backtines
Well-Known Member
Never Out Of The Fight !
I started a thread a little while back called “http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?36191-One-Special-knife-with-Special-Meaning“ . ( you can see the whole build here ) The thread is about a fantastic gesture my son did for another man. He made him a knife , not just a knife , but a very powerful , caring and heartfelt action on his part to make this knife special . If you haven’t read my thread ( One special knife with special meaning ) I'm going to tell you what transpired over the last few months. I think what I'm about to tell you should really send a message to everyone . It has to do with strength , courage and the will to carry on ! The first part of this story , I copied and pasted from my previous thread , but there's a follow up that worked out GREAT !
Just a quick background on Mikey . The kid , eats , sleeps , drinks, and dreams bow hunting . He just turned 16 this past April and all he does is shoot his bow every single day . He truly is a gifted kid with the way he shoots that bow. He also is a very caring loving, young man who has a passion for the outdoors.
In the fall of last year my son Mikey was asked by a friend if he would buddy up with a few guys and work on putting a hunting web series together called “Empire State Whitetails”. It’s a series of four young hunters who share the same passion and goal . Pursue to dominate the outdoors! All of the video and editing is done by themselves. You should look them up on Facebook when you have a chance.
On one Saturday during a filming meeting, Mikey met the newest member of the show. His name is Al. While talking to Mikey , Al noticed a Knife Mikey was wearing on his side. After finding out where the knife came from and talking about some of the details of this knife , Al had to have one , especially knowing that it was hand made by the both of us. Needless to say by the end of the day they were calling me because Al had to have one of these handmade knives for himself.
While Mikey and Al were talking, Al was telling Mikey How special his dad is. He was telling him that his dad is a super special person. He’s a fighter that has no quit . He told Mikey that he has had some bad luck over the last year or so. Al told Mikey that his only brother was unfortunately struck and killed by a truck last year. It was the most difficult time in his life, something that no one would ever imagine. Shortly after his brother was killed, his dad was diagnosed with cancer. In a short time the cancer spread to his esophagus and now in his lungs. He has had many operations and refuses to quit. He will not let the “Punk” cancer beat him. He had also lost a son to Leukemia some years back as well, and Al's Mom lost her restaurant to a fire last year too . I believe at this point the cancer is in remission . This was some really hard news for MIkey to swallow all at once. I guess this was the first time Mikey met someone roughly his age that lost a brother and has a very ill dad. I guess his emotions started taking over.
That Saturday night I was out to dinner with my wife and some friends and I started receiving a pile of texts from Mikey. He wanted to know what my costs were in knife materials. I asked why ? He said that he wanted to make Al’s dad a knife. I told him that there will be no costs to make this knife. I can tell in the texts that something jumped into Mikey’s mind and that he was on a mission .
Sunday morning while having my coffee, Mikey came into the kitchen ready, set, go! He showed me a drawing of the knife he wanted to make . It had some writing on the main bevel he wanted to have etched . It said “ Never out of the fight “! He told me that those words represent Al’s Dad , a man of great power and courage to fight on through his bad luck . On the heel of the knife , he wants to put the birth date of Al's brother so every time he wears that knife , his son will be right there with him. He also told me that he wanted to go turkey hunting with Al and his dad and hand deliver this knife to his father. I was touched listening to my sons plan.
When Mikey told Al that he was gonna do this for his father , you can only imagine the gratitude and emotions coming out of Al’s mouth. He was so touched that someone he just met that very same day would do something like this for him.
I finished my coffee, we went downstairs and began working on the most powerful , beautiful , encouraging, inspirational project that I had the privilege to work on with my son. I'm so proud of him !
Here’s a picture of the plan and if you go to the Thread “One special Knife” I have pics that document the whole entire build.
/DSC03793_zps1354c78b.jpg.html]
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Well guys,On May 4th 2014 it all came together this weekend for my son , Al and his dad..
The plan was to give this knife to Al's dad on a turkey hunt and hopefully over a turkey. I guess it was just meant to be.
Over the last few weeks Al was getting a little nervous because he couldn't find any turkey in the area, no gobbles. He knocked on every door and asked all the neighbors in the area and no one had any birds on their property. He prayed every night and went to church to ask God to help him out on this one . This was a really important part of his life that he wanted to accomplish and besides that they were getting to close to opening day.
Coming down to the wire a day before season , Al runs into a good friend John . He told John the story about wanting to find a bird for his dad and hopefully get one and present the knife to him over the bird. When John heard the story , he opted to let him hunt on his property. He found a few gobblers and didn't hunt them for 3 days . He waited for the boys and Al's dad to try and get him ..
On May 4th , the dreams were answered. Al's dad was able to harvest a beautiful Long beard turkey . Mikey was able to catch the whole hunt on video.
Just as the sun was breaking over the mountains , the boys had a little interview with Kurt (dad) over the bird as the sun was in the background coming up behind them. Their were some real emotional words going on there and during the filming, Mikey walks out from behind the camera and gets in the same frame and says some beautiful words about courage and inspiration and hands over the knife to Al's dad. It was beautiful , very emotional and touching moment up there on the hill.
The boys got the the whole thing on video . Its an act that will never be forgotten and can be looked at for years and years to come. Al's dad made a note that this knife was a very very special gift and said when he passes on , he would like to pass the knife down to Al and Al pass it down the line to his kids forever and ever..
It just goes to to show you that when you get dealt a bad hand in life, you can’t give up ! Here’s a man that lost a son to Leukemia, another son to a bad accident and his dealings with his cancer and he is Never out of the fight. He has the will to carry on and push through the thick and thin.
Well done Mikey and Al , I'm one very proud and happy dad!
Just a few words for Mr Kurt .. You truly are one heck of an inspiration . Your actions of "Never out of the fight " will be cherished for many years to come ! God Bless You !!
Al's Dad Kurt with his beautiful bird
Mikey Taking a picture with the beautiful setting in the background
Al and His Dad
Mikey saying a few beautiful words and handing the knife over to Kurt.That's John on the left
Kurt accepting the knife
Kurt's bird and knife
Thank you all for looking and reading this great caption of events.
Mikey was able to get the whole thing on video to share with everyone for so many years to come . I will post video when its done .
Again , Well done guys and God Bless !!
I started a thread a little while back called “http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?36191-One-Special-knife-with-Special-Meaning“ . ( you can see the whole build here ) The thread is about a fantastic gesture my son did for another man. He made him a knife , not just a knife , but a very powerful , caring and heartfelt action on his part to make this knife special . If you haven’t read my thread ( One special knife with special meaning ) I'm going to tell you what transpired over the last few months. I think what I'm about to tell you should really send a message to everyone . It has to do with strength , courage and the will to carry on ! The first part of this story , I copied and pasted from my previous thread , but there's a follow up that worked out GREAT !
Just a quick background on Mikey . The kid , eats , sleeps , drinks, and dreams bow hunting . He just turned 16 this past April and all he does is shoot his bow every single day . He truly is a gifted kid with the way he shoots that bow. He also is a very caring loving, young man who has a passion for the outdoors.
In the fall of last year my son Mikey was asked by a friend if he would buddy up with a few guys and work on putting a hunting web series together called “Empire State Whitetails”. It’s a series of four young hunters who share the same passion and goal . Pursue to dominate the outdoors! All of the video and editing is done by themselves. You should look them up on Facebook when you have a chance.
On one Saturday during a filming meeting, Mikey met the newest member of the show. His name is Al. While talking to Mikey , Al noticed a Knife Mikey was wearing on his side. After finding out where the knife came from and talking about some of the details of this knife , Al had to have one , especially knowing that it was hand made by the both of us. Needless to say by the end of the day they were calling me because Al had to have one of these handmade knives for himself.
While Mikey and Al were talking, Al was telling Mikey How special his dad is. He was telling him that his dad is a super special person. He’s a fighter that has no quit . He told Mikey that he has had some bad luck over the last year or so. Al told Mikey that his only brother was unfortunately struck and killed by a truck last year. It was the most difficult time in his life, something that no one would ever imagine. Shortly after his brother was killed, his dad was diagnosed with cancer. In a short time the cancer spread to his esophagus and now in his lungs. He has had many operations and refuses to quit. He will not let the “Punk” cancer beat him. He had also lost a son to Leukemia some years back as well, and Al's Mom lost her restaurant to a fire last year too . I believe at this point the cancer is in remission . This was some really hard news for MIkey to swallow all at once. I guess this was the first time Mikey met someone roughly his age that lost a brother and has a very ill dad. I guess his emotions started taking over.
That Saturday night I was out to dinner with my wife and some friends and I started receiving a pile of texts from Mikey. He wanted to know what my costs were in knife materials. I asked why ? He said that he wanted to make Al’s dad a knife. I told him that there will be no costs to make this knife. I can tell in the texts that something jumped into Mikey’s mind and that he was on a mission .
Sunday morning while having my coffee, Mikey came into the kitchen ready, set, go! He showed me a drawing of the knife he wanted to make . It had some writing on the main bevel he wanted to have etched . It said “ Never out of the fight “! He told me that those words represent Al’s Dad , a man of great power and courage to fight on through his bad luck . On the heel of the knife , he wants to put the birth date of Al's brother so every time he wears that knife , his son will be right there with him. He also told me that he wanted to go turkey hunting with Al and his dad and hand deliver this knife to his father. I was touched listening to my sons plan.
When Mikey told Al that he was gonna do this for his father , you can only imagine the gratitude and emotions coming out of Al’s mouth. He was so touched that someone he just met that very same day would do something like this for him.
I finished my coffee, we went downstairs and began working on the most powerful , beautiful , encouraging, inspirational project that I had the privilege to work on with my son. I'm so proud of him !
Here’s a picture of the plan and if you go to the Thread “One special Knife” I have pics that document the whole entire build.
/DSC03793_zps1354c78b.jpg.html]
Well guys,On May 4th 2014 it all came together this weekend for my son , Al and his dad..
The plan was to give this knife to Al's dad on a turkey hunt and hopefully over a turkey. I guess it was just meant to be.
Over the last few weeks Al was getting a little nervous because he couldn't find any turkey in the area, no gobbles. He knocked on every door and asked all the neighbors in the area and no one had any birds on their property. He prayed every night and went to church to ask God to help him out on this one . This was a really important part of his life that he wanted to accomplish and besides that they were getting to close to opening day.
Coming down to the wire a day before season , Al runs into a good friend John . He told John the story about wanting to find a bird for his dad and hopefully get one and present the knife to him over the bird. When John heard the story , he opted to let him hunt on his property. He found a few gobblers and didn't hunt them for 3 days . He waited for the boys and Al's dad to try and get him ..
On May 4th , the dreams were answered. Al's dad was able to harvest a beautiful Long beard turkey . Mikey was able to catch the whole hunt on video.
Just as the sun was breaking over the mountains , the boys had a little interview with Kurt (dad) over the bird as the sun was in the background coming up behind them. Their were some real emotional words going on there and during the filming, Mikey walks out from behind the camera and gets in the same frame and says some beautiful words about courage and inspiration and hands over the knife to Al's dad. It was beautiful , very emotional and touching moment up there on the hill.
The boys got the the whole thing on video . Its an act that will never be forgotten and can be looked at for years and years to come. Al's dad made a note that this knife was a very very special gift and said when he passes on , he would like to pass the knife down to Al and Al pass it down the line to his kids forever and ever..
It just goes to to show you that when you get dealt a bad hand in life, you can’t give up ! Here’s a man that lost a son to Leukemia, another son to a bad accident and his dealings with his cancer and he is Never out of the fight. He has the will to carry on and push through the thick and thin.
Well done Mikey and Al , I'm one very proud and happy dad!
Just a few words for Mr Kurt .. You truly are one heck of an inspiration . Your actions of "Never out of the fight " will be cherished for many years to come ! God Bless You !!
Al's Dad Kurt with his beautiful bird
Mikey Taking a picture with the beautiful setting in the background
Al and His Dad
Mikey saying a few beautiful words and handing the knife over to Kurt.That's John on the left
Kurt accepting the knife
Kurt's bird and knife
Thank you all for looking and reading this great caption of events.
Mikey was able to get the whole thing on video to share with everyone for so many years to come . I will post video when its done .
Again , Well done guys and God Bless !!
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