That's one of the greatest things about our industry - Ford doesn't go over to Chevy and say "We've got this new engine design, it gets 70MPG and makes 400HP, you should use this in your vehicles," but stuff like that happens in the knife world all the time.
One of the other cool things is how available the luminaries in this industry are. I could pick up the phone right now and call Bill and he'd probably answer. And if he were busy, he'd call me back. Pretty awesome.
The people are a major part of what makes this gig so great. It's a hard, dirty, dangerous job. Because it's real work, it tends to attract a certain kind of individual. Knifemaking comes from the heart. You've got to have it in there first. I could teach a guy everything I do from start to finish in the build process, but if he doesn't have that red hot coal in his heart, he'll quickly move on to other things. Heart and intestinal fortitude have gotten me much further than raw talent in this endeavor.
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Originally Posted by CRUSADERSTEEL
I have to say that is one of the greatest and least known facts about the knife industry. That is, just how willing everyone (each other's competitors mind you) to share just about any and everything. It still astonishes me and it makes me proud as a knife maker to be a part of such a community. I mean 99% of all knife makers are truly just genuine Good Ole' Boys. Guys like Bill Harsey I think set the tone back in the day and we're lucky all the new guys have carried it on. I mean I have had tips and tricks shared with me that I know have taken guys years to figure out .... it's just that kind of environment and I really enjoy getting to be apart of it.
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