Sharpening forum

[bearfacedkiller]

Brunz, I don't understand the objection to sharing our enjoyment of a companies product on their forum and don't appreciate it being called content free. Aesthetics are a part of knife design too. This can certainly exist along side technical discussions. We all find different things interesting and putting other people's area of interest down is not necessary. I don't think we are as anonymous as you imply either. I have met some of the members in person and I have communicated at length with others. I have made transactions with a few as well. We post pictures and share some personal things about ourselves and our other hobbies and interests. This is for many of us a very family like forum which is why many of us frequent it. There is considerable comradery on here. The beauty of a forum is that you can take what you want and leave the rest by just clicking only on the threads that you want to. If you are put off by the "what Spyderco is in your pocket today?" thread then don't click on it. Easy peasy. :) I find all of it interesting and read most threads. Sharpening interests me but I am also good at it and while I am always open to some new revelation I also am very happy with the results that I am currently getting so there isn't tons of value in that content for me. I like to offer help in that area whenever I can. You seem to be still honing your sharpening skills to some extent and that is great and if you see more value in threads about sharpening that is also great. There are some very knowledgable people in that area on here so soak it up. You have stumbled into the forum during what seems to be one of its more tumultuous periods so we could all benefit from trying to get along a little better and being a little more accepting of eachother.

[Cliff Stamp]

Scientific approach to technical questions on any Spydercore's equipment (as sharpening tool are) is far more interesting then showing anyone's newest buy to anonymous others.

Our interests often do not hold any interest to others.

In the current folding industry there is for example a massive amount of energy designed to the free opening of a folding knife. For a lot of people, the ability of a knife to open smoothly and easily is one of the most critical aspects to them. This has even become a sign of quality and lack of it is seen as a significant deficit. Now personally I find this silly because if you use knives the pivot gets dirty and many of the solutions used such as the thrust bearings are openly described by the makers who use them as being very sensitive to dust/dirt. This lead one maker to comment he would never use one of those knives he makes in his shop because the dust would damage the bearing.

Now to me I see this whole movement towards focusing on a non-practical aspect to the detriment of the practical is silly and destructive especially when it even stops the carrying of a knife for use. But this is only true if you view knives as functional tools. If they are primarily not, if they are just the equivalent of jewelry, if they are just a thing you look at, flip open / close - well you have a different perspective. It is even sillier to argue that one of these perspectives is right or wrong, they are just perspectives. It is like trying to say blue is the right color and red the wrong one, they are just colors.

[sal]

Thanx for sharing your thoughts on the question. Much was learned. I don't think that, at this time, I am going to open any other subforums. The question was raised to me, Kristi, Joyce and I discussed it. I thought to see your opinions. Opinions were in my opinion, while good to learn, too varied for action.

I do think we must spend more time and more importantly focus on preventing the forum virus (FTD [Forum Transmitted Diseases}) from infecting our forum. This forum is not intended to be a "fight club". We have new folks that come here every day from all over the world. They share a common interest in our company and our products, which are admittedly a bit unusual. Some enjoy the easy style of sharing information, (good or bad) that we try to maintain. Some enjoy valuable information that may not be available elsewhere. Always civil, if you will. Like a large family, there will be disputes, but unlike a family, we will handle the disputes with respect and patience. If that format doesn't please you, perhaps you need to seek another forum?

Thank you for your patience and kind understanding.

sal

[Tdhurl1103]

.... Always civil, if you will. Like a large family, there will be disputes, but unlike a family, we will handle the disputes with respect and patience. If that format doesn't please you, perhaps you need to seek another forum?

Thank you for your patience and kind understanding.

sal

I am one of the new bunch, and I value great information. I truly believe this forum contains some of the most outstanding information concerning the cutting edge. I freely admit, I do not have the technical and scientific knowledge to carry on a conversation about some things discussed in this forum, so I try not to say too much. But I, like any family member want to be included. I know I have not name called, or offended anyone outright intentionally, but I have disagreed with some things here, and, truth be told, I've been wrong more times than I've been right. When I'm wrong I will say so. After all, my goal is to make friends and learn.

Use shiny footprints, got it Boss! Thanks

[tvenuto]

I freely admit, I do not have the technical and scientific knowledge to carry on a conversation about some things discussed in this forum, so I try not to say too much.

I try to "say a lot without talking a lot." Everyone has something to add, and even just asking a question can lead to more learning. I'm with you, though, even with an engineering background I've definitely imported more info than I've exported.

After all, my goal is to make friends and learn.

[life]Make friends and learn.[/life]

I don't understand the objection to sharing our enjoyment of a companies product on their forum and don't appreciate it being called content free.

Ha if that be the case then 99.999% of the internet is content free! To be honest, GoldenSpydie's and Gbelleh's one-a-day threads are my absolute favorite at the moment, and I'm always excited to see the little icon turn red. A knifeknut with photo skills is a true boon to any forum!

[bearfacedkiller]

I don't understand the objection to sharing our enjoyment of a companies product on their forum and don't appreciate it being called content free.

Ha if that be the case then 99.999% of the internet is content free! To be honest, GoldenSpydie's and Gbelleh's one-a-day threads are my absolute favorite at the moment, and I'm always excited to see the little icon turn red. A knifeknut with photo skills is a true boon to any forum!

I find it terrific that besides knives that many of us share other hobbies on here. There seems to be quite a few who enjoy photography as a hobbie as well. I try but have a lot to learn still still in that department.

[Ankerson]

Photography can get crazy expensive in a real hurry. :eek:

Especially the lenses, start buying good ones and before long one would have to take out a 2nd Mortgage on their house.

By good ones I mean the ones that aren't kt lenses, mid range (Called Prosumer) and pro level lenses can get crazy in a hurry.

But people don't really have to go all that deep into it really as there are some Digital Cameras in the $120 range that will surprise you and they fit in your pocket.

Now start talking DSLR's and those assorted things like lenses, flashes, tripods, light boxes, the list goes on and the sky is the limit as far as expense goes as it never ends.

The old saying in the Photography world is Camera bodies come and go, but lenses are forever.

[jimmyjohnjohn]

This tangent probably deserves its own thread. I have quite a few hobbies, two of them being photography and knife collecting/use. Ankerson, you're right, it's certainly not cheap. I've probably spent around $12,000 on the photography gear that I currently own, including a calibrated IPS monitor that displays 99.9% of the Adobe RGB color space. My best camera is a Canon 6D and I have a couple of L lenses.

The best thing about photography though is that you don't need expensive gear to take great photos. You can buy a Canon T3 for a couple hundred bucks and start taking fantastic photos with the kit lens. The real quality of the photo comes from the user, not the equipment. People take good photos, not cameras.

I've taken a few pics of some of my knives, which can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldjimmyjohnjohn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And then there's my general photography, which is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/grumpyoldaustin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a fun hobby that keeps me out of trouble. :)

[Ankerson]

This tangent probably deserves its own thread. I have quite a few hobbies, two of them being photography and knife collecting/use. Ankerson, you're right, it's certainly not cheap. I've probably spent around $12,000 on the photography gear that I currently own, including a calibrated IPS monitor that displays 99.9% of the Adobe RGB color space. My best camera is a Canon 6D and I have a couple of L lenses.

The best thing about photography though is that you don't need expensive gear to take great photos. You can buy a Canon T3 for a couple hundred bucks and start taking fantastic photos with the kit lens. The real quality of the photo comes from the user, not the equipment. People take good photos, not cameras.

I've taken a few pics of some of my knives, which can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldjimmyjohnjohn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And then there's my general photography, which is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/grumpyoldaustin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a fun hobby that keeps me out of trouble. :)

Nice photos. :D


Haven't spent quite that much myself, my Nikon D90's, one works, the other one needs to go in one day to get fixed, someone dropped it. I do have some good lenses though, not that many, just what I needed. :)

But yeah it's the one behind the Camera that matters the most as you said in the end.

I use a Nikon D60 as my backup with a kit lens and it works fine as needed.

So we agree.

[jimmyjohnjohn]

Ankerson, do you shoot RAW and use Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop?

[Ankerson]

Ankerson, do you shoot RAW and use Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop?

No, I don't use any software, I am one of those out of the camera kinda guys, always have been. :)

Throwback from the film days when I learned I suppose.

[Liquid Cobra]

Now I want BBQ Jimmyjohnjohn

[jimmyjohnjohn]

Ankerson, I highly recommend just trying out post-processing in Lightroom to see if you like it. You can pull so much more information out of the RAW file than just letting the camera create the default JPEG for you. Adobe will give you a 30-day free trial for Lightroom so that you can check it out. There's numerous, quick tutorials on Youtube that will show you how to basically run through processing a RAW file. All those sliders can be confusing at first, but after a few tutorials and seeing what effect they have, it will quickly make sense to you. Just keep in mind: light is a waveform. You can adjust its frequency (color) or its amplitude (intensity), which is basically what all those Lightroom sliders are doing.

Liquid Cobra, smoking meat and charcuterie are another one of my hobbies. I love traveling and seeing how other folks prepare their smoked meats, and then documenting how they do it with my camera. :) It's a tasty way to travel, that's for sure.

[christopher]

This discussion has gotten far from the original question. Do we want a Sharpening Forum here? I for one vote yes and will read it if Cliff or Stuart has a comment to make. If you don't, then don't read it. Better yet, why not make it a SubForum ala General Discussion, Off-Topic, etc? Just my 2 cents worth. That way, if someone doesn't want to read it, they don't have to log onto it. N'cest pas?

[Brunzenstein48]

This discussion has gotten far from the original question. Do we want a Sharpening Forum here? I for one vote yes and will read it if Cliff or Stuart has a comment to make. If you don't, then don't read it. Better yet, why not make it a SubForum ala General Discussion, Off-Topic, etc? Just my 2 cents worth. That way, if someone doesn't want to read it, they don't have to log onto it. N'cest pas?

I sign that statement from @christopher

[Ankerson]

Ankerson, I highly recommend just trying out post-processing in Lightroom to see if you like it. You can pull so much more information out of the RAW file than just letting the camera create the default JPEG for you. Adobe will give you a 30-day free trial for Lightroom so that you can check it out. There's numerous, quick tutorials on Youtube that will show you how to basically run through processing a RAW file. All those sliders can be confusing at first, but after a few tutorials and seeing what effect they have, it will quickly make sense to you. Just keep in mind: light is a waveform. You can adjust its frequency (color) or its amplitude (intensity), which is basically what all those Lightroom sliders are doing.

Liquid Cobra, smoking meat and charcuterie are another one of my hobbies. I love traveling and seeing how other folks prepare their smoked meats, and then documenting how they do it with my camera. :) It's a tasty way to travel, that's for sure.

I have played with Photoshop before like 15 years ago.

Lightroom might be interesting, have to look into it. :)

[jabba359]

Photography can get crazy expensive in a real hurry. :eek:

Especially the lenses, start buying good ones and before long one would have to take out a 2nd Mortgage on their house.

By good ones I mean the ones that aren't kt lenses, mid range (Called Prosumer) and pro level lenses can get crazy in a hurry.

I hear you. I just spent far more than I care to admit on lenses this month.

At work, it's not unusual to have a hundred thousands dollars in lenses on a shoot. I've had a few times where I've got a quarter million dollars in lenses in my car on the way to a job (and there are multi-year wait lists to buy sets of some of these :eek:). Let's just say that driving can be a bit nerve-wracking at those times.

[Brunzenstein48]

Especially the lenses, start buying good ones and before long one would have to take out a 2nd Mortgage on their house.

The trick is: Its not so much the lenses but the chosen light and camera position. A good lighting equipment or position to catch the right angle is far more valuable then any lens - one can shoot with a pin-hole-camera or AGFA Klack, given good light arrangement or cameramen position, far better photos than a superdupa camera with most expensive lenses if the light is nor right.

So far can a knife-blog go of-theme if not partitioned cleverly :)

[jimmyjohnjohn]

The way I look at it is this: light is everything in photography. Photography is all about how you capture the light. Understanding a little bit of physics helps in that regard.

One trick that I like (which I'm sure you all know) is when the lighting is terrible (noon on a sunny day or diffused lighting under overcast clouds) is to turn the photo into black and white. That allows the focus of the picture to stay on your subject and removes the effects of terrible lighting.

[Ankerson]

The way I look at it is this: light is everything in photography. Photography is all about how you capture the light. Understanding a little bit of physics helps in that regard.

One trick that I like (which I'm sure you all know) is when the lighting is terrible (noon on a sunny day or diffused lighting under overcast clouds) is to turn the photo into black and white. That allows the focus of the picture to stay on your subject and removes the effects of terrible lighting.

That's why I like fast lenses. :)

Also sometimes in the bad lighting like outside you can use the flash.