Well I am trying to get motivated to go out to my shop and do some online streams of my process. Sure its raw footage but I only have the one camera out there for this.

I did one just this weekend for 2.5 hours and cobbled a copper dish into a stretch of rod for a ladle to use to cool stuff in my water bucket. Then I fabricated a bulb planter and did some hammered copper for it too.

I would like to get it going and let people see what it takes to do these things. They see the FiF 3 hour then 2 hour challenges and think why does it cost so much, they can do in 5 or 6 hours.

For my wife, a 3rd grade teacher and myself and IT admin. We are doing fine. Her school is canceled for a while but she is putting out resources for parents to use for the kids to keep up on education plus offering any additional help.

Lucky for me I can work from home if need be for 90% of what is needed. Granted at work at the moment but dont have to be near anyone.

I think online hammer in would be fun, hell, anything that gets people to focus on anything other than what's out there.

This is something I have been pondering as I anticipate Blade 2020 being cancelled or postponed.

An online knife show? How would that work? Mind you, I have only actually attend 2 knife shows, but I have done a dozen or more art shows. From what I have seen and experienced, they are not that different. It comes down to people are not buying a knife or a piece of art so much. They are buying a piece of the artist. They are buying the story behind the art piece. They are buying a little bit of the artist's personality, and taking it home. The art piece doesn't sell itself necessarily. It's the banter and story of the artist that clinches the deal. An online knife show lacks all of that. Unless you can figure out how to have artists online and have a customer stop at their table, and the two can talk live with web cameras going. I have no idea how the technical aspects of that would work, but I can totally see it happening.

Picture this. It looks like an online video game where you walk into town and see the shops around the village square, except there are tables with animated figures behind them. There is an icon that opens a map of the entire village square with a list of artists by type or group. You can either stroll around or find a specific area or artist and go to their table. You click on a table and it tells you how many people are there and if someone is talking with the artisan. You can see if anyone is in a queue to speak with them and you can choose to listen to the conversation. While you wait, you can flip through pictures of what is on the table, or view the map again.

Meanwhile, the artist is seeing a popup on his screen of how many people are looking at his stuff and how many people are waiting to talk with him. He can speak with anyone who chooses to have a conversation. This can either be live on video chat, or simple text in a dialog box. Purchases can be put in a cart and taken to the cashier, PayPal or Square-up accounts are preset.

Admittedly, it would take months, if not years, to write the code to make this happen. It's almost like a smaller version of WoW, except with video conferencing.

I do wish I had a proverbial crystal ball. I do have an enormous order list. The question is how many of those will fall through if folks' disposable income vanishes.

One thing that has always bothered me a little is that we make things that people really do not need.

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I do wish I had a proverbial crystal ball. I do have an enormous order list. The question is how many of those will fall through if folks' disposable income vanishes.

One thing that has always bothered me a little is that we make things that people really do not need.

I think that's relative Karl.

Do people really need to buy the 6th company's version of "candy crush" on their cell phone? Do people really need that iced caramel mocha latte with a squirt of razzel-dazzel from Starbucks? Do people really need the highest end computer to type Word documents on?

Disposable income is just that, extra money that people spend on what they enjoy. As long as there are knife enthusiasts/collectors/users out there, I think the market will be there, albeit with a (probably extended) downturn with the current situation. Just a visit to Smoky Mountain Knifeworks on any given day tells me a strong market is there.

I really think that everyone just needs to keep the faith (religious or otherwise) and we will get through it all.

In terms of the custom knife market, the prognosis is unfortunately not good. Just consider the basic supply and demand equation.

Supply of new handmade knives is going to increase. Part-time makers confined to their homes during lockdowns and the newly unemployed will increase their shop time and make more knives.

Supply of used or pre-owned handmade knives will also increase, as people who have lost their jobs sell non-essential assets like knife collections to pay their bills. Retirees whose 401(k) and IRA funds just got whacked 20 or 30% may also do a bit of portfolio rebalancing.

Demand, meanwhile, will decline. Joblessness is going to rise significantly, taking many buyers completely out of the market. Even those who remain gainfully employed will find it increasingly difficult to justify spending $500 or $1000 on a new custom knife when a good factory knife or one of their older pieces will do.

The restaurant and hotel industry will be particularly hard hit. Many will not survive. Demand for custom kitchen knives out of this sector is therefore also sure to fall significantly. Even those restaurants that make it through this will take a while to recover. Their priority will be to get back on track, keep their staff paid and their kitchens and dining rooms clean. A fancy new damascus chef knife will just have to wait.

Professional bladesmiths who make knives for a living would probably be wise to find ways to reduce expenses. In my opinion, the most sought after high end makers will be OK. They have enough of a demand cushion to absorb the general market declines, but others will struggle. We may be heading into a global depression. It will be hard on lots of folks, knifemakers included.

Some of us might find creative ways to come out of this. Offering tool sharpening and repair services, for example, might be an option for some. But we should be realistic. The market is likely to change drastically in the coming months and those who are unable to adapt will struggle.

Be smart, be careful, and stay healthy out there.

I view this along the same lines as the 2008 crash. If you were able to save for the rainy day, then you'll be able to weather this. if not, life will get hard. In 2008, I watched all the builders I worked with close shop, never to return. I survived,barely. If your market is the rich, you probably won't even notice this, if your market is the rest, then this might hurt a lot. I'm in a good place, so if I get slow, I'll just build stock. In other venues, with the gym closed, I thought I could spend some of that free gym time doing needed jobs around house.

Admittedly, it would take months, if not years, to write the code to make this happen. It's almost like a smaller version of WoW, except with video conferencing.

Sorry that I’m a little late to the party. What you’re describing has already been created. You could probably do this with Second Life, somehow.

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Sorry that I’m a little late to the party. What you’re describing has already been created. You could probably do this with Second Life, somehow.

Thank you for bringing this post back up.

for my self I am in a much more hopeful place than when I started this post.

I have lost a lot of income in lost class demos and shows, but my online sales have grown to almost make up the difference, but my cost have dropped no travel expenses and a few other things.

I have been able to get to the shop and work , I have been able to finish work.

I did my first Online knife show,(damasteel invitational) might be the first of its kind ever, and it was in many ways a roaring success. (see my article on it in next months Knife) the platform they used was intended for just such a event , it is called Hopin. For the most part it worked extremely well, there is room for improvement but this is early in the game for this tech so that is to be expected.

It isn't the dead stop I was expecting , and fearing. It is a new normal, a new playing field. the way things are playing out it seems like things I was already doing are just more important now. time will tell

MP

|quoted:

Thank you for bringing this post back up.

for my self I am in a much more hopeful place than when I started this post.

I have lost a lot of income in lost class demos and shows, but my online sales have grown to almost make up the difference, but my cost have dropped no travel expenses and a few other things.

I have been able to get to the shop and work , I have been able to finish work.

I did my first Online knife show,(damasteel invitational) might be the first of its kind ever, and it was in many ways a roaring success. (see my article on it in next months Knife) the platform they used was intended for just such a event , it is called Hopin. For the most part it worked extremely well, there is room for improvement but this is early in the game for this tech so that is to be expected.

It isn't the dead stop I was expecting , and fearing. It is a new normal, a new playing field. the way things are playing out it seems like things I was already doing are just more important now. time will tell

MP

That’s good to hear Matt. It does seem like there has been an increase in online ordering during the last three months. I’m also sure there will be a lot of new ways that we will have to adapt to the knife sales industry as we more forward.

I think I am coming from this from the other end of the spectrum. My wife and I are still employed thankfully but we cannot travel far. She has a severe autoimmune and that makes it hard for us to do much.

The one thing that is allowing me to be here now, is we moved out of a row home (a few months ago) into a house in the woods and now I actually am building a small workshop. I always wanted to make my own knives and I finally have the freedom to attempt that now.

I took a weekend class from a local knifemaker in 2019 (stock removal and coal forging) and was going back for a Damascus class in March 2020 but had to cancel.

I reached out to the same person to continue my education remotely but haven't heard back (hope is everything is well for him). At some point I will want to get a journeyman status with ABS but I am not sure where to take now.

I know how to re-create what I learned but I suppose I am looking for virtual mentoring in knifemaking if that is a thing (crazy right).

Has anyone seen any opportunities to learn virtually?

I hope everyone who reads this is doing well,

Mark

|quoted:

I think I am coming from this from the other end of the spectrum. My wife and I are still employed thankfully but we cannot travel far. She has a severe autoimmune and that makes it hard for us to do much.

The one thing that is allowing me to be here now, is we moved out of a row home (a few months ago) into a house in the woods and now I actually am building a small workshop. I always wanted to make my own knives and I finally have the freedom to attempt that now.

I took a weekend class from a local knifemaker in 2019 (stock removal and coal forging) and was going back for a Damascus class in March 2020 but had to cancel.

I reached out to the same person to continue my education remotely but haven't heard back (hope is everything is well for him). At some point I will want to get a journeyman status with ABS but I am not sure where to take now.

I know how to re-create what I learned but I suppose I am looking for virtual mentoring in knifemaking if that is a thing (crazy right).

Has anyone seen any opportunities to learn virtually?

I hope everyone who reads this is doing well,

Mark

There has been a lot of talk about distance and virtual learning for metals teachers. As a long time instructor I just can't see how it would work for beginners classes. the first few classes, especially with forging and grinding end up with so much of the teaching being correcting errors. otherwise a book would work as well (having learned from books I will tell you it is not as good..) so much of a beginner and intermediate classes is walking up to the student and changing their stance or grip or angle. let alone the student having enough and the right equipment to learn.

beyond the basics once a basic proficiency has been gained in forging and grinding, then I think distance learning is possible, and may be even preferable. Things like the ABS videos, Patreon accounts and the like can be great to all tools to ones tool box and learn a new technique or method of doing something, it will not in my opinion replace those first classes.

MP

Being a beginner and have had tried both approaches I agree with Matt 100%. 1 day with an instructor is worth a year reading or watching videos. After a class, go back and read/watch anything from the past again. I was blown away by how much more I comprehended from the material after some hands on instruction.

Thank you both.

I was lucky to have 2 days (LOL) before the pandemic. I absolutely understand learning directly from someone is far easier in person.

Thankfully it was solid training and good enough for me to "attempt to recreate".

I am going to just focus on stock removal until after the pandemic and then find additional instruction.

I hope to use the isolation brought on by the pandemic to allow me to learn what I can and that's why I joined here.

On my list thus far are topics of the month and what Matt mentioned in ABS videos.

Mark

Don't forget there is a ABS YouTube channel and a number of individual members have there own channels.