Hi everyone. My name is Joe Clements, owner of the new "site-in-the-works" KnifeMakersDatabase.com I wouldn't mention it except just a few weeks ago, i had done a really nice, Featured Knifemaker article on Mr. Rusty Polk... I did my research. I talked to some people about his work. I talked to him.
I ordered 4 different knives (something I'm going to be doing with a lot of makers in the future) of different styles, tyoes, designs, etc. So as to have a real good up close look at what this guy can do. As a practice, if I decide the stuff is good enough to sell, which it is, I host the knives and write an article about the maker so my clients can see EXACTKY what they're getting themselves into. I even host the makers own link because I couldn't care less if you buy from me or the other guy - my goal is to help my visitors get what they want.
Rusty was 100% dead on with his knives as well as with his communication. In fact, he called me more often than I could return his calls! Every knife was made BEFORE he said they'd be ready and they all reached me, problem free.
Now I'm writing all this because I really think Rusty is a great guy and an even better knifemaker - He's JS Smith of the year for cryin out loud - and I just couldn't believe when one of the people involved in this thread sent me an email informing me of this situation. I have a really good relationship with Rusty and I want to let you all know that I will do my best to get through to him as I told the person who emailed me previously. I can't make any promises - I'm not Rusty. But I will try.
Problems like his happen all too often. Makers take more orders than they can handle and are afraid to admit they made a boo-boo when the time comes for a band-aid. It's a shame. It's a shame. I don't know what else to say except I'll keep you all informed and if the situation is not resolved, I will have no choice but to remove the featured article from my site, because I know if someone did that to me - I sure as hell wouldn't be hosting any articles for them.
I'm a knife collector, than I'm a business man, and the two never stray far apart. Honesty, Integrity, Loyalty come before money, material and self and I won't deal with people who are any other way. Thanks for listening and I'll talk to you all soon. Joe