It’s just a quick one today as I wanted to bring up the matter of comments on our blog. It’s always been a great incentive to write knowing that people are adding their own bit and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who joins in.
Your comments have become an important part of the blog for everyone. I always enjoy to know that people are indeed out their reading and it’s great to have support and encouragement but it’s become a lot more than that. Take my last post on sharpening stones for example. I had hoped that being open with my own views would encourage a few people to share theirs, but I was amazed at just how far the discussion went. Grasping an insight in to so many workshops creates a far greater picture than I could give alone and I really do learn something all the time. If you have a spare ten minutes and haven’t yet checked through my last post you should definitely go and read through the comments instead, especially if you’re considering your sharpening options.
It isn’t just me who appreciates them; many people have mentioned to me how they enjoy reading through our comments (even more than the posts!) and so I think it’s well worth taking a moment to say thank you.
I don’t always get chance to reply back, often I feel the discussion is best left to flow without me butting in and I’m also without internet a lot of the time so a lovely long list of comments builds up for me to read through together. I regret not always having the time to reply back but want everyone to know that all comments are read, enjoyed and very much appreciated. I hope you’ll continue to add your own thoughts to our website and hopefully we can have a lot more discussion based posts in the future.
Way to go Richard. I know its a time factor for you, but I do think it makes a positive difference, when you can pop a comment into the discussion. Just my take on it buddy. 😉
You seem to be doing alright – when will you start posting again on YouTube. Keep up the good work and don’t get too worked up about power v traditional.
A lot of the credit for the good quality of the comments goes to you Richard. Take the last post on sharpening. Your title got everyone’s attention, but the tone of the article itself made clear that you wanted a good, rational discussion re: sharpening. Keep up the good work. I am always happy when I see a new post on your blog.
The questions and replies are enlightening. Even if you have been a craftsman for years you are always learning something new which keeps things fresh. Keep up the good work and share knowledge.
When you mentioned a particular method of honing, you unwittingly struck a raw nerve amongst the woodworking fraternity. You only need to mention the subject on a ‘certain’ UK workshop forum to see the avalanche of responses it will provoke but the simple truth is that we need to find a method of honing that works for the individual and stick to it. If you were to lock 100 woodworkers in a workshop with the brief to ‘discuss honing’ you’d end up with 1000 variations at the end of an hour…and every one would be valid and every one would work. At the end of the day, a honed edge is nothing more than the intersection of two flat steel bevels but it’s how you get there that causes the angst.
Throwing out an opinion is a great way to find the wind direction. So much smoke is blown that it’s hard to find the fire. But I always enjoy the discussions Richard.
Dave Nighswander
aka Old Sneelock’s Workshop