Knifemaking quotes

In my shop.......... "can't make knives without masking tape"

At shows........ "buy the knife you want, not the one you can afford. I don't want you going home and thinking of the one that got away, and looking at the one you bought and thinking it's second rate"



Not mine but a favorite............. "how long did it take you to make a knife like that ?" Answer........."about twenty years"
 
"Stop quoting me all the time, dammit!" My dad.

"Don't worry about how the big kids do it, the only way that's going to work for you in the long run is your way."
My counselor, years ago.
 
These are some great quotes!

One of my favorite quotes i remember my dad using when we were about to take on what seemed like an insurmountable task "if somebody else has already accomplished it, so can we" This quote has helped me immensely whenever I feel like throwing in the towel...

The second is "Energy follows intent" -Goethe
I sometimes have to convince myself that it wont get done by just looking at it... I have to get off of my A** and start making some dust ;)
 
Knifemaking is all about elbow grease and ice cold despair. -- John Gonzalez

And this is for my Squidlly buddies. Not knife related but hey 1 out of 2 aint bad
Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash .​
Winston Churchill
 
Power tools are extremely patient, they will wait years for you to make a mistake before they bite you.

Good enough isn't good enough

No one will ever know how many mistakes you fixed, but they will know every one you didn't.

There is no greater motivation to do something than someone telling you it can't be done.
 
"If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." H. Ford. Very applicable to the knife shop, any endeavor or just plain life. Also, "Ya gotta see what you did caused." Me.
 
Rule #1: Keep your eye on the ball
Rule #2: Two hands
Unknown source

Sure, they're something I've said literally hundreds of times coaching little league, but they are very applicable to knifemaking and about everything else you do.
 
Never... Always... Ahhh screw it!
Me trying to come up with a good quote.
 
One of those reminded me of a quote from ranger Claude Menzel at Our Scout Camp fifty years ago. He would use this in his woodlore instructions to the work parties of youth and adults helping clear brush and trees. :
"When chopping wood, don't look at the axe head, but only look at the place you want the axe to hit........ Try and keep your hands and feet away from that place."
 
One that I've used on occasion from an ole blacksmith when I asked about the pile of steel under his forge.

"Those aren't mistakes! They are projects that need further development"

Dave
 
I dont know that its really a quote, but had to share with folks that would appreciate it. Guy working on the neighbor's house comes over to me yesterday while I was forging and asks what Im doing, and that he also makes a lot of knives from files and that the absolute best steel for any knife is from well used bandsaw blade. He then informs me the best way to temper a knife is to wrap it in biscuit dough, cook it, and the dough will insulate the steel afterward for a slow cool. And he said he still eats the biscuit. Im pretty sure he was serious.
 
Claude was very knowledgeable
on all things outdoors, learned a lot from him on the subject in my youth!
 
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
Lao Tzu
 
"What's the point of a new knife in a museum or a cabinet? That's for history to decide, not the knifemaker."

Bob Loveless
 
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