- Joined
- Jan 15, 2012
- Messages
- 4,608
O.K. So. I've been asked a million times what I'm gonna name the Yuma II. I thought since it is in fact a Yuma with a longer blade the name Yuma II was sufficent. But Murph would have none of it and rallied the troops to demand the Yuma II receive its own name. So, if the people (that's you guys) say it needs named then so be it.
There has been many suggestions, a lot of good ones as a matter of fact but none that really grabbed me. Daizee here on the forums really gave us all a good chuckle by suggesting we call it "Yumamma" but as time went on it seemed obvious that this issue needed to be put to bed. So, before I tell you the new name, let me give you a little history how the knife came to be.
The knife I make named the Yuma I originally made with nothing more in mind than to make a knife that pleased me. I made myself two different ones to figure out which handle configuration I liked better. I finished these two knives a couple of weeks before I went to my first gathering at Ethan Beckers house in Tennessee. There. They where liked so well that I never saw them again the whole weekend and ended up coming home with only one of them. From there, they hit the internet and to make a long story short, everyone I can make is flying out of the shop and I'm still behind. About a month afterwards, I received a phone call from Brian Griffin (not the dog on family guy. Mistwalker on the forums) wanting his own. I had none to give him, so, since he is a writer and a gifted photographer, I sent him my personal and first Yuma I ever made so he could try one out while I made him one. It was he who suggested I should make another version with a longer blade and I imediately agreed but couldn't figure out just how much longer I wanted to make it. I cut out a couple of blanks, but nothing really spoke to me, so, I hung them on my shop wall and shelved the project. Until, enter one Randy Oliver (Tradewater on the forums). Tradewater contacting me instisting he would own a Yuma, but he wanted on a little different. He wanted one with a longer blade (go figure) and he wanted it marked "TWS" or Tradewater special. He was very specific about the blade being between 5 3/8 to 5 1/2 in. long, so I took one of the blanks off the wall, cut it down to 5 1/2 and Bingo! The Yuma II was born.
Unfortunately,that is not the end of that little love story. Tradewater and i got off on the wrong foot. Due to a lot of miscommunication mostly on my part, it became apparent that in order to save face and feelings a phone call was nessessary to rectify the situation. So I called him with with claws out ready for a fight. (which unfortunately is my normal reaction when my pride and temper get in the way....Gimme a break, Im human, Im workin on it.) To my suprise, I found that Trade was calm, polite, and expressed his concerns in a way that this big dumb Indiana boy could understand. After going into the conversation convinced I was right, I hung up the phone learning a valueable lesson on how to better understand different points of view and how to better communicate with my customers. What I learned from Trade that night will make me better in the future, and will always be appreciated.
So, fastforward a couple of weeks after that. Trade got his TWS Yuma II and everyone was happy besides Murph who wanted the Yuma II to have its own name. So, without further adieu. I give you...
THE TRADEWATER..........
So there you have it. Call it the Tradewater, call it the Yuma II, I really don't give a damn, I'll know what you mean. Just as long as the subject is closed and Murph stops sending me nasty texts and emails bugging me about it while I'm trying to sleep.:grumpy: and while I'm at it. Murph and I meant to announce this at the gathering this past weekend. But, I wasn't feeling well Saturday night and hit the sack early, and apparently Trade and his lovely wife Kay are not amphibious and are scared of a little rain and left early, so the opprotunity never came to be.
There has been many suggestions, a lot of good ones as a matter of fact but none that really grabbed me. Daizee here on the forums really gave us all a good chuckle by suggesting we call it "Yumamma" but as time went on it seemed obvious that this issue needed to be put to bed. So, before I tell you the new name, let me give you a little history how the knife came to be.
The knife I make named the Yuma I originally made with nothing more in mind than to make a knife that pleased me. I made myself two different ones to figure out which handle configuration I liked better. I finished these two knives a couple of weeks before I went to my first gathering at Ethan Beckers house in Tennessee. There. They where liked so well that I never saw them again the whole weekend and ended up coming home with only one of them. From there, they hit the internet and to make a long story short, everyone I can make is flying out of the shop and I'm still behind. About a month afterwards, I received a phone call from Brian Griffin (not the dog on family guy. Mistwalker on the forums) wanting his own. I had none to give him, so, since he is a writer and a gifted photographer, I sent him my personal and first Yuma I ever made so he could try one out while I made him one. It was he who suggested I should make another version with a longer blade and I imediately agreed but couldn't figure out just how much longer I wanted to make it. I cut out a couple of blanks, but nothing really spoke to me, so, I hung them on my shop wall and shelved the project. Until, enter one Randy Oliver (Tradewater on the forums). Tradewater contacting me instisting he would own a Yuma, but he wanted on a little different. He wanted one with a longer blade (go figure) and he wanted it marked "TWS" or Tradewater special. He was very specific about the blade being between 5 3/8 to 5 1/2 in. long, so I took one of the blanks off the wall, cut it down to 5 1/2 and Bingo! The Yuma II was born.
Unfortunately,that is not the end of that little love story. Tradewater and i got off on the wrong foot. Due to a lot of miscommunication mostly on my part, it became apparent that in order to save face and feelings a phone call was nessessary to rectify the situation. So I called him with with claws out ready for a fight. (which unfortunately is my normal reaction when my pride and temper get in the way....Gimme a break, Im human, Im workin on it.) To my suprise, I found that Trade was calm, polite, and expressed his concerns in a way that this big dumb Indiana boy could understand. After going into the conversation convinced I was right, I hung up the phone learning a valueable lesson on how to better understand different points of view and how to better communicate with my customers. What I learned from Trade that night will make me better in the future, and will always be appreciated.
So, fastforward a couple of weeks after that. Trade got his TWS Yuma II and everyone was happy besides Murph who wanted the Yuma II to have its own name. So, without further adieu. I give you...
THE TRADEWATER..........
So there you have it. Call it the Tradewater, call it the Yuma II, I really don't give a damn, I'll know what you mean. Just as long as the subject is closed and Murph stops sending me nasty texts and emails bugging me about it while I'm trying to sleep.:grumpy: and while I'm at it. Murph and I meant to announce this at the gathering this past weekend. But, I wasn't feeling well Saturday night and hit the sack early, and apparently Trade and his lovely wife Kay are not amphibious and are scared of a little rain and left early, so the opprotunity never came to be.
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