Leave of Absence

I'm going to miss Thomas W also.I'm not privy to what Tom's responsibilities at Kershaw are but he represented his company as a true professionial.He is informative,honest,and has "class".I think it would be in Kershaws interest to work out a deal with Tom were some of his work load could be lightened and pay him for his time on Blade Forums if he would agree to it.I hope Kershaw realizes what an asset Tom is to their company.
 
I hope you can join us again soon. You've been really great on the forums. I've gotten a lot of information from your posts.
 
Thomas:
I hate to see ya go, but I also understand. Over the years I've seen the best of people get pounded here without mercy, and for no good reason. Thanks for all the information and keep up the good work at Kershaw.
 
If you just need some time for yourself, please, take a vacation. Hopefully you can return to a BladeForums that shows a greater appreciation of your efforts. :thumbup:
 
Thomas, for what it's worth, since you joined the forums, I've added 4 Kershaws to my collection. As well, as money allows, I'm replacing my Henckles with the KAI Shun Classics. I already have 3 and purchased 2 other as a gift for my son.

I didn't change my purchasing because you were a member here but because you being a member here raised my understanding of the quality of Kershaw.

Good luck in your career and stop in again.
 
Thomas W said:
It may in fact be permanent, time will
tell.
Click to expand...

Tom, I'm very sorry to hear that you have been bullied by idiots off BF. Your opinion is what made me a Kershaw owner in the first place.
Your no bull shit response to questions and Kershaw candor was so refreshing I bought my Leek,Rainbow Leek,Storm2 and Chive as a direct result of reading your comments.

I will wish you well,and I will pray that in your heart you find the peace and courage that brought Thomas W to the forefront of Kershaws battle lines, and return for life.
Thanks for the insight,the great pictures,and the poignant reporting on Kershaws. I will miss your post greatly.
God bless,:)
Peace.
 
We will certainly miss the virtual connection to Kershaw that you provided Thomas, and no doubt Kershaw will miss the connection to us. I will always think of you when I am admiring my ZDP Leek. I wish you success and happiness and, don't look back because you are making the right decision.
 
Thomas W., know that you will be missed here on the forums. I've not given Kershaw a second thought in recent years, but I've gotten a zdp leek and large cyclone within the past month due to the buzz here on the forums, due in no small way to your informative posts. I can only imagine the responsibility of being the "spokesman" for your company on bladeforums... with every post archived forever... for your coworkers, boss, and the world to see, no thanks. Most of us have the wonderful privilege of anonymity, with little to no consquences for our posts. Good luck with your pull-back from the forums.

I would offer a suggestion: Consider dropping in from time to time, perhaps it would be appropriate to post new info of interest to us knife nuts in the "what's new" section. Sal drops a good number of "bombs" here on bladeforums. There is even a "Sal's casual bombshell thread" over on the spyderco forum to track them :) That way, you could drop by, post about the next whiz-bang knife, pull back, and watch us knife nuts salivate for page after page :) I don't think you should feel compelled to answer every single post, that would burn anybody out in short order. Anyway, just a suggestion. Good luck.
 
Thomas... I only just noticed this thread as I was looking for more news on the ZDP Cyclone project.

I appreciate the one-on-one PM's you've sent to answer questions. You've truly been an asset to this forum and are the PRIMARY reason I "gave Kershaw a chance." That's one I owe you! I EDC my Cyclone more than any other folder now and I've got a S30v/G10 Leek on the way. Waiting anxiously for the release ZDP Cyclone as well!!

I think it's really a huge benefit to have a manufacturer's rep on the forums. Spyderco, Busse/SRKW/SYK, BRKT, Ranger... all of these see more of my business because I *understand* a bit more of the design intent and I know that reasonable, well thought out answers to my questions are available. Benchmade seems to do okay without it (their own forum is a bit stale for my tastes) but I feel their sales would be greater with more of a BFC presence.

While I understand your motivation based on your post, I sincerely hope that someone from Kershaw picks up the ball with forum interaction. My personal hope is that person will be you, when the time is right. Your online interactions have been intelligent and informative. Your request for input on the next ZDP (Cyclone) left many of us with a sense of ownership in the project; it certainly means I will be buying one!

Will Fennell was a huge loss to Camillus/Becker. I feel the same way regarding the forum loss without your Kershaw input.

Best of luck!
Stacey
 
Thomas,
I understand where you are coming from especially the arm tied behind the back reference. This is a great forum and you will be missed.

Thomas Scott Devanna
 
I think Thomas did a great job here and will be missed by quite a few it seems. I have to say I enjoyed the info and 'insiders' view myself.

But c'mon on a public forum like this with Kershaw being as large as it is in the knife community you're gonna have to grow some thick skin around these parts. People are gonna say what they're gonna say...positive, negative, factual, non-factual...it doesn't matter...thats just how it is and thats how people are. I'm a little suprised that Thomas didn't just expect it.
 
It's not a matter of expecting it. We should be able to expect courtesy, too, but that can't be taken for granted, either.

I thought he was pretty clear when he arrived that he was participating on his own, as a Kershaw employee, yes, but not as an official Kershaw representative.

Unfortunately, it's too easy to get overinvolved, for him and the people who flooded him with questions, requests, demands, and complaints. I'm a little suprised that anyone is surprised he didn't find it fun anymore.
 
Thomas was not here to act as a customer service representative for his company. Some people tend to take way too much liberty, and that is a real shame.
 
As I said in an earlier post in this thread, I'm also sorry to see him leave.
Maybe he'll be back - he did call it a Leave of Absence which IMO leaves the door open for a return. Maybe he won't.

But in the meantime we can note that it happened, the probable reasons why, and just treat other manufacturer's reps/owners/retailers accordingly.
 
Just wanted to chime in here and voice my appreciation for all of the effort you've put into the knife community here. As other people have already said, you're the main reason I've always kept in mind to buy from Kershaw, I made my first purchase a few days ago.
 
Thanks for your time that you've spent on here; the entire community has benefited from it. Ideally Kershaw would come on board here, allowing you to take part in an official capacity.
 
I have only just become aware of Thomas's decision to depart from Bladeforums and I do hope he will be back at some time. If you do happen to read this Thomas. I started off with a Kai/Kershaw Shun classic, and am now proud owner of a further 3 Kershaw folders, and a Kershaw Trooper. These 4 latter aquisitions were entirely due to your participation in the forum. You make a great product and I am indebted to you for your input here, and a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes. I wish you well.
 
Thomas W,

When some asked you to make Kershaw more lefty-friendly, they meant left-handed people; not 'left the forums.'

Those ambidextrous Studlocks (and ambidextrous liner locks and framelocks) just begses for reversible clipses.

Hope you're back soon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top