Neo-Tribal Definition

[Matt22191]

If you spend two evenings a week wandering your neighborhood with a flashlight, checking out your neighbors' trash for scrap metal, old vacuum cleaners, buckets, bicycle chains, etc.

If you habitually carry a magnet and hacksaw in your car.

If you've ever burnt wood for charcoal at 1:00 a.m. on a weeknight in the dead of winter, to get around the fact that you live in a townhouse and burning it any other time would generate a call to the fire department and/or the cops.

[toddhill]

You're a true case, Matt. Whew, what a life!

[Tai Google]

I think we need to work some more on this, "You know you might be Neo-Tribal if...?"

Hey!...
Then I'll compile it all and see what we have?
That should give us a real solid sense of identity!

[metalbender]

you LOVE the smell of coal burning in the morning. smells like, victory............

[toddhill]

ok...

...if at the end of a forging session your hair looks like Dana's from all the ashes.

...if your woman's curves make you think of knives, and a knife's curves make you think of your woman, and your woman calls knifemaking your other wife.

...if you know what a muffle furnace is.

...if you use a Mexican raising hammer to make knives.

...if there's no place like Windy Lou.

...if you're thrilled by the scratches, stains, and patina that come from your knives being used.

[EdgarFigaro]

...if at the end of a forging session your face and arms are black like mine from the charcoal dust from grabbing it from the bag :-P

...if parts of your forge are held together with duct tape.

...if your forge consists of the following ..bbq grill/cat litter/fire bricks/pipe/duct tape/cinder blocks/hairdryer. Yet still gets the job done!

[metalbender]

if you get a vicarious thrill every time you replace a power tool with its pre-electric counterpart. ie electric blower to crank blower to six foot leather bellows

[Blaine Whitney]

If at the end of the forging day you still want to hang out around a fire, oil lanterns and Tiki torches.
If your shop has no walls or doors.
If your hands never quite get clean.
If you've made blades on your knees.
If you mentally get into a "happy place" while forging.
If Duct tape + toilet paper = Band-Aid

[toddhill]

Those are some good ones.

...if you like hanging out along RR tracks.
...if you like making knives out of RR spikes.
...if you like the way file marks look on your knives.
...if you try to incorporate turk's head knots into as many knives as you can.

[toddhill]

...if mainstream knives and designs bore you.
...if you stand out from the crowd.
...if you're not afraid to cut all your hair off and show your bare chest (only applies to men).
...if your shop would never pass code.
...if you have more connection with and admiration for a Javanese kris maker than an ABS mastersmith.

[azmike]

if everytime you go to your shop to do "other" things (cleaning up/re-arranging things) and before you know it there is a fire going with a hot piece of steel waiting for your hammer, and thinking that the other things can wait. azmike