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Jean Thibodeau
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 Posted: Tue 31 Jul, 2007 3:27 pm Post subject: Re: Craftsmanship - Quality - Replication |
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| Chad Arnow wrote: | | Quality counts for a lot, but it's undeniable that the 'net has made a huge impact on this community and has created business or made some grow way beyond what they were. |
Quality counts but one has to know it exists to become a client: It's like a new restaurant making the best food in the World, but if nobody comes in to try it nobody will know that the food is that good and the place will close down.
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Jeremy V. Krause
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| Posted: Wed 01 Aug, 2007 8:55 am Post subject: |
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I handled two antiques (one 15th c. and one 17th c. I think) at the Higgins Armoury and was surprised at the handling of both swords. they were quite heavy in the hand and seemed to me- a bit unwieldy (now both blades were type XIII's I think)
I am very interested in this issue and personally would welcome swords representing the whole continuum of harmonic balance and handling. I have wondered also if the manufacturers like A&A and Albion, while producing truly representative expamples of historic swords, do tend to skew their reproductions toward the "handy" end of the spectrum.
Jeremy
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Craig Johnson
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 01 Aug, 2007 8:55 pm Post subject: Hi Jeremy |
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Ahh Jeremy, you have plundered the depth of what it is like to be a maker of swords today. What do you do? Be a slave to the authentic, be a middle of the road type who try’s to please as many as possible but stay in the envelope of the historic or flop in the wind of popular current opinion on what a sword is?
It is a difficult road to travel for someone trying to make a living at this. It can jump back and bite you if you go to far one direction. If the winds change and the market shifts it can leave you with product that maybe completely authentic but will not sell or pieces that are not very authentic but sell like hot cakes until the market gets a whiff that it is not what’s “right” and you are left with more that will not sell.
Over the years I have had commentary on our items that has gone from to light thru to heavy, not balanced far enough forward to not balanced far enough back, to sharper than real swords to not real swords because they are not sharp enough, a knot that can not be untangled really.
The answer that seems to make the most sense to me and I would favor a guess those that have been mentioned in this thread as makers of quality is that one where the makers library of knowledge and experience drives what they make for swords that customers like. It can have a variety of sources and is not only the makers experience but also the collection of feedback they have received over the years from their customers. The result is the production of items that meet the goals of the maker that also answer the demands of the market.
Where the Internet has changed the business is that all of the customers can discuss the result. Prior to the www makers who treated their customers poorly or did not produce a consistent result could continue this practice for sometime, as the word about such unethical behavior would have trouble getting to the market. Today such venues as this allow the customer to let everyone know.
This has also added some power to those who have the “truth” about swords and want to prove it to everyone else by their force of declaration. It is one of the important lessons one learns in life that you should be wary of the “true believer” as what one person says is an opinion and not necessarily fact. It is far better to gain an understanding of several points of view and find ones own understanding in the context of conflicting ideas as opposed to buying into some party line that may or may not be centered on fact. We are all students learning from history and to claim you have the absolute right answer is to miss the point of knowledge IMHO.
Sorry for the digression above but it seemed pertinent. I would say Jeremey that the longer I have customers the more fun I have making pieces for them as they appreciate the diversity that the historical catalog gives use. Few have the breadth of knowledge to say they understand the Medieval Sword. I certainly do not. It is a subject that gives me something new and unexpected at almost every turn and I hope some day to have an acquaintance with the subject 
I for one echo your desire for the market to appreciate more diversity that is exemplified in the historical record.
Best
Craig
PS If you are watching CNN tonight I did miss the bridge collapse by approximately 100 feet. Very serious stuff and puts it all in perspective pretty well when you see your wife and kids happy you are home
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Wed 01 Aug, 2007 10:30 pm Post subject: Re: Hi Jeremy |
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| Craig Johnson wrote: | This has also added some power to those who have the “truth” about swords and want to prove it to everyone else by their force of declaration. It is one of the important lessons one learns in life that you should be wary of the “true believer” as what one person says is an opinion and not necessarily fact. It is far better to gain an understanding of several points of view and find ones own understanding in the context of conflicting ideas as opposed to buying into some party line that may or may not be centered on fact. We are all students learning from history and to claim you have the absolute right answer is to miss the point of knowledge IMHO.
PS If you are watching CNN tonight I did miss the bridge collapse by approximately 100 feet. Very serious stuff and puts it all in perspective pretty well when you see your wife and kids happy you are home
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To the first I think this is the best way to learn and absorb information here and generally and explains a lot why some discussions go south. When faced with two or more differing opinions in discussions here I find one can extract a lot of good food for thought even from the heated ones if one discounts the HEAT and doesn't get involved or stir the post even more and let Nathan or Chad do the cat herding.
So 100 feet away ! Good grief  was that 100 feet before crossing the bridge or 100 after crossing the bridge before the collapse a few seconds later !? We had an overpass collapse locally last year and 4 people died under the mass of rubble ! A lot of those 1960's constructions are way past their best before date and have not gotten the maintenance they needed over the years.
Well, glad you are still here: Does sort of focusses one's attention I guess !?
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Kel Rekuta
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| Posted: Thu 02 Aug, 2007 5:57 am Post subject: Re: Hi Jeremy |
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| Craig Johnson wrote: |
PS If you are watching CNN tonight I did miss the bridge collapse by approximately 100 feet. Very serious stuff and puts it all in perspective pretty well when you see your wife and kids happy you are home
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Glad to hear you weren't in that. Lucky, lucky fellow. 
Kel
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Craig Johnson
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Thu 02 Aug, 2007 9:17 am Post subject: Re: Hi Jeremy |
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| Jean Thibodeau wrote: |
To the first I think this is the best way to learn and absorb information here and generally and explains a lot why some discussions go south. When faced with two or more differing opinions in discussions here I find one can extract a lot of good food for thought even from the heated ones if one discounts the HEAT and doesn't get involved or stir the post even more and let Nathan or Chad do the cat herding.
So 100 feet away ! Good grief was that 100 feet before crossing the bridge or 100 after crossing the bridge before the collapse a few seconds later !? We had an overpass collapse locally last year and 4 people died under the mass of rubble ! A lot of those 1960's constructions are way past their best before date and have not gotten the maintenance they needed over the years.
Well, glad you are still here: Does sort of focusses one's attention I guess !? |
Mornin Jean
Yes, I would agree that is the best way to approach information, on the Internet especially. Few have the volume of knowledge to speak definitively about a lot of what a sword is and how it is used. It often throws people when I will be willing to discuss a topic with them when they know I have a differing opinion. But that is actually the way one can test your own theories and viewpoints by trying to understand what the other persons opinion is. You may disagree but that is not a value judgment about the person just their interpretation of what is under discussion.
The big block for most people is they are tied to a viewpoint emotionally. Whether for political or romantic reasons they want a particular interpretation of something to be a certain way. When one offers evidence to the contrary they attack the presenter of the info as opposed to trying to incorporate new evidence into their viewpoint, if the evidence is credible and documented. For to long the ideas about what a Medieval Sword is have been conjecture.
I think that more people challenging their own beliefs and striving to incorporate several viewpoints of others who study and practice scholarship of the sword will get a great deal more out of the efforts than those who only accept one version of interpretation and feel they must attack those who disagree.
As to the second, damn happy to be here. I was about 60 seconds from being on the bridge. I saw it go up on the end near me as the deck buckled throwing large vehicles in the air and then it all sinking away. Scary stuff. Jumped out of my truck and helped those I could until the professionals showed up and then helped clear people away to make as much room for them as possible.
Keep well all and tell those around you, you love them more often!
Best
Craig
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Angus Trim
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| Posted: Thu 02 Aug, 2007 9:36 am Post subject: |
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Hi Craig
Glad you were able to avoid taking an unscheduled bath...... and its a good thing you were able to help others........
I think that more phenomena around the sword has been noted and discussed, but I'm not really all that sure that has helped much in the understanding of how a sword works.......
Lots of info, lots of opinions, can't see much difference in the outcome......*g*
Next time we meet up at a WMAW, I guess its on me.........
swords are fun
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Sat 04 Aug, 2007 12:10 am Post subject: Re: Hi Jeremy |
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| Craig Johnson wrote: | Mornin Jean
Yes, I would agree that is the best way to approach information, on the Internet especially. Few have the volume of knowledge to speak definitively about a lot of what a sword is and how it is used. It often throws people when I will be willing to discuss a topic with them when they know I have a differing opinion. But that is actually the way one can test your own theories and viewpoints by trying to understand what the other persons opinion is. You may disagree but that is not a value judgment about the person just their interpretation of what is under discussion.
The big block for most people is they are tied to a viewpoint emotionally. Whether for political or romantic reasons they want a particular interpretation of something to be a certain way. When one offers evidence to the contrary they attack the presenter of the info as opposed to trying to incorporate new evidence into their viewpoint, if the evidence is credible and documented. For to long the ideas about what a Medieval Sword is have been conjecture.
I think that more people challenging their own beliefs and striving to incorporate several viewpoints of others who study and practice scholarship of the sword will get a great deal more out of the efforts than those who only accept one version of interpretation and feel they must attack those who disagree.
As to the second, damn happy to be here. I was about 60 seconds from being on the bridge. I saw it go up on the end near me as the deck buckled throwing large vehicles in the air and then it all sinking away. Scary stuff. Jumped out of my truck and helped those I could until the professionals showed up and then helped clear people away to make as much room for them as possible.
Keep well all and tell those around you, you love them more often!
Best
Craig |
Well, one can't control others misunderstanding but one can control one's own i.e. listen, evaluate, absorb, incorporate or reject ideas or defer judgement until there is enough proof to change one's mind! ( I sound a bit like Spock or the Borg here. " We will absorb your sword knowledge and incorporate your logic into into our collective, resistance is futile, any good idea will be accepted ".  ) Much better than dismissing ideas before giving them honest consideration.
On the other again: I wonder if 60 seconds before feels better than 60 seconds after ! The point maybe is to not be " during and at the same place " as a disaster ! Glad you were among those who were there to help.
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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