from Ron, but I do have a couple that remind me of him. The first is this MAM that I bought last year almost entirely on Ron’s recommendation. I took this picture partly because the knife is, of course, from Portugal, but also because Ron and I shared an appreciation for the restaurant chain Nando’s, which is big in the UK (the only place I’ve had it), but also has locations in a few cities here (primarily Chicago and the DC area, where I believe Ron’s daughter lived). Nando’s logo depicts the Portuguese “Rooster of Barcelos.”

The second knife that makes me think of Ron is a #23LL Beaver Tail. I ended up with two of these last year, and put the extra up for grabs in a GAW, which Ron happened to win. Ron joked that he would send Eleanor her cut for picking his name out of the hat.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I have a memory to share about Bob (Bigbiscuit).

I noticed that toward the end, Bob was selling off most of his knives, including his TC Barlows. I messaged him, and asked if I could send him a TC Barlow to replace, or sell off as needed.

He indicated he could not pay for a TC Barlow..

I indicated I was not selling...I wanted to give it to him.




I got his address and sent him a spey days work TC Barlow.

Of course.....a week or so after he got my package, a lovely Case wood handled rope knife showed up in my mail box.

It is a knife I will keep until my own son Bob is old enough to inherit it!!

 

[mrknife]

I have a memory to share about Bob (Bigbiscuit).

I noticed that toward the end, Bob was selling off most of his knives, including his TC Barlows. I messaged him, and asked if I could send him a TC Barlow to replace, or sell off as needed.

He indicated he could not pay for a TC Barlow..

I indicated I was not selling...I wanted to give it to him.




I got his address and sent him a spey days work TC Barlow.

Of course.....a week or so after he got my package, a lovely Case wood handled rope knife showed up in my mail box.

It is a knife I will keep until my own son Bob is old enough to inherit it!!

what a small world, he loved working on knives up to the end. thats the spey he modified!

 

[Halfneck]

Still have some messages saved in my inbox from Bob (BigBiscuit). Last one was from where I sold him my GEC #15 single blade Razor in a light colored Ebony.

Dealt quite a bit with Derrick Bohn from KnivesShipFree. When they moved their store to Chattanooga I was looking forward to finally being able to visit & meet him. Sadly he passed shortly after. I still use them for a few of my knife purchases and have visited the store a couple of times. Glad to see his legacy live on.

 

[Sharp & Fiery]

This is not an entry...but just a chance for me to say that I miss Ron (half/stop). He was the first to welcome me to the Porch with “likes” and a PM. I only wish I had more time to chat with him.

Great GAW...and thank you for bringing Ron back to my mind.

 

[Rockon75]

Still have some messages saved in my inbox from Bob (BigBiscuit). Last one was from where I sold him my GEC #15 single blade Razor in a light colored Ebony.

Dealt quite a bit with Derrick Bohn from KnivesShipFree. When they moved their store to Chattanooga I was looking forward to finally being able to visit & meet him. Sadly he passed shortly after. I still use them for a few of my knife purchases and have visited the store a couple of times. Glad to see his legacy live on.

I thought I was the only sappy guy around here. I still have PM's from both that I cannot delete from my limited size inbox. Recent PM's get kicked out but these two remain.....

 

[black mamba]

Not sure if you recall.

I definitely do. I'm pretty sure that it is now a rare and valuable knife, and I'm glad someone has it that will cherish it for other than monetary reasons. Family heirlooms don't come along often enough.

 

[btb01]

I thought I was the only sappy guy around here. I still have PM's from both that I cannot delete from my limited size inbox. Recent PM's get kicked out but these two remain.....

I do the same thing, too. I have to purge my inbox a couple times a year to keep it under quota, and while I do save all my message as webarchive files before deleting them, I still have some old conversations with Bob, Ron and others in my inbox.

 

[Rockon75]

I definitely do. I'm pretty sure that it is now a rare and valuable knife, and I'm glad someone has it that will cherish it for other than monetary reasons. Family heirlooms don't come along often enough.

Along with my Bob and Ron PMs that I have saved. I have this one from 2015 when you made Thomas's and my day, week, year.......

 

[abbydaddy]

I never had any interactions with Charlie Mike here on the Porch, but I certainly talked with him on other (more practical) corners of the forum. After he passed, I gave a little toward his funeral costs. I didn't know him personally, but he was the original inspiration for my annual Memorial GAWs for my brother. CMFTW had lost someone, and in order to make their memory a blessing (a Jewish saying when someone passes), he decided to do a mitzvah, and host a giveaway in his friend's honor. I liked that idea, and so every year I make my brother's memory a blessing. So I certainly miss Charlie Mike's irascible presence here on the forum.

 

[Jack Black]

What a lovely idea for a giveaway Josh, and a very generous one

I remember everyone mentioned so far, and a few more. It's always a very sad thing, and the passing of some members really leaves a big hole here We have all made some powerful friendships on The Porch

Bob Biscuit! Who could ever see that cheeky-faced avatar and not raise a smile? The way that folks here on the Porch supported him was something to behold It was very sad when he finally passed

Charlie Mike didn't post in Traditionals a lot, but I knew him from other forums, and was telling someone about his ball-pein hammer just this week!

Another Mike was an occasional poster here many years ago, and not many posting now would remember him I think. Not long after I started posting on The Porch regularly, he emailed me to say he had a SAK he would like to send me. I gave him my address, and told him of the postal requirements, but he was wary of sending it. We exchanged many emails over the years, and every six months or so, he would ask me for my address again, and say he was on the way down to the post office with the SAK After about 5 years of our occasional exchanges, I heard that Mike was dying of cancer, and wanted to chat on the phone. For some reason, he had difficulty calling my regular number, so I bought another phone, gave him the number, and kept it by the side of my bed. Mike would ring me at all hours, often half-sedated, for a chat, until he became drowsy and fell asleep. The calls clearly gave him some comfort, and chatting about knives, which was what we mainly talked about, was perhaps a distraction. He was a knife knut to the end, and I was sad when he passed, and our chats came to an end

While we never met, of those who have passed, the death of Ron Half/Stop , affected me most, as I know it did many here, and I still miss him a lot. Ron was a stalwart of the Guardians thread, and we had daily interactions there, and frequently by PM and email. Ron was an early convert to the Lambsfoot pattern, and would ask me to pick him up examples in Sheffield, which I often gifted. He was a big supporter of my SFOs, and always wanted a large-framed Lambsfoot with ebony covers, and I had some made up with bagpipe ebony covers, with him in mind. Sadly, it was my last gift to him, as he was taken away very suddenly Old Engineer was extremely good at letting all Ron's friends know, and liaising with Ron's wife and best friend, Pam. Thanks Harry

I wrote the following for Ron's funeral:

Ron was someone I considered a good friend, and we had contact, almost daily, for years. Yet, sadly, we never met, nor even talked on the phone.

I live in Yorkshire, England, but am part of a small online international community, of which Ron was a longstanding member. I think our community, which we refer to, informally, as 'The Porch', may be unique. A stranger can wander in, and they'll get the friendliest of welcomes, members genuinely care about each other, and gifts are regularly exchanged between us. It's hard for me to properly explain the amount of kindness there is on The Porch, it seems almost unbelievable.

While I never met Ron, he shared the details of his life with me, supported me when I was ailing, laughed at my corny jokes, and was just a great guy to be around. Most of all, I was struck by his deep love for his dear wife, and best friend, Pam, who I really feel for, having lost Ron so suddenly.

What brought Ron and I together was a shared interest in traditional pocket knives. Ron, like myself, was a life-long collector, and would always have at least one 'old-timey' folding knife in his pocket. He loved the history of them, the myriad patterns, and their simple old-world beauty and functionality.

Ron's passing leaves a huge hole in our little community, and I miss him a great deal. My most sincere condolences to Pam, their daughter, and to everyone who loved him.

See you on The Porch again one day Ron.

Your pal

Jack Black

Not an entry from me please Josh, but I am enjoying reading everyone's recollections of our absent friends, poignant though they are

 

[Old Hunter]

I am in total shock, after reading this post, I just saw in the Buck sub-forum that longtime member and moderator David Martin passed away Thursday. David was well known in Buck Knife circles and among the BCCI. He occasionally posted here on the porch. His loss will be greatly felt in the Buck sub-forum and on Blade Forums. OH
Not an entry, rather a very sad announcement.

David Martin - RIP

Hi folks, it's been awhile since I've been here on BF but I got some bad news this morning and figured I should pass along the word here, since from what I can tell my Uncle Dave was still fairly active here. Thursday morning my Uncle, David Martin, at home in New Mexico, suffered a massive...

bladeforums.com

 

[Rockon75]

I am in total shock, after reading this post, I just saw in the Buck sub-forum that longtime member and moderator David Martin passed away Thursday. David was well known in Buck Knife circles and among the BCCI. He occasionally posted here on the porch. His loss will be greatly felt in the Buck sub-forum and on Blade Forums. OH
Not an entry, rather a very sad announcement.

David Martin - RIP

Hi folks, it's been awhile since I've been here on BF but I got some bad news this morning and figured I should pass along the word here, since from what I can tell my Uncle Dave was still fairly active here. Thursday morning my Uncle, David Martin, at home in New Mexico, suffered a massive...

bladeforums.com

Thank you for letting us know.

 

[Rockon75]

What a lovely idea for a giveaway Josh, and a very generous one

I remember everyone mentioned so far, and a few more. It's always a very sad thing, and the passing of some members really leaves a big hole here We have all made some powerful friendships on The Porch

Bob Biscuit! Who could ever see that cheeky-faced avatar and not raise a smile? The way that folks here on the Porch supported him was something to behold It was very sad when he finally passed

Charlie Mike didn't post in Traditionals a lot, but I knew him from other forums, and was telling someone about his ball-pein hammer just this week!

Another Mike was an occasional poster here many years ago, and not many posting now would remember him I think. Not long after I started posting on The Porch regularly, he emailed me to say he had a SAK he would like to send me. I gave him my address, and told him of the postal requirements, but he was wary of sending it. We exchanged many emails over the years, and every six months or so, he would ask me for my address again, and say he was on the way down to the post office with the SAK After about 5 years of our occasional exchanges, I heard that Mike was dying of cancer, and wanted to chat on the phone. For some reason, he had difficulty calling my regular number, so I bought another phone, gave him the number, and kept it by the side of my bed. Mike would ring me at all hours, often half-sedated, for a chat, until he became drowsy and fell asleep. The calls clearly gave him some comfort, and chatting about knives, which was what we mainly talked about, was perhaps a distraction. He was a knife knut to the end, and I was sad when he passed, and our chats came to an end

While we never met, of those who have passed, the death of Ron Half/Stop , affected me most, as I know it did many here, and I still miss him a lot. Ron was a stalwart of the Guardians thread, and we had daily interactions there, and frequently by PM and email. Ron was an early convert to the Lambsfoot pattern, and would ask me to pick him up examples in Sheffield, which I often gifted. He was a big supporter of my SFOs, and always wanted a large-framed Lambsfoot with ebony covers, and I had some made up with bagpipe ebony covers, with him in mind. Sadly, it was my last gift to him, as he was taken away very suddenly Old Engineer was extremely good at letting all Ron's friends know, and liaising with Ron's wife and best friend, Pam. Thanks Harry

I wrote the following for Ron's funeral:

Ron was someone I considered a good friend, and we had contact, almost daily, for years. Yet, sadly, we never met, nor even talked on the phone.

I live in Yorkshire, England, but am part of a small online international community, of which Ron was a longstanding member. I think our community, which we refer to, informally, as 'The Porch', may be unique. A stranger can wander in, and they'll get the friendliest of welcomes, members genuinely care about each other, and gifts are regularly exchanged between us. It's hard for me to properly explain the amount of kindness there is on The Porch, it seems almost unbelievable.

While I never met Ron, he shared the details of his life with me, supported me when I was ailing, laughed at my corny jokes, and was just a great guy to be around. Most of all, I was struck by his deep love for his dear wife, and best friend, Pam, who I really feel for, having lost Ron so suddenly.

What brought Ron and I together was a shared interest in traditional pocket knives. Ron, like myself, was a life-long collector, and would always have at least one 'old-timey' folding knife in his pocket. He loved the history of them, the myriad patterns, and their simple old-world beauty and functionality.

Ron's passing leaves a huge hole in our little community, and I miss him a great deal. My most sincere condolences to Pam, their daughter, and to everyone who loved him.

See you on The Porch again one day Ron.

Your pal

Jack Black

Not an entry from me please Josh, but I am enjoying reading everyone's recollections of our absent friends, poignant though they are

What a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Jack Black]

What a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks my friend, you're very kind

 

[Rockon75]

As we have appropriately paid respects to our fallen military personnel and the members of this porch, I will use random selection of the posts here on this thread later today as time permits. A winner will be selected from all those posts made prior to post #58. Good luck everyone and thank you for participating.

 

[Will Power]

Impressed by all the (deserved) great comments!
Should I win, I'd like the knife to be sold to a deserving member and the (not so) humble money sent to Big Biscuit's daughter, a good way to link again with him!.

A very appropriate and respectful approach Good luck!

 

[Kiteman72]

Great GAW, Josh! I loved reading the memories.

I didn't know Mr. Andrews personally but I remember that he was one of the first retailers I started doing online ordering from. He had a listing for 2 H10 hunters with red micarta handles. I ordered one, and he kept the other one (he said). The production totals later revealed that there were only 4 of those made, and I always wondered where the other 2 were. He also once complimented my collection of 98s, which I considered fairly high praise.

Thanks everyone for all the awesome posts!