I've been a part of the Knifemakers' Guild for 9 years, coming in as probationary in 2013 and as a voting member in 2015. I'm currently on the board of directors.
Our website has been rebuilt in the first part of 2022. www.knifemakersguild.com is the place to go.
The following metaphors came to mind as the board discussed our personal reasons for Guild membership. While no metaphor is universally true or communicates the whole picture, each of
these captures a part of what the Guild strives to be.
The Guild is like a church, where we honor the “sacred principles” and respect the “saints.” Joining the Guild ties you to a significant history, to a group that values and expects high quality handmade knives of its members, to a group that includes many of the “great ones” of the craft. The Guild is dedicated to maintaining high quality standards, just like a church maintains
faith principles, and passes those standards down to its members. We also honor the skills of those who have gone on before us.
The Guild is like a professional certification board. The general public is somewhat accustomed to nurses, doctors, accountants, and such maintaining their credentials through an initial certification process followed by continuing education. A voting member of the Guild will have passed three different knife quality inspections prior to being granted voting membership. In the same way as a professional certification, this status tells potential customers that Guild members’ work has been vetted for excellence, and that high quality is expected if not guaranteed. Like a certification board, the Guild also has a complaint and grievance process by which customers may make problems known, and a disciplinary process by which members may be sanctioned or removed from the group for poor quality work or dishonest business practices.
The Guild is like a fraternal organization. From its roots, the Guild members enjoyed the fellowship that comes from attending successful knife shows over many years. Friendships develop, as do business relationships. The members of the group enjoy each other’s company, and work together toward the same goals, just like a Rotary or Kiwanis Club. Joining the Guild opens you up to future relationships and the kind of business and collaboration that comes from fraternity.
The Guild is like an educational organization. If you look up the history of guilds in general, they were originally trade organizations that taught and maintained trade skills. While other professional trades (plumbers, electricians) and knifemaking organizations (American Bladesmith Society) use the traditional guild terms of apprentice, journeyman, and master, the educational aspect of the Guild remains an important part of our history. We teach each other and challenge each other to higher and higher levels of skill and accomplishment.
If you want to be a part of the traditions of knifemaking, and to be in the same club as Buster Warenski, Bob Loveless, Gil Hibben, and many others among the best makers the world has ever known, then the Guild is for you. If you want to establish yourself as a serious professionally credentialed knifemaker, backed by the strength of a professional organization, the Guild is for you. There’s a saying in business circles that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. The Guild offers opportunities to build relationships with some of the most skilled and knowledgeable knifemakers in the world and being with them gives you unique opportunities to grow. We become like those we surround ourselves with, and if you want to be surrounded by great knifemakers, the Guild is for you. The Guild is fundamentally about teaching and sharing skills with one another. If you want to grow in the craft, the Guild is for you.
Our website has been rebuilt in the first part of 2022. www.knifemakersguild.com is the place to go.
The following metaphors came to mind as the board discussed our personal reasons for Guild membership. While no metaphor is universally true or communicates the whole picture, each of
these captures a part of what the Guild strives to be.
The Guild is like a church, where we honor the “sacred principles” and respect the “saints.” Joining the Guild ties you to a significant history, to a group that values and expects high quality handmade knives of its members, to a group that includes many of the “great ones” of the craft. The Guild is dedicated to maintaining high quality standards, just like a church maintains
faith principles, and passes those standards down to its members. We also honor the skills of those who have gone on before us.
The Guild is like a professional certification board. The general public is somewhat accustomed to nurses, doctors, accountants, and such maintaining their credentials through an initial certification process followed by continuing education. A voting member of the Guild will have passed three different knife quality inspections prior to being granted voting membership. In the same way as a professional certification, this status tells potential customers that Guild members’ work has been vetted for excellence, and that high quality is expected if not guaranteed. Like a certification board, the Guild also has a complaint and grievance process by which customers may make problems known, and a disciplinary process by which members may be sanctioned or removed from the group for poor quality work or dishonest business practices.
The Guild is like a fraternal organization. From its roots, the Guild members enjoyed the fellowship that comes from attending successful knife shows over many years. Friendships develop, as do business relationships. The members of the group enjoy each other’s company, and work together toward the same goals, just like a Rotary or Kiwanis Club. Joining the Guild opens you up to future relationships and the kind of business and collaboration that comes from fraternity.
The Guild is like an educational organization. If you look up the history of guilds in general, they were originally trade organizations that taught and maintained trade skills. While other professional trades (plumbers, electricians) and knifemaking organizations (American Bladesmith Society) use the traditional guild terms of apprentice, journeyman, and master, the educational aspect of the Guild remains an important part of our history. We teach each other and challenge each other to higher and higher levels of skill and accomplishment.
If you want to be a part of the traditions of knifemaking, and to be in the same club as Buster Warenski, Bob Loveless, Gil Hibben, and many others among the best makers the world has ever known, then the Guild is for you. If you want to establish yourself as a serious professionally credentialed knifemaker, backed by the strength of a professional organization, the Guild is for you. There’s a saying in business circles that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. The Guild offers opportunities to build relationships with some of the most skilled and knowledgeable knifemakers in the world and being with them gives you unique opportunities to grow. We become like those we surround ourselves with, and if you want to be surrounded by great knifemakers, the Guild is for you. The Guild is fundamentally about teaching and sharing skills with one another. If you want to grow in the craft, the Guild is for you.