Brownshoe,
wwg is all about money, he's stated that the only knives in his collection are those which increase in value. he never buys for fun alone. wwg is not capable of understanding that the abs is happy to turn out smiths that compete with current members. the abs is happy to improve the skills of existing members. its the mission of the abs. its mission is not to make money for the members. more smiths only threaten the mediocre smiths since they will die out earlier. good smiths aren't threatened, they'll just get better. however the more smiths, the harder it is for wwg to hype his posse and maintain his customer's investments. wwg would bash anything he couldn't manipulate as part of his business plan.
Brownshoe, your comment about me being all about the money is almost correct. As well it is the only intelligent thing I have seen you write.
However, the above quote shows that your Ignorance knows no bounds. Note I said Ignorance not Stupidity. There is a difference, although they can be mutually inclusive.
You consistently show your "very" limited knowledge of business time and time again. Since you have held up your hand...we will use you for this evening's edification.
ECON 101: The Law of Supply and Demand. Simple in concept, difficult in execution.
The ABS trains its membership to how forge knives. They offer additional instruction to improve the skills of their membership. Each year the number of makers they train grows. Because of this excellent training, each year the amount of JS and MS makers grow. As JDMangler pointed out perhaps close to 1000 members (all levels included). Here is a point which you may want to consider...the makers out number the associate members by 2:1 ratio.
In Economics, the amount of a good or service that people stand ready to sell at a list of possible prices, providing other factors being held constant. They are;
1) Costs (both fixed and variable)
2) Technology
3) Number of Sellers (pay attention to this one)
4) Future expectations about the market price (guess what happens to the price as more and more sellers of the same type of item enter into the market place?).
Now take a look at an organization that is currently at (on paper) a 2:1 ration of sellers to buyers. Granted not all buyers belong to the organization.
Brownshoe, your first question. What ratio do you think the Sellers to Buyers should be. Here is a hint, the sellers should not out number the buyers.
Now we will move to Marketing 101:
Advertising Jargon: Words such as Hype (Showing your ignorance again).
Lets look at a definition for Hype:
Exaggerated or extravagant claims made especially in advertising or promotional material: It is pure hype, a gigantic PR job (Saturday Review).
Im sure you see the ignorance of your comment. If not lets just take a small sample from the makers I represent:
John White, 2007 Moran Award Winner
Jason Knight, 2007 Hughes Award Winner.
I started buying knives from John prior to him receiving his JS Stamp, the Peck Award and Best New Maker Award at the 2004 Blade Show.
I started buying knives from Jason soon after he received his JS Stamp in 2003.
Were the awards these makers won the type of "Hype" you were speaking of?
Feel free to pick any maker I work with and tell me how I "Hype" them.
Because of the substantial level of ignorance you consistently show with regards to custom knives and Business. I understand why you use the words you do..well because you are ignorant.
John or Jason's skills as knife makers have nothing to do with me. They have spent years honing their craft and improving their skills. What I do, better than most is to have the ability to see the skill in their early work. Then enter into a business relationship with the maker. My part of our relationship is to educate as many people about the quality of their work and the "VALUE" they would receive by spending their money on those makers.
You used the word "Mediocre". That is a word I am familiar with in definition but not execution...I leave those words to people like you to describe how they do things.
Brownshoe, you (as many others have...mostly the board of directors of knife making organizations) miss the point.
That is, it is not solely about making knives, selling knives or buying knives. It is about he synergistic effect of all three that create the market that is custom knives.
You can have all the knife makers in the world making available the most incredible knives the world has ever seen. But if no one knows about it.....
Back to the Law of Supply and Demand. As the Supply increases, if the demand does not increase then two things will happen.
First, the price point will drop. Those selling for the least amount will do the best.
Second, those who cannot compete will leave the market place.
Now the exception to this are the Innovators and the Pathfinders. Their work will always be in demand due to the quality of work associated with their names.
However, the rest......
Many of the people who join the ABS do so to not only learn how to make knives but to supplement or replace their current income. Many of these new makers have seen the likes of Dean, Fisk, Hancock, Newton and others get Thousand$$$$$$ for their work and decide to enter the field!
Realistically with no help from the ABS with regards to the business aspect of custom knives. How many of these makers will realistically be able to make money. I know, for you its not about making that nasty money. However, the fact is that a shop, equipment, and other "costs" associated with making knives costs money. In order for most makers to continue to make knives the knives have to some what cover the shop and materials costs.
Who does this really effect? It effects you Brownshoe. As fewer makers will mean fewer choices for the collectors. As well it effects the makers who are established but have not kept their work competitive and it will effect those makers who possibly could have made a go of it...had they had some help in marketing their work to the buying public.
Lastly, once again you show your ignorance. I don't manipulate the market...the market manipulates me! My job day in and day out is to talk to collectors and listen to what styles they like, what materials they like...basically what THE BUYING PUBLIC WANTS. How else do you think I can sell out over 50 Exclusive Vanguard Designs...it is what the collectors tell me they want.
I tell this to makers all the time when they give me that funny look. It is not me asking you to do this....it is what the collectors want.
Brownshoe, your last question from tonights edification is (since you went to the Arkansas Show) ...With all the talented makers in the room...why were sales so slow? In fact many of the better known makers didn't sell a knife!
Why?
Hands down....this question is for Brownshoe.
WWG
As for the school's equipement, I read that they are doing some upgrades. And I thnk that the rest of us makers should be happy that OSHA can't get into our shops!!!!
).
Some of you may recall that there were a number of threads about a very well known knifemaker/manufacturer and his past. I chimed in with a number of wise-ass comments in these threads. A couple of these remarks actualy upset a very well known knifemaker who happens to be a friend of the person in question. So what was the net result of my rambling? Nothing, other than the fact that I have probably pissed someone off who might have been a valuble source of advice. That hardly seems worth it to get in a few jabs in a forum thread. So I decided that henceforth, the only time I would ever say anything bad about anyone on the forums is if someone actually ripped me off on here, or Ebay, etc. It makes my life much easier and nobody gets pissed off at me.....much
