Ask Josh a Question

Blues said:
I feel for you, Coleman. That's a bad situation you have to endure.

Here in my area, I've been waiting on average up to a week past the expected delivery date for packages from FedEx. They've not gotten back on track since "Helene"...and the holidays have only made it worse.

Doesn't compare to the pain you're experiencing in that regard, but things are awry in multiple locations.
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Thanks, Elliott.

Interesting enough, the postal strike and the alternate couriers being selective with mail/packages is understandable to me, due to the situation.

What bothers me the most, and causes some stress for me, is not being able to ship orders (and customers knives) back in a timely fashion. I have 5 orders currently ready to go, but can’t ship. Then I need to keep an eye on the system after it is back up and running to decide when the best time to ship would be. Chaos creates theft and missing packages. I do feel very responsible for the packages I mail.

Sidenote: I have a package that should have arrived before the strike even happened, which is basically “lost” as far as I’m concerned.
Another package made it to my PO (a leather stamp for Charlie’s special order sheath) the day before the strike. Lol. What are the chances. It was running two days late.

Sorry to hear about your Fedex troubles Elliott. I feel badly for folks who won’t receive important packages on time or Christmas presents on time.

Speaking of, my wife and I usually send a “Christmas box” to a few of the folks on BF yearly. This year we cannot so that kinda sucks as well.

Onward and upward my friends, no use worrying about it right? Right? 😂🤣
 
Blues said:
I wonder if you could work out a deal with the drones in NJ and CT to pick up and deliver your parcels while spreading fear and anxiety in both nations?

Sounds doable.

☺️
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Not sure I want my products to be related to fear and anxiety. Haha.

Those drones are something else. (Head shaking)
 
I shipped a bunch of boxes via UPS in the last couple days and the prices were roughly 20% higher than normal. I suppose it’s marked up for the holidays. 🙄

In late 2019 and early 2020 all around southwest Nebraska and into Colorado there were large drones buzzing around. There would be groups of them flying grid patterns in the sky at night. The governor even created a task force to figure out who was behind it. After a few months they just disappeared and now 5 years later we still have no idea who was flying them around or what they were looking for…
 
Hey Josh, what are the chances we can talk you into doing some up sized / scaled scales for the latest batch of 3.5 Embers if there's enough intrest?
And how many sets would make it worth your while?
 
Big DJ said:
Hey Josh, what are the chances we can talk you into doing some up sized / scaled scales for the latest batch of 3.5 Embers if there's enough intrest?
And how many sets would make it worth your while?
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It wouldn't work without mounting them and grinding flush to the tang... I would need to do probably 10 sets or so and the embers would have to be sent to me.
 
gunslinger387 said:
Josh,

What are the chances of you making an 8” or so camp knife? I think there would be a lot of interest in something like that whether it was larger Q or something new altogether.
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Yes maybe at some point later this year... I posted an idea in the Q thread but we could take suggestions
 
gunslinger387 said:
Josh, kinda curious as to what got you started in the knife making business and what kind of background you had prior to that.
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I was in local law enforcement from 2005-2015 (sheriff's office). During that time I started sharpening knives on the side, roughly in 2007 or thereabouts. Slowly I began getting into mods and regrinds and began wanting to work for myself for a while but just didn't ever think it would be a reality. I remember telling my wife that 'maybe' when I retired I could do it full time lol. But I began praying about it for a couple of years actually. When I got to a 2 week backlog and sustained that for a few months in April of 2015 I decided to quit and move into working full time on knives. I pulled my retirement out which is what I used to purchase my 12x40 shop that I currently work in (and certainly need a larger one as I'm using every possible bit of space by this point 😅) among other necessary equipment (like my grinder).

It was a risky move because my wife was pregnant with out 6th (and final) child at the time but God has always provided for us and I've never had less than a 2 week backlog since that time (unless it was self chosen). I am very blessed to be doing what I love and be at home with my family. It's a cool dynamic because we also homeschool so I get to see them pretty often throughout the day and get to eat all 3 meals with my wife and kiddos :)

Around 2018 or so I decided to change directions away from mods and to grow my brand through actual making. I enjoy this more anyway because I basically have full artistic freedom to make what I want to and be creative. That's one reason I don't do full customs typically (well, except for Sharp & Fiery Sharp & Fiery , we all know Coleman gets what he wants 😂🤣😂). It's been a fun journey, and it can be a struggle on a single income raising 6 kids but I do love it. And by struggle if you read any knife maker forum post on doing it full time you will quickly realized that most knife makers make below minimum wage. I have been blessed to have a lot of wisdom from friends poured into my life so it's not that bad for me but I do have to work 6 days a week and have since 2015. I don't know if I want to get to the point where I have employees but would like to continue to grow and do some OEM batches which would allow me to have more time to develop new products and work on customs a bit more.

That's a great question though, thanks for asking!
 
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