1st Annual Knife Dogs Awards

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After reading from the beginning, I think I have all my thoughts summarized...

I think the list of awards that did not specify damascus or not, is the best list... at least for year 1. Maybe we could have just a BEST DAMASCUS category for the guys that that actually make it themselves though...

Award needs to be classy. Something your wife will let you hang in the house, so it doesn't get covered in metal and wood dust...
Traditional wood plaque, maybe a dogbone name plate, and the award name larger above it engraved into the wood.

I'm torn on self-nominations, but so many people show up, post 1 knife they made, then rarely ever post again... I think the New Makers topic would be a very hard one to sort through, unless you let people self nominate. I know I have seen some great knives in the "newbies" section, but there's no way I could go back and find them now.
 
Following the general concensus here so far, I did open a thread for 2011 (NEXT YEAR) pictures.
This will make it easier as we go to find them plus it will let new makers see what they are up against. I think it will also spark some great ideas and be a sweet spot to look at great work.
 
Would it make sense to have a separate little forum for these award threads? That way you could have an "official" submission thread for each category with the first post being the rules for that category. Then any posts that aren't a nomination, will knowingly be removed to avoid clutter.

By 12/1, a poll could be created for registered members to vote on Finalists for 2 weeks.
Then around mid-December, and after trimming the list to only the finalists, a select group of KD forum owners, mods, and a handful of the more experienced members can take another vote amongst themselves to determine the Award Winner, first and second runner-ups...

Just a thought...
 
Great ideas all around, everyone. As mentioned above, the devil is in the details, and the criteria will have to be well defined. One suggestion for a category could also be best first knife (maybe this falls under the Best New Builder category, but this might entice more fence-sitters to actually start shaping some steel).

I like the idea of a separate forum for this. It will definitely help the clutter.
 
I think if you looked anywhere in the world for the honor system this would probably be the first place you would find it. It is that very thing that makes this place so special.

Instead of "self nominations" what if we made it "entries" into the award competition. In other words, there would be entrants for each category including "nominations" for each category. That might remove the stigma of "self nomination" and make this a simple competition that you can't win if you don't enter. Does that make any sense or did I double up on my meds again?
 
stewie_drinking-1147.jpg
My wife snapped this photo of me after I re-read all these posts.

After we get through this idea phase we WILL start a new forum and have the rules and polls listed as stickies. This should keep it all separate and easy to find.

Makes good sense Denny. There is a stigma attached to self nomination.
 
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As I was reading this thread, I was thinking to myself that a separate forum would be necessary. Then I saw that it has already been decided upon.

My only concern will be having 50+ (likely 100+) pictures to look through and find my favorite.


And I also like the categories that are in the first post now, but I'm not sure how the best educator and collectors award would work for judging easily. Just my opinion.
 
I think this is going to be fun. As with any contest or competition there will be people disappointed that they did not win but I think most everyone here is big enough not to get bent out of shape over it. Of course there will be some favoritism and some people will tend to vote for the person rather than the knife but that is human nature. It can be very difficult to be objective sometimes. Some competitions go so far as to cover the makers marks so as to remove the name and force the knife to be considered on it's own merit but many can recognize a particular makers work even with the name hidden.

Regarding self-nomination; I really don't think it improper or egotistical. When I enter one of my knives into an award competition at a knife show is is simply becuase I feel that I made something that fits the criteria and I think is worthy of consideration. I can't assume that everyone has seen everything I have made. And, egotistical or not, I am proud of my work and I like to show it off. If others don't think it is the best in it's class, it won't win. Often I don't even think it is the best in it's class either but I am not judging the competition and what have I got to lose.

Such competitions are a good way to get feedback on what people like and want based on what they vote for. They can be good for a maker to see what direction they need to go if they want sell knives or what areas they need to work on if they want to compete with the big boys. Being a craftsman and publicly displaying your work does require thick skin as someone will always hate your work. I recently sold a knife that I had received a lot of good comments on. The buyer posted a picture of it on another forum and someone responded that it was the ugliest knife they had ever seen. Hopefully the people here can keep hateful comments to themselves as it provides nothing constructive.
 
Thanks Mike,
Input like that from makers familiar with contests is priceless.
I am not too worried about any hateful remarks here.
 
Carey Quinn said:
...the poor guy who just make user knives with no glitter or glitz never even get an honorable mention. There are a number of makers on KD who make good, honest, user knives who will forever get left out of any kind of awards if a category for them isn't included for consideration.

Just a thought.

If I can help, let me know.

Carey
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I think that a Best Hunter/Utility Knife award would be a good idea...
There are some very,very well made hunting/utility knives here that just don't get into the limelight because they aren't adorned with beautiful burls
and embellishments.
The Ridgeback for instance: it's a fantastic utility knife,and looks danged good,
but it's all Go and not much for Show.
We have a tendency to be magpies and go for the pretty,shiny things,
which might leave many excellent knives out of the running...
 
Steven Janik said:
Thanks Mike,
Input like that from makers familiar with contests is priceless.
I am not too worried about any hateful remarks here.
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well...I'll get it out in the open now then:
your socks are UGLY,and man,you really gotta trim yer earhair...:9:
 
Wolf,
I'm pretty confident that when this all shakes out there should be a category for most knives on this forum but it can't be like the latest version of Little League Baseball where everyone get's a participation award. Personally, I see the Ridgeback as a tactical but the lines of definition can be blurry.

This has to be positive and drama-free.
 
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Agreed: the line between a "tactical" and utility can be very thin...
My personal definition of a tactical knife is one that's designed and carried with a primary function as a combat weapon.
Every application of the word tactical I've ever encountered was used in a military/combat context,so in my mind,a tactical knife is one that's
primarily intended as a combat tool.
(my 2 cents worth,keep the change ;) )
 
I think I've read every post at least once and totally agree with Mikes last post.

This is a one of kind knife forum and with over 6000 members in such a short time and nobody throwing things at each other (hardly ever anyway), I can see this getting pretty big and popular in the entire knife community including other forums. They will no doubt come over here to post some fantastic knives in hopes to take home a plaque. They may not participate in many of the other forums here but should be welcomed in hopes of taming the wild dog in em.

I'm not much of a planner but leave that up to you masterminds. In my opinion you guys are embarking on a great adventure that will require some real dedication to pull off. It will be allot of work and there will be controversy. I suggest the K.I.S.S. method to keep down confusion and thus hard feelings. Too many catagories will complicate things because its hard to define what a knife is. In the BF Best Bowie competition recently there was much discussion with one entry as whether it was a bowie or a fighter. I guess I'm just saying that whoever takes this by the reins should be ready for a big ride.

I dont know of anything like this anywhere else. Its possible that we will be breaking new ground and launching something really big. I have all the confidence in the world that if anybody can pull this off it will be Knifedogs. The finest knife knutts in the world.
 
There are always debates on what a tactical knife is or what a fighting knife is. For some reason, some people always have to argue about something. IMHO, any knife can fit into just about any category. Only two people can answer the question of classification, the maker and the buyer. If I get into a knife fight and the knife I have in my hand at the given moment is a bread knife, guess what? Yep, that bread knife just became my favorite fighting knife because it is the one I have in my hand.

If the question of "What type of knife is this?" arises, I say we just ask the maker if it is in the proper category and call it good. The maker in this case should make the final decision on its category.
 
Bruce Bump said:
1)... I can see this getting pretty big and popular in the entire knife community including other forums. They will no doubt come over here to post some fantastic knives in hopes to take home a plaque. They may not participate in many of the other forums here but should be welcomed in hopes of taming the wild dog in em.

2)...In the BF Best Bowie competition recently there was much discussion with one entry as whether it was a bowie or a fighter. I guess I'm just saying that whoever takes this by the reins should be ready for a big ride

3)I dont know of anything like this anywhere else. Its possible that we will be breaking new ground and launching something really big. I have all the confidence in the world that if anybody can pull this off it will be Knifedogs. The finest knife knutts in the world.
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1) I suggest there be minimum time-span that participants be required to have been a registered and active member:
i.e.,must have been an active member for a month,with a minimum # of posts.
That will ensure that 'snipers' don't show up to try and snag an award,then disappear into the woodwork.

2) That's easy: have very distinct parameters regarding what constitutes a certain type of knife.

3) yes we can,and yes we are! :biggrin:
 
Ironwolf said:
2) That's easy: have very distinct parameters regarding what constitutes a certain type of knife.
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I respectfully disagree. I think that knives can be fit into many many categories, because anything that is sharp can be used to cut something somehow. I like the general parameters of "monosteel fixed blade" instead of defining what the knife can be used for, etc. This would also reduce the number of awards, which would help make the award more meaningful.
 
I believe the maker knows which catagory it should go into but if it is obviously in the wrong catagory it needs to be moved by an authorized official that has the last word.
 
one thing I'd like to to ensure is that the less rules we have designed to exclude knives or define them, the better. The more we can make this inclusive the better. The more people we can attract the better. There is no 'paying dues', there is no 'you haven't posted here before' or 'you just came here for this' mentality. You can be brand new to Dogs and still enter your knife into a category. We want to be open, friendly, outgoing and inclusive. No minimum time as a KD member, no minimum posts, no 'old boys club'.

Let's be bigger than that. It costs us nothing and we have lot's of friends to gain from it.
 
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