McClellan Made Blades
Well-Known Member
I so DON'T believe that, for your work to command the prices that they do is a testament to not only the quality of your work, but to the quality of the person you are, yeah, I've heard the stories of that Cali. Bowie maker that I can't remember his name, the guy that a lot of people want inducted to the ABS Hall of Fame, it'll come to me later. In this day and time, that type of behavior would not be tolerated, not only from his customers but from other Makers as well. Heck Bruce if you get anymore grounded I'm going to plant some Tomatoe seeds in your pockets!
It is guys like you, Janik, Ed Caffrey, Frank Niro..., ya know if I sat here and kept thinking of all the names of those that give and give and give, I'd be here naming a list a mile long! Those that have made this craft a possibilty for regular people to compently make a knife, for whatever reason they have/want to dive into a never ending obsession. And then to have those mentioned (and so many others) to come back and compliment our work the way y'all do, feeds that fire burning in the guts of us "want to be" knifemakers, ( I'm referring to myself and any of those that still consider themslves newb's) and then to call us knifemakers. I think a lot of, what I call, BIG TIME knife makers, that have attained a cerain level of quality craftsmanship AND NEVER lets it slip even a little, should have a little cranial swelling.
Remember, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance.
I'll speak for myself, and I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of guys like me out there that will agree and are so THANKFUL, that you all are the way you are, I have memory issues, but I don't ever forget the "Big Time" or any other makers that took time out of their day to answer my questions, which at times might have been a silly question from a "big ole dumb Red Neck down in Alabama! And it has NEVER been a problem, for any of you to take time out of your day to explain what others might consider an elementary question.
And I'm sure there is someone right now thinking, as they read this, that I'm just a butt-kisser, first off they can kiss mine! Second, if they aren't smart enough to let the accomplished makers, that freely share their knowledge, know the impact that they have had on us individually, their too dumb to be making knives anyway. And probably don't have the giving mentality that makes being apart of this ELITE group anyway.
BTW, The ELITE I speak of, has nothing to do with their knives, it has to do with Character, Heart, and appreciation for others desires to attempt to learn a difficult skill that they most likely leearned the hard way.
Personally, I questioned myself, if I was good enough to be a part of such a group. Knowing how the 'Rock Stars' of this industry act, at times it still blows me away the way that the "famous" makers treat everyone else. I've said it many times, the entire concept of sharing the hard earned and some times, paid for knowledge to someone that could end up being the competition, it just amazes me that we all want to make others excel in an industry that without that help may have given up, instead of creating the next Bill Moran or the next William Scagel.
You, Steve Janik, Kevin Cashen, Ed Caffrey, Frank Niro, Michael Burch, Randy& Randy Jr., Bossdog, (had to add one more) Doug Lester, the list just keeps going, there is no way I could name ever Knife Dog that has gone out of their way to help me and so many others, so everytime I have the chance to help anyone that wants to learn something that I'm competent with and can help, I do so to re-pay ALL of you guys that did the same for me.
I'll be announcing the launch of the Central Alabama Knife Makers Club in another post later, this too is to pay homage to all of those that have helped me, while giving me the chance to learn more, I'll have a platform to help a lot more folks that want to learn.
This post got a little out of hand, but when it comes to showing my appreciation for all of you that jump in to help, to teach, to do whatever you can to make the future of quality HandMade knives a possibility, all I can say is it is extremely important fo rme to say THANK YOU, and even more important for me to make those that have helped and inspired me, to FEEL that they have made a difference in my life, making knives or otherwise. Sorry I got a little long there, but when something really means a lot to me, I don't want to get my point across, I want force it into the places that need to know that you all are so appreciated! Thanks, Rex
No time to check for typo's so please excuse them, Thanks!
