I am going to do my best to address each of these posts, but I may wonder so please bare with me
I am not sure how the American Knife makers guild works, but we have a Australian Knife makers guild and it works pretty much how you are saying unky!
Might be worth checking out if there is something nearby?
First off I am no American I am Canadian. Its not that I have anything against Americans, but ever since 9/11 the borders have tightened up a lot and I don't blame them for that. Secondly the Canadian Knife Makers Guild never replies to any of my emails. They mention guidance and teaching on their web page, just not how they do it, and as I said I don't get any replies to my emails. I have been trying to get in contact with them for over a year now and the lack of communication has really turned me off of the Canadian Knife Makers Guild.
Similarly people have done "pass arounds" before. Each person mails it to the next on the list until it gets back to you. Then they post in the pass around thread you've set up with they're reviews. Not quite the same as your idea but You get multiple views from people who will use it for multiple tasks.
I have thought about that, but if it was my piece being passed around I would have been more interested in getting tips on how to make it better from someone that has actually made knives before, preferably from someone that is at the top of the food chain. I wasn't even thinking of myself when I started the thread, not that I couldn't use the pointers, but more of the first year/knife people that like myself are fairly remote.
While a formal mentoring program would be nice, it would be hard to set up and opperate.....especially by mail.
Here on the BF this sort of mentoring is a large part of what we are all about. Newer makers and those getting their skills honed post photos and ask for criticism. Those who can help, give their thoughts. This is a good way to get 1000 people to see the same knife. In addition, the standard suggestions to folks is to go see a nearby maker, attend a Hammer-in, or go to a knife and gun show and show some makers your knives.
A far as photos go, for the price of about two round trip postage shipping charges, you can buy a used but decent camera to take pictures with. There are many great tutorials and threads on how to take better photos....by guys like Coop...which will allow you to post photos that show the details of your knives. Cell phones should be used for making phone calls, not posting photos.
As you pointed out, there is nothing like having a knife in ones hands that will allow real thorough examination and critique, so look for a fellow maker within a 3-4 hour drive, and go see him every couple months. I do realize that in many parts of Canada, 3-4 hours drive won't even get to the next town.
I have never been involved with it, but there is a pass-around subforum on BF for critiquing knives. It seems to be mainly factory knives passed around, but they may occasionally have a custom knife involved?. I have no idea if it works well, or how many use it. You could post there and ask.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/783-Knife-amp-Gadget-Pass-Around-Forum
I will make a personal comment about why critique on a knife is often not real effective on a forum like this.
Knifemaker John Q. OneYearMaker posts his knife photos/drawings/plans/etc and asks for a critique.
A few more experienced makers may look at it, and would probably post, but already twenty newbies who are on knife one to three have posted "Wow, I like it", or "I would make a bowie instead of that fillet knife", or "The recaso needs a coil at the bottom" ,etc. ( you get my drift).
So, the older more experienced makers just don't post an answer.
If the newer makers want to help a person who needs advise on doing a process, making a knife, or getting a critique.....unless you have real life - hands on experience with the question at hand.....let somebody who does answer it. I have seen new makers with 100 posts a month, giving all kinds of advise and critique, that are still on their first knife. Just because you read it somewhere doesn't mean you understand it well enough to give advise online. Many professionals now consider online advise as nearly useless, as there is no way to know if it is good or not.
........rant over......and now back to unky-gumbi's thread.
I fully understand what you are saying and I knew right from the outset that this idea would be hard to pull off, but you have to understand that I am the guy that brought downhill mountain bike racing to the Canadian prairies
I really like how the BFC knifemakers forum works and the pearls of wisdom that people give are priceless, but you never really know who is telling you what to do because a knifemaker membership only requires that you pay the fee, and not all the top name makers have a makers membership. Yes it becomes evident very quickly who is who, by the answers, posts, and pictures of their work, but for someone new they may not know the difference between me who can make a decent knife and someone like a Bruce Bump, Nick Wheeler, Tai Goo and the many others that make outstanding knives that are both perfectly functional and visually stunning. No I am not saying that my work would ever be confused as being one of the mentioned makers, I just used myself to point out the extremes of both ends of the scale.
The nearest maker to me that I know of is Robert Mayo, 2 hrs by Google directions and the next that I know of is Murray St. Amour in Pembroke at 3 hrs away. While that is within your suggested distance, I did something stupid about 8 years ago and let my drivers license expire
so that 2-3 hour drive would be a 5-8 hour bike ride. I have done a number of stupid things in my life and letting my license expire has to be in the top 3.
Once again this idea wasn't about me it was to benefit those that came after me to help them avoid some of the pit falls I ran into. I started batting this idea around in my head after seeing your beginner knife kits. I thought it was a great idea and had wished I had seen it when I decided to jump in with both feet.
Now addressing the passaround idea again, the biggest drawback I see with it is that the first person on the list is the only one that gets to see the knife in its original condition, and everyone after that only sees a used knife, that chances are has been put through its paces, bumped and scratched, and possibly resharpened poorly, tainting the first impression of the knife for everyone else on the list.
Picture taking: I am only speaking for myself here, but I can't take a really good picture of a knife to save my life. I have read a lot of tutorials, I have a decent camera, a tripod, and a light box, and still my pictures don't show everything I want. I actually try to get the flaws that I see to show up, but they don't most of the time. Now I attribute this to one of two things, 1, my photography skills do not exist or 2, the flaws don't exist. I tend to lean towards option 1, because nothing is perfect, there is always room for improvement.
Just for reference I have
a Sony Cybershot DCS120 7.2 megapixel HD camera a good quality tripod that I can't remember the brand of, and a
DYNAPHOS DPL-005L 20X20 LIGHTCUBE. With these things and following the tutorials I should be able to take a good picture, but I can't
Good points Stacy.
I'll just add that there's a lot more to building a good relationship with an experienced knifemaker or mentor than getting a few knives critiqued. It has to be mutually beneficial in one way or another. Your mentor is your best friend.
Exactly, that is why I was thinking fully volunteer and the mentor picks who and what they are willing to look at, and that it not cost the mentor anything but some time. I know from working in the cycling industry a case of beer scores a lot of brownie points for the customer that wants to learn how to fix their bike or get if fixed faster. Even though I don't drink bringing me a case of beer would get customers moved up on the preferred list because I could use that case of beer to barter with my beer drinking coworkers, so no costs to the mentor and maybe some sort of thank you from the noob. The initial communications would need to be there to to see if the two were a compatible match.
I started this thread to move my idea into the brain storming and plausibility phase not actually try to implement it. Open discussion, ideas pros and cons of the idea is all I am looking at right now. The biggest con I can see with the idea is for a mentor to get a barnacle that wont let go. You know the sort, you say hi, and the next thing yo know they are always at your door, on the phone, and just always there till they find a new hull to bind too.
. today a member and his girlfriend from columbus might be coming over and i hope the weather holds out so i can possibly do some grinding on a blank to show him and his girlfriend how to grind a knife.
).
) when they really just wanted a thumbs up/pat on the back.