Roll'n w/the punches.***updated pg 4***

Nick,

I think you should wait at least a week before getting medieval on a finished knife.

P
 
That was tough to do no doubt Nick! I appreciate the 'demo' of taking the handle off. I'm looking forward to seeing it rehandled friend!
 
The wood on that handle was beautiful. I won't comment on the shape as I didn't hold it. The camera can create visual impressions that turn out different in real life (I disliked the look of the new Corvette until I saw one live last week.).

The makers I collect will not let a knife out of their shop unless THEY are satisfied it represents them to their standards. I've tried to convince a couple to sell me less than cosmetically perfect knives as a "user"...nope.

Not sayin' this knife was less than anything. Hell, I would have purchased it with that kickin' wood without hesitation. Didn't know it was available. Would have added a Paul Long sheath and BOOM.

Nick, my 2 cents: always be comfortable deciding what leaves your shop because it represents you. Having said that...I liked that knife. Broke my heart to see it on the anvil.
 
I am with Rob and the others. I think you should only sell what you think represents you and your taste in the knife you produce. Having said that, I still think you could have given it at least three days more!

Personally I was turned off by the shape of the handle, but thats because your normal handle shape is one of my favorite aspects of your knives. And you do "that shape" among the best of anyone.

I think with that blade finish it would look better with a black material like micarta or CF.
 
Nick, I've been in this situation more than you and I know it. I've ground the handle off a dozen of 'em, and with kydex, you have to throw the sheath in the trash too because it was directly molded to that handle. Double pain in the ass. The second time around ends up alot better, and I'm a better knifemaker, businessman, and a person at the end of the day for doing it. No regrets!
 
Lorien said:
I actually said "no! Don't...!" out loud here all by myself.
I woulda asked you to let me make payments on it if I knew you were gonna do that :(
Still think it's a viable and good handle design.
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This ^^^
 
Must be this one..? I didnt see a photo posted yet.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1147480-WITHDRAWN-Mean-Little-SOB

47342E5E-C1B0-438D-9FD5-1B001B57F4BA-221-0000001B937F3171_zps9d196037.jpg

2B656E24-FAF4-42FC-9C3F-0BCA12970A19-221-0000001B9A88A9DD_zps374baeeb.jpg

6AC059B7-6F58-4715-A05D-95C1ADBD6B6B-221-0000001BA05FC768_zps57e69c9f.jpg
 
I also found it painful but not for the destroyed handle (ok maybe a little bit) but for the fact that even if you say you were not sad I still believe you were and that what makes me sad. :(
You are a good guy and don’t deserve this. Heck, if it could have prevented this I would have bought the knife myself. :(

I just hope that the fact that I critiqued a very small detail of the knife (although not the handle or pin which looked fine to me) didn't contribute to this. But sadly I still think it may have and I apologize, it was surely not the intent. I will keep my critique private from now on.

Big “Internet Extra Manly Knifemaker” Hug my friend! ;)
 
Nick,

I will add myself to the others who say, "Well done." We have all been there and this is such an unpredictable business that it is hard to say what will sell quickly and what won't. My worst example was having a knife for two years without a sniff. I changed the handle material and it went out the door in two weeks.

Looking forward to seeing what you bring to Little Rock.

Gary
 
Patrice Lemée;13128387 said:
I also found it painful but not for the destroyed handle (ok maybe a little bit) but for the fact that even if you say you were not sad I still believe you were and that what makes me sad. :(
You are a good guy and don’t deserve this. Heck, if it could have prevented this I would have bought the knife myself. :(

I just hope that the fact that I critiqued a very small detail of the knife (although not the handle or pin which looked fine to me) didn't contribute to this. But sadly I still think it may have and I apologize, it was surely not the intent. I will keep my critique private from now on.

Big “Internet Extra Manly Knifemaker” Hug my friend! ;)
Click to expand...

Patrice

You are a good man and I think I can speak for Nick when I say to not beat yourself up

Nick is always on a quest for perfection. It is his way and should be admired not lamented :)
 
I'm nowhere near the knifemaker that you are, Nick. And I don't have as much time in the game as you, either.

But if it were me, I'd raise the prices of the knives that sell within an hour, and not destroy the handle of a knife that didn't sell in two days.

The buyers of your high-end knives are always on the hunt. Always on the prowl. And they're connected to similar-minded folks who will notify them of available knives usually within minutes or hours of them being posted.

If you're targeting a different buying segment, keep in mind they may not be on the prowl 24/7. The right buyer for that knife may only check the boards once per week, or even less.

If you had said you weren't happy with how the knife turned out, my response would be much different.
 
drama queen ;) jsut joking Nick
if it aint right it aint right

(is it done yet is it done yet is it done yet.....)
 
Ive seen Nick replace handles before. Wood is a funny thing to work with, it doesn't always cooperate and shape itself like stag does. It takes much more thought, skill and an artists hand to make it come out just right. Too much here or/and there off and you have what resembles a broom handle. Nobody wants to pay a living wage for a fancy broom handle.
 
Patrice Lemée;13128387 said:
I also found it painful but not for the destroyed handle (ok maybe a little bit) but for the fact that even if you say you were not sad I still believe you were and that what makes me sad. :(
You are a good guy and don’t deserve this. Heck, if it could have prevented this I would have bought the knife myself. :(

I just hope that the fact that I critiqued a very small detail of the knife (although not the handle or pin which looked fine to me) didn't contribute to this. But sadly I still think it may have and I apologize, it was surely not the intent. I will keep my critique private from now on.

Big “Internet Extra Manly Knifemaker” Hug my friend! ;)
Click to expand...

I certainly would like to think that your, my, or anyone else's comments did not "contribute to this."

When the knife was posted, comments were specifically invited. If someone is abrupt, dismissive, insulting, or rude that is one thing. And I think we have all seen some of those kinds of posts here. But I did not see any posts like that about this knife. Your post was certainly not in that vein, and I do not believe that mine was either. There were many positive things said about that knife in that thread - many more positive than negative I believe.

If we all have to avoid commenting on knives posted here in anything other than glowing terms - particularly when comments are invited - because we are afraid that the consequences will be dire, then we might just as well disable comments and turn this into a picture-posting forum. I believe that there have been several folks who have posted here lamenting that honest discussion about the knives posted here has been in shorter supply in recent years. I would not like to think that this episode would contribute to that trend. But maybe I'm looking at it all wrong and we should just all agree to restrict ourselves to compliments.

Regardless, are we not grown adults here? Are we not all able to evaluate a knife and form our own opinions on the knive without worrying about whether someone else likes it or not? Not everyone is going to like the same things. I am sure I own some knives that at least some here would honestly consider butt-ugly, even if they would hopefully be too polite to say it that way. Likewise, I have seen some very knives sell for very expensive prices (five figures) which I have considered to be butt-ugly (although I would hopefully be too polite to say it that way, even if asked). So what? I am not going to suddenly dislike a knife just because so-and-so said that they do not like certain features of it.

Personally, I have no idea what the asking price was, but if it was reasonable and if the knife had been offered for at least a week or two, I think it is likely that it would have sold. You only need one person to want it, and sometimes . . . it just takes time. I know that I do not check the sales forums every day (or anything close to every day) and I am sure there are a ton of other collectors like that. I think anyone posting a knife for sale here should expect that it might take a week or two to sell.

Finally, I have said it before and will say it again: I think knifemaking is a tough line of work and I have all respect to those who make it their vocation. Knifemakers sometimes have to take a couple of steps back on a knife and then start over. It happens. It has happened to Nick and probably every maker ever. Nick seems Ok with that and has said as much. And I am guessing that when he refinishes it, it will be snapped up promptly, making a happy new owner.
 
Guys

I hope I am not speaking out of turn

I do not think Nick has hurt feelings at all

Quite the contrary

He welcomes comments and posts

He is a perfectionist and like he mentioned when he went to redo the pin it got buggered up

So he did what every maker has had to do more times than they would of liked to, he knocked it off

There is no better way than with a hammer to do this

Only thing Nick did different is that he videoed it

Thus documenting the in's and out's of knife making

I say pure genius and I'm proud of him

How many hits does this thread have ..... How many hits on You Tube

Don't worry about Nick he just sold 12 Bowies in under 3 hrs :)
 
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Whoa guys, hold on! :foot:

Joe said it perfectly.


I absolutely did NOT WANT to make anyone think that I am only open to compliments and atta-boys!!! :o :foot:


Like I mentioned before, NOBODY forced me to do that. It was my decision and I was not sad or depressed about it. :)



IF you saw this as a grown up version of "You don't like my toy?!? Well I'll just break it and nobody can have it!" Then I really did a poor job of articulating/conveying to you, what was really going on here.





At the risk of muddying up the water more, I will say I'm kind of confused by some of the responses to what I did. In my mind, the whole idea of constructive criticism on this forum, or just keeping the door open for folks to point out things they may not like about a knife.... SHOULD ultimately lead toward the bladesmith making changes.... whether it be to that particular piece, or just future versions of it... that will make the knife more like what they think it should have/could have been.

When there's a consistent theme like, "I don't care for the handle" or "I think the knife would have been better with a synthetic handle material" then axing the handle and giving it another go seems like it would be viewed as a positive move. Wouldn't it? :confused: :)




All that aside, I'm going to finish the new handle today, and I feel it's a better fit to my original intent.... so I have nothing to be upset about here. :cool: :)
 
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