May I Please Vent A Little - I Need To

I hear you load and clear. I just hope I remember what I heard when it is almost too late.

RL
 
I was teaching a knife forging class a few years ago at another campus. It was an evening adult education class. The night director asked what was needed in the way of supplies so he could get them ordered. I told him what I wanted (5160) and where he could purchase it. The first night of class, I was informed that the steel hadn't arrived yet so I brought some of my own. The second week of class, after break, the steel was laying by the door. I was glad that he had found some 1/8" x 1 1/2" x 120" pieces and also some 1/4" x 1" x 120" pieces. Since the steel didn't look like spring steel, no rounded edges, I tested them by hardening and trying to break them. Both bent like rubber.
It still amazes me that a lot of people think that you can make a knife that will hold an edge out of anything. It also upset me that the man would try to fool me and then let all the students make knives from the mild steel. That would have really made me look and feel bad.
I test all unknown steels that people would want to make a knife from. I don't use it if I don't know what it is. I have been fortunate in that I got a large supply of steel a long time ago that is of the highest quality possible. I still get some from the same source and I always get the milll specs. No surprises and no holes or cracks.
I do use paypal because it is convenient for my customers. I am thinking that they charge only about 3% of the purchase price. I know it takes a few days for it to transfer to your account and now they have some kind of debit card that will transfer a lot faster. I haven't tried it yet and have only used paypal a couple of times.
For the business overseas, they do charge a lot for the importation of goods. I value the shipped piece at what the customer tells me to. If that is the value they place on it, then they are the ones that will have to replace it.
Most everything that has been mentioned, has happened to me or some one I know. The knife community is very different from any of the other business's that I have ever been involved in. Here, we share and help, in other business's, you had better not let any one know anything about how or who you are doing business with. That is why they have a patent office and why every thing copied is done overseas. Quality and pride of ownership in the product is about all we have to market. Thankfully, there are enough people left that quality means something to.
That is my rant for now, and I am glad my button was punched.
Thanks, Rlinger
 
First, and again, I worded my preliminary rant poorly. Such things as all things used to vent were used as examples, a few apples from a bushel.

Now I need to go back and re-read to see what ever happened with that 5160 and the mild steel fakes.

I'm back. This is amazing. All I get is a bunch of sympothy and a few half tries at parallels. Even feable parallels are good if there is outrage. I get noth'in. What, no one wants to over throw UPS or even picket Brownell's for their obsene C.O.D. charges??? That's it.

I ain't play'n no more.

I guess I'll go see if there's a post on polishing micarta or someth'n.

:) RL
 
rlinger said:
How about foreign duties on our knives?
Click to expand...

Welcome to my world. In case you ever wondered why peeps over here don't get to buy Sharpmakers and similar useful gadgets from across the big pond, this is why. I simply cannot afford to squander 100$ of the price on top of whatever the item costs and alas they are apparently good enough for people never to sell used ones cheap :grumpy:

Between payment costs, S&H costs, customs duties and VAT those nifty cheap things aren't that cheap anymore. If the bank doesn't screw up the payment that is - i've had up to $25 dissapear (literally) from wrie transfers and nobody knew where that money was. I didn't ever see it again and neither did the seller, i suppose one of intermediate banks grabbed some "commission fees" inbetween and conveniently neglected to inform anybody.

If seller is willing to cooperate things are less messy though and at least a part of those extra costs can be avoided. Declaring the item as "gift" and relatively low value in customs declaration (CN22 label / CN23 form) might get it in under the customs radar. I've never tried "repairs" before but this is also an option and some people say it works (items are shipped back "for repairs" all the time and then have to be returned to the buyer ...). The smaller the package the better (both size- and weight-wise).
 
I was just painting a picture and the inclusion of the Admiral thing was only a pixel. OKAY? I could have chosen something else. I have plenty more, some even spicier.
Click to expand...

I think everyone was harping on the Admiral thing because of all the things you mention, which we all have to deal with regularly, the Admiral thing is the only one a common Joe (Jane) like us can expect to actually solve satisfactorially. Everything else is just a sign of modern society going down the crapper and nobody knows what to do about it.
 
Well Rodger.....I am outraged but I'm not sure what you are looking for. What you are going through is a fact of life. You Either need to learn to work with it (and around it) or you starve.
Should it be that way...Hell No!
Is it that way....Hell Yes!

Can you change it....maybe but not quickly.

Can you do an end run sure.....Now I'm not sure who this fellow is :rolleyes: ...but I heard that someone who rarely ships overseas, puts his knives in a FedEx letter type envelope with a little padding and ships direct to the recipient. It is marked, Urgent.

I heard, he has never had one opened either going from or coming in this country. Now I am going to hear from all that say it won't work. It's like quenching in Crisco. The proof is in the hardness.....or that's what I heard.

You seem shocked that I have to do business with the Government on their terms. I'd love to not do it at all, least of all, on their terms but......

Lets see......this year, in addition to normal bills, groceries, and maybe a little time off (Fat Chance)

My Daughter is getting married. My wife has already told me that it will cost at least $17,000.00.

I would really like to buy some property in the boondocks. $100,000.00

My son wants to buy a house. he hasn't asked but I will have to pay his down payment and closing......$10,000.00....

Now I have to ask myself, How much does my righteous indignation pay me this year......The answer is: Zip, Zero, Nada!

Now the reality is that I won't be able to buy any property. I will have to tighten my belt some or dip into retirement to pay for the wedding and closing. Those are good causes though.

Will I deal with the Government, drug companies, insurance companies, etc, on their terms. Damn right and I'll cuss them all the way to the bank. I could be a hermit and live my life on my terms but when I got married and had children, I accepted responsibility for other peoples lives. None of them have any desire to live off the grid. For me to just drop out because I'm tired of fighting the system would be the worst kind of irresponsibility.
So I fight on, quietly, behind the scenes and accept that I'm not going to win the war, just a few battles.
 
I want to go to our freind in Europe but I hope to do my best to squash my bad dicision in choosing Admiral as one of the poster grips I put up. My grip, and anyone that reads it can see, is not with Admiral and most certainly not with Terry. I have no problem with Admiral. I tried to use true, real examples that all or most us can relate to. That is all there was too that. To replace that particular one all I would have had to do was reach into the bag and pull one out. They are that numerous. Some larger, some so, and all in the same basket - or bag as stated. Its just a bunch of pennys. Stuff we would never insult out customers with. Or, maybe its just me.
 
Don, I still want to give our freind from Europe my attention but (just between you and I - right :) ) what really set me off was a botched tempering. I mean not just any botched tempering. This HT was premo deserved by the highest and finest of Royalty ONLY. But - me, being as (or is that ass) I am I just had to squeeze that last 1/2 point out of it. Well, it is now setting in cryo and I am now sitting at the keyboard cry-ing. All this agony of mine is much worse than all problems you outlined combined. It was nailed dead. Beautiful. Wonderful. Some of the best I've lucked into. Now I have to do it again and less will not be good enough.

RL
 
Believe me Rodger. I see the big picture your painting. There is so much that goes into overhead, most people can't conceive it. I just don't know how to eliminate it. Just cut it back some.

Terry's an easy one to zero in on and customer satisfaction is thee biggest asset any company has.

Brownells is ....Just a big company. I buy very little from them. There are ways though. I got mad at another gun supply house 7 or 8 months ago.
I quit using them, used their competition for a while and am getting ready to deal with their suppliers.

UPS might as well be the government.
 
I was watching MSNBC the other day. They were showing the huge swath of destruction that has become Fallujah. I cheered. Then they cut to a shot of innocents fleeing the city with perhaps 1 or 2 baskets, all they could carry. I considered what it would be like to be a father of four, perhaps a shopowner, operating a one-room business with a room in the back that housed the entirety of the rest of his life and his family. At his best he never had it as good as we do. And I thought about the ravages a war he neither desired nor can change has affected his life, and the lives of those he loves. I cried for that hypothetical sorry innocent, because I knew he wasn't hypothetical. I don't know his name, but I know he's there.
 
or perhaps a dead body laying on Time Square. Its time we all piss on'em. Kill'em. All of them. They have a name. The name is Enemy. Peace through victory.

RL
 
Yeap, Roger, that 4 year old girl with the doe eyes deserves to die because the ruler of her country called God, Allah. She's certainly as guilty as those who died in the Towers.

Since you want to miss my point, I'll spell it out. If you can sit in front of a computer and bitch about things like a foot of steel and UPS and import duties while all over the world there are people starving, suffering, and dying, that have never known one day as full of bounty as we take for granted each and every day, then you haven't got it so bad, Roger.

There's an old saying,

"Count your blessings"
 
Oh boy did I ever touch a nerve. Fitzo, don't ever take me serious when I whine about anything concerning myself. NO one should and all that know me well enough, save myself, absolutely know better. Even I usually quit pouting the next day (depending on whether my lady can see me or not).

The fact of the matter is if that youngster is deemed a threat by our troop, 4 years of age or just old enough to walk, I will not second guess his responce. There are invaders from outside and some natives that continue to use all people they can from the youngest to the whatever they can inlist. So far moneys seem to continue to be paid to adults for the purpose of corruption. Corruption of their own children. I'd rather that kid die than our neighbor's son at that kids hand. I really do not mind sounding ruthless right now. I won't mind sounding ruthless until its complete. It may not be complete in time for me to stop sounding and feeling ruthless. So what. Peace through victory. Piss on'em. And if anyone is wondering, no. I have not lost anyone yet. Why should I have to in order to feel the way I do because we have been attacked.

RL
 
Roger, it's not ruthless, it's protective and loyal; honorable virtues! I'm not a peacenik. I wouldn't hesitate to kill just about anyone, either, attempting to hurt one of our own. We haven't lost anyone in Iraq, either, but Nancy's SEAL cousin came close and is convalescing in Norfolk now. The "Doc" on his team carried him a mile and a half as he fought their way to safety; I cried over that act of courage, too. And I feel his personal pain when he writes us about the feelings of inadequacy that he's not there with his brethren. He believes in what they're doing over there. Three weeks ago I was quite approving of raining down fire and laying Fallujah waste; then I began to hurt for those suffering innocently. I'm sure my hate is as deep as yours when we see some 10 year old jumping up and down on a HumVee celebrating the death of a soldier, or dragging an American through the streets of Mogadishu. And it is way unfortunate that we are creating another generation or two that will hate us as we hate them. Given the choice of us or them, though, my allegiances are assured. We're on the same page with that.

Nah, none of this was about anything except I whine, too, and it's easy for me to fall into a funk over my poor health, can't do squat anymore, huge loss of income, yaddayadda. All too frequently I have to remind myself of that adage "I wept I had no shoes until I met a man without feet." I was just pointing out how much we take for granted, and perhaps used one of the worst examples possible.

I hope you get to see your Lady today! Happy is always better. :)
 
Fitzo,

Here is the pure tee truth from my point of view: I stand by all I said. Now, with that said, drop me into that sand and have a little one run toward me and I'm probably going to melt. If I wasn't just dropped in but rather under command and training I doubt I would melt at the sight of the little kid's eyes. But I do not know, do I.

RL
 
Stacy, go temper a blade (better than I just did BTW, mine went straight from temper to heat treating again!).

Stacy is correct Fitzo. I started this and I should ask it end. I really ment the thread as a little more than half serious and the other part was because I needed to vent. Then it went there and yonder and finally to here. All, I believe, by my initial direction. It ain't going to end up any where good. Let's go look for a thread about polishing micarta or something. How's that?

RL
 
Roger, I'm sorry I intruded on your thread. I read it since this morning and it started nagging on me, so I opened my mouth. Obviously restraint is not one of my strong suits.

I'm also a bit sorry to have taken it into that dread area that draws the thought police, "OT". But only a wee bit. I'll try and stick to telling a seeker where to buy whatchamajigits for awhile. Finis.....
 
Fitzo, I am to blame because I inentionally set out to stir the pot up. I wanted to let off some steam. I didn't lie about that. I said so in the thread title. Some of my whinning was sincere and the rest was just getting a party started. I did not either know that it would it end up where it did. Now, on that subject - no. No bull on that one. Way too serious, regardless of which side of the fence. That is when I new Its time to quite venting. I had vented by the 10th or so post. After that it was pretty much sillyness on my part, except for the you know what. There is one other thing I do want to reinforce. It is all that was discussed concerning overseas trade. That was not venting nor was it sillyness. It is a real, and if not blistering, may well become blistering problem. Just using knives alone as one example, in many cases our materials come from countries we can buy from with ease but none can afford the end product of their own land. It's killing us in part.

I recon I'll be relogated to visitor status in mere moments. I wonder if Kit is deer hunting all this week. That would be nice.

RL
 
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