Updated, winners announced! Giveaway! Who inspired you?

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My Dad, Bob Clark, who passed away last June, just shy of his 87th birthday, was my mentor and teacher, and the greatest influence on my life when it comes to knives and being outdoors. From the time I was old enough to follow him, I was hunting and fishing and camping with my Dad. 22 years of military service and living several states away cut down on the time we could spend together, but we always shared that love of knives and outdoors "stuff." I miss him a lot! He always was carrying a good old carbon steel pocketknife...much like the ones in your giveaway!

I'm now getting the opportunity to be the mentor for my Grandson and Granddaughter! I love being able to do that!

Thanks for the opportunity, and being able to share about my Dad...my mentor!

Ron
 
Perhaps the person that has inspired me the most is my now deceased Maternal Grandfather. Actually, he is not blood related... he married my Grandmother after she lost her husband in WWII. In fact, their first date was to see me in the hospital when I was born. Anyways, Grandpa Ed was a highly intelligent and ecclectic person. He possessed a keen intellect and a very dry wit. I didn't appreciate these until later. He had many hobbies that piqued my interest in science, and most certainly contributed to my chosen profession. He was an avid Rock-Hound, searching for fossils and gem stones. He was a practicing lapidary artist. I have a few priceless pieces from him that I will always treasure.

Grandpa Ed gave me the love of reading, science, fishing and most of the fine arts. He was quite the remarkable man... in fact, a lot of the products you use today from S.C. Johnson may have been inventions of him. They are the makers of Off and many other products. He was their head Chemist as his chosen profession. I wish he was still around today... I know he would have enjoyed my girls, and enthralled them as he did I.
 
Thanks for the give-away, Glenn.

I'm not sure why, but the first person who popped into my head when i started reading this thread was an old Sunday School teacher named, Gary. Can't remember his last name right now but he was a contractor. When I was in junior high I was having trouble with another boy and we were getting into fights all the time. He finally snatched us up by the back of the necks and marched us upstairs to a private room and let us know in no uncertain terms that we needed to start acting like who we were and quit acting like little hooligans. It made quite an impression on my and I'm certain, after taking this trip down memory lane, that he is one of the reasons why I sometimes (no, I'm not perfect by any means so it really is only sometimes) set aside my pride and do the right thing for the right reason even if it really isn't what I want to do or for a reason I want to do it.

Thanks, Gary, where ever you are.
 
Thanks for this generous give away!

My inspiration has always been my granddad, he always gave me a fair swing of the stick when no one else would...he had faith in me when it felt like my parents didn't even and I have worked hard after his death to make him proud of me. He is a big part of why I am into knives, my love of the sea comes from him and my best childhood memories were going to his house every weekend for lunch and to go to the beach and play/swim/fish/get into mischief. If I do one thing in my life its to be even half the man he was, he was a fantastic father to my mother, aunts and uncle and always a great grandfather to his many many grand-kids. It makes me sad that my children will never meet him, but I hope that a little of him can shine through me to them.

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Common scene that happened most Sundays when I was young, they seemed trivial back then but now they are my most powerful memories.

Thanks for this thread, It felt good thinking of those times. :)
 
Thanks for the give-away and a chance to tell my story:

My inspiration springs from my beloved grandpa and always will. From the time I was about 4 and on, he used to sit my cousins and myself around him at the table and tell his war stories from the pacific. In a way I will never understand, he always was able to hold a smile through the tough times he told of. Occasionally, he would laugh at the little moments he could remember when he wasn't fighting; sleeping in a foxhole trying to avoid those god*&$% bugs, the old pranks and games he and his buddies played, even the joy of being in a hostile and unforgiving place and still commenting on the beauty of it all. He made me want to be just like him.

Like all kids, I loved my war games, I asked him what it was like to actually fight. Calm and collected, he would explain the realities of life in the army. The more he spoke and the older I got, the more I respected him. He had only joined for a roof above his head, a place away from an abusive step-father and three meals a day....not for glory, not for valor, not for country. Though he didn't fight for country, his medals seem to say otherwise. I cannot explain it, but in a way, it made me even more proud of him. He taught me about honest and hard work, to always keep my chin up and to look out for my fellow man. Because of him, I feel like I am more appreciative of what I have and how great my life is. Without him, I wouldn't be 'me'.

I am horrific at story-telling but I am glad to have at least told a part of my story. I still wear his jacket from the war everyday and I am damn proud to wear it.
Thanks for the opportunity and taking the time to read this. I teared up while trying to type this. Thank you for helping me remember the good ol' days :)
 
One of my inspirations was the founder of the farm seed, services, and chemicals company I used to work for, Mr Jay we all called him. By the time I came along, he was in his late 70s-early 80s - he had "retired" and his son was running the company (also one of the finest men I've ever met - so it seems Mr Jay was also a darn fine father as well). Retirement for him was a lot more active than most men ever get at any time in their lives -- he didn't have an idle bone in his body. He ran a large farm, kept an eye on the business - just in case, helped loads of folks in the community, and ran several charity organizations - the main one in Haiti. This charity taught the people how to dig wells, how to get clean water, how to raise crops more effectively with what they had, set up a hospital, and on and on -- a lot of this teaching was done by Mr Jay himself, hands on. He'd be a very sad man to see the state of Haiti now.

He never stopped working - he was always doing something useful. I was their "tech guy" and had quite a challenge keeping our buried cables linking the various buildings into the network safe from Mr Jay's backhoe -- the main plant was on more or less reclaimed swampland - so it was basically always sinking -- he would often dig out the drainage ditches, plus some, and invariably got into our cables. :rolleyes:

One time in the dead of summer, middle of the day - 100 degrees out at least - I came downstairs from my office to find our counter guy nearly rolling on the floor - turns out that one of the package delivery guys had been by and told him "Damn, I wouldn't want to work here!" "Why?" "They've got an 80 year old man out there shoveling gravel into potholes!" Of course, whenever the founder of the company wants to shovel gravel into potholes, nobody is going to say that he can't, no matter how hot it is outside.

Thanks for the giveaway - those are some great knives!
 
My buddy Eli who helped straighten up my train of thought and perspective when I had a life changing transition. I have spread that perspective at every opportunity.
 
thanks for the chance!

My grandpa inspired me the most. He's the one who got me into pocket knives, taught me to fish, taught me to garden, and he could fix damn near anything. Now that he's older he can't do everything like he use to, so now I help him with the garden, show off my pocket knives, and tell fishing stories to him.
 
thanks for the oppertunity, and cool idea. One time me and my dad were palaying baseball and i was practicing pitching. I pitch one and it hit him in the nose and just shattered it. While me my mom and my brother were freaking out, my dad just calmy walked into the bathroom and let my mom clean it up and bring him to the hospital with out so mush as an ouch. i was very inspired by how tough and non-babyish he was, and it reminds me to walk stuff off and not complain about injuries.
 
My dad. When I was young, we would drive south to see relatives...from the shores of Lake Ontario to central Florida. In those years, there was no major highway south, just Rt 15; central Florida was scrubland and swamp (pre-Disney World). We tent-camped down and back, stopping in small towns for gas and supplies. My father would always grab a coffee and smoke his pipe. Without fail, this calm, quiet man would end up chatting with someone--as if they'd known each other for years, not minutes. He had time and a good word for everyone.

My father passed on many years ago: Now, my wife and teenaged son always ask who I've just been chatting with. I guess somethings are bred in the bone.
 
Easy for me to answer, my momz. Tough, strong, hardworking, and never got upset- well just once when my brother and I were fighting, which was understandable. Worked graveyard shift for many years and even remember her working minimum wage jobs to feed us heart warming food at home. All in all what most mothers would do for their kids, but I'm just thankful for having her well rounded example be a part of my life.
 
Thanks for the hommage Glenn! (This is not an entry) although I am digging that match strike stockman. Carbon is so wonderful to cut with. I still have to say that my dad inspires me the most. Watching him as a young chlid work hard, and then as an adolescent hear him give me advice about being a man, and as an adult admiring him for his accomplishments, and never complaining about being injured in the Vietnam war. He served, lost a leg, and never once complained about being handicapped. He does not, still even at 76 use a handicapped placcard. I think he just flat out refuses to call himself handicapped. He waited on my mom hand and foot (no pun intended lol) as she passed away via hospice care. I watched him patiently stand at her side as she could not swallow small pills, or watch her get confused and pour the liquid medicine in her hand thinking it was a pill. I giggled when she did that. Dad just looked at me with the "not again" look, but was gentle with her anyways. Part of his grief is wishing he was kinder to his wife/ my mom while she was living. In my eyes, I think he did very well providing for our family, and was there for her as well. He truly is an inspiration to me.
 
I tried this once before. Let's see if it takes this time. I won a knife recently, so if by any chance I win, I will do another give-away. Have to give props where due. I have been inspired by family, friends, writers, musicians, legends...but I am inspired every day by my wife. She is the only person I have ever known who is truly selfless, kind, and generous. I don't know how she ended up with a knucklehead like me, but I thank my lucky stars. She is a wonderful woman. So, I would have to say my wife. And my daughter of course. Both of them make me want to be a better person and to keep working on being the best I can be. (Great idea for a thread)
 
Great knifes in this give away and great stories told.

Important people for me have been bouth my grandfathers, teaching me about farming and fishing, and my grandmother who I spent so much time with in the woods. My mother who always have given me good opportunity to do nice things under my youth. The absence of the father who died before I was born have had a large impact on how I shoosed to live my life, and my stepfather who raised me as his own son together with my siblings. My wife whom I love deeply and who chares my wiev of life. We bouth like to live our lifes freely and bouth have works that lets us of when we needs it. We dont hunt for money more than nesisarry and walue our life in the cabins in mountains and woods. I also think that my wifes father has had big emportance for me, welkoming me into the family and giving me opportunitys to realy be close to a nature more big and potentialy dangerous than the one I grew up in. The high mountains and big lakes with a ever changing wether needed a mentor. The ones that inspires me most is my two sons, Fabian and Olle, They are 8 and 6 years old and being a father has changed me as a person. I,m closer to the moment and has taken the step to realy listen to us an our needs and live the life we think is best for us. No more dreams of the future, just manuvering in the great present.

Bosse
 
Glenn,

Thank you for what you are doing and for what you have done here for years. Those are some great knives. Please do not count this as an entry.

There are a lot of people who have been a great influence. I will have to start with my dad and two uncles. If I can look back on my life one day and realize that I am half the person those three are and were I will have lived a worthy life. All three of these men, based their lives on honor, self responsibility and the outdoors. They taught me in words and in never wavering examples the things I still hold important in going through life.

I can look around this forum and come up with a huge list of folks that I look up to. Some are close friends such as my co-mod Elliott, GigOne and others that I am not worthy of; some I have never met including the guy who started this thread. The thing they have in common is that I am a better person because of them. There are more here that have that type of influence than any other group I have been associated with. Carl is just one of many, many examples.

Like Blues, I have to mention Ken. Last year I was having a heck of a time getting around and on several occasions Ken wrote me offering encouragement. A year later I am pretty much back and I am humbled (in a good way that causes growth) at my frustration with my condition at the time. Overcoming the things Ken has with his attitude towards everything he encounters as well as his drive is also an example that I am blessed with.

Then you have a lot of makers who I have been fortunate to get to know and the traits that I have come to admire. I look at guys like Joel Chamblin who makes as fine knife as much as anyone. His modesty is legendary. In Richard Rogers I see a person who is never satisfied with his knife-making skill. His knives were top shelf when I met him and he keeps pushing himself well over a decade later again with modesty. Same with Joel and the makers who hang around here. These guys have a hard time waving their own flags, but are always praising the work of others, as well as encouraging, helping and supporting other makers.

Then we have our regulars Rick, Tony, Kerry, the two Brets and Kec C. and others and what they do for knife makers, the knife community at large and how they do those things quietly just because of the type of people they are.

It is impossible to be aware of the quality of these types of people and not be inspired.
 
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Very well said, Gus. :thumbup:
(Speaking of a truly modest guy...)
 
Interesting topic for a GA. Thanks for the chance.

There are a few who have inspired me over the years…it’s only fitting that I mention my father on Father’s Day. When I was a very young boy, my mother left him, my 2 brothers, and me to live life on her own. He was just starting to deal with his own past demons (alcoholism) and had 3 boys thrust upon him without warning. He never showed much emotion or paid a ton of attention to us boys, but he was always there to lend a hand if needed. He has supported every decision us boys have made—even if he didn’t agree to with it. We’d have to learn from our mistakes was his thinking. He could very well be my professor from the “School of Hard Knocks”. My wife often remarks how similar my father’s and my mannerisms are—that is when I know I need to back off and check myself, possibly make some corrections.

Two others that continually inspire me on a daily basis are my daughters Evelyn (6 y.o.) and Abigail (4 y.o.). Day after day, you can pretty much count on them to awake in the morning with a smile on their faces and more than enough love in their hearts for all to have a small piece. These two girls encourage me when the day has been long and not too easy, they show excitement over the mundane things, laugh and giggle over things that adults sometimes should laugh and giggle about. Oftentimes I will catch myself “watching” them as they play just trying to make the time stand still in my mind so as to remember as much as I can. It is extremely fun (and humbling) taking part in tea parties, castle excursions in the woods, and reading books to them for the umpteenth time just so they can hear the story again.

Matt
 
This is a great thread. For me the most inspiring individual in my life has been and still is my mentor in anything I do. Mr. Hendrix. He is a large man, 6'4" 275lbs, father to 5 adult sons, retired college professor, divorced, sober 30+ years and a veteran of two foreign wars. I was about 13 when I first met him at the sailing club. I had been sailing with friends for some years and was ready to take the step into racing bigger boats. He was new to racing then. I attended the crew party before the first race of the season, looking for the hottest, fastest boats. Well none of them wanted a 13 year old rookie/liability on board. Someone had said that this gentleman was looking for crew and he had never raced before. I held off til the end of the party and just like a cheesy romance novel we were both left sitting without a boat in my case and crew in his.

During the following 6 years I raced for Mr. Hendrix we rose to the top. One year we won everything we entered. It was during those 6 years when I really learned quite a bit about myself. Racing on his boat everyone had an equal opinion, reguardless of age or ability. I had gotten into some trouble with the law and school during these years as well. He never once put me down, turned his back, or even got angry with me. He would simply state, "well we can't change what happened, so how do we change what is going to happen?" He said that to me on more than one occasion. It really applies to anything.

The first year after I left his boat and moved up to the boats I always wanted to race, I always found myself coming to him for guidance. He is a very logical man, "don't make it easier to do, make it less difficult to begin with" was another one of his dogma's that took me a while to really get. Now after almost 15 years since I raced with him full time, he is still the one person I look to when I encounter a situation that really has me perplexed. When my wife was pregnant, he would call me every week for a check in and a tip he had for me. This man has really shaped me into who I am now and still continues to influence me in every decision I make, no matter how big or how small.

Thank you Phil Hendrix.

And thanks for the great thread and giveaway!


Fair winds and following seas
-Xander
 
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Great idea!
I would say the one person that really inspired my was my grandfather. Being born to a single mother with my twin brother, my grandfather was as close to a father figure as I got. He was a kind, patient, and loving man and since his passing in December of 2008 I have tried my best to make him proud. He went above and beyond to make sure that my brother and I were given a great childhood. Since my mother worked so much, but made little money for the 3 of us, my grandfather started to work part time at a daycare center so that the staff would cut my family a break in tuition. When my brother and I showed interest in baseball, he sponsored our little league team and would take to team out for pizza after games. He taught me life lessons about hard work at his foundry (casting services) and taught me compassion when dealing with the tenents of his rental properties. When the families of the rentals that he owned were too poor to afford a decent Christmas, he bought all the kids a few items and dropped the large bags at the front door signed "S. Claus".
If I am ever half the man, I would be more than happy.
G. K. L. "Bud"
I miss you dearly.
 
Neat idea for a giveaway theme.
I had a whole bunch of people who've inspired me. My dad, who came up poor and educated himself in the furnace room where he worked by reading literary classics, until he had enough money scraped together to go to community college, then won a scholarship to a 4-year college and became a very fine writer himself, and a wonderful dad. (Among other games from his own childhood, he taught me to play mumbletypeg, possibly where my fondness for old-fashioned pocketknives started.)
My mom, for surviving the Korean War and being such a brave kid she stayed with her own dad in Seoul when it fell rather than escape with the rest of the women and kids offshore. She was in combat at 8, when I was still learning to multiply. (Well, she was being shot at. She didn't have a gun.) Would have been killed had a tank not knocked a hole clean through their apartment, so they could escape into the back alley and not out the front, where the soldiers were shooting the civilians who ran out of the burning apartments. Rougher stuff than I can handle today, let alone as a little kid. But she never complains or even tells war stories (I got that one out of my grandfather); just tells me periodically how lucky I am to be an American and safe, to which I always agree wholeheartedly.
And my hero, as in person I don't know but idolize, is (posthumously now) Warrant Officer Hugh C. Thompson, Jr.
I could go on but will spare y'all.
 
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