Sticking up for Nick Wheeler

If it wasn't for Nick's posts directed to me or pointers that he has freely given I wouldn't be making knives, let alone sold some:eek: He is one of the many people we need around here:thumbup:
 
Ill chime in and say that my hamons are by a great part due to Nicks help. He has let me progress rather quickly with them and not only making them but understanding how to get different results. He has been a great help.

Oh and his WIP on sanding is great as well. It got me started hand sanding effectively.
 
When Timmy fell in the well Nick's dog was there to help.

Nothing at all wrong with Nick's original comment. The longer a thread goes the more it becomes like the game Telephone where people lose sight of the origins and reply based off of the previous few comments. I was guilty of it myself. I hope he sticks around.
 
Thank you so much Patrice! And all of you guys for the kind words... It is GREATLY appreciated!!! :) :cool: :)

Reading the very nice words here truly warmed my heart. :)

But, I think I at least need a break from ST. I hate typing that.

*****warning--- this is yet another long-winded Nick post. If you were one of the guys that read my post about leaving ST and thought, "Who gives a sh*t, don't let the door hit 'ya in the ass on the way out!!!" then you most likely won't care about this post at all.*****

I have been a registered member here since I was 21, but had been lurking and reading for over a year before I even registered. Back then, I had made several knives by hand, had purchased a few pieces of very expensive equipment (like a variable speed BurrKing) but knew NOTHING about how heat treating worked, could hardly grind to save my life, didn't even have the slightest idea how something was forged, wasn't a member of the ABS, and only knew about 2 or 3 knife makers personally.

In the time that I have been an active member here, I have devoted a huge part of my life and energy to trying to eventually be a highly skilled, accomplished, helpful, friendly, and respected knife maker. I have met some amazing men and women because of this craft. I went from thinking that heat treating was some kind of black voodoo magic and not having the foggiest idea what the difference between terms like martensite, pearlite, austenitizing, etc. were--- to having things like a digitally controlled salt bath, commercial quench oils..... I went from living with my folks and working out of their 2 car garage, to having an AMAZING family of my own with a nice home and a 36'X48' shop full of equipment. I went from DREAMING that one day I might be so lucky to have a knife published in a knife mag, to being so stupidly fortunate as to have had my knives published in Knives Annual dozens of time, BLADE magazine, Knives Illustrated, Knife World, The ABS Journal, had an article about me in Knife World written by BR HUGHES!!! and just this past year another article written about my work in Knives Illustrated. Even though I was finishing up a Mechanical Engineering degree around the time I registered here, and later got sent back to school for a Welding degree and Machinist cert... I have been so crazy lucky that I have been able to stick with what has been in my heart and blood since age 12.... making knives. I went from thinking that forging was just something that really old guys in the deep south did, to being a Journeyman in the ABS that has been theoretically eligible to test for Mastersmith for almost 5 years now. Just to be clear, I am NOT saying that I am at that level, I'm just saying that in theory I can test based on the fact that I got my Js in 2007. There's even been some talk recently about the possibility of being on a TV show. :eek: :confused: :foot: ;)

But one of the few things that hasn't GREATLY changed with my knife making through out this long, slow period of growth and development???

Me being an active member of Shop Talk.

It has been the initial meeting place of some of my VERY VERY good friends. It has been a conduit for me to virtually travel to other makers' shops all over the world, to get to know them, to get to see how they do things, to learn so so soooooo many things.

While I went from 98% of my posts being questions, to 90% of them being an attempt at sharing advice... I have been here all these years.... sometimes OVERLY dedicated to Shop Talk. Even with that in mind, I'm confident I have learned far more here than I have ever shared/taught.


But------


Something is just different lately. I don't know how much of it is me, how much of it is the actual forum/posts, or how much of it is simply the incomprehensible craziness that has been going on in our country/world lately. But something is definitely different.

Anyone that has met me in real life, knows what a goofy, dorky, smart ass I am, but also knows that amidst blabbering about silly nonsense in the shop, I remain committed to accepting nothing but the best quality that my eyes and hands are capable of. But I have NEVER forgotten being that 14, 15, 16 year old kid that didn't have an internet to log onto knife forums, had to wait 1-6 months for knifemaking books to come in at the library, and had DOZENS of phone calls to knife makers listed in the Knives annuals result in things like, "Sorry kid, I'm busy, can't help 'ya.----click" My Dad always told me, "Keep your mouth shut, pay attention to the guys that will help you, work hard, make every attempt better than the last one, and someday you will be one of the big name knife makers. You're going to be one of those guys in the books. Just promise me, that you will remember how much it stung when the old guys wouldn't help you, and how happy you were when some of them did. Promise you're going to be one of the big name makers that will help the 14 year old kid that calls you because that is the kind of man I want you to be. And it will make that kid smile ear to ear just like it did you."

I did promise him that. And he still reminds me of it from time to time.

While I have still not made it to being a big name maker, I have made it farther along in this craft than I ever thought I could. I have tried to keep that promise I made to my Dad. I thought I had. Time and money permitting, I have spent a tremendous amount of time trying to share techniques on this forum... some that big name makers taught me while bs'ing at shows and I went back to the shop and figured out how to apply, and many that I learned on my own---while actually doing this stuff in my own shop.

But it has become clear to me with some of the recent threads that something has changed. Like I said above, I don't know if it's me, some of the new blood here, the world in general.... I don't know... but there are far more than a few members here that CLEARLY would NOT AGREE that I have been trying to keep that promise to my Dad. Rather than that, they think I have become a mean, non-nurturing, elitist jerk... trying to force people to define things the way I do, and NOT willing to help new makers.


Partly this makes me angry, because I have taken so much time that could have been spent with my family, or the dogs, or.... yea, in the shop... and spent it here.


But mostly, it makes me sad. Because if you're reading this and think of me as ANY of those negative things, then I have not projected myself in the way that I want to, or the way my Dad asked me to.


So as AMAZINGLY GRATIFYING as it is to see Patrice's thread, and the very, very kind words that followed... Something needs to change. And since I am not one to overestimate my ability to change others, I figure it's gonna have to be me. And right now I would much rather spend the energy/time that's required to do that, with my family during this holiday season and actually working on knives so that we can pay the mortgage and so hopefully, someday, I can take that test for Ms rating.


Thank you so very much guys.... :)

Most Sincerely,
 
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Patrice posted a very nice and encouraging thread in ATG. My reply was fitting for ATG.... but considering some of the messes I seem to have stirred up here lately, I REALLY want to have my reply here for some of those affected to see.

It's not technical knife talk... but I genuinely hope it will be allowed to stay here for those guys to see.

Thanks :) :) :)



Here is my post-----




Thank you so much Patrice! And all of you guys for the kind words... It is GREATLY appreciated!!! :) :cool: :)

Reading the very nice words here truly warmed my heart. :)

But, I think I at least need a break from ST. I hate typing that.

*****warning--- this is yet another long-winded Nick post. If you were one of the guys that read my post about leaving ST and thought, "Who gives a sh*t, don't let the door hit 'ya in the ass on the way out!!!" then you most likely won't care about this post at all.*****

I have been a registered member here since I was 21, but had been lurking and reading for over a year before I even registered. Back then, I had made several knives by hand, had purchased a few pieces of very expensive equipment (like a variable speed BurrKing) but knew NOTHING about how heat treating worked, could hardly grind to save my life, didn't even have the slightest idea how something was forged, wasn't a member of the ABS, and only knew about 2 or 3 knife makers personally.

In the time that I have been an active member here, I have devoted a huge part of my life and energy to trying to eventually be a highly skilled, accomplished, helpful, friendly, and respected knife maker. I have met some amazing men and women because of this craft. I went from thinking that heat treating was some kind of black voodoo magic and not having the foggiest idea what the difference between terms like martensite, pearlite, austenitizing, etc. were--- to having things like a digitally controlled salt bath, commercial quench oils..... I went from living with my folks and working out of their 2 car garage, to having an AMAZING family of my own with a nice home and a 36'X48' shop full of equipment. I went from DREAMING that one day I might be so lucky to have a knife published in a knife mag, to being so stupidly fortunate as to have had my knives published in Knives Annual dozens of time, BLADE magazine, Knives Illustrated, Knife World, The ABS Journal, even had a dagger published in the Japanese knife magazine, had an article about me in Knife World written by BR HUGHES!!! (a true legend in the knife world, and an author I had been reading since I was about 13!!!), and just this past year another article written about my work in Knives Illustrated. Even though I was finishing up a Mechanical Engineering degree around the time I registered here, and later got sent back to school for a Welding degree and Machinist cert... I have been so crazy lucky that I have been able to stick with what has been in my heart and blood since age 12.... making knives. I went from thinking that forging was just something that really old guys in the deep south did, to being a Journeyman in the ABS that has been theoretically eligible to test for Mastersmith for almost 5 years now. Just to be clear, I am NOT saying that I am at that level, I'm just saying that in theory I can test based on the fact that I got my Js in 2007. There's even been some talk recently about the possibility of being on a TV show. :eek: :confused: :foot: ;)

But one of the few things that hasn't GREATLY changed with my knife making through out this long, slow period of growth and development???

Me being an active member of Shop Talk.

It has been the initial meeting place of some of my VERY VERY good friends. It has been a conduit for me to virtually travel to other makers' shops all over the world, to get to know them, to get to see how they do things, to learn so so soooooo many things.

While I went from 98% of my posts being questions, to 90% of them being an attempt at sharing advice... I have been here all these years.... sometimes OVERLY dedicated to Shop Talk. Even with that in mind, I'm confident I have learned far more here than I have ever shared/taught.


But------


Something is just different lately. I don't know how much of it is me, how much of it is the actual forum/posts, or how much of it is simply the incomprehensible craziness that has been going on in our country/world lately. But something is definitely different.

Anyone that has met me in real life, knows what a goofy, dorky, smart ass I am, but also knows that amidst blabbering about silly nonsense in the shop, I remain committed to accepting nothing but the best quality that my eyes and hands are capable of. But I have NEVER forgotten being that 14, 15, 16 year old kid that didn't have an internet to log onto knife forums, had to wait 1-6 months for knifemaking books to come in at the library, and had DOZENS of phone calls to knife makers listed in the Knives annuals result in things like, "Sorry kid, I'm busy, can't help 'ya.----click" My Dad always told me, "Keep your mouth shut, pay attention to the guys that will help you, work hard, make every attempt better than the last one, and someday you will be one of the big name knife makers. You're going to be one of those guys in the books. Just promise me, that you will remember how much it stung when the old guys wouldn't help you, and how happy you were when some of them did. Promise you're going to be one of the big name makers that will help the 14 year old kid that calls you because that is the kind of man I want you to be. And it will make that kid smile ear to ear just like it did you."

I did promise him that. And he still reminds me of it from time to time.

While I have still not made it to being a big name maker, I have made it farther along in this craft than I ever thought I could. I have tried to keep that promise I made to my Dad. I thought I had. Time and money permitting, I have spent a tremendous amount of time trying to share techniques on this forum... some that big name makers taught me while bs'ing at shows and I went back to the shop and figured out how to apply, and many that I learned on my own---while actually doing this stuff in my own shop.

But it has become clear to me with some of the recent threads that something has changed. Like I said above, I don't know if it's me, some of the new blood here, the world in general.... I don't know... but there are far more than a few members here that CLEARLY would NOT AGREE that I have been trying to keep that promise to my Dad. Rather than that, they feel I have become a mean, non-nurturing, elitist jerk, who is unwilling to help and encourage new makers....:eek: :(


Partly this makes me angry, because I have taken so much time that could have been spent with my family, or the dogs, or.... yea, in the shop... and spent it here.


But mostly, it makes me sad. Because if you're reading this and think of me as ANY of those negative things, then I have not projected myself in the way that I want to, or the way my Dad asked me to.


So as AMAZINGLY GRATIFYING as it is to see Patrice's thread, and the very, very kind words that followed... Something needs to change. And since I am not one to overestimate my ability to change others, I figure it's gonna have to be me. And right now I would much rather spend the energy/time that's required to do that, with my family during this holiday season and actually working on knives so that we can pay the mortgage and so hopefully, someday, I can take that test for Ms rating.


Thank you so very much guys.... :)

Most Sincerely,
 
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I'm sorry to see you go man, your posts are pure gold and I learned a lot.

I love your structured and methodical way to doing things.


Get your MS, and get paid for the quality you are already putting out


Here's hoping your absence is a short one.
 
Nick, only you know what the right path for you is. Good luck and just don't stop making knives!


Fair winds and following seas.


-Xander
 
Just want to let you know that I appreciate the advice that you have given and the time that you have contributed. Your "stuck in the metal" WIP was the best single thing that ever happen to my outlook on knifemaking. Thanks for the effort. Merry Christmas. Hope to see you back soon.
Steven
 
Nick, Your a really nice guy. Don't really know you personally, but have read all your posts over the years and yes things have changed. Come back soon refreshed.
Some day I'll finish that blade I got from you.
 
Mr. Wheeler,
Before you sign off, let me say thank you for the time you have invested in teaching. Amongst a few others, you are one of the makers I've learned the most from. I've only been making knives again for just over six months, since I got stationed here in NoVa. After being away from the hobby for seventeen years, I was amazed at the resources available to us learning the craft, now, vs years ago when I, too, had to wait months for the library to get in new books.

For what it's worth, I hope you find peace in whatever you choose to do with your time, but I am going to pray to the gods of the forge that you return to posting instructions and answering questions, ASAP. I, for one have never gotten the impression that you were anything but patient. Maybe there is some kind of disconnect in generations, but I am not one to take the words of a teacher lightly. I hope to find myself able to learn a fraction of what you and others here have to teach.

Again, thank you for what you have shared, at least as far as I am concerned.

v/r

Nate Bocker
 
You have made a sound decission Nick. When the perspective seems wrong, its best to place yourself in a position to observe. Similiar to the view when coming back home after vacation. That always makes home and shop and family more precious than when we left. Not necessarily in that order.

Some people are natural teachers no matter what the subject, you are one of these and that makes it important that you return and teach when your perspective clears.

I have always considered our discourse as one based on mutual respect and an appreciation for what the other does and has done.


Enjoy the time you spend over this holiday focused on your family and friends, Fred
 
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Nick,
I want to Thank You for the help you have been to me. Even giving me the font you used on you Blades is more than any Knifemaker Friend could ask. BTW I am still using it.
Thanks Again,
Dave
 
Nick,

I have been watching Shop Talk lately, and it has truly taken a different direction. I can't explain it, I only know that "It ain't what it used to be".

Although I never felt that I had much to contribute, I once posted occasionally in attempt to share what little information I had been able to experience over the past few years. Not so much anymore...... Seems that regardless of what you try to contribute, someone out there will either say its bad info, or will chime in with a better idea.

I guess all things must change.

Follow your heart..............

Robert
 
I'll miss seeing you around here Nick. I also miss Bruce Bump, Kevin, Tai and others. People come and go but it does seem like the place has become a little watered down.

I'll be seeing you around...
 
Nick, while I have been away for a while myself due largely to life getting in the way I want to say that you have helped me in past many times when I was active here and even lurking just by reading your and others posts here as well. I don't know what all the drama is/was here as I'm recently back but don't get yourself in too much of a twist because of it. In the grand scheme of things while there are many fantastic members here that are extraordinarily helpful, it's just a message board. A blip on the information superhighway. And many times the printed word doesn't come off like the spoken one since how things are said are usually more important than what is said and folks can take things many different ways when it's typed. All I'll say is you do what you gotta do but don't let a message board get to you. I hope to see you back on here at some point in the future as your info and humor are great, but if you choose otherwise I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks again,

Matt
 
hard to find more to say about Nick...

I was honored to meet Nick, Angi and family (Oliver and Bentley Included) earlier this year. They opened their doors to us, put us up for the night and even critiqued some of our knives (which he hates to do). He then spent hours showing us anything we asked to see. The only previous contact Nick and I have ever had was through Bladeforums! I stand behind Nick he is one of the nicest most down to earth guys you will ever meet (if you are lucky). IMO If you are offended by him it is probably your fault!

Stick around Nick!
 
Nick,

As a newbie who has yet to even make a knive
(i have all the things to do so tho thank you bladsmth) my life has been crazy busy with
My wifes complications with carrying the twins
And losing one of my two jobs then getting my
Hours cut at my main job ! Anyway to me its
Sucks to lose you as a person.i could have asked
Questions about certain things hopfully the other
Guys in ST see that im genuine in wanting to learn
And grow in this craft ! I understand why you are
Taking a break and wish you the best and also a
Merry christmas.and a happy new year to you and
Yours ! I hope by the time im ready to begine my
1st knife you'll be around to chime in so in ending
Thanks for all you have done and will do !

Frank
 
something has changed here and not for the good. A lot of the folks who were here when I joined are gone. There seams to be more of an antagonistic enviroment. Not much reason to share 40 years experience when people just want to argue.
 
Hurry back Nick, we will miss your WIP's. Whether you think so or not, I think you are an elite maker. You have risen to the top, even if you don't have the MS yet. Initials after your name don't make a good knife. You are an elite maker because of your attention to detail not because of your initials. I hope that you will return soon.
 
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