Questions about sharing

It is best to plan on handling these things without lawyers, that's the information that I got from a really great copyright attorney. Usually the small time operators that rip you off don't have money and it is a waste of time and money to sue them.

Off topic, but if you ever have to sue someone, find a good legal specialist. When I had to evict someone my real estate lawyer refered me to an eviction specialist who handled the process quickly and cheaply. He even let me handle most of my own preliminary documents. When I had a copyright problem I found a copyright specialist that I located through the LA Press Club. He saved me a pile of money and time. Lawyers who really know what they are doing can do things quick and cheap. They can also tell you right up front whether you ought to even consider going to court. The generalists have to go off and research almost everything and pay general paralegals to create documents. The specialists have everything ready to go.
 
Just a few points.
1) I consider credit mandatory unless I am confirming what I believe to be the case already. Credit is also important due to the fact that if the info is wrong, it is not the writers fault.:) Consider the press:" 23 confirmed dead...according to the Los Angeles Times". You want to give credit wherever possible, though I would not necessarily bother if I was simply making sure I had all my ducks in a row. Obviously, I know nothing about the case at hand.
2) I believe that the more knowledgeable those in a trade are, the stronger they all can become. If a number of bladesmiths are building incredible knives that perform very well, then they will become known for that and continue to sell. If they slowly lose ground to factory made products, then will as a group begin to die off. Not necessarily as individuals, but the image of the smiths as a group will slowly fade, as will the value of their product.
3) I have learned a huge amount from you Kevin, and appreciate the time you take to answer my questions. I am still waiting for the Steel and Heat Treat for Dummies. Is it here yet?.... Is it here yet?....
Have a good day all.
 
Actually I think I may have to take some responsibilty if I do not stamp images boldy with my name, the person doing the piece could include a mention only to have the publisher/editor drop it, which could have been the most recent case.
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Kevin, I would suggest adding a watermark to all your images. Cleary, you should be always be credited for your work. However, some people are inconsiderate, rude, obnoxious, or just plain oblivious. To avoid having to wonder if someone you know is being inconsiderate or whether some editor screwed you, it's safest just to mark all your work. It will even make it easier for those who want to credit you to do so.

As an aside, I've alway wondered what program you use to make all those clever little images that you have on your website? I particularly like these two.
rug.jpg




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PS: Speaking of rude and obnoxious;
Odinblades said:
"... Kevin, with all the internet Frankenstiens you have helped to create, what with all the free knowledge you throw around like candy, the industry is not any better off..." Blaa, Blaa, Blaa...
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Hopefully, that rant was just a poor attempt at a joke that no one got. :thumbdn:
 
I am not too good with words, so bare with me.
I broke my clavicle some months ago and the break was not healing. My bone Doc talked a medical supply company in to letting me try their bone growth stimulator. It was not designed for use on the body trunk, but for use on limbs. They had no harness that would hold the transducer in place for treatment. They let me try it anyway, at no charge.
Well I had the unit and no way to use it without holding the transducer in place with my hand for hours a day. So with the help of my wife and with some leather, some lacing and parts from the standard factory harness, we made a comfortable , fully adjustable harness. Looks weird, but it works.
Now to the crux of this rambling tale. Every person that has seen this harness has said" you need to patent that and sell it to the company".
The first time I heard it, I was kinda shocked. The one hundredth time I head it , I felt sick.
This company donated a very expensive medical tool that I could not afford and I should try to make money from a simple harness?
At the end of my treatment, the harness will be FREELY GIVEN to the company for anyone's use. Sure they will make money from it and my case has shown the unit has other applications. But this company will also continue to donate the use of their unit to others that can not afford it.
My rant has ended.
Mike
 
nc_cooter said:
I am not too good with words, so bare with me.
I broke my clavicle some months ago and the break was not healing. My bone Doc talked a medical supply company in to letting me try their bone growth stimulator. It was not designed for use on the body trunk, but for use on limbs. They had no harness that would hold the transducer in place for treatment. They let me try it anyway, at no charge.
Well I had the unit and no way to use it without holding the transducer in place with my hand for hours a day. So with the help of my wife and with some leather, some lacing and parts from the standard factory harness, we made a comfortable , fully adjustable harness. Looks weird, but it works.
Now to the crux of this rambling tale. Every person that has seen this harness has said" you need to patent that and sell it to the company".
The first time I heard it, I was kinda shocked. The one hundredth time I head it , I felt sick.
This company donated a very expensive medical tool that I could not afford and I should try to make money from a simple harness?
At the end of my treatment, the harness will be FREELY GIVEN to the company for anyone's use. Sure they will make money from it and my case has shown the unit has other applications. But this company will also continue to donate the use of their unit to others that can not afford it.
My rant has ended.
Mike
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This demonstrates the kind of person you are.:thumbup:
- Mitch
 
Phillip Patton said:
If I spent my entire life learning something, I'd want to save the next guy from having to do the same. It's called "progress", and not having to re-invent the wheel constantly. I just don't get your thinking here...
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I've spent my entire adult life working with steel in tool, mold & die shops, both as an apprentice learning and a journeyman teaching others. Could you even imagine where we might be if others hadn't shared what they knew with others ? I might not be the best or the smartest, but whatever I have learned, I have always and will always continue to freely share it with others. Sometimes I don't get it either Phil :confused:
 
Kevin,
Maybe I understand incorrectly, but since I became regular on this forum and read many of your posts, the impression I got about you was a person who is passionate about what you do and what you know and you get satisfaction out of helping others and sharing your knowledge. I imagine this is why steadfastly demanding recognition or financial reward has never been on the agenda for you. It is probably a factor which makes it easy for people to think that you are quite happy not to receive any acknowledgements. To answer your question, I dont think you are sensitive about not receiving acknowledgment, and I would think think human nature would be to openly acknowledge their sources and not take credit for others' work.

I have hinted at this a few times previously: Why dont you take all your knowledge and experience and put it into a book. Your input is clearly well appreciated and respected by everyone on this forum, and I am sure many would kill to get a copy. Furthermore your have a very good way with words and an ability to explain complex idea in simple laymans terms for the rest of us. In the process you will get clear recognition which you clearly deserve and some compensation for your time and efforts.

Lang
 
Phillip Patton said:
If I spent my entire life learning something, I'd want to save the next guy from having to do the same. It's called "progress", and not having to re-invent the wheel constantly. I just don't get your thinking here...
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David Wesner said:
I've spent my entire adult life working with steel in tool, mold & die shops, both as an apprentice learning and a journeyman teaching others. Could you even imagine where we might be if others hadn't shared what they knew with others ? I might not be the best or the smartest, but whatever I have learned, I have always and will always continue to freely share it with others. Sometimes I don't get it either Phil :confused:
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It gives me great please to share something with someone and they improve on it or come back and show me a better or easier way of doing a task. The bottom line I guess is the more information on this we share the more we help each other . Phillip @ David you folks have summed up the way I feel .
 
wow.. first were called "communists" on another post...for sharing info... and now were labeled " Frankenstein's " .....

what in the world is the matter with some people...

i'd rather see a world were every blade is heat treated perfectly rather than not... then people can work on design and creativity, fit and finish, etc

Kevin, keep up the good work Bros ! your posts do make a difference..


about the subject of the thread.... publications seem to get things fuzzy.. and sometimes they forget to credit everyone.. .. i'd contact them and just ask for an edit in the next mag to give some credit were its due... some are good about doing this..-- its not much but can help to make it right

Greg
 
Well I think this thread has served its purpose quite well, I needed other perspectives to sort out my feelings and the very act of having to put my feelings into words has helped clear my head. Recent instances where most likely honest mistakes, approaching it as if it was a huge intentional thing would be entirely out of proportion, but people are still hurt by honest mistakes.

I can’t think of anybody who has approached me for help or information over the years that I wouldn’t say is a good guy. In order to ask for help or information I think you have to have one of the most essential seeds of being a good guy inside you- humility. When your ego won’t allow you to realize that most knowledge and answers to your questions lie outside of yourself, you have a serious hurdle to being a truly good guy. And the fact is that I have learned more than any of the folks who asked me for information in the process of supplying answers. Think of the favor that somebody has done you when they ask you a question that makes you say “Hmmm, I never really thought about that.” Somebody has caused you to think in a way you never did, now who is the teacher and who is the learner? Whenever we take ourselves out of the students chair we are done progressing in most aspects of life including character.

I don’t need to be angry, I don’t need to dwell on it or be defensive, I just need to be more careful in the future, I cannot criticize others for being careless if I cannot improve myself to cover my backside in that same area. Using it for good, would I have remembered every time to add an identifying extra layer in Photoshop* if I didn’t have this harder lesson to stick it in my mind?

The only stuff that I really feel I deserve credit for is that which is mine. 95% of all the things I put on these forums is not mine, the credits go to guys like Grossman, Bain, Krause, and many others. They put the time in the lab to first observe this stuff, we are all just quoting them without always giving credit. My shop is mine, my blades are mine, photos I take are mine, and around 5% of the information that I have time to gather in my testing a research is mine! It may even be less than 5% that I can say I observed independently in a way not done by others. I have sunk way more time and dollars than other smiths into facilities that will give me the slimmest shot at finding something new to observe, and it takes so much time and effort to look that a guy can go hungry from the time taken from making a living. That is why I get more out of sorts about not being recognized as the source of the information that comes from my facilities, that is my thing. Other smiths have their specialty that they are recognized for after years of devotion and spending time, effort and money that others didn’t. For some time I have been doing metallurgical analysis for many others in our business because I have the facilities that they don’t, some could take the information gained and use it in a P.R. campaign to springboard to the top of media coverage with no mention of where the information came from. In need to consider this and what I need to be credited for in the future. A lab will charge a good fee to do it and still retain some rights to the observations, all I want is acknowledgement, I think that is a good deal.

*Photoshop, does that answer your question Chris? ;)
 
Kevin R. Cashen said:
I can’t think of anybody who has approached me for help or information over the years that I wouldn’t say is a good guy. In order to ask for help or information I think you have to have one of the most essential seeds of being a good guy inside you- humility. When your ego won’t allow you to realize that most knowledge and answers to your questions lie outside of yourself, you have a serious hurdle to being a truly good guy. And the fact is that I have learned more than any of the folks who asked me for information in the process of supplying answers. Think of the favor that somebody has done you when they ask you a question that makes you say “Hmmm, I never really thought about that.” Somebody has caused you to think in a way you never did, now who is the teacher and who is the learner? Whenever we take ourselves out of the students chair we are done progressing in most aspects of life including character.
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I hope this paragraph will be in your book. :)
 
My offer is still open to help with the prepress typesetting and layout work (what I currently do as a day gig, and what my masters degree is in) AND I will buy a copy!

-Page
 
Bruce Bump said:
I want an autographed copy.
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Its so funny you mentioned that Bruce :D I was in my shop this morning thinking about asking for one of first copies of the text too.

Kevin, put me down to buy one of the first copies if ever you put something together, seriously :) I'll bet you would in fact have a quite long pre-printing list if you decide to do it.

Thank you for everything that you do for the knifemaking community Kevin Cashen :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
Kevin R. Cashen said:
*Photoshop, does that answer your question Chris? ;)
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Yes, it answers my question, and confirms that my feeble attempts at manipulating images with PS CS3 barely scratch the surface of its capabilities.
eek.gif


For practice, I just tried making a sample "watermark" for Kevin (using one of his own images). It's pretty crude, but I think it gets the job done.

khanjar-with-watermark.jpg
 
Odinblades said:
I appologize to Kevin and the rest of you for my last post. I am a failure as a teacher.
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Not a problem.

I think this one can be put to rest now the thread has served a purpose and we can move on.

I am still planning a book, I appreciate the encouragement.

While I appreciate credit for work I have done, after all why do we stamp our blades, too much public praise has always made me uncomfortable. Actually after seeing how some guys can build a fan base that is almost fanatical the idea of being a guru just plain creeps me out! I just want to be one of the other slobs that are weird enough spend all day hammering hot steel, and when I make something worthwhile enjoy my 15 minutes of fame before getting back to the shop. Nothing more, nothing less.

You can tell one of those gurus by how easy it is to question them. If they find it an afront and if you are piled on by a ravenous pack of toadies for questioning the master there is a problem. Hold the kudos and the thank you's and just keep me on my toes, make me tow the line and stick with facts. Keep the questions coming.


P.S. Sam what kind of smoke are you blowing? A good Dominican or Nicaraguan will get you special treatment! If it is pipe I have developed a bad sensitivity to some latakias, and that would be bad for where that smoke is going ;)
 
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