"Newbie" status???

[Bill Burke]

I see Bill took time out from re-reorganizing his shop to chime in.

All I have to say "gosh" it's good to hear from you even if yo a're being a smart "asp"!

Rick

I think I caught something from Nick because actually I am now re, re, reorganizing my shop. why? because just good enough isn't enough

 

[NStricker]

Maybe you are not a newbie when you have more answers than questions?
er... I actually have no idea...

It's probably closer the other way around. . .

 

[Rick Baum]

Jeez Nick! Are you gonna let Bill get away with that?

 

[David Schott]

I try not to think in terms of "Newbie" vs "Master." After all, this is very much a "Zen mind, Beginners mind" type of craft. IMHO, what it comes down to is:
-Do you sell your knives?
-Do they sell or sit on the shelf?
-Are you getting decent money for the knives you sell based on others at your same level or making similar knives?
-Are customers happy with their purchase?

This same set of questions can apply to a new guy or a mastersmith...but i do think that until you take that leap and put your knife out there for a stranger to buy and be happy with...you are a newbie.

Its usually an established level of skill across many trades....when you can do something well enough that others will pay you to do it,you have at very least established your skills enough that they are worth something more than your own satisfaction. To me, thats where you cross the bridge from newbiehood.

 

[James_Terrio]

Excellent points, David. As for me, I have thus far only sold to friends who may or may not view my work with a truly critical eye. So, I consider myself a newbie. I will not offer anything for sale to the public until I'm confident that I would pay for it.

 

[hellgap]

Nick I am a newbie and take all the critisizm with every post in a positive way.I also am a excesive compulsive and strive for perfection at anything i do .Iknow exactly what you mean ive talked to hunters and fisherman that brag about the couple of fish they caught or the 10 point buck they shot , but later hear the real story how the fish was caught or how they chased down the buck in the truck then shot it in the ass twice. Well ive shot a few in the ass lol but i love hunting on foot and I fish anywhere or way and practice makes perfect but not always. I have seen guys that braged they caught this or that or this many bla bla but one look at there gear and technic and it says it all. Same goes for knife making you only get out what you put in and if you dont accept negative feedback and turn it into a positive matter youll have a serious case of tunnel vision sorta speek and never develope the skills to be successful and anything you do.Soon as i forge a bladei might understand alot more on a different level as well. As for now im a grinder/knifemaker newbie. Ps THAT REMINDS ME I SAW 3 SMALL SCRATCHES ON A KNIFE SO I HAVE TO REDO THE KNIFE OVER.

 

[galadduin]

....
Its usually an established level of skill across many trades....when you can do something well enough that others will pay you to do it,you have at very least established your skills enough that they are worth something more than your own satisfaction. To me, thats where you cross the bridge from newbiehood.

Amen... I totally agree on this point of view. If your knives satisfies or exceeds a stranger's needs (may he be a hunter or a butcher or a art knives collector doesn't matter) you ain't a newbie anymore...

 

[fitzo]

I have met some highly skilled people across a variety of craft disciplines who have never even considered selling any of their work. It isn't where their interest lies.
Does that make them any less skilled?

 

[galadduin]

I have met some highly skilled people across a variety of craft disciplines who have never even considered selling any of their work. It isn't where their interest lies.
Does that make them any less skilled?

Excellent point. I guess then we all newbies or no one is. I'm sure there is no distinct line for that but when it comes to knife makers selling their work, there is a distinction. One friend recently brought a knife of his, made by a local bladesmith older than my father for sure and he is selling knives at least 30 years, he wanted me to re handle that, it was a stick tang chopper. The knife was ugly, unfinished. There was black oxide mark on the tip, burned on the stone disc, soft like annealed steel or mild steel, and the tang, the tang was unbelievable: I broke the wood to expose the tang, it was 1" long. I couldn't believe is my eyes, 1" tang for a 10" blade, no epoxy, no pin, just hammered to the wood. I have worked on that knife like I made a new knife. Sanded, polished, soldered a long tang, put a guard, put a nice wood I salvaged a year ago. My friend couldn't believe it was the same knife. BTW I spent a lot more for the handle than the knife's actual value. If I did it from scratch he should have paid much more for a knife like that but it would be usable for generations, at least he would have a knife harder than 50 HRC ...

 

[James_Terrio]

I have met some highly skilled people across a variety of craft disciplines who have never even considered selling any of their work. It isn't where their interest lies.
Does that make them any less skilled?

Nope! I think the question is, could they have sold it if they wanted to, and would their work have commanded a good price? Many hobbyists build really nice furniture, or fly-rods, or hot-rod cars, or what-have-you only for their own enjoyment. Nothing wrong with that at all! If they wanted to, they could sell it for profit. It's not about the money, it's about peer-review.

 

[David Schott]

I have met some highly skilled people across a variety of craft disciplines who have never even considered selling any of their work. It isn't where their interest lies.
Does that make them any less skilled?

Good point...im not sure how to establish a set of guidelines that would encompass all varieties of makers, so I suppose my way of thinking would only apply to people who make knives with the intent to sell them. I think people who excel at a craft but never sell it can certainly be as skilled as those who sell their work...but how to measure them against those who do sell is a bit more difficult because our only reference point for how they stand in the larger picture of the knife world is minimized.

 

[gusval]

As long as you keep trying something different and
Experimenting different styles, material, tools, techniques
You all way bee a newbie on something
One should never stop learning

G. Valdez
newbie