New, KnifeMaker only forums: Your thoughts?

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When I first discovered this place there were more stock removal folks than smiths. That was 5 years ago. I don't have a knifemakers membership simply because I don't sell anything on this site or any other for that matter.

It is my opinion that if Shop Talk were to disappear then other sites would pick up where it left off, period. Granted, they wouldn't have the same personality but I am sure that would occur.

I am also sure that if the statistics were looked at Shop Talk probably has the most traffic of any of the Q&A Shop forums on the internet.

A knifemaker only forum? Heck, why not! As long as Shop Talk is left intact. Shop Talk has probably done more to promote knifemaking than any other forum on the 'net.

Craig
 
Spark, I think part of the appeal of BF to collectors and buyers of knives is that they can run into the occasional custom maker here or some where on the forum. Relationships always sell more knives. If the knifemakers forum were to go membership only, I believe you would lose some current makers or future makers and diminish the overall appeal of the forums. Having said that, I think knife maker membership here is the best money I've ever spent, not only to learn but to hang out with a great bunch of guys.
 
I can see where a knife maker access forum would have it's uses but I'm set in my ways and like the forums the way were, oops, are. :)
Also, supporting the forums in such a small way as a paying for a membership doesn't hinge on whether you sell knives or anything else here. If you visit the place regularly and become part of this community, you've received much more than a knife sale can give you!
 
I think the biggest problem with getting payed for what this forum provides is that the benefit declines over time. I'm not talking about the Cliff Clavens of the forum, who have their own barstool, but for the many people who drop by for a while, and then peter out, most of the information dump starts at the begining.

When I first came here, I wasn't expecting that I would find sufficient information to really take a step into making. I have wanted to make knives for 25 years, and have done jobs around the shop of a knife/tool type with what I had. What broght me here was the need to find a way to really increase my heat treating potential. I have also wanted to blacksmith for about 25 years, but every time I looked into it, the set-up just looked way more than the practical comitment i had.

So I find this, and other sites, and discover that I can have it all, for cheap or more expensive, and I have been setting up and making for some time. There are limits to what I can fit into a woodworking shop, but the knowledge that I gained here made it possible for me to find the stuff I needed to put a toe in, and then progress from there. I found all that stuff in about the first month or so.

I spent probably 2K. Grinders, parts for forges, anvils, tools, books, and videos. Not one dime of that money came through here. And it's too bad, because some, though not all of it was sparked through here. Certainly the KMG grinder for one.

What I'm getting at is that at first I had no idea this place would help me, so I wouldn't have paid for it. Now I don't really need it, though I value it, and regard it as one of the best forums for depth and breadth I have seen. At the stage I'm at, I can't justify the expense of a menbership, since I see myself spending less time here in the future.

I should add, that I'm active on three archery forums, about 6 boating forums, 4 woodworking forums, and many others from time to time. If it was only this forum, it would be a different mater. I try to pay back with content where feasible, but certainly around here I'm not a subject expert.

I think the only way I would have paid up front would have been if there was really substantial marketing of the info I would find. Just knowing I get to pay 35 bucks for joining wouldn't be much of a benefit. In the guitarmaking field, for a while it was very popular to pay 25 bucks for the LMII catalogue, because it contained a wealth of articles. I paid for it, and found it worthwhile. I paid because everyone else told me I should (because there weren't other info sources at the time), and because the package was well described. I imagine the same rules would apply here. There has to be a well described product, that i can only get by paying for it. What is that product, and how would I learn about it other than by spending a month with my snout in the troth, at which point, I've pretty much derived the central benefit of membership.
 
Ok, so are there any objections to splitting the Shop Talk, Gallery, & KnifeMaker For Sale area's into their own category?
 
Well, the only thing about the putting the Gallery in there is that many people show off their latest knives, handmade and otherwise. It seems like it has become much more geared towards customs but people have been known to show off their LCC's too. I thought the idea was to show off any pictures that you might have of anything? If that is so then why stick a subforum where people can post pics of Spydercos in where the makers are posting pics? Not trying to pick nits or anything but I'd like to see this done right because it seems like there are some excellent ideas going here. :)

One thing.......I find the top bar with Community, Tactics, Exchange etc kind of odd. Why split that out like that? Why not have the whole board organized to scroll down through sections with all the subforums listed within the section as they do on CKD? I find that layout to be more accessible. On the other hand, on KF that method has gotten ridiculously unwieldy so maybe that isn't such a good idea after all.

Another approach, if you could do a collapsible style thing like on USN that could work well. Click on the Knifemaker section and it expands to show Q&A, For Sale, Services, Gallery, Sheaths, and whatever.
 
I'm afraid that it would be a bad idea. I understand the financial aspect, but I'm not sure how it would work out. I hate to see the knifemaking stuff get seperated, its kind of the same idea we tossed around with a forging specific forum. We all wanted everything kept together so we wouldn't have to jump back and forth to see it all, or end up with members hanging out in strictly one or the other. We generate a lot of new ideas here, and you never know who will be able to answer a question. If it all stays in one forum then everyone sees every topic.

I know I've gotten alot more out of this knifemakers membership than I gave to get it, and wish I could do more.I definitely don't plan on letting it expire. I also wish that more people would step up to the plate and join. I do think you have to be careful with what you take away from basic members though, we've got a hell of a place here and I think part of the reason we get reps from all the big manufacturers and stuff like that is our sheer size. If they all get pissed and go off to other free forums, it might end up hurting us. I love the pirate's cove and the benefits I get as a paid member, but I think we have to watch how much we try to push people towards paying. I don't think some member specific forums wouldhurt too much, but it has to be done in a way that doesn't divide us up too much.
 
Oops, guess I'm a step behind, I was talking about a members only knifemaking section, when I said I didn't think it was a good idea.

Having a section split off with the knifemaker stuff altogether might be cool. I don't have any objections, although I don't have any trouble finding it all as is either.

I do wonder whether the for sale section will see more or less traffic that way. I'm guessing it might see a little more if its put in with a main sections like the gallery and shoptalk. Who knows :confused: Either way is good for me :)
 
Spark said:
Ok, so are there any objections to splitting the Shop Talk, Gallery, & KnifeMaker For Sale area's into their own category?
Click to expand...

Why not? That would probably not be a bad idea.

Craig
 
I see the Gallery as a forum wide thing. Most of us makers post pictures of our knives to show off to each other right here in Shop Talk. Those same pictures are posted to the Gallery for the "public" to see. I just don't know the statistics of how many of the total BF.com actually visit the Shop Talk forum.
 
Kit....I agree, but I think this would remedy that particular problem...in other words, bring more attention to makers in general. I think it would be safe to say that bfc (as it stands/appears/seems/whatever...) caters more to the production end (in terms of how it is structured).


How would it work, exactly, Kevin? That might make it easier to give it a thumbs up/down.

(what I'm looking for, is more exposure...easier to find us....easier to sell knives made by knifemakers on this forum....vs. being buried at the bottom of The Exchange)
 
It's easier to show rather than tell. I figure something like:
Bladeforums.com
--General Knife Discussion
--Knife Makers & Smith's
----Shop Talk
----(Private KnifeMaker Membership Forum) - whatever you guys want.
----KnifeMaker's Gallery
----KnifeMaker's For Sale area
------For Sale: Fixed Blades
------For Sale: Folders
------For Sale: Supplies
--Community
--ETC

Now, as it's listed, this category is pretty small, but it gives people a seperate dedicated area for the aspects of knifemaking. We can easily add more forums (we've got plenty of capacity now).
 
Not sure of the Knifemakers & Smith's catagory. I had a friend, Mongo Smith that was a moonshiner but he couldn't grind a knife for shite. Most other Smiths could grind pretty well.

Other than that, I think it will work. Grinders and Forgers? Hmmmm. :dunno:
Better get some input on this one, Sparkles :)

Hi. My name is Kit. I make knives from barstock. I don't make the barstock.

(Bladesmith) ........?
 
Spark I like the suggested line up you have just given. It pretty well covers all my interests stock removal or forger. Ive never used any forum to sell my stuff but I may someday. We would have to be a paid member for selling?
 
I don't mind that line up
I'd like to see a quick link to the for-sale forum at shop talk
and maybe some of the others might like one on some of the other forums too :confused:
it would kind of be hand in hand for many of the forums.

on the paid member issue :confused: why not have a trial period ? say 60 -90 days
and a place for them to get acquainted to the forums,
so newbies can get to what they are looking for or help they need.
once here for that amount of time they'll know if it's the place they want to be or not ,,worth say 10.00 for a limited membership ,say, you can look but not post after the trial time.
I know some would say,, someone would just have to get a new screen name every 60-90 days,,, :grumpy:
they could ,, but,, one,, it would be a pain for them to get comfortable
with one another here and two,,the IP could be tracked I think to keep that from happening anyway.
I know I like fallowing the guys that I'm more use to here and have gotten use too,, it would be
hard for someone to get warmed up to the guys that have been here for some time changing names all the time.

I don't think say $10.00 would be unreasonable for this, on the other hand it's like selling information the paying members are paying to give. :confused: and again maybe it would generate enough extra revenue to lower the over all membership pricing causing more memberships because of the lower price over all? just an idea... :)
I don't know about the others here but it's a pain to answer the same basic questions
over and over about Say,,,what is the best steel to use? :barf: ?? how do you heat treat, rather than,, why do you do it this way? there must be hundreds of threads here on the subject that will never be sorted through, that's one reason I put the knife making site up and want to keep adding to it, hoping it would be a place to answer some of the basic questions cutting down on some of that and make it easer to find , with all the other sites that cater to that can be pointed to also,, Idea? can there be a place here, not really a sticky, but a closed thread/link site/sub link? with informational links for the reg run of the mill reg questions ? I know that is what the Archives are for
but it's a lot to go through and not get what you want with a reasonable amount of reading through the masses.

well I've gone on enough just my 2 cents :)
 
Kevin,

That line-up looks great to me.

Adding a quick link to the "Knifemaker's For Sale" section is a great idea. I think that would really help drive traffic and would be a huge incentive for guys to pony up the $45.

Also, the trial membership ain't such a bad idea either. But, I'd make it 30 days....don't want to be giving away too much....and it won't take that long to realize it's worth it. ;)
 
Hey Spark,

How about a little blurb at the top of the forum homepage that reads. Custom knives direct from the maker. Or something like that. Just something a bit more eye catching than "Exchange". I dont sell on here but it may help to attract more paying goomers. Holy crap, I just realized that membership has gone from 8 cents a day to 12 cents :grumpy: :D I fart more than 12 cents every day.
 
It looks good to me, with the exception that I don't know what purpose the private knifemakers forum would serve. :confused:
 
Mark Williams said:
Put the coffee down Dan.
Click to expand...

!@@I jidder jidder :D

Dan
you're paying $45.00 ? :eek:
boy he got you real good didn't he :( :D

spark do we get discounts for advocating :confused: ;)
 
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