RIP Charlie Mike

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Talked to him many times in BF and Insta. Always enjoyed his old school way of doing youtube. I was impressed how he progressed as a knifemaker and became sober and became better self. He also inspired me to get diver but I have no balls to dremel it.. instead I engraved it.

When he went it was a big shock for me and many in the community. I still think of him time to time and he will be never forgotten.

Rest peacefully Matt!
 
WValtakis said:
RIP CMFTW
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Ha. If he was the one to write the caption on this, he had the recovery pages beat by years.

Wish I could have met this dude. Not many recovered people in this community and when they are, they keep it very hushed for a number of reasons related to hobby or job (this is a bad thing - the squirreling away of mental health/addiction issues) so to see his sober date as his title under his username belies his unashamed nature and I highly respect that.
 
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Hashishiin said:
Ha. If he was the one to write the caption on this, he had the recovery pages beat by years.

Wish I could have met this dude. Not many recovered people in this community and when they are, they keep it very hushed for a number of reasons related to hobby or job (this is a bad thing - the squirreling away of mental health/addiction issues) so to see his sober date as his title under his username belies his unashamed nature and I highly respect that.
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That pic with caption was posted by him đź‘Ť
 
Matt was a good guy. Talked to him a few times. We had some shared experiences. I felt real bad when he checked out, because I thought he'd turned the corner. Still think of him now and then, mainly when the neighbors black cat comes over and starts demanding attention. Still feel bad for his mom. FTWCM
 
Just came back to the forums after a long break
Honestly, im just kind of shocked
He and i talked a couple times, i even had a knife done by him
the one in my profile pic
Trying to keep it together at work now
Rest in peace CM
Just wish you could see how much we all miss you now
 
CM was a one of a bred! Chatted on the phone about everything from nBW, Cats, and even knife making! EfThe maneuver I’ll remember till my lasts day was when he had his, .Black Knives Matter” T-shirts made! I laughed so hard when I say the pic I had to Explain it to my wife, the best you could explain something like that, LOL without her knowing anything about CM
 
Does anybody have pics of some of his regrinds? I remember him adding a "Dave" (after somebody told him Wave was trademarked) to a bunch of Cold Steels and Spydercos, as well as blade reshaping. I never met the man or sadly got one of his knives, but he had a way with a grinder....
 
Type in to search here Hoodrat'd Cold Steel Survivalist and It'll pop up a knife he just sent me. I tried to trade him an Emerson folder and he told me to just keep it and sent this knife to me since I had an interest in it. That man had an Awesome heart. I still have that knife with a cool sheath he designed with a very specific method of carrying. I wish I would have gotten one he actually made from scratch by his hands. I'm glad I got this one though as he made it to be a down and dirty CCW upgraded in his own way, Edge Out Reverse blade withdrawal mainly just for that purpose. He had his own style. I really miss his every morning post, Pics and knives he was working on and his antics, he had a special way of making you smile/laugh each morning, and Dr Bob also he always wanted to check out Matt's blades. He left us way too soon may he RIP.
 
Triforge said:
I haven't logged in in a long time but I had to share my memories of Matt.

I started making knives when I was 12, back in 2011, with no one around me in doing anything similar. My primary "education" came from watching Gavko's YouTube videos.
Soon I discovered Matt here on Bladeforum and his balisongs. This was back in his crystal meth days. I bought his #14 off him, which was a tanto chisel-ground blade with brass handles. It made the most satisfying "ting" sounds when flipped. I called him up and asked him for advice in knife making. He spent a solid 2 hours with a kid he didn't know, telling me about tools, grinding, and so forth.
Fast forward 8 years, Matt became well known for his self-defense folder mods, and his dedication to his sobriety. I would speak to him now and again, and sent him some knives I made for him to give me feedback.
As his career took off, and I departed to University in the UK, thereby extricating from the knife community, we communicated less, but I would still speak to him on Instagram now and again.

We disagreed on many things in life, but at the end of the day he was the first mentor I ever had in this community.
He will be sorely missed.
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I very much enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing this.
 
Bill T said:
I posted this on my ig page but also wanted to post here...

Charlie Mike...
Did I ever meet him?
No.
But in this day of internet and IG, one does not need to meet anymore...it helps but its not needed.
Some(?) Most(?) of my best friends have come from this devil known as the internet.

Matt and I crossed paths a number of years ago on the assorted knife forums...
At this time Matt was doing 2 things...trying to learn knifemaking...and fight his Demons..
We all have them..Demons that is...
Long story short...Matt not only Beat his Demons but he would take them out for a walk for all to see...like they were his dogs.
They didn't own him anymore..He owned them.

That left just one thing...Knifemaking.
Did he take the normal(?) path so many of us take? Not this fucker...
He did his own thing.
Putting a WAVE on every folder he could get his hands on.
We all cried out " Matt! What the hell are you doing?!?!"
He"d just laugh that laugh and keep grinding.

He believed in the Chisel grind..
We spoke at length about it's uses and application..
Did he follow the accepted parameters for it? Nope...he did that shit to everything..

Did it work for him?
It most certainly did.

By forging his own path, taking what worked for him and discarding the rest, he achieved effortlessly what others struggle to attain their whole knifemaking career.

Fame...a following...fans...But more importantly Friends..

I never saw him get upset.
I never saw him argue.
I saw him Stand like a Man for his Country.
I saw him show love for his friends.
I saw him smile every day and be thankful for what he had.

Matthew Freeman..you did what many cannot do...You touched us.
Not just with your spirit but with your deeds.

The World is a less fun place without you.

I miss you my Brother
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This was good. Thanks Bill.
 
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