Hey y’all to all y’all! I’m the new guy. Ryan Stutsy from Skuna Bottom in Pontotoc, MS. I’ve tried to make knives since I was a kid. My first knife was a stick and so was my first sword. Come to think of it so was my first gun. Well that was the good ole days. Fast forward a few years I tried making my first blade in my garage using a disc grinder and some HIGH quality flat stock from Lowe’s. Well what happened was....I made the prettiest ugly knife shaped object ever. At least it was steel right. Near completion the disc grinder grabbed my tank top protective cotton and cut my gut wide open. Which I thought was cool but my wife thought I was an idiot. I still think it was cool. That was 6 years ago. A couple weeks ago I was in North Carolina taking a blacksmith class at a folk school and one of my instructors (Jack Stottelmire) I put his name so y’all know I associate with some people that aren’t completely sane, told me ABS was having a hammer in right up the road that weekend. So I went over to see what’s happening, and stayed all Saturday. Met some cool people. Gave Pop a few buck $$$$. Lo and behold they aren’t using disc grinders. What I saw very much intrigued me. I had another week at that folk school but I kept thinking of the blades I saw. I couldn’t wait to get home. So I came home for a few days and went to Alabama to the 30th annual Batson blade symposium. Now I’m a member of the ABS. How did that happen? I’m a veteran of the USMC, husband, father. I love to blacksmith, I’d love to make some knives. I plan on going to the Intro class as soon as I can save the money. I live off my VA disability so it takes a while to save. But I will get there. I’m thankful for this Society, and I’m thankful to all those that take time out of their lives to share their knowledge with me. God bless.