Knifemaker's oddities or like watching people at the airport.

So for me, it's about striving to discover my true self, (what makes me different than others AND what makes me the same), and express what I find in a way other people can see it and respond to it. You have to be honest with yourself first, and it takes a lot of digging at one's self,… peeling back the layers of superficiality, ego etc., and self acceptance or self love.

The physical art work or end product is a good form of feedback, and helps with the journey. The art work is a byproduct. It's an ongoing thing...

I really think that's what most of us are doing anyway, but since we are all different, it appears different from the outside.

We each have our own concept of "perfection".

It's very personal...
 
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Wow this is a great thread, so many different perspectives about different perspectives.

I have been making knives for just a little over a year. I was never a "knife guy" in that I wasnt a collector but I did appreciate a quality made knife, however to me they were just another tool.

A good friend of mine has been making them for about 20 years, he was always telling me I should come to his shop and make one but I wasnt all that interested. I finally went with another friend of ours and (with alot of help:)) we both made a cable damascus knife that day. I have been hopelessly hooked since.

Not to be to philosophical here but I have often wondered what it is that draws myself and others to this craft. Reading some of the posts in this thread helped me realize that it is something internal that drives us all, whether it be the pursuit of the perfect knife (no matter how unobtainable), the satisfaction of making a useful tool or any other reason. I think for me the driving force is not the end product (the knife) but rather the journey from raw materials to a tool. What I mean is while I am striving for perfection I hope to never attain it because then the thrill of the challenge will be gone.

I remember when I first started playing golf, I would duff and hack through the course cursing and swearing that I would not come back, then I would hit that perfect shot....
 
I do think that “perfection” is open to personal interpretation in the arts. However, in the classic sense of perfection, it’s not so much that it’s unattainable, but rather that it lacks character and/or personality, which is why it loses my interest. When I think of perfection in a classic sense, I think of a perfect circle, square, equilateral triangle or straight line,… things more like ball bearings than handmade knives. To me that kind of perfection is just boring.
 
I use the word perfection, as a metaphor not so much an adjective; at least in this case.

The perfect day at the forge or the perfect combination of materials.

Perfection is an attitude; a mindset, something to be directed.

I didn't want you to think I started this thread and then just dropped out.

Some nice sentiments voiced.

Fred
 
Tai Goo said:
So for me, it's about striving to discover my true self, (what makes me different than others AND what makes me the same), and express what I find in a way other people can see it and respond to it. You have to be honest with yourself first, and it takes a lot of digging at one's self,… peeling back the layers of superficiality, ego etc., and self acceptance or self love.

The physical art work or end product is a good form of feedback, and helps with the journey. The art work is a byproduct. It's an ongoing thing...

I really think that's what most of us are doing anyway, but since we are all different, it appears different from the outside.

We each have our own concept of "perfection".

It's very personal...
Click to expand...

I've never 'drawn' the concept of any of the knives I have made. The second and third knives I forged were identical, except for the slight warp in one. I traced around a couple of commercially available knives that I owned to give me some ideas for handle placement on large kitchen knives and blade to handle proportions but the blades and knives were not the same style and looked nothing like the tracings.

I let my hammer do the drawing and sometimes leave a little extra meat to clean up some lines during the grinding. For me, I only forge on weekends which up to now has meant forging and HT as many blades as I can bang out in 2 days, and not every weekend I am able to or want to so it seems like I am in a frenzied bout of forging for those two days. This thread and another recent thread or two has made me realize that it really isn't the quantity that counts, it is the quality. So from now on I will be concentrating on that.

For me, it is definitely the final product of a working tool, a knife that cuts stuff and cuts it well that makes me want to continue and I guess the quest for perfection in my case is to make a tool that cuts better than the last. This is probably why I sharpen my blades before even getting close to being ready for a handle. I know, bad, bad Steve, but something inside me just has to know that it will be a good tool or there isn't any point in continuing.

Sometimes it's almost as if I need to mentally prepare myself for the first blow to the steel. While the forge is warming up I look at it then I look at the steel, trying to envision the knife that it might become and I get a little nervous. After the first blow I remember that the steel will submit but there's always a possibility it could get you back.
 
Diversity and "perfection" must have a lot to do with perspective and concept. It seems that we all have our own ideas about what a handmade knife is, or should be. I think that it is all good, as long as we can be tolerant and even supportive of other makers views and ideas, even when it goes against our own. If we can't or don't,... that's about the only thing I find hard to tolerate.

It bothers me when some makers try to put their ideas out as being the only "proper" or "correct" ones AND all else as folly,... regardless of the logic they use to support their views. However, if we keep an open mind and try not to take it personally, there is much to be learned from everyone. :)
 
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It sure would be boring without the diversity in knifemakers, collectors, and techniques.

Some will criticize the wild art pieces made by WW Cronk or Gil Hibben but I applaud those who think outside the box and many of us gain from it in one way or another.

There are also a wide variety of techniques to reach essentially the same end. I think every knifemaker develops their own process that works for them, and even, that is often a fluid thing.

I know some days I sit down at the grinder and I am just "in the groove", I just feel it and it seems like I can do no wrong. Another day I might not be able to grind a straight line to save my life so I'll just go do something else rather than sit there and ruin a bunch of steel.
 
That sums it up Mike.

Sometimes the knife seems made before I even pick up the steel. I'm simply running through the pre-determined motions. That's when it all makes sense to me as to why I'm doing THIS.

Rick
 
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