Walter Hoffman ... the collectors, collector?

C

CKD

Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
24
Anyone ever met a man with over 300 custom knives in their personal custom knife collection? Not every day you say, right? Wait till you see some of the pieces he owns.

Well ... we want to welcome http://www.hoffmanknives.com to the world wide web. Walter Hoffman, the collection's owner, is an Honorary KMG member and a fan of the "finest of the fine". He's rolling some of the current stuff to keep the juices flowing, so to speak. We're expecting to have over 100 pieces on display soon. Walter Hoffman is a great man, and an industry leader!

Check it out!

Welcome to the web, Walt!


Alex

Alex Whetsell
http://www.atlantavirtual.com
 
Walter is a true gentleman and a pleasure to deal with. I met him back in the 80's and have been good friends ever since.
 
His brother lives right up the coast....those guys are characters!!! Started surfing WAY before most of the people on this forum were born!
 
Those are some nice looking knives. There are more then a couple that I would like to own. We talk a lot about great makers, it's always good to hear about great collectors. I admire the collectors as much as I admire makers.
 
Thanks for the comments on the new site, everyone. I met with Walter at the Guild Show this weekend and he picked up another suitcase worth of stuff for his collection. That generally means that something else has to go ... he said he had about 40 more that would be posted up soon, so it should be some great looking stuff. If you're a power-collector, you might keep an eye open. Chances are, it'll include some stuff you'll never find again.

Alex
 
Hi Alex,

I realize it's a fine line, but since you have a commercial interest in the site, (correct me if I'm wrong), please let's not use this forum as a means toward steering folks to commercial ventures and sales.

We can all appreciate reviews on fine custom knives, including stats, materials etc. without links to pricing and availability etc.

I've received some email complaints about this issue from members and rather than start a whole production via email, I felt it best to just discuss this issue openly.

Again, no fingers are being pointed here. I am just asking for your understanding as to the use of this forum and our attempt to keep it a non commercial venue for the enjoyment of custom knives.

Your understanding and cooperation is appreciated and will go a long way to keeping things running smoothly.

Thanks,

Blues
 
Blues,

You are right, and I apologize sincerely!

Also, to each and every member who had to waste their time writing you to complain about this, I made a mistake. Then, I would like for everyone to understand that I'm not inaccessible. That is, everyone please feel free to contact me directly in the event you need to complain about something like this that you feel I'm associated with in the future. We're all grown men here. And, I'd rather hear it directly to help overcome it faster.

You are also correct in that I'm commercially tied to the hoffmanknives.com site. It is a commercial venture and we design, host and promote it. Of course, that's not something I'm ashamed of. I'm sure eveyone understands this.

If you would like to delete this thread, or the offending portions, I'd completely understand. You might leave the part where I thank the members for their regard of the design, as I mean that entirely.

Thank you again, and sorry for the error.

Alex Whetsell
AtlantaVirtual.com
Hosting - Design
 
Alex,

Thanks for stepping up and speaking out. I really appreciate it.

Nope, I'm not going to delete the thread or any of the posts.

I have been coming here a long while and none of us can say we haven't made mistakes.

It's correcting them and moving on that counts.

You and I have met in person briefly, I don't know if you recall, and on top of that, I visit CKD regularly as I enjoy looking at the knives there myself.

However, since this site has its own rules I am just trying to help keep things on course as evenhandedly as I can. That's why I brought this up in the open. Nothing here needs to be hidden behind the scenes.

I realize that there is going to be a lot of gray area and that at times Gus and I will say or do something which may cause someone to be upset with us. That'll pain me some because people here and in the chat room know I like to have a good time, cause a few laughs and generally be irreverent.

You should know that there wasn't a flood of email complaining, it's just that I am trying to head problems off before they arise. The same thing happened with A.T. Barr and A.T. couldn't have been more of a gentleman about it. In fact we had a laugh about it together at the Guild show. It's great to deal with quality people.

I also want to know when you and other members think that either Gus or myself are being too heavy handed or inflexible. This site belongs to Spark ultimately, but after that, the good members who make this place worth visiting. If I am not upholding the standards that this forum should display, please let me know about it in no uncertain terms.

Once again, Alex, thanks for understanding. I don't enjoy playing "cop" in this role. It's a lot easier in my other "real" job. Here it's among friends whom I don't want to offend.

Please stay and share more with all of us as there is no doubt you have lots to contribute here.

Best,

Blues
 
Thanks Blues and Alex. We all have passion for this hobby and with that is going to come some mistakes on all or our parts. What makes the difference is how we handle our misunderstandings and mistakes when we first encounter them.

I have to say that I thought this one may have crossed the line. I gave Walter a call. Super nice gentleman with one heck of a collection much of it residing in the Points of Intersts Books.

By the way if anyone was considering the Busfield, in the words of a friend "fugetaboutit":D
 
Gus, you dirty dog, you!!!! :p

Blues
 
Speaking only for myself, I don't mind a little self-promotion here and there (I think we all do it even if we are only promoting our opinions). I just don't like when it is done repeatedly and seems to be the only objective of a post no matter how cleverly disguised.
 
Andrew,
Great point. As Blues has mentioned this is a place to talk about the knives we make or collect. Talking about the knife and its materials as well as the challenges if applicable is something I would think the vast majority of us have an interest in.

In hindsight (I am good at that:) and by no means am I picking on Alex who I know and have respect for), if this post had contained a little more about Walter and some of his collecting exploits over the last 20 years or so it may not have had the reaction that it had from some of us.

When I first read it, I felt it was over the line, but I also want all of the Custom resources on the web to work together rather than splinter. That is the way it should be considering our "subject matter", because that is the way it is when we as collectors, makers and purveyors are away from our computers and gathered together in person. We should try to keep this place for custom knife discussion and the promotion of knives will be a given when that occurs. Let's not try to push the "given" part of that :).

Oh yeah, BTW did I say how cool it is to have Blues in this corner :p
 
Well ... like they say,

"When in Rome ..."

Or, like I say,

"What will make you laugh, will make you cry!" :D

Gus, that Busfield you bought from Walter is excellent. I filmed that piece in Atlanta during the Blade Show. That was one of my favorites, actually.

Alex
 
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