Allen, you are absolutely right...I only know the part of the story that was made public. I really didn't want to know any of the story.
BTW, the link to the entire thread is in the first post here by Tom, so I wasn't pulling it out of the air. I highlighted your words that I felt contradicted what you said in this thread.
My one and only point is that the original thread would have died if you had not posted there with the strong language. You could have quietly told Tom how Howard felt. I just think as knifemakers and professionals, we should take care of this business in private. Our common goal should be to promote custom knifemaking, provide collectors and knife enthusiasts the best knife we can, and keep knifemaker business behind the virtual closed door.
You can take it as a given that if even the slightest controversial post is made on the forums, there will be folks that jump on it and run. By avoiding those type of posts, we avoid the innuendo that has happened here.
There are a number of makers here who have thousands of posts who never get quagmired in situations like this. It is just a matter of taking care in what you say publically. Of course, you absolutely must defend yourself against an erroneous personal attack.
Also, you can be a big part of BF and KF and CKD without even touching weird subjects. 10 minutes a night, breeze your favorite subjects, leave a note...it takes no longer than a bathroom break
I have been making knives for just over a year and I already have a national customer base because of all the forums. There are quite a few other makers that can say the same thing. Even though I have been a maker for a short time, I have been a professional for a lot longer and I think my professional attitude has served me well. Part of that attitude is to never, ever air dirty laundry in a public forum.
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"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
George Orwell
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