What are some of the things you’ve learned from Blade Forums?

T. Erdelyi

T. Erdelyi

Joined
Feb 3, 2001
Messages
32,293
You always read/hear about all the great information available here on Blade Forums.

If you did a poll and asked, “What was it that brought you to Blade Forums?” The top 3 answers would most likely be:

  1. “I did a search on the internet to find out about an old knife I found/inherited/bought and Blade Forums was the #1 suggestion.”
  2. “I was on another forum asking about info on a knife and they suggested I come here.”
  3. “I was surfing around on the net and just stumbled across this place and it’s great.
I kinda have always been here, I came across from the message boards with all the other knife knuts from across the Internet.

In the beginning there were a lot of well known collectors, as well as blade-smiths and owners/CEOs of many of the bigger knife companies. There was a ton of valuable information available.

The mostly untapped resources that these folks were providing was mind boggling. It was apparently evident even way back at the beginning that the best and most knowledgeable people were making this place their home.

I started asking questions right away.

  • How do you sharpen a knife?
  • What stones are best to use on the new super steels?
  • How do you evaluate and put a value on a knife?
  • How do I tighten a loose pivot pin on my knife?
  • Who makes this type of knife?
My most common and favorite question was, “What can you tell me about the history of this knife/pattern/maker?

As a result of being a part of this community I also, after all the questions subsequently learned a lot. I learned a lot about steels, edge geometry, patterns and how to care for and properly sharpen a knife.

Of all these things I’ve learned over the years the most valuable has been learning to read a knife. From that I can tell if it’s been tampered with, if it’s a forgery/fake/clone and even get an idea of approximate value.

BFC is the best resource for anything to do with knives and on top of that it’s filled with a lot of great people. Many of these folks I consider to be friends I’ve learned from over the many years I’ve been a member here.

So after all that, my question to you is, what have you learned here on BFC? What has hanging out here taught you about knives?

Be specific if you can too. I’m not looking for things like, “I learned how to take pictures of knives, I learned how to replace the scales on a slipjoint. There are even people who’ll reply, “I learned how to make a knife on BFC.

As always pictures and stories are always welcome. I’ll post up some pics shortly and if any of you know me, you know there’ll be stories too. ;):)
 
What brought me here:
One of those searches that led me to stumble in.

What I’ve learned:
To not be a D-bag all the time.

What I find most interesting:
Al the technical details about steels and everything else that goes into making a great knife.
 
I was looking to learn more about knives, the German forum had some weird rule where I decided nahhhhh (Send the Admin your entire personal details, name, birthday, address, phone number and something else). I ended up here, since I am pretty fluent in English anyway and it's a considerably larger community anyway, I figured I might as well join. I ended up lurking for about a year. I like to read before I speak up, get the lay of the land. It's like coming into a bar full of regularl and yelling "WHADDUP B§!TCHES?!" and acting like you own the joint. Not me, I walk in, sit down, order a beer, listen, get an idea of the the people and then speak up.

What have I learned? A lot. I'd say mainly variety of steel and variety of locks. I like researching my stuff more than asking questions personally. But I know if I had a specific question I am sure somebody would have the answer here.

What I find most interesting? How people obsess over different aspect and how nitpicky some of the things seem. (I include myself in that.) And the variety of people in the hobby in general.
 
Nice post Ted.

I feel quite fortunate to have landed here.

The knife community has proven to not only be a great source of information, but also as a place to share experiences, thoughts, ideas, and interests. It’s been a refuge in some ways as well. Almost therapeutic. :)

I’ve learned that as much as I think I know there’s always someone who knows more.

Geometry is King.

I will not comment in PracTac anymore. But it’s highly entertaining.

The world is not as large as I thought it was. Many people from all walks of life share much of the same passion for knife related content.

BladeForums value is multifaceted.

The forum is very well moderated by level-headed and fair Mods. This is rare among forums in general.

Lastly, I’ve learned that I spend waaaaay too much time on the internet. When I see great posts of people’s adventures I get inspired to grab a blade and go outside.
 
Gosh, Ted, I don't know...but I'll keep my place in line here while I consider the question.
Don
Okay, I'll list them as I think of them...piece-work style.
1. Although I live in a bubble...(elephant grave-yard retirement subdivision...), I've learned that I have many friends here at BF, who enjoy similar "categories" of this all-encompassing hobby.
2. I have cycled through folding knives, customs, "build to my design" knives, forum knife-makers' selections, collecting of various brands, custom leather sheaths, grip materials, sharpening methods, steels and what I like in a blade...and now am concentrating on shorter fixed blades that I carry cross-draw.
3. I learned early-on what "obsession" is all about, and how it grabbed me by the short-hairs and directly threatened my finances, my marriage, and my composure under terribly-high pressure. Thank God I learned and survived.

That's all I have to list...for now...probably sufficient...
 
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Prior to joining Blade Forums (BF), I don't think I obsessed about knives. I was into guns and in particular 22 caliber rifles and handguns and toss in a few big bores. I can't remember precisely what drew me to BF. I know I was just getting back into hunting again and was looking at acquiring a new knife. I wasn't really satisfied with the knife discussions on the gun forums overall not to put them down as there are a lot of the same great people here. I became aware of forums following reading an article in Outdoor Life magazine about the internet forums. I had just gotten a DSL connection and was more comfortable with pictures in the forums versus the really slow slow loading with a dial up connection.

Prior to joining or my DSL connection, my internet use was very limited even though I was online since about the mid-90's. I have been attending BLADE since 1991.... so the interest in knives was there to be sure.

I have learned a lot. Locks were mentioned above and I certainly became aware of the various locks because of BF. Steels? Learned as much as I wanted to learn about them, but I am not really inclined to really dwell on the attributes of the various steels. VG-10 was considered pretty good when I first joined.

The forum has opened my eyes to the wide variety of good knives that are available. I had a couple Randalls and a couple handmade fixed blades along with some things that were just fun prior to joining BF.

Over time, I have gotten comfortable in my own skin when it comes to knives. That usually means I know enough to be dangerous, but there is always more to learn and I'm all ears!
 
Wow, great replies so far. Here’s the first knife I got as a result of Blade Forums.

I had just bought a Benchmade AFO Auto and was going back to Oregon for 2 weeks to work again and I wanted another Benchmade so I asked about the then new Benchmade/Chris Caracci AFCK.

After talking to Chris himself, (he had his own subforum here back then, check the archives, there’s still all the old posts and closed sub forums there for research.) I decided to get one and I was so glad I did. It was the fastest non auto self defense/backup weapon available and it was designed by Chris himself as a self defense weapon from the ground up. It also made a great utility knife and I used mine everyday at work as a mechanic.

I still have it and occasionally carry it. I was gonna send it back to BM to get it refurbished and Les De Asis himself offered to have them refurbish it under warranty but after a few conversations with him I decided it was worth more to me historically and sentimentally as is with all its character than to have a like new one. Besides it is still perfectly functional and safe so I kept it as is. Here’s a few pics of it.

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Those partially serrated edges were certainly the rage back then.

I learned pretty quickly that I don't like partially serrated edges after buying a couple and messing with them.

I learned about Spyderco quality from BF although I feel sure I would have noticed them before much time elapsed. My first was the Native.
 
"What I've Learned from Bladeforums" could be the title of a 10+ page essay if I wrote it. I'm afraid I can't be particularly specific without wearing out my keyboard.

The wealth of knowledge here is staggering, covering some of the most minute details of something that seems misleadingly easy to fully understand. I came here because I wanted a better knife than my Ozark Trail disasterpiece, and I slowly fell into a black hole of potential research avenues the likes of which I had never previously encountered. I went from thinking pocket knives were pretty straightforward to learning the specific ins and outs of:
Blade steels / wear resistance / toughness
Locks
Handle materials
Clip orientation and positioning
Pivot hardware
Blade shapes
Opening methods
Heat Treatments
...And that was just in the first few weeks.

I lurked for months before I made an account, and by then had been directed to Bladeforums via my Google searches like "AUS-8 vs 8Cr13MoV" enough times that it seemed obvious that this is where I should ask questions and share anecdotes if I wanted to learn more.

Bladeforums is where I first discovered that hobby communities are incredible beasts. Even within this niche hobby, there are countless sub-hobbies and specific fields of interest that people can pursue. This next notion is perhaps influenced by my recent RPG gaming, but, I feel as if there are many specializations as well - one can become a scholar, a craftsman, a dealer, a tactician, a collector, a tinkerer, or any combination of those and more. You can learn about metallurgy, corporate policy, machining, the psychology of advertising, chemistry, geometry, economics, international trade... Entirely by accident.

The community here is small enough that anyone can make a difference. A single knifemaker with a wild hair up their ass can affect real changes to legal restrictions on knives. A person can outline and demonstrate a way of carrying a knife and have it named after them. Someone can innovate some new machining techniques out of a literal barn and become a highly-respected force in the industry. Heck, I made a single post that ended up being the (uncredited) design thesis for a production knife.

The most fascinating thing about my time here, though, is that I learned that a hobby crosses nearly all social and political boundaries. I have had pleasant chats and exchanged anecdotes with people here that I would otherwise potentially dislike immensely if we were talking about anything else... but both of us are none the wiser, because we're talking about a shared passion.

So, yeah, the most important thing I've learned from Bladeforums is that our natural tendency towards factionalism is easily subverted by having common goals and interests. Nobody cares about your political stances when you're relating your experience with a newly released knife. Your thoughts have value independent of how you feel you are seen by most people.
 
I started lurking here around 2012. Had an account from 2014 until I started this one to match my YT channel.

The most important thing I learned here was that the learning wouldn’t end, so long as I sought to continue learning. It’s an incredible hobby, pulling from science, design, and raw emotion. I love it all.
 
The best steel in the world is useless with a bad heat treat.

The best steel in the world won't overcome a bad design.

The best steel in the world will not survive improper use.

I don't need the best steel in the world for 99.9% of my daily cutting tasks.

20 years here at Bladeforums to learn that 1095 is just fine for me.
 
Comeuppance said:
I went from thinking pocket knives were pretty straightforward to learning the specific ins and outs of:
Blade steels / wear resistance / toughness
Locks
Handle materials
Clip orientation and positioning
Pivot hardware
Blade shapes
Opening methods
Heat Treatments
...And that was just in the first few weeks.
Click to expand...

Very well stated, my friend. Some people take years to learn these basic tenets of cutlery usage and ownership.

Another thing I learned, I don’t know half of what I thought I knew about the design and making of knives.

I also learned that in a community like this one, the more you learn and give back to the community by sharing what you’ve learned, the bigger and better that community gets.

Velitrius said:
The best steel in the world is useless with a bad heat treat.

The best steel in the world won't overcome a bad design.

The best steel in the world will not survive improper use.

I don't need the best steel in the world for 99.9% of my daily cutting tasks.

20 years here at Bladeforums to learn that 1095 is just fine for me.
Click to expand...

Very well put. As an old timer here you’ve been around long enough to pay forward what you’ve learned here and having read your posts and replies I always look forward to your posts, pics and opinions.
 
It's not just what I've learned but the fact I keep continuing to learn everyday that excites me about this place. When I first got into knives I never knew how deep this rabbit hole really went. This site opened my eyes to brands I never even heard of.
 
Grind types, steels, locks and materials. Repair, modification, sharpening and care techniques. Brands, makers, design and manufacturing processes. What makes a bad knife bad and a good knife good.

Awareness of a shared community and knowledge that there are others with a similar passion for a hobby that can often elicit a "that's weird" reaction. That a place exists with an audience that will appreciate my 'latest purchase' or 'daily EDC'.

What have I learnt from BF and the senior members here that seem to have a boundless knowledge of knives? All of it, and more each day. Thanks BF, and thanks to the members that contribute it all.

... oh, and also how to envicerate someone verbally, thanks W&C.:p
 
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I have an annoying habit of becoming obsessed with whatever I have an interest in. It started back much before the advent of the WWW, so books and magazines were my "elixir" to feed my obsession.

When I got my first "internet ready" computer, back in '94 I was introduced to the web, and what a rush that was. Sadly though, my interests usually outpaced the contents of my wallet and I have bookmarks of past obsessions that I haven't revisited for years.

That now brings me to the subject of knives. I have always been fascinated by trinkets, gadgets and shiny things and knives are one of them. However, my passion for knives didn't really start in earnest until January '17 (even though I bought my first knives, Schrade, back in the mid-eighties). Of course, I then started to look for forums that would feed my thirst for knowledge, this being one of the first to come up from a search.

I am a member of several "knife forums", some of which have recently disappeared but BladeForums is still the leader, head and shoulders above all others and that is the reason I spend so %^$#@!! much time here.
 
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