Looking at your early work.....and cringing.

ACLakey

ACLakey

Joined
Jan 24, 2016
Messages
123
Have you ever taken a look at your early work and thought to yourself....damm...I owe this guy an apology. :-)

let me preface by saying when I got back into making knives I spent a year putting handles on blanks, grinding knives and improving my fit and finish. I gave all those "gems" as gifts, god knows where they are now. :-) I know I am my worst critic and am confident in the knives I have sold but is....motivational to look at some of your work from yesteryear. I was cleaning up the shop this evening and found some that I had forgotten about...the ones that I wouldn't give away. I love this craft, it is a life long leaning endeavor, every knife I make is the best one I have ever made and that means something to me.
 
I know exactly what you mean. I've got a few of my very early ones to show people who say something like "I could never make then that nice".
 
I still have my very first Damascus knife I made and in January 2017 it will be 15years old. Man time flys when your makin' knives. I look at it every now and then and think the same thing. But it's a humbling moment for me as well. Look how far I have come, just think how far I will be in twice that time. Will I look back then at knives I'm making now and think the same thing? ALLWAYS improve and refine your skills.
 
I had a friend- buyer of several of my folders call me tonight to congratulate me on seeing one of my folders in Knives 2017. I didn't realize it was in there. Of course the dealer's fine picture sure did help. This isn't the first of mine that made to that book. I had been making folders for 17 years and I remember I couldn't believe when it happened. I still hope that these weren't the only good ones I made in all those years. I sure feel so very limited when I see what many others can do and enjoy much ot their work more than my own.
Frank
 
This title jumped right out at me. I experience the same thought. Today I stopped at a Flea Market where I have some knives for sale and seen an old file I done after I first started. I took it home and decided to update it. It's really not that bad, buy I could use a few minor adjustments that would make it look much more presentable.

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Thankfully I never sold any of my first attempts, didn't even put handles on most of those that I was learning to grind on.
But I do look back and cringe at some of the early design ideas I have floated on the forum here for comment.
I have one that was so bad, I want to finish some day and have a good laugh. It does keep you humble.
 
i still have my first horrible knife. i enjoy the cringe because it shows how far i have progressed :) embrace the cringe.
 
An even worse cringe IMO is seeing that early knife at the bottom of the sink at one of your relatives house....uhhhhg lol
 
I have many of these creations going back to the 1980's, they can be found in kitchen drawers, behind the seat of the truck and deep at the bottom of the tool box. The are not pretty, but they do work.
 
I try and keep a knife from every year that I have been making, it makes for an interesting display on my coffee table.
 
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