Here's a bunch of people dedicated to their craft and often talented, hardworking and/or both. If I wasn't making knives, I'd be hanging around knifemakers. I can't think of many groups of people who are as warm and sharing. Without the kind of easy-going encouraging attitude of other knifemakers, I wouldn't be doing what I do either. Not to mention, I've taken away a lot of great life-experience thats useful beyond knifemaking too.
Like any community, there are jerks and dysfunctional folk. Just a fact of life. Cheers. Jason.