We Appreciate You, and We Need You

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mistwalker said:
I've been hanging out here for some time now, and one of the reasons I like it so much is that adding all the drama that has happened in this forum into one pile, compared to other areas on Blade Forums this is still a drama free zone :D

I think one aspect of this forum speaks volumes about the amount of interest in Fiddleback Forge knives. The "Flea Market" thread is less than three years old, is 446 pages long, and it has had nearly a million views....
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See, thats what I thought. But I've just been hearing a bunch of behind the scenes drama complaints. "Well, everything so and so says is passive agressive." What am I supposed to do about a person sounding passive agressive? Should I mention to a person every time their tone sounds off? Well, I am not going to do that. Then I heard about stuff one guy said to another in PM's. Man, I don't police that shit either. WTF!!! We are actually loosing business because of this stuff? What am I expected to do about that kind of childish pissy pants party? I'd rather delete the forum that police that petty shit all day.

I'm focused on making knives, providing jobs, helping Ben, and the other sick kids we help, teaching knifemaking to Boy Scouts and to knifemakers. I want this place to be fun for everyone. Man, if you walk away from this place because I'm not policing folks PM's and coaching up every passive agressive person, then... Well I don't have a then, but this isn't fair to the crew. Ruin me because your feelings got hurt over some petty bullshit. I can take it, its my business and that seems fair. BUT, to ruin the crew's livelyhood, undercut Ben's support, and stop the good we are trying to do because you got your panties in a knot really pisses me off.
 
Andy all I can say is AMEN!!! Where ever there is people there is drama. I guess if your going to lose their business you may never have wanted it it to begin with! You have gathered quite the collection of pretty great people! Focus on that!!! Love ya man!
 
xxkcxx said:
Andy all I can say is AMEN!!! Where ever there is people there is drama. I guess if your going to lose their business you may never have wanted it it to begin with! You have gathered quite the collection of pretty great people! Focus on that!!! Love ya man!
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And, ....... AMEN to that! :) Andy, you are creating new family members through the dealers, through Instagram, via your production models and now, with your new models attracting a diverse and different audience. You are acquiring new family members faster than I can get to know who they are! Andy, you got it going on! Many of the older and original family members will be back, they just got distracted from their hobby temporarily, like we all do! Some people will get their panties in a wad and leave in a tiff, so what! Like Shane said, you may have never wanted their business to begin with! If that much drama boils in their veins, let them take it elsewhere! Please don't let petty negativity suck any more positive energy!

Now, I wanna see some of those pics of you guys building knives with the snow in the background! :)

Shane, what's the weather like up North? Looks like 8" or so here in Virginia (9:30am)

-Will
 
Foot and a half actually. Just started tapping those maples though.
 
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I think a lot of people hibernate from one hobby to focus on another at times. I have unfortunately passed on several very nice Kephart's lately for exactly that reason. Combine that with the holiday season where funds are tighter for many people, I think more people buy for themselves rather than as gifts, and then add the recent uptick in childishness and you have a small storm to weather. It will pass, some people hibernate, old members move on sometimes, new ones come in, and sometimes people with the wrong attitude just need to be shown the door.

My only advice for what it's worth, and no offense is intended here, is to maybe take a little more hands on approach with your forum. We hardly see you here. Your busy, and believe me man I get that, but the forum is where many people get introduced to you, your work, and your crew. People take a great amount of pride in your knives, they will show everyone they come across your work. Part of that comes from being able to interact with you personally, as opposed to just being a store front.

'Nice knife' - Thanks, I bought it off the internet

'Nice knife' - Thanks, My friend Andy made it. Let me tell you about Fiddleback Forge.....
 
For what it's worth...

I grew up in a family business. Every day we'd serve 500+ people. And every day we'd get at least one (if not two or three) very vocal complaints. And my father would just shrug these off. I asked him why, and he taught me his "Rule of the Numbers". He said that if one, or even two people out of 500 complained about the lasagne...we were doing great. We actually should expect at least one or two people to be unhappy out of 500! It was if we hit some threshold - which he never defined - that he would then take a look at the lasagne!

I have no clue what the drama is, as I'm new here. But considering the number of visitors, and the incredible competition for your product - from the flea market to the shark auction to the vendor sites - and the fierce loyalty and genuine admiration and respect members demonstrate on here, I'd suspect there are 498 people right now who are lining up to support Fiddleback Forge. The other two...well...my dad will gladly serve them lasagne.
 
Andy, for what it's worth, I'd rather see you spend your efforts producing those gorgeous knives rather than policing this forum. i appreciate your involvement in this forum, but let the piss-ass members go. 99.9% of the members love the forum and 100% love your knives.
 
Only two of you are supposed to want to complain about the lasagne! Oh...I see...it actually IS two of you!

Honestly...I hated that lasagne! My ol' man always counted me as one of the two complaints he'd ignore.

He'd laugh at me while people lined up at the door to wait for a table. Sort of like how we're all hovering around waiting for 3pm!
 
There are certain people that THRIVE on drama and create it everywhere they go. Take a hard look at the people that are complaining. My guess is that at least some of them pull this BS on a regular basis wherever they go. I know that you want to make sales and keep this forum thriving. But I don't think that you do that by appeasing a few drama queens and spending all your time dealing with this petty BS. You have limited time and can only spend so much of it on this forum. Don't wast that time on dealing with adult men that are whining about a mean PM. The GROWN MEN who are having issues should be dealing with that between themselves, not trying to drag you into it.

I know that you want this forum to be a positive experience for everyone. IMHO, it is a great place for 99.9% of the folks who visit here. I got into your knives (and subsequently spent a LOT of money :) ) because of this forum. I know I am not the only one that traveled that path. Please, keep focused on making great knives and building a great community around your business. I TOTALLY respect that you spend your time "focused on making knives, providing jobs, helping Ben, and the other sick kids we help, teaching knifemaking to Boy Scouts and to knifemakers."...
 
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This is the worst thread ever. NOT ENOUGH PICTURES! I'll fix it.

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There, don't you all feel better now.
 
For some reason BladeForums doesn't want me to post all of my thoughts in one post. Here is the rest of thoughts that should have been in the post above:

... That is part of why I buy your knives. I might be wrong, but I think that you are going lose more money by focusing on the drama of a few (which is pretty much hidden from the rest of us) than by ignoring it and focusing on all the other positive things that you are doing.

Regardless of how you deal with this, I will continue to support your company and buy your knives. When I make my annual business trip to the SE, I am planning to stop by the shop and look forward to meeting you and the rest of the crew in person.
 
Andy, If I may make a suggestion. Your business model depends heavily upon this forum. Experienced members may know everything about your knives but new, and potential, clients do not. They should not have to do "homework" to buy your product.
I believe if you would give complete stats on each knife, when posted, it would enhance the buying experience for all concerned.
For many, this is a major investment and and basically you are asking the consumer to lay down their money for an unknown commodity. This may dissuade new customers from becoming old customers.
Just my opinion.
 
Skystorm said:
My only advice for what it's worth, and no offense is intended here, is to maybe take a little more hands on approach with your forum. We hardly see you here. Your busy, and believe me man I get that, but the forum is where many people get introduced to you, your work, and your crew. People take a great amount of pride in your knives, they will show everyone they come across your work. Part of that comes from being able to interact with you personally, as opposed to just being a store front.

'Nice knife' - Thanks, I bought it off the internet

'Nice knife' - Thanks, My friend Andy made it. Let me tell you about Fiddleback Forge.....
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Man, you're right. I need to spend more time foruming. I like suggestions. I'm game to them.

ncrockclimb said:
I might be wrong, but I think that you are going lose more money by focusing on the drama of a few (which is pretty much hidden from the rest of us) than by ignoring it and focusing on all the other positive things that you are doing.
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I plan to vent with this thread. Acknowledge a problem with you all. And then I plan to move on a make knives. I'm stoked right now about the new designs. I'm passionate about knives. I won't focus on the negative. I promise.

TheAmish1 said:
Andy, If I may make a suggestion. Your business model depends heavily upon this forum. Experienced members may know everything about your knives but new, and potential, clients do not. They should not have to do "homework" to buy your product.
I believe if you would give complete stats on each knife, when posted, it would enhance the buying experience for all concerned.
For many, this is a major investment and and basically you are asking the consumer to lay down their money for an unknown commodity. This may dissuade new customers from becoming old customers.
Just my opinion.
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Another good suggestion. We'll get on this.
 
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