- Joined
- Jan 19, 2007
- Messages
- 123
I finally was able to meet up with the Infamous Nick Wheeler:yawn: while I was at the NCO Academy located in Ft. Lewis, WA this past week. I was able to spend three evenings out there with Nick. I have to say, the weather was cold for this Louisiana boy. I walked into a shop most people would dream of having. I have to say, if I had that shop, I could turn out some nice knives like Nick does. But reality is, I dont have all the stuff he has, so I must plod along making the pathetic knives I am forced to make with my meager equipment that is not even worthy to be mentioned in a thread with Nicks name mentioned in it. 
I found out many things about Nick, life, knife making, forging, and love while I was hanging out with Nick. Oh, before I forget, also a few things about Chuck Norris. I will try to pass on all of the knowledge I learned while sitting at the knee of Nick. Please forgive me if I forget something, that guy knows a lot. I could not keep up with my note taking. He moves very fast. I will start off with what I learned about Chuck Norris, he is buried behind Nicks house. I saw his Stetson, boots, some ribs, and his ID. Nick claims he was a better fighter that evening. Proof is in the burial site! LOL! He was moving his huge nimba anvil around like it was nothing. So, he is strong to boot. That must have helped him in his Chucky fight.
Well, I am tired of writing about the things I learned.
Nick is pretty much a god, kind of like Zeus. He can forge a knife with one hit of his palm, not hammer. He is pretty well educated compared to us guys down here in Louisiana. At least that is what he told me. LOL!
Ok, time to quit blowing smoke. I have to say that Nick was a most gracious host. He was very knowledgeable on all his equipment and was very quick to show how he uses each piece of equipment to get the maximum use out of it. We forged out several blades and showed me how he will use the blade as a template to draw it out on paper and then figure out how he wants it to look. Opened my eyes a lot on the creative side of knife making.
From looking at his shop and going thru it, I saw a side of Nick that is hard to visualize with his posts on bladeforums. He is very good about visualizing tools that will help him and then making them. I came across so many Jigs (lack of a better term)/tooling that he made to make things easier on his sanding, guard making, and general how to, I am still writing them all down and making pics of them. Nick was very nice, patient, and understanding when I started the questioning. I am sure I made him feel like a prisoner I was interrogating.
Basically, I walked away with a lot more knowledge than I entered his shop with, some knives he helped me work on, and a better understanding on grinding. My grinding improved by 100% while I was at his shop.
I can say that I have made a friend for life and to me, that is the best thing I can have in this day and age.
Thanks Nick for letting me hang out with you at your shop.
Thanks
Bryan Arnold
I found out many things about Nick, life, knife making, forging, and love while I was hanging out with Nick. Oh, before I forget, also a few things about Chuck Norris. I will try to pass on all of the knowledge I learned while sitting at the knee of Nick. Please forgive me if I forget something, that guy knows a lot. I could not keep up with my note taking. He moves very fast. I will start off with what I learned about Chuck Norris, he is buried behind Nicks house. I saw his Stetson, boots, some ribs, and his ID. Nick claims he was a better fighter that evening. Proof is in the burial site! LOL! He was moving his huge nimba anvil around like it was nothing. So, he is strong to boot. That must have helped him in his Chucky fight.
Well, I am tired of writing about the things I learned.Nick is pretty much a god, kind of like Zeus. He can forge a knife with one hit of his palm, not hammer. He is pretty well educated compared to us guys down here in Louisiana. At least that is what he told me. LOL!
Ok, time to quit blowing smoke. I have to say that Nick was a most gracious host. He was very knowledgeable on all his equipment and was very quick to show how he uses each piece of equipment to get the maximum use out of it. We forged out several blades and showed me how he will use the blade as a template to draw it out on paper and then figure out how he wants it to look. Opened my eyes a lot on the creative side of knife making.
From looking at his shop and going thru it, I saw a side of Nick that is hard to visualize with his posts on bladeforums. He is very good about visualizing tools that will help him and then making them. I came across so many Jigs (lack of a better term)/tooling that he made to make things easier on his sanding, guard making, and general how to, I am still writing them all down and making pics of them. Nick was very nice, patient, and understanding when I started the questioning. I am sure I made him feel like a prisoner I was interrogating.
Basically, I walked away with a lot more knowledge than I entered his shop with, some knives he helped me work on, and a better understanding on grinding. My grinding improved by 100% while I was at his shop.
I can say that I have made a friend for life and to me, that is the best thing I can have in this day and age.
Thanks Nick for letting me hang out with you at your shop.
Thanks
Bryan Arnold
