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People who blatantly and fraudulently sell knives as hand made when they are blanks..

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The idea that if someone is wealthy enough to buy a $600 knife, they deserve to be misled because they won't know better anyway is absolutely ridiculous and unethical.

The claim that someone who lies to their clientele as a basic foundation of their business plan, "isn't taking bread off of someone else's table" is also completely wrong, and frankly just plain stupid.
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1st i'd like to point out how this post sums up this whole thread (not the initial issue but everything after). Too many people taking things out of context and getting overly defensive. I never said or implied that someone wealthy enough to buy a $600 dollar knife deserves to be misled because they won't know better, I said "If someone's gonna buy one of his knives then they obviously have a lot of disposable income and as long as they like how it looks who cares if it was hand forged or machined somewhere else." i've seen his work, have no idea what steel he is using, and i'm sure most of his clientele don't care either as long as they have a pretty/fancy looking knife to show off. Real Knife collectors tend to want a lot more info on the product they may be purchasing.

2nd wording or phrasing that his knives were made by himself from steel to finish (or however it was phrased) is by far not the basis of anyone's business plan. It was foolish and misleading on his part but again regardless of if it was removed or not, how is it affecting your life? I've looked at your knives and they look amazing, i doubt you're gonna loose business to this guy (or any other custom makers) My whole point of this was let's start worrying about ourselves and not so much about others. Peace
 
1st i'd like to point out how this post sums up this whole thread (not the initial issue but everything after). Too many people taking things out of context and getting overly defensive. I never said or implied that someone wealthy enough to buy a $600 dollar knife deserves to be misled because they won't know better, I said "If someone's gonna buy one of his knives then they obviously have a lot of disposable income and as long as they like how it looks who cares if it was hand forged or machined somewhere else." i've seen his work, have no idea what steel he is using, and i'm sure most of his clientele don't care either as long as they have a pretty/fancy looking knife to show off. Real Knife collectors tend to want a lot more info on the product they may be purchasing.

2nd wording or phrasing that his knives were made by himself from steel to finish (or however it was phrased) is by far not the basis of anyone's business plan. It was foolish and misleading on his part but again regardless of if it was removed or not, how is it affecting your life? I've looked at your knives and they look amazing, i doubt you're gonna loose business to this guy (or any other custom makers) My whole point of this was let's start worrying about ourselves and not so much about others. Peace

:thumbup::thumbup: on your post.

Paul
 
2nd wording or phrasing that his knives were made by himself from steel to finish (or however it was phrased) is by far not the basis of anyone's business plan. It was foolish and misleading on his part but again regardless of if it was removed or not, how is it affecting your life? I've looked at your knives and they look amazing, i doubt you're gonna loose business to this guy (or any other custom makers) My whole point of this was let's start worrying about ourselves and not so much about others. Peace

It happens to be in other folks interest because lying as a business practice is sleazy at best and tarnishes the community to a degree by casting doubt where doubt shouldn't be felt. Customers who are lied to, whether they have a "fancy knife to show off" or not have still been lied to. I'm not sure whats difficult to grasp about this concept. Most honest businesspeople let the quality of their work shine through so it's little wonder that folks that conduct their business with integrity are insulted when they see those in the same field lie to unsuspecting clients by passing off pre-made products as handmade by themselves.
 
The funny thing is if Mr. Williams played up the fact his blades were machine made his sales might even go up, for example...

" To meet the ever growing demand we have our blades machined to our specifications to the highest tolerances. To achieve the most consistent and precision blade a $50,000 CNC machine mills each blade to our exact specifications. We then hand inspect each blade to insure only the best is used in our knifemaking. This is done to meet the high demand for our product. Nothing leaves our shop that has not been inspected and meets Williams knifes high standard of excellence."

Maybe instead of threatening to sue he can use the truth and spin it to his advantage.

There are a lot of makers out there having their knives being made on machines, if they are up front about it.... that is what matters.
 
duplicate post
 
I've received a letter from a lawyer allegedly representing Williams Knife Company.


Click for bigger

Transcription for the image impaired:
James V. Parker, Jr., Esq.
Licensed in N.C. and Georgia

August 21,2013

Mr. Jeff Schlossberg
Twelve Bravo Marketing, LLC
921 Barret Avenue
Louisville, KY 40204

Re: Your website and Williams Knife Company

Dear Mr. Schlossberg:

Williams Knife Company has retained me to represent the company in response to a series of blogs that have appeared on your website. It is also my understanding that Mr. Williams has attempted to talk with you about postings on your site. I have read your guidelines that you advertise as being boundaries to use your website.

The problem for my client is that it appears you are not abiding by your own rules. While you may think you are exempt from any action related to what may be posted on your website, it would still be very costly to you just to find out. I have instructed Williams Knife Company to bring its action in Federal Court in Charleston, S.C. against you and your LLC if you are not willing to consider and act upon the least of what we are asking.

Simply put, you have given the folks who have issues, for whatever reason, with Williams Knife Company an opportunity to vent. They have done that. Unfortunately for you, some of their latest comments are simply untrue and not protected speech. If you would consider removing the string of postings regarding Williams Knife Company and do so, you will never hear from me again. Your consideration is appreciated.

Sincerely,

James V. Parker, Jr.

Cc: Williams Knife Company

Overlooking the "Jeff Schlossberg" issue entirely, this letter brings up a number of interesting points. One, I was completely unaware of any blog postings on this site about the Williams Knife Company. If anyone is aware of them, maybe they could do me a favor and point them out.

Mr. Parker, Jr Esq is correct that Mr. Williams attempted to talk with me about postings on my site, however since neither can articulate which postings in particular they have issues with and which of "their latest comments are simply untrue and not protected speech" there is little I can do to address their concerns.

I'm also unaware of what rules I'm not abiding by, both Mr. Williams and Mr. Parker Jr Eq have neglected to highlight this for me. Perhaps they could educate all of us about this lapse on my part. I do take issue with Mr Parker's blatant mischaracterization of my position, specifically "While you may think you are exempt from any action related to what may be posted on your website" - this is not an opinion I have, nor is it one that I've ever stated or otherwise claimed.

Regardless, I thought I'd share this with you guys and welcome commentary on this letter and your opinions on this situation.
 
The funny thing is if Mr. Williams played up the fact his blades were machine made his sales might even go up, for example...

" To meet the ever growing demand we have our blades machined to our specifications to the highest tolerances. To achieve the most consistent and precision blade a $50,000 CNC machine mills each blade to our exact specifications. We then hand inspect each blade to insure only the best is used in our knifemaking. This is done to meet the high demand for our product. Nothing leaves our shop that has not been inspected and meets Williams knifes high standard of excellence."

Maybe instead of threatening to sue he can use the truth and spin it to his advantage.

There are a lot of makers out there having their knives being made on machines, if they are up front about it.... that is what matters.

Yup. A lot these days seem to have their blades blanked out by a water jet company or even by plasma cutter.

A few years ago, there was a new maker at the monthly gun show that I used to chat with. He bought blades, pin material, epoxy, handle material, etc. from several different sources. He did a slight regrind on some of his blades, but mostly polished them out a bit more and sharpened the dickens out of them. While his blades had his name on them, he made no bones about the fact that they were purchased 90% finished and ready to go.

I asked him why he didn't grind his own knife blades, and he said it he wasn't good enough to put out a finished product yet and was trying to earn enough money to buy the grinder he was after. The average price of his knives was about $225. Almost every gun show he sold about 6 - 7 because his finishing work was excellent, and the choice of handle material were all top tier. Not a flaw in his work. (He told me he had a bucket full of knives that he intended to regrind one day or turn them into tool box knives that didn't make his quality control cut for selling.) His knives were pretty enough and so well finished he not only made money polishing and hafting, but got far enough ahead to buy his KMG pretty quickly.

All he had to do was to be honest and he was fine. Yes, there were a couple of scratch makers there at the shows that made plenty of snide remarks, nasty comments about him and his work, and made fun of him behind his back, but he didn't care, and outsold them 2 to 1 or more every single month. He made no pretense about what he was doing, and would even tell you where he bought the blade for each knife if you asked him!

He mostly sold fixed hunters, but got into the large folder kits. They were beautiful, but he quit making them as he couldn't get the blades centered up the way he wanted and he couldn't get the pulls to his satisfaction. He told me that only every other one was a "sellable" knife.

He got to the point he told me he was going to quit going to the shows as he sold enough knives by word of mouth that he was better served working in his shop rather than taking a two day weekend away from it for the gun show.

Certainly in his case, honesty was the best policy. He was literally selling all he could make in about 6 months from starting. I was fun to watch him get faster, better, and modify the knives more. I don't know where he is now, but no doubt he is happily grinding away somewhere here in town.

Oddly... although many here swear by all things BF and consider it an all powerful, all seeing entity, he had never heard of it. He was intrigued and I always encouraged him to go to the maker's forum. Month after month... he wouldn't go. Finally, he told me "between my regular job, my kids, and making knives I just don't have time to mess around on the internet".

I miss that guy.

Robert
 
if he was having the blades custom made just for him, they would not be identical to the kit knives everyone can buy.

For those who say "worry about yourselves" I have to wonder why they don't take their own advice, or just what problem they have with honesty and accountability?
If some rich guy wants a rare car for whatever reason, and he gets ripped off with a kit car instead, the guy building the kit car is just a good businessman, and anyone calling him a crook is just jealous, right? The customer deserved it for not being well versed in the hobby he was attempting to enter?

Dishonest "makers" are far from the norm in the knife world, and they should be exposed when discovered.
 
Regardless, I thought I'd share this with you guys and welcome commentary on this letter and your opinions on this situation.

Ugh, lawyers. Love this site, but wouldn't buy it for a nickel knowing the crap you have to deal with.
 
How odd that the lawyer's letter did not specify what action he planned to advise his client to take. Wouldn't it be more helpful to state what speech they found that was not protected, citing the legal reason why it would be unprotected, and then specify the type of legal action they planned to pursue?
 
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Regardless, I thought I'd share this with you guys and welcome commentary on this letter and your opinions on this situation.

Looks to me like Mr. Williams and Mr. Parker both enjoy a similar amount of ambiguity in their communications.
 
Looks like neither one did their homework. Sloppy terminology, ambiguous references. Might be a law school student or a brother-in-law with a few legal websites bookmarked.
 
Ambiguous, that's a nice way to put it. "My client is upset 'cause we don't think you're following your rules on a website you own?" "Expensive for you?"
 
Via my job I have a legal insurance plan and a lawyer that I picked out. Stuff like this that gets litigated is paid for completely. That said doing the work that I do I've received on more than one occasion similar letters to negotiate restitution or cease and desist. Its only a threat until the lawyer files a claim and still only a threat even if a court date is set, often times the other party doesn't show up. Not the same situation but I've seen the ambulance chasers do the letter for the chance to collect 30 percent if the threat sticks.
 
Disclaimer-I'm not a lawyer, nor offering legal advice. That said, I worked in a law office as an undergrad as a paralegal. Vague threatening letters often work, and are cheaper than actually doing the legwork to find out one's true legal options. Not saying that is the case here, please note.
 
I thank you for not folding under this guys weak attempt at silencing this and I hope it doesn't cause you any hardship. Having to deal with his correspondence is bad enough.
 
Looks like neither one did their homework. Sloppy terminology, ambiguous references. Might be a law school student or a brother-in-law with a few legal websites bookmarked.
supposedly a real lawyer, 9 years in practice. Unless he just used the guy's name. Even if real, not all lawyers are good at lawyering.
 
supposedly a real lawyer, 9 years in practice. Unless he just used the guy's name. Even if real, not all lawyers are good at lawyering.

You're right Rat, having a shingle don't make you a good lawyer just like putting a nicely finished handle on a kit blade don't make you a Master Smith. HEHEHE
 
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