Testing for J.S. or M.S.? Any questions?

Cool, good advice about building a bolt on holder bar for the tang during ht... and better advice yet about the lion and the gazelle. I always like book recommendations. Thanks Michael.
 
Michael Rader said:
Thanks Chuck. Perfect and much appreciated.
Now, on to...

Lesson #1: "RESISTANCE WILL BURY YOU."

So, I have the Seattle International Knife Show in less than two weeks and Blade a month after that. So, what do I do? I start a thread answering every question that comes in and I've been checking it more than 10 times a day. What does this tell you? I'm stalling and don't want to really focus on my knives. I'm resisting.

Homework assignment: Buy a book by Steven Pressfield called The War of Art. The first half is amazing and I try to re-read it every six months or so. "Resistance" is simply the little devil inside of all of us that doesn't really want us doing our life's work. It comes up all the time and in all ways. Steven is coming at it from a writers perspective, but art/writing/knifemaking is work all the same and he reminds us that,"resistance will bury you."

Dave Ramsey also has this concept about getting out of debt called, "gazelle-like intensity." The lion is chasing you and in order to wear it down and survive, you have to have to run hard and fast and never quit: like a gazelle. So, the lion is chasing me this very moment and here I am.

So, to you and, more importantly, myself: make your knives. The lion is chasing and if you slow down it will bury you.
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It's as if you've been in my head.... I've had a few different projects moving along slowly and there always seems to be an excuse on why forward progress is not going as it "should". Perhaps I need to get a picture of a lion running at me to put up on the shop wall. Thanks for the motivation and book reference. And glad to know I'm not the only one who suffers from this ;).


Jeremy
 
Thanks Chuck. Yup: sell knives, make knives, sell knives, make knives... It's the circle-of-life!!!
Hope that holder works for ya, Salem.
Thanks Jeremy. Great idea for a poster, and give the lion a bull-whip and make it a saber-tooth tiger instead of a regular lion and put a frikkin' Predator-style laser on it's shoulder. ha ha

It's "an artist thing" I'm afraid. Some call it a mental disorder. I think the real problem is that we're self-employed and our boss is an A-Hole.

Okay, back to work.
Keep your questions coming but I'm only going to check one more time today...
...well, maybe twice :-(
 
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Michael, thank you for taking time to share your knowledge. I thought a couple times what I could ask you, and each time I came up with "I know already how to do it better- take my time, be precise, and don't try to fix mistakes! Do it right the first time, or do it over." I know I simply need more practice. (And a better grinder- the grinder won't do the work for me, but I think VS will help with precision over the craftsman.)
 
thanks a bunch Michael. My mentor said to me when I showed him some drawings that I did up "looks ok, make the knife and then change what you did not like"
 
You're welcome, guys. It's just like that - you know Apple didn't just come out with the iPhone 5. You have to start at the beginning and make it and make it again. Things evolve as you go.

I forgot who originally said this, (probably Tony Robbins or some other dork) "Re-invent yourself daily."

Make your frikkin' knives. So, there ya go.
 
Michael Rader said:
So, to you and, more importantly, myself: make your knives. The lion is chasing and if you slow down it will bury you.
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Hi Michael. This thread is my favorite in a year, and the business artists attitude in the posts is spot on. Your handles are an inspiration, and a driver for my work. Thanks for taking the time.

I'm jealous that forgers have an organization that tests them. I want that goal very badly. I need something to chase.
 
Fiddleback said:
I'm jealous that forgers have an organization that tests them. I want that goal very badly. I need something to chase.
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That's the main reason I joined the ABS and the Guild both. They both push toward improvement and high quality. I needed something to chase.
 
Thanks guys. Hi Don - any advice for these guys that need a little kick-in-the-butt to strive for the levels you're at? I know when I was starting out and even when in that "mediocre-middle" stage that I just now feeling like I'm pulling out of, it just seems so difficult. It always looks like other guys work is sooo much better. What do you say? What drives you?
 
Michael, of course I am nowhere near Don and still feel I am in the "mediocre-middle" phase you are talking about but this little snippet from Ira Glass is what motivates me to keep going sometimes. I think it was written for writers but it does apply to knifemaking too as well as any other craft I think.

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through." — Ira Glass
 
Michael, I'm just hardheaded and don't know when to give up.

I think what helped me most was spending the first 6-8 years making simple basic using knives. This and having no other job and being debt free.

But it is a different world now with many more makers and the interwebs... ;)
 
Darn the interwebs. ha ha. Yeah, can't underestimate the value in being hardheaded. For me, making crap is in my blood and I'm too stubborn to do anything else.

Woo Hoo!!!! 1911 views!!! (April 16, 10:54AM) Me and my Kimber .45 are going to have to celebrate. Thanks guys.
 
Michael Rader said:
No problem, bamboo. Have any special handle-thing you are working the bugs out of?
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Not specifically. I am a furniture maker by training, but recently started working with Andy at Fiddleback Forge. He has given me free reign to come up with whatever handle combinations I can think of. I was feeling confined by straight lines, my own imagination, and lack of knowledge about how knifemakers typically make more elaborate handles. You confirmed my thoughts about simply mating up male and female sides using well made jigs.

These are a couple of basic ones -

IMG_2593-vi.jpg


20140321IMG_2537-vi.jpg


What are your thoughts about the structural integrity of mildly complex knife handles (on a user knife)? Obviously they will not be as strong as a one piece handle or scale, but they could very well be plenty strong for the task at hand...

And how on Earth are things like this being done??

tumblr_m482wyuGjC1rnd61vo1_1280.jpg


Thanks,
Ken
 
Very nice jobs there. Structurally, these handles will work well if supported by proper fit-up with the tang, epoxy, pins, etc... If stuff starts coming apart - it happens - then just be sure to let your customer know you will replace the handle for free (unless from deliberate abuse.) Not a big deal.

And the Key-Hole construction, those are very cool. I believe it was Rodrigo Sffredo (I forget how to spell his last name) came up with this and he has been passing it on to Adam Desrosiers and others. I don't know the finer points of fitting this kind of project, so maybe hit up Adam for this info. Obviously, we are talking about male/female mating here and I'm certain there is quite a bit of skill involved. Ha ha.
 
Okay, Lesson #2 Be specific.

I'm thinking about the upcoming knifeshows that I'm going to and kinda dreading answering all the same questions over and over. I really do get worn down during these things. Now, questions from excited collectors with hand-fulls of cash are great and I love them. However, questions from other knifemakers are not so good. The worst one is when they pull out a knife from under their coat with electrical tape still covering the handle and ask, "what do you think of this?" I can't really be honest or I'll get shived - you know?

So, here's the thing - I know what you want - you want me to say that your knife is awesome. However, that wouldn't be the truth. Knives are composed of many different facets like a diamond and each has it's own features and problems. You know what the problems are with your knives and somehow you want my general positive opinion. Regardless of who you are or who you show it to, nothing is getting done with that approach. Even your ego knows there really isn't anything happening.

Here is the key for asking questions with your favorite maker at a show or even here at Shop-Talk - BE SPECIFIC. If you are an ABS apprentice going for J.S. or a J.S. going for M.S. - be specific. What you really need (not want) when you show someone your knife for a critique is an honest judgement of a particular facet of your knife so that you can either fix it or improve upon it. (Fact - there are no perfect knives! Give me the most perfect knife you can find and I can find at least 20 people that can find a flaw in some aspect of it.)

Homework: when you ask a question or show a knife to someone you respect, ask them to look at some-thing, some part, answer a question on one of the facets. If you already know your blade is straight and your grinds are symmetrical, but are unsure about the guard-gap/fit-up, then ask about that. You will get an honest answer and probably some suggestions on how to fix it next time.

The moral is, if, at the next show, you whip out a knife-like object from a brown-paper bag and ask someone like Dave Lisch, "how do you like my knife?" he just might flick a bugger at you. You've been warned. Just sayin'...
 
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