what gear do i need

[sunshadow]

I taught an 8 year old at an SCA event, he forged out a reasonably good 4 inch loveless style out of some Aldo 1084 1x1/4 steel, a little rough and a little thick, but with his parent's encouragement he has filed it down to the point it is ready for HT, we are planning for that to happen at an event in the spring. The kid is a football player so he's kinda burly for his age, but he swung a 2 pound hammer for 3 hours, and he paid attention, worked safely, and wouldn't quit until he was done. He was working good steel on what some folks would consider the hot side of forging temps (industry recommended forging temps) so the steel moved easily.

Haypro, make sure your folks are in the loop on what you're up to, remember that more people have been burned by black steel than by red steel, and that most of the stuff we work with can permanently injure or kill you, so be careful, and do not work without your folks around. I started my first knife when I was 14, and have been making them for 28 years,
Have fun

-Page

 

[tollund]

tollund, all of us come from different backgrounds, but courtesy in all of them would suggest addressing people as they expect to be addressed formally, not as you are used to among friends. When I get phone calls from people I don't know calling me by my first name, I hang up without saying a word.

I'm sorry but if I phoned someone and they hung up on me after I called them by their Christian name I would be incredibly insulted. Personally I think that is a childish and puerile attitude to have. I'd hate to think how many potential friendships / business deals etc that attitude has cost you.

The major flaw with an attitude like that is: How is the caller supposed to know that when people use your first name if they don't know you, that is insulting to you? The caller could have the best intentions, and if you are hung up on being addressed as "Sir" to boost your ego, the caller isn't likely to know that if they have never met you before! As far as I am concerned it is not an insult to call people by their first name, maybe things are different where you live, but in my book in the scenario you gave the lack of respect doesn't come from the caller, it comes from the person hanging up.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Obviously, we come from very different backgrounds. I find it incredibly insulting for a total stranger to think they could use my first name like that. Who do you think would be calling me? Cold calls, telemarketers, shills.

On the forums, we form a community of sorts, with a lot of variety, all around the world. We have to show more flexibility. Similar interests can be taken for granted, friendship is likely. But a little more courtesy always works better than a little less.

 

[JatMat]

Obviously, we come from very different backgrounds. I find it incredibly insulting for a total stranger to think they could use my first name like that. Who do you think would be calling me? Cold calls, telemarketers, shills.

On the forums, we form a community of sorts, with a lot of variety, all around the world. We have to show more flexibility. Similar interests can be taken for granted, friendship is likely. But a little more courtesy always works better than a little less.

I am with Esav on this, telemarketers use this tactic all the time to try to get through my Secretary, acting like they are my best buds and then try to sell me the London Bridge or cheap toner for my copiers.

If I know you, I have already asked you to call me by my first name.

My friends call me Jim,
Salesmen better call me Mr. Todd or they too will get the dial tone.

 

[tollund]

Indeed. When cold callers and telemarketers phone me they always call me "Mr. ...". Go figure. In that sense I totally agree with you about the insulting part - I would definitely find it insulting. When I made the comment I was thinking about it in the context of people who may have been given your number to talk to you about making knives, for example.

As they say, it takes all sorts. I've been insulted many a time over the phone by people I know, but at the end of the day it's always "water off a duck's back".

 

[AllenMcB]

I am with Esav on this...........
If I know you, I have already asked you to call me by my first name.

I'm with you guys on this.

Being in the South, I know instantly when I've got a boiler room operator on the phone. Their accents stick out like a sore thumb, they always start out calling me by my first name, as if they've known me forever.

"Hey, Allen, how you doing? It's me, Steve, over at the Big Giant Pen Advertising Co.! You know last month you told me to get back with you..........."

"Please hold for a moment, Steve."

Perpetual, eternal hold.

Unless I'm in a really good mood. Then I just say "No, I didn't tell you to call me, please don't call again.", and I do them the favor of freeing up all that time that they would have otherwise wasted.

The only ones that really get under my skin are the ones who think they're being extra friendly and chummy by calling me "Al". NOBODY has ever, ever called me that. Ever. The only thing worse is being called "Big Al". That tends to cause me to hang up without notice.

As far as the 11 year old goes, he'll either contact the knife makers who have offered help and meet them with mom and dad, or he'll just go away. Personally, I hope he's who he says he is. If he's a troll, maybe he'll end up slowing the velocity of a falling piano.

 

[NickWheeler]

I think the southern telemarketers must call the north, and the northerners call the south, LOL

I get calls like that all the time, and they go something like, "Nick? Hey bud, how y'all do'n???"

To which I say, "You're looking for Nick? You know Nick? Well if you see that son-of-a-bitch, you let me know, he owes me $50!!!"

 

[DougSeward]

My favorite response to telemarketers is "I'm so glad you called; I represent Encyclopedia Britannica and I'll buy whatever you are selling if only you will agree to buy the Encyclopedia Britannica from me. The Encyclopedia Britannica is the most important informational resource you can own. Do you have kids...

Usually they hang up by the time I start explaining. I have a friend who once was trying to sell his encyclopedia and offered half to anyone who could sell it. The encyclopedia has long since gone but the story lives on. -Doug

 

[galadduin]

I'm not used to use last names, in my country to use last name in daily life it is regarded as not an insult but it is too formal approach. I get weird responses from dealers sometimes, sometimes they refuse to talk me or respond to my emails, now thanks to you guys I know why . Total clash of cultures... I'll try to remember to use lastnames instead...

 

[scottickes]

When I get a telemarketer calling me, it's usually just before, during or after dinner. I'll tell them that my wife and I just sat down to dinner, and could he/she be kind enough to give me their home number so that I can call them back later when I'm not so busy, and I'll be more than happy to listen to what they have to say.

I usually get a stammering, stuttering response from them like, "umm, I, what....you want my home phone number?...I...." Then usually they hang the phone up. It makes me laugh each and every time that it confuses them.

 

[AllenMcB]

When I get a telemarketer calling me, it's usually just before, during or after dinner.

Great response for them....... I like asking for their personal information.

Here in Mississippi we have a "no-call" list. We can put our residential numbers on there, and the telemarketers aren't allowed to call us at home.

Unfortunately, there is no list for commercial numbers, so our business is inundated with solicitation calls.

I have a friend who is a very committed Christian, and when he gets those calls, he simply witnesses to them. No matter what they are selling, he can turn it into a point in his witnessing. He's very sincere about what he says, but the folks on the other end just don't want to listen. They hang up on him, instead of the other way around.