What in the world is a KITH?

Basically a "secret santa" or "white elephant" exchange. Make a knife, your name gets thrown in a hat, a name is drawn to dictate who gets your knife. You get your name in by making a knife, that way no one gets a knife without giving a knife.


-Xander
 
All this time I thought it meant familiar friends as in "kith and kin" or friends and family. I suppose both work, anyone who takes the time to make a knife in exchange for an unknown knife from someone is pretty friendly in my book.
 
A KITH as it was conveyed to me is a modern adaptation of an old practice where guys at a job site would gather at lunch on Friday and throw their pocket knife in a hat, draw one out and that was what they carried for the rest of the week. Around these parts, the KITH evolved from an IITH (Iron In The Hat), where projects were kept very simple (arrowheard for example) to encourage participation.

In the end, a KITH is about community. It represents a challenge to new makers to do their very best work because they are sending it to someone who knows knives as well or better than they do. An honest critique can be a blow to a sensitive ego, but worth so very much in the development of a maker. For the ol' masters, it represents a chance to share years of accumulated knowledge and wisdom. For all, it represents a sense of brotherhood, sharing, and belonging.


This was written by A.Garrett in 2007 and is still the best defination of a KITH I have ever seen.

Stan
 
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