Knifemaking Definitions Project

[Ray Rogers]

Whew! But then, we knew it would be like this, didn't we?

OK, first of all, I know my definitions are over done. It's a habit left over from 25 years as a computer systems analyst and I doubt I'll ever break it. These definitions are just a starting place and I expect each and every one of them to change or be entirely eliminated if we carry this thread to a final conclusion.

So many good points were made, so much to consider. Let's try to discuss a few of them so that we might better define the direction we wish to take with this.

First, several people mentioned that certain definitions such as 'hand made' have already been defined by usage of some of the more notable old timers out there, a valid point. My counter point to that would be that is that it is true to a point but the usage was not consistent even among those guys. So, to me, that looks like a starting point for the definition of 'hand made' but no more than a starting point. No matter what we decide about any of these definitions SOMEBODY is going to be disappointed, somebody will have to change the way they use the words.

POINT: we are trying to agree on what these terms mean or WHAT THEY SHOULD mean by a consensus of opiinion.

POINT: it is not necessary that any of these single terms should completely described every facet of how a particular knife is made. All that is necessary is that we find a widely agreeable definition for each term that we decide to keep.

LET"S START by first re-naming Primitive to Neo-Tribal. That's easy, and more refinement is possible there if you think it is needed.

Then, let's work on CUSTOM. This is one of the most widely used and abused terms in the knife and gun world. Our knife world definition may differ from the rest of the sporting community and that's fine as long as we can agree what it means to us. Please help me identify the important characteristics of a 'custom' knife. After we get a collection of points, I may decide to post a Poll so that some of the points can be chosen by a vote. Here are some points to consider for this definition, these points mainly come from my dictionary:

Identifying Characteristics of a Custom Made Object

1. Made specially for an individual customer

2. doing work to order

The dictionary is pretty clear on this: in order to have a custom made object you need to have a customer to order it made. Many of us already use the term Custom in that senses but some do not.

Your opinions ?