Name recognition, How much of your buying is based on performance?

I'm pretty sure I'll never be fast enough at this craft to make much money or build a brand. So for me personally, if it looks great, is durable and I can buy it at a price I can afford, I'm going to use it.
 
HSC /// said:
pls explain, this is pretty much all I want to use.
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I know it is protected here in AZ, but is available from Mexico at least.
It's a shame to see literally tons of dead ironwood trees here in AZ rotting back into the desert. :\
 
I personally talked to agents/representatives from different government agencies regarding desert ironwood (DI). Some people said it is OK to use. Other said it is protected.

The people who said it was protected knew the wood well. The said it could not be collected off federal or state land. The also said any raw DI from Mexico was contraband and was smuggled into the US. They said the only legal DI from Mexico was in a finished product.

I asked about DI from private land. I was told I had to have paperwork going back the the land owner and the person/contractor/etc who harvested the wood.

After the discussions, we decided to stop selling DI. It was not worth the risk. When I see what has happened with ivory, I can easily foresee similar problems with DI.

Chuck
 
Alpha Knife Supply said:
I personally talked to agents/representatives from different government agencies regarding desert ironwood (DI). Some people said it is OK to use. Other said it is protected.
The people who said it was protected knew the wood well. The said it could not be collected off federal or state land. The also said any raw DI from Mexico was contraband and was smuggled into the US. They said the only legal DI from Mexico was in a finished product.
I asked about DI from private land. I was told I had to have paperwork going back the the land owner and the person/contractor/etc who harvested the wood.
After the discussions, we decided to stop selling DI. It was not worth the risk. When I see what has happened with ivory, I can easily foresee similar problems with DI.
Chuck
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I've heard similar things from officials trying to scare folks off of things. I was once told I needed a special permit to collect reptiles in Cali. Turns out the "special permit" is a fishing license.
Don't be afraid to push back or we'll all be making plastic handles exclusively. Stand up. :)
 
Brock47 said:
Don't be afraid to push back or we'll all be making plastic handles exclusively. Stand up. :)
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Have you ever been caught up in the federal bureaucracy?

There is much more to the story that is not relevant. I will tell you this, I was in a federal office paying a BIG fine for not having the correct export permit. I thought while I was there, I should get ask much information as possible. Later on, I followed up with visits to other agencies.

Feel free to "push back" all you want. ;)

Chuck
 
There's no pushing back on FedGov unless it's in court, and for that you need either very deep pockets, or a cause millions support enough to donate to. They have unlimited time, unlimited resources, an assumption of being right no matter the actuality, and the desire to ''make examples'' of people.

Wherever law or regulation is ''gray'' it's smart to be better safe than sorry.
 
kuraki said:
There's no pushing back on FedGov unless it's in court, and for that you need either very deep pockets, or a cause millions support enough to donate to. They have unlimited time, unlimited resources, an assumption of being right no matter the actuality, and the desire to ''make examples'' of people.

Wherever law or regulation is ''gray'' it's smart to be better safe than sorry.
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Wait a minute... They work for us taxpaying knife makers, right? ;)
 
There is a LOT to be said for preference/tradition when it comes to woods. Take for example Taylor Guitars' push for using "lower grade" declasse ebony. The wood is the same hardness, stability, and overall functional and tonal characteristics as grade AAA ebony, it just has brown, grey, and white streaks. For years any ebony with streaks was used for cooking fires and only a small percentage of the total harvest was sold to instrument manufacturers. Taylor has started using declasse ebony on the majority of their guitars and is pushing other makers to start doing the same in hopes of increasing the amount of ebony that can be brought to market while reducing the number of trees harvested. Personally, I like the look of the streaked ebony, but it's not "the way things have always been done" so it's a slow change.
 
I can imagine there are actually folks that would buy that firewood - GREAT video!!
 
What about taking Ironwood from already made products and "recycling" it? I understand that it might be a headache but is this one way we could still use Ironwood? I would have receipts after all ...
 
creightonfcb said:
What about taking Ironwood from already made products and "recycling" it? I understand that it might be a headache but is this one way we could still use Ironwood? I would have receipts after all ...
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Ironwood is available all over the web, thankfully. And yes, you can recycle it.
 
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