New, KnifeMaker only forums: Your thoughts?

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Mike, I apilogise if my post made you angry. I had no intent on being rude.
I do "make" knives, but not like yall do. Hopefully I will be able to graduate in May and then I will attempt to find a place to set up a forge.
Right now I am having fun making knives in my 1 room apartment, am I serious about it? Yes. As serious as yall... no... I take out loans to live off of, not to buy new grinders.(Wait... maybe I am doing this full time and dont know it! :p ) Really, I have fun making knives... most of them are pretty ugly. (I need to enter yalls contest on 'Ugly knives' sometime.)

Have I "made" knives. Yes, convex, flat, and hollow ground.
How I forged them? No.
Done stock removal from a piece of steel that I actually know where it came from and what type of steel it is? No.
Made Cable Damascus? No.

I should in no way shape or form be considered a up and coming Bruce Bump.
(I just want to be clear on this one.)

My opinion of someone becomeing a artificial "I payed my money let me into your 'knifemaker' club" is that If someone wants to pay the extra 10 Bucks to become a "knifemaker" on a forum, and they have no intention on making knives. I say let them.

Spark has their money, and if they misbehave they can get themselves banned. Sure trolls are horrible, But paying trolls give money to the cause and then we never have to hear from them again... unless they pay again.
 
SamuraiDave said:
... My opinion of someone becomeing a artificial "I payed my money let me into your 'knifemaker' club" is that If someone wants to pay the extra 10 Bucks to become a "knifemaker" on a forum, and they have no intention on making knives. I say let them.

Spark has their money, and if they misbehave they can get themselves banned. Sure trolls are horrible, But paying trolls give money to the cause and then we never have to hear from them again... unless they pay again.
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That's just BS, and defeats the whole idea of this forum. If people want to be posers, there are plenty of killer elite, ass kicker forums for that.:barf: :barf: :rolleyes:
 
It's not going to work. You wont be able to stop anyone from purchasing a knifemakers membership. hell I've got one. I think spark should just scrap the idea.

How about a knifemakers trade section. That way us poor knifemakers could trade knives to gain a collection of other makers work without getting into a sightunseen crap trade with the knife in the hat deals. :D
 
Okay, I volunteer to be the knife Police. Send me a sample of your best work and I'll judge if you are worthy of the knifemaker title or not. I think we should put this policy into affect immediately. All knifemaker titles are hereby void. Let's start from scratch. No returns on work submitted.


Knife Cop
 
I don't like the idea of a private Forum, too many will just pay the price to get in and call themselves a knifemaker and cause problems. If you (Spark) are going to rearrange the Forum how about this.
Knife maker Forums
Forging
Stock removal
Heat treating
Finishing
Sheath making
Knife making business
How to sell your Knives
Gallery
Knives for sale
Equipment for sale
I am sure that more can be added to the list, if you are going to change things around please cover the whole gamete of the field.
Personally I like it the way it is. Gib
 
how about

Factory Forged bar stock
Maker Forged Factory Forged stock
Stock removal after Forging
Stock removal from billets
Stock removal from bar stock
Heat treating from a Forge
Heat treating from an oven
Heat treating from a salt baths
Finishing
Sheath making
Knife making business
How to sell your Knives
Gallery
Knives for sale
Equipment for sale

sorry :footinmou
I like one place too ..mostly just messing with you Gib on the first five :)
 
Look, the intent behind this (possible) reorganization is to help broaden the knifemaker community here on the forums and to draw more knifemakers in to take part. We have a great representation of the various facets right now, however, there is always room for improvement.

I have tossed the idea back and forth about various subdivisions such as "Stock Removal" & "Forging" & whatever, and it typically comes back to my most important requirement for starting any new forum - "Will it have sustainable traffic?" I don't like seeing forums taking up screen real estate without a lot of action in them.

By creating a category with the existing "For Sale" & Shop Talk forums, creating a "KnifeMaker's Gallery" (for knifemaker members to display stuff), & whatever other forums we add, we get to offer more for the membership $$$s.

I can understand the "ain't broke, don't fix it" concerns, but this isn't a matter of an unneccessary "fixing" it's about bringing in more traffic and offering more for the KnifeMakers.
 
Kevin,
I understand what you are after but seems to me the hardcore membership that's been here everyday for a long time has pretty much spoken. It's still your call so we will support what you decide.
The problem with the other forums is that you have to go to so damn many different sub forums to cover all the threads. In Shop Talk, it's all ratthare. :)
 
Which is why I'm perfectly happy with a "status quo" knifemaker category that consolidates the existing stuff into one section. That way, you guys don't have to run all over the site to do your things - a complaint I have heard more than once.

If you guys don't want that, let me know.
 
Kevin - I agree with your intent. I also agree with Kit's concern.

Too many subforums could be a bad thing - they would probably get low traffic, because everybody would just hang in the ShopTalk area.

However, a Gallery and a For Sale section are a must.

Something that would be nice would be a permanent, all-sticky's, Tips and Tricks forum. Not sure exactly how it'd work....but maybe "sticky" type threads that were tutorials, supplier sources, tips of the day, etc. Whomever was the moderator would decide whether or not to lock threads....that would make searching for good information a little quicker.

Like I said...not sure how it would work, but the idea would be to move any good information over there where it can be easily browsed. Low traffic, but helpful.
 
I understand about bringing the "Knifemakers Corner" here with Shoptalk, and adding a "Gallery", and I certainly agree that it would be easier, and no doubt nicer.
My only concern is people buying knifemaker memberships that aren't knifemakers, just to have access to a "secret" knifemakers room.
It just doesn't seem right to me.
 
agreed....



And I'm still casting my vote for a "Quick Link" directly to either the Gallery or the For Sale by Knifemakers area....(at the top where Makers/Mfgs is now)...that would be a huge incentive to pony up the mem fee and would drive traffic to the area. (and would also let us know just how much you care for us........ahhhhh......)

:eek: :D :p
 
Dan,
I can do the Sticky thing anytime. The Tips thing was on again/off again for the last 3 years. The way we do it now seems to be working best.

It seems to me that we have a Gallery here. We all post pics of our new stuff. If a customer sees it, he will PM or email the maker and most makers post in the Gallery at the same time.

I am with Mike on his concerns. If posers come on, I don't imagine Mike and I will be the only ones calling them out and that might be bad for business. :dunno:
 
I just can't imagine why anyone would want to to register as a knifemaker just to gain access to a "knifemaker only" forum. Really. I mean, what kind of information would be there that "normal" people wouldn't know - supplier prices (which are already public knowledge)? Where to buy materials?
 
Spark said:
I just can't imagine why anyone would want to to register as a knifemaker just to gain access to a "knifemaker only" forum......
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Kevin, the post at the top of page 2 says there is nothing wrong with it, and that he intends to do just that.
Here's an excerpt.

Quote "My opinion of someone becomeing a artificial "I payed my money let me into your 'knifemaker' club" is that If someone wants to pay the extra 10 Bucks to become a "knifemaker" on a forum, and they have no intention on making knives. I say let them. "
 
If I may add my two cents here, I would say that open forums are quite the way to go. Now, I hate punks and posers and wannabes and anyone else who wants to disrupt this forum, but consider that without at least SOME influx of fresh blood, we become a room full of stuffy old men - set in our ways. No new ideas come to the table. No fresh breeze to clear the air.

Sometimes a new person with a certain outlook can add a completely new idea to an old shop-worn method or process. As much as I woudl love the idea of seeing a private area by which the knifemakers could confer, I also would like any potential customers to read my posts and view my knives.

No offense, Spark, but forums with content like Pirates Cove and the like are simply crap and not worth the time. Let the adults here in Shoptalk have our little slice of heaven please.
 
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