I started to draft answers for every concern here but, I stopped and realized the difficulty of having a sub-forum like this. It is not my place to engage each point in a dialogue that could go in any direction. As the only board member with a moderator/admin role here, I feel it is my job to hear what you have to say here, and take popular, addressable suggestions to the board. I do have to have something work with however. There have been many times I have felt like an outsider looking in at a secret club that I was not a part of, but unless I can put my finger on an exact problem, and workable solution, my feelings are still just that, a personal feeling with no definition to those I am trying to express it to.

I can say to the membership that the frustrating disconnect goes both ways. That meeting room in Atlanta and Kansas City can be like a frustrating bubble, where we spend long hours trying to work out what is best for the group with no feedback about where we should go. Thus, the one reason I didn’t hesitate to set up this forum when Harvey suggested it is that I feel the greatest handicap for the ABS right now is how the membership and the board feel like two separate groups rather than parts of a whole, working together with a common goal.

The way I see it, the ABS is your group, and it is the job of the board to serve the membership and manage the group in the way you want us to, within the bounds of the by-laws. That is the caveat, I am a huge fan of constitutions and by-laws, they keep the will of both on point and in line.

Be aware that the board is often at it until the early morning hours before they have to stand behind a show table all day, it is not realistic to expect them to sort through a list of every individual complaint every member may have. But it is entirely reasonable to use this forum to organize regional collections of the membership, gather a consensus on suggestions (using the polling feature is a grand idea). And take ideas that have growing support before the board.

If we can gather those workable suggestions into a report, I would be happy to take it to the meetings to be heard.

P.S. Along with this forum, Harvey also wanted to stress that any member can approach any director any time to give us input. One of the highest compliments ever paid to me was during a conversation with an ABS member who had some concerns and told me that he was directed to me by folks who said that among the board I was “safe” to talk candidly with. I hope this was because they saw me as a Bladesmith that never toed any party lines, and yet found themselves in a position to change things for the better. So I also want to stress that if anybody would feel more comfortable contacting me, one on one, to discuss a concern please feel free and know that I take that whole “safe” thing very much to heart.

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I second the interview thread Idea, the back story on smiths can be fascinating if nothing else. I know at least three medical Dr, several engineers, phds in a number of fields, many autodidacts.

MP

I'm also a fan of the interview idea. I think it's helpful on several levels. It does give people a personal connection to the ABS if they feel like they "know" more of its members. It also helps to give some perspective to all of the potential bladesmiths whose thinking seems to go one of two ways: 1) I'm going to support myself as a master smith right out of the gate or 2) I couldn't ever produce the quality of work that I see others make because I work full-time at another job, have too many responsibilities with x, y, or z, etc.; I think learning more about the background of successful smiths would give some useful perspective. As Matthew pointed out, it would also just be an interesting/entertaining read which is the goal of any publciation.

If you need volunteers to interview smiths, keep me in mind. I'm not a journalist so I'm sure there are more qualified prospects amongst the membership, but I am a neuropsychologist so I spend my days interviewing patients and writing up the results of those "interviews". I'd be happy to use that experience for this endeavor if it would be helpful.

Some things we can do as a group already, things that we just need to take the time to do.

So I have an idea that shouldn't need the approval of the board , just the interest of the members.

for instance on other forums there is the KITH where ever one involved makes a knife then sends it to someone else that has made a knife. this is a great way to get out of a comfort zone, and have an excuse to work on something new. The KITH is a huge time commitment and can go poorly at times on the other hand.

In the same vain I propose we have a monthly forging challenge. Someone puts down a challenge, then we all vote on the favorite, the "winner" picks the next challenge. or we skip the contest side entirely and every one suggests a challenge then is then voted on for that month. The idea is to do something fun that wont take a lot of time but is still something that will put you out of the norm. A good one I remember hearing about is to forge a knife from a 1" cube.

MP

Some things we can do as a group already, things that we just need to take the time to do.

So I have an idea that shouldn't need the approval of the board , just the interest of the members.

for instance on other forums there is the KITH where ever one involved makes a knife then sends it to someone else that has made a knife. this is a great way to get out of a comfort zone, and have an excuse to work on something new. The KITH is a huge time commitment and can go poorly at times on the other hand.

In the same vain I propose we have a monthly forging challenge. Someone puts down a challenge, then we all vote on the favorite, the "winner" picks the next challenge. or we skip the contest side entirely and every one suggests a challenge then is then voted on for that month. The idea is to do something fun that wont take a lot of time but is still something that will put you out of the norm. A good one I remember hearing about is to forge a knife from a 1" cube.

MP

I like your ideas Matt.

I want to be sure to commend Harvey for allowing and suggesting this sub forum. Thank you sir.

Kevin, would there be any merit to having more regional meetings? Not of the scale of the regular Hammer-ins, but more along the lines of the local ABANA groups where smiths in a given area get together every month to collaborate or share a newly learned technique. It would not need to be monthly of course, that's just how the ABANA groups tend to run. It would provide a little more structure in the sense that the members could share feedback regularly with the group leader who would then be in contact with the board. Might be a bit more of an undertaking than the ABS is looking for at the moment, but I could see the value as the membership continues to grow. ~Jacob Lutz

I agree with Jacob that regional meetings would be great. During the Introduction to Bladesmithing class in Arkansas, the students in my class attended the monthly blade smith meeting at Uncle Al's (Riverside). The meeting was like a monthly mini hammer in and brought together all levels of smiths including 3 master smiths. Local Smiths brought the knives they worked on for the month. The knives were placed on a table in the center of the room and individual feedback was provided to the smiths. Several topics were discussed and we got a demonstration on forming guards. The meeting lasted about 90 minutes. I met a lot of young local smiths that said the meetings were extremely helpful. Uncle Al was great and I ended up spending way to much at his shop.

In my opinion, this type of gathering will 1) foster getting to know the ABS members in a given area, 2) encourage further education and enhance the smiths ability to improve to the next level, 3) bring more of the public into understanding what the ABS is all about and 4) helping to increase the ABS membership. Having Master and Journeyman Smiths attend these type of meetings would be an important aspect for the success of the regional meetings.

So, I let my post stew for a week and came back tonight to see what else happened.

Lin, Thank you for your contributions. Both in this thread and in your work. I think that your idea "If we as individuals would set a goal to conceive a new idea or technique each year," might have spurred this idea from Matt: "I propose we have a monthly forging challenge." Both are very good suggestions. I might add we could have a yearly knife challenge where a particular type or style of knife/sword/bladed tool was the annual "make this thing" Try and push ourselves to try new forms or designs by recreating older forms and putting our own stamp on it (Lin's idea). It would be great if there was an annual or semi-annual challenge and the people who participated had their efforts on display at the Blade Show or ICCE. That would send a message to the membership that says "hey, you are recognized no matter what your skill level is." Awards are great, but what about recognizing the efforts of those who are just starting out and maybe don't have the skills or courage to compete with folks who have been at it for a couple of decades? This is the beauty of the KITH idea Matt suggested. For those of you who don't know, KITH stands for Knife In The Hat. The criteria for entry is simple: Make the best you can given the parameters of the chosen form. There is no "not good enough to enter" in the concept of KITH.

Kevin, I would suggest a spread sheet with suggestions put up here (and through other means) and a tally of supporting posts or submissions. This would be the simplest type of meaningful data report to bring the board. "Here is a list of ideas and the number of members who supported it." Don't try and respond to each idea, other than maybe letting folks know it's "on the list".... <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//biggrin.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

The only trouble with these ideas is that this forum has a very limited member presence. So, the feedback is from a very small percentage of the membership. How do we reach more members to solicit feedback/input? Maybe the interview series would help. Ask some of the less forum prominent smiths to do an online interview for a few weeks, ask them a maximum of 10 questions over a couple of months, or some such similar format.

People are busy as Lin pointed out. Life gets in the way sometimes. In order for the ABS to survive and thrive, it has to become meaningful to people's lives, not just their livelihood. It has to become personal,

double post deleted.

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Some things we can do as a group already, things that we just need to take the time to do.

So I have an idea that shouldn't need the approval of the board , just the interest of the members.

for instance on other forums there is the KITH where ever one involved makes a knife then sends it to someone else that has made a knife. this is a great way to get out of a comfort zone, and have an excuse to work on something new. The KITH is a huge time commitment and can go poorly at times on the other hand.

In the same vain I propose we have a monthly forging challenge. Someone puts down a challenge, then we all vote on the favorite, the "winner" picks the next challenge. or we skip the contest side entirely and every one suggests a challenge then is then voted on for that month. The idea is to do something fun that wont take a lot of time but is still something that will put you out of the norm. A good one I remember hearing about is to forge a knife from a 1" cube.

MP

I like these ideas. To follow up on Matthew’s recommendations, another option might be opening a channel for collaboration between members. These projects could be voted on in person at Blade if we wanted to make a competition out of the idea. If there is a means of this already on the forum. Overlook me as I haven’t ran across it yet.

As an apprentice, I love the focus on education. My one negative feedback is that sometimes I feel like the beginning point is beyond a “true” apprentice skill set. For example, way back I asked about purchasing a forge. There was a clear consensus that I should build my own and not waste money on a throwaway forge. This was discouraging as my welds have the structural integrity of beer foam, I don’t and probably shouldn’t own a welder, and I am on a budget. To sum up this rambling, new member skill level can vary greatly, and we are often differently equipped. The new maker members would benefit from a mentoring partner to help us become productive by tooling up in a wise way and by directing us to resources for machining skills, safety, tooling use/functionality, etc. Just my 2 cents...

Buenas tardes a todos.

Bueno yo soy nuevo en la ABS, estoy aprendiendo mucho de ustedes, pero me surgio una idea que puede favorecer a la agrupacion. Leo que son muchos los miembros internacionales y pensaba que una manera de hacer crecer mas la agrupacion en forma internacional podria ser nombrar o tener un representante en cada pais que la ABS tenga miembros.

En mi caso soy el primer Chileno que se incorporo y veo que muchos de mis colegas quieren pertenecer a la agrupacion.

Esto habria que pensarlo un poco mas pero como iniciativa seria interesante.

Un abrazo¡¡

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Buenas tardes a todos.

Bueno yo soy nuevo en la ABS, estoy aprendiendo mucho de ustedes, pero me surgio una idea que puede favorecer a la agrupacion. Leo que son muchos los miembros internacionales y pensaba que una manera de hacer crecer mas la agrupacion en forma internacional podria ser nombrar o tener un representante en cada pais que la ABS tenga miembros.

En mi caso soy el primer Chileno que se incorporo y veo que muchos de mis colegas quieren pertenecer a la agrupacion.

Esto habria que pensarlo un poco mas pero como iniciativa seria interesante.

Un abrazo¡¡

Me gustaría ver este tipo de representación también. Tenemos enlaces para conectarnos con las escuelas, pero sería bueno ver más representación regional, en otros países, así como en áreas de los U.S.A.

Courtesy of Google translate:

Buenas tardes a todos.

Bueno yo soy nuevo en la ABS, estoy aprendiendo mucho de ustedes, pero me surgio una idea que puede favorecer a la agrupacion. Leo que son muchos los miembros internacionales y pensaba que una manera de hacer crecer mas la agrupacion en forma internacional podria ser nombrar o tener un representante en cada pais que la ABS tenga miembros.

En mi caso soy el primer Chileno que se incorporo y veo que muchos de mis colegas quieren pertenecer a la agrupacion.

Esto habria que pensarlo un poco mas pero como iniciativa seria interesante.

Un abrazo¡¡

Good afternoon, everybody.

Well I'm new to ABS, I'm learning a lot of you, but I came up with an idea that can favor the grouping. I read that there are many international members and thought that one way to increase the grouping in an international way could be to appoint or have a representative in each country that ABS has members.

In my case I am the first Chilean to be incorporated and I see that many of my colleagues want to belong to the group.

This would have to think a little more but as an initiative would be interesting.

A hug

Me gustaría ver este tipo de representación también. Tenemos enlaces para conectarnos con las escuelas, pero sería bueno ver más representación regional, en otros países, así como en áreas de los U.S.A.

I would like to see this kind of representation as well. We have links to connect with schools, but it would be nice to see more regional representation, in other countries, as well as in areas of the U.S.A.

I posted this, and a little more in the 'Countering the Flood of Misinformation' post, but I think this bit of it goes here. This is what I would like to see:

I want the ABS to educate - to send out a packet called 'Three good knife steels to start forging with and how to heat treat them' - something brief on copier paper even (it doesn't need to be fancy at all) - concise. I want that to get sent out with every new addition to the ABS (and a place on the website to download it if you are a paid up ABS member).

One more thing - I want us to find a way for someone who pays up their dues to buy a little packet with a couple pieces of one of those 3 steels that they can start with. Maybe we could work with a vendor like Aldo to have him create a 'starter kit' with some 8" pieces or something like that.

Immediately then, anyone who joins the ABS is a step ahead, and beyond the wall of BS on the internet. Imagine how better informed they would be and how that would raise the reputation of the ABS even more. Members have access to a couple pieces of 1084 or some such. They have a brief but correct bit of information on what to do with those pieces of steel - heat to forge at, normalizing, hardening, tempering. Can you imagine if a newbie understood normalization, hardening, and tempering!

Those members will be more likely keep doing it (and doing it better) more often than the folks who try to forge a railroad spike out. They will have some success maybe...

I just wanted folks to be aware that at least one member of the board of directors is reading these suggestions and looking for good ideas that may be incorporated.

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One more thing - I want us to find a way for someone who pays up their dues to buy a little packet with a couple pieces of one of those 3 steels that they can start with. Maybe we could work with a vendor like Aldo to have him create a 'starter kit' with some 8" pieces or something like that.

Jim, I think this is a good idea. You could simplify it even more by creating a packet with just one steel, perhaps 1084 as you mentioned. In the packet you could include the information on the steel characteristics you like you suggested with detailed instruction on how to heat treat simply at home using things a beginner is likely to have on hand like vegetable oil and a toaster oven. Also in the packet could be a copy of the ABS' "Intro to Bladesmithing" booklet. It would be a good starting place for many who get overwhelmed by misinformation, or even correct information beyond the depth of someone just getting their feet wet. Although I wouldn't say I agree with the observation, someone mentioned to me the other day that they felt like the ABS had gotten away from their emphasis on education. Generally I would say if one person expresses a viewpoint, its shared by others who don't express it. Bearing that in mind it is good to be looking for ideas like this to spread knowledge in a way that is easily digested and acted upon. -Jake