The other side of the coin

rlinger said:
So how many did you buy?

:D :eek:
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That was good, Roger! I saw some "knives" like those at a large flea market in Missouri last summer, with a fella's name on them, being sold by another gent that had a couple of tons of imported junk. He was bragging up all of it, especially the junk ones with the "friend's" name on them. The workmanship was some of the worst I have ever seen, but the clown behind the counter was really making a sales pitch. I just looked over to my wife and laughed. She hustled me away before it became a scene. I did look back, and the counter king looked at me like, what's so funny?
 
I had to search for this thread.

Yesterday, I was out with the missus, we were shopping for MY Christmas present. We went to the "candy store" and I was looking at a couple of pistols. I remarked that I was left handed and this particular target model would have to have new grips or I could make them. The salesman remarked that some nice burl would look nice and pointed to another sales guy, saying if you need any burl talk to him.

Number 1 salesman had to leave and burl man came over and started "helping" me. I asked about wood and whatnot and he said he was a knifemaker. (Perk!)

What kind of knives do you make?

"Cowboy folders is all I make."

"What kind of steel are you using?" I asked.

"I use nothing but damascus in my knives."

"Do you make your own damascus?"

"Yup. I have my kiln running for 7 days. That's how long it takes me to hammer it out. I fold it 531 times."

(Oh no, here we go...)

"What kind of steel are you using to make it?"

"I use high carbon steel. You can only get it from 3 places in the country."

"Yeah, but what kind of steel is it?"

"I use the best steel there is, 631 steel."

(Oh boy, there goes my blood pressure. What's this guy doing, getting his steel from bicycle frames?)

"I thought you used at least two different steels for damascus. Are you making Wootz?"

"Wuzzat? I got two big ole hammers from a place that went out of business. That's what I use to make it."

"Really, what kind of hammers are they?"

"Not really sure but they sure are big."

"Well how big are they?"

"I got a 12 inch and the other is a 9 inch."

"How big are the heads I mean, how much do they weigh?"

"Three thousand pounds. Yup, they do a job."

(Not like the job you are trying to do on me right now! I thought.)

By that time I am sure I was pretty red in the face and turned to the missus and said, "C'mon, lets go. This fella talked himself out of a sale."

I went across town and got one there.


Craig
 
peter nap said:
"Three thousand pounds. Yup, they do a job."

That must have been a BIG BOY :eek: :D
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I used to make service calls on instruments and controllers at a lot of forge and heat treat shops. The biggest hammer I ever saw was a steam hammer at a place that has since gone out of business called Oil City Brass in Beaumont, Texas. I don't know what the head on it weighed but it wasn't even close to weighing 3000 pounds.

I do remember that they were working the hammer and the windows at the top of the building were broken. It would shower glass at times. Nice place.

There's stacks and stacks of books filled with stuff that I don't know. Maybe there's a 3000 pound power hammer pictured in one of those.

Craig
 
Craig,

The whole story is just too funny. But there's a particular item that just tickles my funny bone. And it's in most of these stories in one form or another.

"I use high carbon steel. You can only get it from 3 places in the country."

This notion that if it's exclusive, limited, hard to get, etc - it is automatically better than anything else is always suspect in my book. There are materials that are limited in quantity (gold comes to mind) that necessarily raise their value. But that's different. Are we to believe that a hard to get steel is better than an easy to get steel?

This rare/exclusive automatically equals better notion is played out in a number of these stories. Being High Carbon steel isn't good enough. It's really good because you can only get it from 3 places. Let's pretend that was true. Does that make it a better steel? And yet shysters use that technique over and over.

Steve
 
I just give it back, to em.


Wanna buy some Secret Formulae Quench Oil?

This stuff will make a hot dog hard.


It was handed down from my fathers, grandfathers, cousins, uncle.

He got it from a shipwrecked Perisan Swordsmith. They spent the night in the pokey together after a fight in a tavern.
The Persian , was a Master swordmith for the Khalife . But was thrown out of the country because of some indescreations with the Roy Princess.

How"s that.

If you want the formulae it willl cost you..er..um $250.00
 
Sweany,

If the ingredients are also hard to get, I'll by the formulae.

Steve
 
Sweany said:
I just give it back, to em.


Wanna buy some Secret Formulae Quench Oil?

This stuff will make a hot dog hard.


It was handed down from my fathers, grandfathers, cousins, uncle.

He got it from a shipwrecked Perisan Swordsmith. They spent the night in the pokey together after a fight in a tavern.
The Persian , was a Master swordmith for the Khalife . But was thrown out of the country because of some indescreations with the Roy Princess.

How"s that.

If you want the formulae it willl cost you..er..um $250.00
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Whoaaaaa!!! You take PayPal? :D

Craig
 
C L Wilkins said:
......................
Number 1 salesman had to leave and burl man came over and started "helping" me. I asked about wood and whatnot and he said he was a knifemaker. (Perk!).........................

What kind of knives do you make?

"Cowboy folders is all I make."

"What kind of steel are you using?" I asked.

"I use nothing but damascus in my knives."

"Do you make your own damascus?"

"Yup. I have my kiln running for 7 days. That's how long it takes me to hammer it out. I fold it 531 times."

(Oh no, here we go...)

"Craig
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Craig, what really ticks me off about these sorry a$$ losers is, they give real knifemakers a bad name to uninitiated folks, who get duped by them.

I really believe in public outings of these clowns when possible. :eek: :barf:
 
Sweany said:
Wanna buy some Secret Formulae Quench Oil?

This stuff will make a hot dog hard.
Click to expand...


Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm................!! How much for small amounts.;) :D

I was thinking of buying some for.................ah, ............er.........oh yeah, Mike Fitzgerald, ..................for a Christmas present. Yeah, that's the ticket.:eek: ;)
 
Mike, I have no idea why you would give a customer a loaded gun to inspect in the store. That's just asking to be shot. Here in NYC that's a HUGE NoNo. Common sense would say keep them unloaded, you never know what idiot will walk in the door - can you say "litigation"?
 
twisted bits said:
Mike, I have no idea why you would give a customer a loaded gun to inspect in the store. That's just asking to be shot. Here in NYC that's a HUGE NoNo. Common sense would say keep them unloaded, you never know what idiot will walk in the door - can you say "litigation"?
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Just in case you really are serious, I didn't give anyone a loaded gun in the store. The idiots walked in with them that way.

Please tell me you're joking!
 
Mike Hull said:
Craig, what really ticks me off about these sorry a$$ losers is, they give real knifemakers a bad name to uninitiated folks, who get duped by them.

I really believe in public outings of these clowns when possible. :eek: :barf:
Click to expand...

Mike,
That is the reason my blood was boilin'. It hurts us all. Damn snake oil salesmen...

Craig
 
I have never been to a knife show. (sorry I know that is sacrelige around here, but sad to say it is true) but one time I stopped at a house because the owner had a bunch of tools out on tables for sale. I picked up a scroll saw for ten bucks and in the midst of conversation learned that he was a "knifemaker". He showed me some of his stuff and then gave me a sheet of brass... but it wasnt really brass. According to him, and I am being honest here, the metal is some mystery metal that was made by a secret govt agency and actually went to the moon on the first moon mission. the man was nice enough to give me the sheet of metal that looked like brass, tarnished like brass, cut like brass, polished like brass, (is brass), but he insisted that no one was able to come up with what composition of metals it is.

talk about a great big steaming load...
 
I can sell ya pint for $100 or a gallon for $250. It's so much harder tomake secret formulae's in small batchs. Afterall I use a 9" hammer. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :p :p :p :p
 
Mike Hull said:
Just in case you really are serious, I didn't give anyone a loaded gun in the store. The idiots walked in with them that way.

Please tell me you're joking!
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:)Mike
I think he missed the part about,, you took his gun out into the parking lot :rolleyes: :)
 
Mike Hull said:
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm................!! How much for small amounts.;) :D

I was thinking of buying some for.................ah, ............er.........oh yeah, Mike Fitzgerald, ..................for a Christmas present. Yeah, that's the ticket.:eek: ;)
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And this would be for my "small hunter" or hot dog, Mr. Hull????? :eek: C'mon, I wanna know who you've been talkin' to? IG lies, I tell ya! :D :D
 
Mike, I am all for a list for all these phonies to include dead beat collectors that order knives and then won't pay for them. This may get me in trouble but Thy are out there.
Gib
 
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