News from Cliff Stamp

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Will York

Will York

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I just discovered that Cliff Stamp has a new website:

www.cliffstamp.com/knives

All his old reviews of Busse’s, etc. are there, plus quite a bit of new work, under Reviews. He plans to initiate a forum, also—the website is in the development stage.

His current email address for those who might like to contact him:

cliffstamp@(remove)gmail.com

This was welcome news to me--thought some of you might like to have the information.

Will

Edited to Add:

Just learned from Last Visible Canary that Cliff also has a youtube channel. The following link is courtesy of LVC later in this thread--copying it here to make it easier to find:

http://www.youtube.com/user/CliffStamp

Thanks, LVC!
 
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the infamous Cliff Stamp predates my time here on Bladeforums so I don't know who he was or what he did but I still hear so much buzz floating around about this guy.
is it taboo to ask for more details? :p

either way, I'll check this out!
 
uyotg said:
... I don't know who he was or what he did but I still hear so much buzz floating around about this guy. ... is it taboo to ask for more details?
Click to expand...


Cliff was a PhD candidate in Physics when he first joined Bladeforums in the late 1990's. His combination of higher education in physics and an intense interest in the performance of blades led to some groundbreaking work in the areas of blade/edge geometry and finishing, as well as blade steel properties. He was made a moderator here in the early days.

Unfortunately, many of his methods drew criticism (especially from makers and manufacturers whose knives he destroyed), and a good deal of his research and analysis required more than a passing read to understand--fairly technical in nature. He soon developed a cadre of detractors, and although he tirelessly explained his findings in the face of (often crassly inaccurate) criticism, his moderator status was eventually removed, which was fine with him as it relieved him of some responsibilities that had become hard to discharge, given the vocal nature of his detractors.

Cliff continued to offer his insight and detailed explanations for several years, but became jaded I think with the climate that surrounded him on Bladeforums. During a particularly long and tedious thread, he took a gratuitous slap at Bladeforums in general and Spark in particular. As Spark had been dealing with the tempest that surrounded Cliff for several years, and obviously was tired of it, he took that as the final straw and banned Cliff from Bladeforums. Cliff never returned.

In my mind, Cliff broke ground and shared discoveries that made legitimate discourse about blade performance possible here. Predictably enough, Busses and INFI emerged as stars in Cliff's galaxy, which advanced the reputation of Jerry's business immensely at a critical time in its development. But many, many other manufacturers and makers did not fare so well in Cliff's reviews, which has left at least as many, if not more, detractors of his here as supporters.

I counted him as a friend, and I am indebted to him for the education he so generously offered to any who would but engage it.

Will
 
Viva la Cliff!
I learned a bunch about edged tools from him.
Thanks for the info Will!
 
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I've not been around too long, but in my searches of the older archived threads, Cliff's posts are always a great read, and FULL of great information. I regret that I wasn't around here in the heyday. Thanks very much Will, his new site is bookmarked
 
Thank you Will,

Cliff inspired me to beat some of my first Busse's
 
Will York said:
Cliff was a PhD candidate in Physics when he first joined Bladeforums in the late 1990's. His combination of higher education in physics and an intense interest in the performance of blades led to some groundbreaking work in the areas of blade/edge geometry and finishing, as well as blade steel properties. He was made a moderator here in the early days.

Unfortunately, many of his methods drew criticism (especially from makers and manufacturers whose knives he destroyed), and a good deal of his research and analysis required more than a passing read to understand--fairly technical in nature. He soon developed a cadre of detractors, and although he tirelessly explained his findings in the face of (often crassly inaccurate) criticism, his moderator status was eventually removed, which was fine with him as it relieved him of some responsibilities that had become hard to discharge, given the vocal nature of his detractors.

Cliff continued to offer his insight and detailed explanations for several years, but became jaded I think with the climate that surrounded him on Bladeforums. During a particularly long and tedious thread, he took a gratuitous slap at Bladeforums in general and Spark in particular. As Spark had been dealing with the tempest that surrounded Cliff for several years, and obviously was tired of it, he took that as the final straw and banned Cliff from Bladeforums. Cliff never returned.

In my mind, Cliff broke ground and shared discoveries that made legitimate discourse about blade performance possible here. Predictably enough, Busses and INFI emerged as stars in Cliff's galaxy, which advanced the reputation of Jerry's business immensely at a critical time in its development. But many, many other manufacturers and makers did not fare so well in Cliff's reviews, which has left at least as many, if not more, detractors of his here as supporters.

I counted him as a friend, and I am indebted to him for the education he so generously offered to any who would but engage it.

Will
Click to expand...

You neglect to mention the multiple times he altered the grinds of "test" blades, and then reported the findings as fact.

You can use all the technical language you want, but when your base assumptions are wrong, it's nothing but hot air.
 
He was also expert at ducking questions about the kind of problems Sword and Shield mentions.
It is hard to be objective when you test for conclusions you've already reached.
 
I wish him well in his endeavors. Controversy doesn't automatically equate to bad intentions, and he taught me a thing or two as well.

Prof.
 
Will York said:
Cliff was a PhD candidate in Physics when he first joined Bladeforums in the late 1990's. His combination of higher education in physics and an intense interest in the performance of blades led to some groundbreaking work in the areas of blade/edge geometry and finishing, as well as blade steel properties. He was made a moderator here in the early days.

Unfortunately, many of his methods drew criticism (especially from makers and manufacturers whose knives he destroyed), and a good deal of his research and analysis required more than a passing read to understand--fairly technical in nature. He soon developed a cadre of detractors, and although he tirelessly explained his findings in the face of (often crassly inaccurate) criticism, his moderator status was eventually removed, which was fine with him as it relieved him of some responsibilities that had become hard to discharge, given the vocal nature of his detractors.

Cliff continued to offer his insight and detailed explanations for several years, but became jaded I think with the climate that surrounded him on Bladeforums. During a particularly long and tedious thread, he took a gratuitous slap at Bladeforums in general and Spark in particular. As Spark had been dealing with the tempest that surrounded Cliff for several years, and obviously was tired of it, he took that as the final straw and banned Cliff from Bladeforums. Cliff never returned.

In my mind, Cliff broke ground and shared discoveries that made legitimate discourse about blade performance possible here. Predictably enough, Busses and INFI emerged as stars in Cliff's galaxy, which advanced the reputation of Jerry's business immensely at a critical time in its development. But many, many other manufacturers and makers did not fare so well in Cliff's reviews, which has left at least as many, if not more, detractors of his here as supporters.

I counted him as a friend, and I am indebted to him for the education he so generously offered to any who would but engage it.

Will
Click to expand...

Thanks, Will. Still some tension, obviously, but that doesn't mean it's not worth reading through his things.
 
Awesome, thanks Will! That is great news. I got an infraction for just asking about Cutlery Science going down back in '09, so its good to see that things have calmed down a little. His reviews are what led me to purchase my first Busse!
 
Thanks for the link, I was meaning to read some of his reviews/tests and it was nice to find them in one consolidated location.
 
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