Off Topic Snark it, snark it good. Original thread continued . . .

[mountainmist]

 

[worldwood]

That was kind of my point. Dj is 18 but acts/sounds like a much older fellow.

Cam is 16 or 17 and also acts much older as well.

 

[Chameleonbear]

Cam is 16 or 17 and also acts much older as well.

I thought the kid was 13...

Dj also doesn't hit himself in the head with an ax!

 

[mountainmist]

I thought the kid was 13...

Dj also doesn't hit himself in the head with an ax!

:grumpy: I'm 13 and 1/2 :grumpy:

 

[james terrio]

I'll be there for sure! I could be a seminar, along with bannock........ I'll also be lookin' for a replacement for my 16, Dex will be there with his esee 4, TOPS BOB, 16, and bravo 1! I'll be nagin' you to play with your Sidekick, just so you know.

Awesome, dude! Please share everything you know. You and everyone else will be more than welcome to play with and test every knife I bring... that's how I learn how to make 'em even better

 

[james terrio]

I know he's alright. Not as alright as Dj who acts seriously beyond his years however he is also 5 years older than the kid which in teen age years is a lifetime! I actually do like how much the kid gets out and puts in work in the woods. While I won't make it to the gathering I hope for his sake he does.

Well-said on all counts :thumbup:

There is lots to learn on the mountain.

Indeed!

My question is how come more people are not interested in cutting in bladesports?

I have some thoughts on that... which mainly boil down to... they've taken it about as far as it can go. In a few short years, those dudes have basically taken the ABS performance-testing standards and blown them clean out of the water... which is frankly pretty got-dang impressive!

BladeSports comps have been directly responsible for giant leaps forward in how we expect high-quality camp knives to perform. :thumbup:

The problem is, all the major records are now set so high, that newbs look at 'em and go "well heck, I can't possibly beat that."

Also, there are only so many ways to use a heavy-duty knife safely (and I give huge respect to BladeSports for strongly emphasizing safety and using knives as hard-working tools). At the championships last spring, Donavon Phillips made it a point to explain that they don't do piercing/stabbing tests, specifically because they don't want to turn it into a weapons demonstration, they want to emphasize family-friendly stuff and skills you would actually use around the campsite or homestead, not crazy "zombie apocalypse" silliness.

I applaud that.

Let's pause for a minute and give them credit for everything they're doing right (which is a lot)... they're promoting excellence in everything from skill to steel to craftsmanship to HT. They're promoting a family-friendly atmosphere at their comps... that's awesome!

At BLADE last year, they were handing out chunks of rope and golf balls cut by the actual competitors to people in the crowd... and they made sure the youngsters got first dibs. Very cool, and very smart. :thumbup: Crowds love that kinda stuff!

There's another aspect to actual competition that I suspect deters many new people from getting involved... pure size and raw brute strength. Look at all the champions of the last several years.... they are all big, big boys. That doesn't really matter in the precision cuts, but there's simply no way a 5'8" 150# cat can compete against a 6'2" 300# dude in the 2x4 chop with the same knife. And let's face it... the 2x4 chops are where the make-or-break points are made.

Perhaps if there were a couple different weight classes, it would open the field to more people. Why not a women's class? Or even a kid's class? I think the key to growth is get everyone involved and let 'em have some fun

Expense is a huge factor as well. It takes a pretty serious investment to buy or build a knife that can help you accomplish those various cuts, and doing it well requires a lot of practice time. The judges and competitors have to take time off work and travel long
distances to make this stuff happen, and that ain't cheap.

As a maker, it costs many hundreds of dollars to provide a knife and sponsor a competitor with your name on his t-shirt. I understand that... all that rope and golf balls do cost money, and as far as I know, they don't charge admission to any of their comps. But it's tough for an independent maker or competitor to lay out the kind of cash it takes to go to several comps a year.

Thankfully, BladeSports is blessed with several big-name sponsors (Peter's Heat Treat, Spyderco and DMT have all been big supporters for years) and kudos to those folks! It would be great to see more companies like Ka-Bar and Busse sponsor competitors. C'mon now... they already make knives that would work, and they should get in on this.

Please do not take any of this as a dig at the BladeSports folks... I admire what they're doing very much. They have been a wonderful positive influence on the knife world in general!

And I sincerely hope they can continue with that.

 

[daizee]

Let's pause for a minute and give them credit for everything they're doing right (which is a lot)... they're promoting excellence in everything from skill to steel to craftsmanship to HT. They're promoting a family-friendly atmosphere at their comps... that's awesome!

At BLADE last year, they were handing out c

Oooh, interesting topic about which I have thought not at all.
Are there 'production' categories?
Agreed on weight or age or gender categories.

 

[worldwood]

James,

I understand that, but to me it doesnt matter if im beating any records, or winning any trophies. Just playing the "game", because i like playing the "game"... I expect the same reason basketball players keep playing even though they know they would never be as good as say Jordan.

There are some competition certified knives around 500, thats a pretty big investment and the main reason i could see some not doing it... BUT there are cutters that lend knives out as well... Another thing just any knife that meets the requirements cant be used.... It has to be an approved knife from approved makers or go through a strenuous approval process... I figured this out AFTER having Crimson make me up a comp cutter LOL

there's simply no way a 5'8" 150# cat can compete against a 6'2" 300# dude

Im exactly 5'8" and right at 150 pounds too LMAO, And im going to LOVE competing against the big boys. All my life i have been told i cant do what bigger guys can do, it just makes me want to try more. I would love to go head to head with Dan Keffeler on the full course.... Id lose my ass off and learn more than i ever i learned about using knives in my life.

You learn more from losing one fight than winning ten.

 

[james terrio]

Oooh, interesting topic about which I have thought not at all.
Are there 'production' categories?
Agreed on weight or age or gender categories.

As far as I can tell, there is no distinction between factory-made knives and handmade knives. The rules are pretty clear and the same for either :thumbup:

 

[worldwood]

Perhaps if there were a couple different weight classes, it would open the field to more people. Why not a women's class? Or even a kid's class? I think the key to growth is get everyone involved and let 'em have some fun

Thats also a very good idea ill ask Dan about that next time i talk with him. I think that would indeed open it up to more people.

 

[james terrio]

Im exactly 5'8" and right at 150 pounds too LMAO, And im going to LOVE competing against the big boys.

Back in my hard-rock full-goose-loony street-fighting days, I hated/feared "little guys" much more than the dudes my size or bigger... Those little bastards are sneaky and mean, and typically they have a giant chip on their shoulder... that's a dangerous combination...

 

[worldwood]

As far as I can tell, there is no distinction between factory-made knives and handmade knives. The rules are pretty clear and the same for either :thumbup:

For any knife that has not been previously approved for Bladesports use, you need to send Two (2) finished models and one (1) heat-treated blade blank to a designated BladeSports International, Inc. official for testing prior to approval.

 

[worldwood]

Back in my hard-rock full-goose-loony street-fighting days, I hated/feared "little guys" much more than the dudes my size or bigger... Those little bastards are sneaky and mean, and typically they have a giant chip on their shoulder... that's a dangerous combination...

LMAO, we got that chip on our shoulder at a young age... When you big guys were trying to bully us around.

We didnt have the size or strength, so we made up for it with way more "CRAZY"

 

[james terrio]

For any knife that has not been previously approved for Bladesports use, you need to send Two (2) finished models and one (1) heat-treated blade blank to a designated BladeSports International, Inc. official for testing prior to approval.

Right. That kind of investment means virtually nothing to a big company... but it represents a mortgage payment and some groceries to a goofball like me... if BladeSports is going to continue and grow, the Big Boys need to step up and support it.

LMAO, we got that chip on our shoulder at a young age... When you big guys were trying to bully us around.

Not all big guys are bullies. I was raised by/around big dudes, and the very first thing they taught me in regards to busting knuckles was, "it takes a bigger man to walk away from a fight than it does to start one" :thumbup:

The other side of the coin is, when some sawed-off nitwit with a Napoleon Complex gets all up in your grill just because you happen to be the biggest lump of meat around, and he wants to prove how "tough" he is by intimidating or beating up a big guy. That's a lose-lose situation for the big guy... either he beats down a smaller guy and gets called an a-hole/bully, or he gets beat up by a midget and is mocked mercilessly for that. "WTF dude, I was just gettin' drunk and tryin' to flirt with the women... I don't need this foolishness..."

 

[james terrio]

Also, changing light bulbs and getting stuff off the high shelf. That gets old real fast. Screw you, short people; use a ladder

 

[mountainmist]

Also, changing light bulbs and getting stuff off the high shelf. That gets old real fast. Screw you, short people; use a ladder

I can finally reach the cups! *Fist pump*

 

[Silverthorn]

SOME big guys that I have known have been the biggest teddybears. Its the middle sized guys that normally make life miserable for the little guys.
I would guess only about 25 pct of the bullys out there are the biggest guys. One of the reasons normal bullies tend to travel in packs.
I feel for really big guys, because people always want to start a fight with them to prove something. I am not a tall guy, and I definitely went through the Napoleon syndrome as a younger man. I am about 175- 180 now though and not a fat guy. In my prime I was 198 and about 4-6 pct body fat. I wore loose clothes so people couldnt tell too. It was always a shock for the bigger guys who decided i was a target, to be out muscled by me.

 

[DJG097]

That was kind of my point. Dj is 18 but acts/sounds like a much older fellow.

Your close, I'm actually 16. If I were 18, I'd be allowed back into the chat room

 

[Dexwithers]

I think I'll chime in here........ I'm a little guy......... and seems like us little guys always had to prepare to be bullied by the bigger kids. I was always planning ahead of time and learned to outsmart them. But I would stand up to anyone even if they were twice my size. Usually they backed down every time. The big guys are bigger and stronger but most little guys are faster/quicker and being smaller made us harder to hit. Smaller target if you will. Probably doesn't help that I'm ADD and have 10xs more energy than most people I know.

Most big Bullies (not all) rely on there strength and also on the fact that most people are already afraid of them because of their size to win fights. They don't usually have to study their opponent or out think them.

Now that being said, I hate to fight. Like Terrio said about being a bigger man and walking away, That usually worked for me. I always try to avoid any type of conflict and situation that can escalade into a bloody fight. I have talked my way out of to many confrontations to even count. But in those times when the Bigger guy was not gonna back down and let it go, I always stood up to them and usually came out ok. I knew as a little guy that if this big sucker gets one hit on me, I'm probably out cold so I need to get 4 or 5 hits in before he can land one and he will usually be so surprised that he ends it or I can haul ass out of their while he's wiping the blood from his face. lol

Anyway, I have never started a fight and can't stand guys who go around looking for people that they know they can beat up as targets.

Also now days with my CHL and the fact that I usually am packing, I have had to learn to ignore lot's of dumb people. No more yelling out the window or flipping off someone who cuts me off. I now have to become invisible cause I do not want to put myself in any situation where I may need to use force if I could have avoided it. My temper is hard to control when I'm mad but the older I get the more I have learned to let things go. It's usually not worth it.

Alright........ that's enough of me rambling on about crap.


But on a side note, I do keep a stool in the Kitchen so I can reach my Tabasco sauce and my Whisky Glasses on the top shelf.

 

[Guyon]

Who needs Krinkles when you have Culver's?