Sticking up for Nick Wheeler

I understand Brother. Take a break then stop in when the feeling is right. We'll see you around for sure.
 
Well hell, there goes the neighborhood! :) Sorry to see you go Nick. I lurk on this forum more than anything, but have learned a lot from your posts and WIP's. I hope to see more from you someday.
 
I've known Nick for many years, not just from the forums but I've met him and his Dad at the Oregon Show back when Nick was making stock removal knives. He was and is the same kind person and is always willing to help anybody that asks him. I think he may be a little burnt out saying the same thing over and over to new makers. I'm that way too. I cant spend my whole day on the forums teaching how to make a 3 piece knife. Nick went all out and did the most informative WIP on the web. Last time I checked it has over 279,000 views! I read and followed the whole thing and took notes too.

FWIW, I didnt leave this forum for any reason whatsoever. I was given a forum of my own over at Knifedogs and have spent the majority of my time there. I'm still a paid member here on BF and frequent it daily. I think Nick needs to buckle down and quit teaching here so he can pay some bills. Its not easy making knives for a living as it takes much longer than a 40 work week. I should know. Its expensive to teach here on the forums, expensive timewise that should be used to make a living for our families.
 
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You've shared a truckload of yourself and your efforts over many years. Always interested in what you had to say.

Take care, Craig
 
Well I like to think of myself as a decent judge of character, and everything I have witnessed from you, Nick says stand up nice guy, that might possibly give you the shirt off his back if he felt you truly needed it more than he. You have taught me more than you will ever know, I hope I will learn much more from you in the future whether it be here or not. Take care of what is important to you. Take some time and figure out where helping others is on your current priority list. One must tend to his own soul before he can tend to others.

Best of luck in whatever you decide.
 
Nothing can be said that hasn't been said already... All I can offer at this point is my thanks to you.

I hope that you find your way back soon. If you find that this is no longer the place for you, may you prosper if all of your future endeavors.
 
Hi Nick,

You may not remember me but I have let you know, in the past, that I thought you were an engaging, interesting, talented and caring individual. Patrice may remember I have sent him a note thanking him for being the person he is as well.

I suspect the harshness that I also see rising dramatically in most forum I used to participate in has to do with the fact that times are tough and many tend to vent at others with the pseudo protection of some degree of anonymity.

I thought that information retrieval and sharing would get better with each passing year. Instead, I find ease of research, information gathering, assistance and the sharing of knowledge is on the decline (in general). I stopped sharing information at will since my opinions or approaches in various fields lately seems to create unecessary friction. I tend to socialize and share on an individual basis now. As with most people, I teach and I learn.

I don't like losing a connection with a rare soul like you so I hope that we can communicate privately from time to time.
regards,
Dean Lapinel M.D
Boise, Idaho
http://lapinelarts.com
 
Take care of yourself and your family ,Nick. Whenever you want to stick your head in Shop Talk, or posts a photo of a new project, you will always be welcome. Hope you still hang around and offer a comment or two from time to time.

Merry Christmas to you and all that you hold dear.
 
Like I said in ATG, you are always welcome in Shop Talk and we hope you will still stick your head in from time to time.
All the best to you and your family.
 
Nick, you are the best, I will always remeber that day I spend with you right aftter my wife past. It was the first day I actually enjoyed life again. I have learned enough in life to be absolutely positive you are one very nice and excellent person. Don't be hard on yourself, everyone has a moment now and again. Its what you do with them and about them that counts most. I am proud to have met you, gotten some of your advice. Now relax enjoy life and

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND
SOME HAPPY NEW YEARS
 
Like Nick said, I have noticed a pronounced change here in the last two years, it is hard to quantify, but there has definitely been a change. Some of the change can be attributed to some of the best talent spending their time elsewhere with the vacancies they leave remaining unfilled. I used to follow every new Bruce Bump project, and Nick Wheeler WIP, and every once in a while Kevin would show a new construction and answer some question that I had never thought to ask but found his reply useful. Now I find a bunch of newbies using an angle grinder to hog a bevel onto a flat piece of scrap steel, posting a WIP and thinking they are king of the knife world (and not willing to accept constructive advice) Most of the true masters of the craft have left. I should not be one of the more experienced people in a forum like this, yes I have been making knives since about 1980, and I have been a professional metalsmith since 1985, but I am not a well known knifemaker, I have never been an ABS member or gone to the Blade show. The fact that I am now one of the more senior members of this forum points out that something important is missing. I still frequent this forum, but now mostly out of boredom during breakfast or on lunch break. I scan through the threads, and see the same old same old. I used to spend an hour a day or more reading all the cool things people were doing, now I spend that time at my work bench, and share my latest projects on facebook where they generate sales before they are even finished. I will probably renew my membership here, (I sell enough thermocouples when it is due to cover it so it pays for itself and I still have a barrel of them) but I miss the shoptalk of old

Yes I'm a curmudgeon, you kids get off my lawn!

-Page
 
I understand your reasons Nick but it still makes me very sad. :(
Stay in touch my friend.

PS: Who is going to visit all of us tonight? Saint Nick! Coincidence? I don't think so. ;)
 
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I respect your decision, but the knife family here is really going to miss you and all the contributions you made to help others.
 
Nick,
I echo everyone else on this thread in saying that I am sad to see you go. I am new to this forum, I found it on accident one day and after lurking through the site found your Wheeler's Steel WIP. I read the entire post over the next couple of days and joined the site the next week. I have very little experience with knives, but I am a gunsmith by trade so working with my hands is not uncommon to me. After reading through your WIP, you made it seem so easy and I am working on getting some basic tools at home so I can try my hand at knife making. I attribute a good bit of that impetus to you, as well as quite a few other makers around here. There is so much knowledge in these "walls" and it is a serious blow to lose someone of your caliber. That said, I do completely respect your decision (not that you needed anyone's permission, hah) and I hope that you will return and when you do, I have a list of questions for you that I wrote the day after I finished reading your WIP, hopefully I will have some more informed ones when you do return.

Merry Christmas

Jake
 
I wanted to respond to this a couple of times last night, and again earlier today, but that's exactly why I have a low post count. I try to "Shut up and listen" which has worked well in my life. I don't want to single out Nick as the only one, but just want to say thanks to the pros and amateur veteran knifemakers here that have spent a lot of time helping newbies. It needs to be repeated, these people help out for free, time that could better be spent making a living, but yet they come here, and other places like it, and give us knowledge for free, and very rarely do you read the phrase "buy a book". These people give us tips, critiques, criticisms, WIPs (which can't be easy), and endless technical info, all for FREE. Those posts live on, and should be occasionally rescued from Necro'd posts from time to time. So to bring it back to Nick, you are helping that 14 year old knifemaker passively. You expected it to be active, and maybe that will happen again, but IMO that promise to dad is still kept.

As for forum dynamics, its a cycle. Not every forum is for everyone all the time. I wouldn't stress about taking a break. Maybe it will be right to come back at some point, maybe it won't. Either way, very sincere thanks for help and inspiration.
 
Don't go! I will admit I don't frequent this forum, and see your posts, but what I see is what this site needs: people being who they are! Of course, taking care of your blessed famiy is first (too bad more folks don't do that), but I hope, for the sake of being an original, you find time to keep posting.

Jim
 
Hi guys :)


Well, I've got to admit the only thing that has made me tear up in the last 20 years was seeing my Dad cry once and the night I asked Angi to marry me... But this came pretty close. ;) :)


I truly appreciate you guys taking the time to post... those are the things that make me feel like all the time spent here, was better spent than I realized. :cool: :) :cool:


And I do want to be totally upfront and point out that I am fully aware that the WIPs and posts were not totally selfless--- as some of my good friends like Bruce Bump can attest--- they are good exposure for us as a maker. Shoot, they can even be a selling tool. I recently had a potential customer email me, he had never been exposed to the custom knife world. He just happened to see a copy of KI and some pics of my knives. When I got back to him with a price quote, he nearly died of heart failure. I emailed back and told him, "If you get bored and have a few hours to kill, here's a link---."

After reading though Lorien's thread he got back to me and said, "Man, I can't believe you do that much work for that little money! Surely your wife is not high maintenance!!!" ;) LMAO

So my point is, a detailed WIP can be a win-win..... potentially help other makers, and get some good exposure at the same time. Just something for you guys to think about for yourselves. :)


Anyway, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to totally stay away and not at least lurk... but since I've been painting a picture to forum members that I'm an a$$hole, then I need to switch things up... at least for awhile. :)


I will be around the interwebz somewhere... like I told Patrice--- I NEED some of the "human interaction" that the forums provide because 10 or more hours a day are spent in the shop with nobody but the pups and the radio. ;) :D


Thank you so much guys! See 'ya around.... :)
 
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