Me and my story! Let’s get to know each other!

[Leo James Mitchell]

I edited this to add some details…maybe some would like to give a clearer picture of yourself instead of a bare sketch. Maybe not, but it would be great if you did!

I think it would be great if we got to know each other better. Maybe a paragraph or two about ourselves and maybe a picture to decloak the unknown. 🙂 Since I suggested it, I will go first.

I was born in North Bay Ontario,july 30th 1935. I spent my youth hunting, fishing, hiking, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing and camping in the forests of Northern Ontario. An avid archer and shootist, I was co-captain of the high-school rifle team and competed with .22 and .303 Lee-Enfield rifles against other teams in Ontario and also shot senior Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA) competitions at the Connaught Ranges in Ottawa. I was an active member of the Royal Canadian Cadet Corp,the corp bugle band as a snare drummer and later a Second-Lieutenant in the army reserves where I taught the maintenance of and shooting skills with the .303 Lee-Enfield rifle, the Bren Light Machine Gun and the Sten Sub Machine Gun.
The Bren

The Sten

The Lee-Enfield .303 British

During the summers from 1957 to 1962, I SCUBA dived the lakes around North Bay and Temagami. It was great fun and exciting at a time when SCUBA equipment was still a newish thing. I spent many hours diving for fun but also helped recovering lost motors and other equipment. A couple of time I helped out the OPP recover bodies of accident victims…haunting experiences. Thankfully they got their own gear and I was releived.
From age 15 to my early 20’s I practiced Defendo, which is much like Isreali Krav Maga with an ex-Canadian Commando and it is during this time I developed my love of knives, starting with the Fairbairn-Sykes Commando knife. As well I was a weight-lifter in the 120 pound class. I was able to clean and jerk 240 pounds, double my body weight. Not much when compared to what the 120 pounders are lifting now.
All of this was an effort to compensate for my hated height, which was five feet six(and now with age, I have shrunk further! Sigh!)…it worked. My interest in shooting continued for many years and also included hand-gun shooting with the local police instinct shooting group.
I taught Middle School for 40 years and was an administrator for 23 of those years. I am now happily retired. I started photography when I was 13 with an old 112 film autographic folding camera that gave 2.5 inch x 3.5 inch sized negatives and developed my own films and contact printed the negatives. This interest in darkroom work and photography has lasted right up to this day sixty three years later. In spite of serious damage (COPD) caused to my lungs by too many years of smoking and arthritis in my knees, I still can get around my garden photographing my beloved flowers and the bugs that inhabit them. Unfortunately not the hilly forests of Ontario anymore.

Hmm! Not the best photo but you get the idea…I don’t have many shots of me since I do all the picture taking. Can you tell from the shot that I have cats! LOL!
Now your turn!! You don’t have to make it this long but suit yourself.

Warm regards to all
Leo

[Edwin Lurvey]

I’ll play along

My name is Ed, and I am turning 30 this year. I am from Massachusetts originally, but I moved to the “live free or die” state, New Hampshire five years ago. I enjoy the out of doors, including pretending be a fisherman, and just started hunting a year ago. I have been into shooting for awhile, but got into hunting later than some. I wish I had gotten into hunting alot younger, it is my new favorite pastime. Playing the drums is another one of my many hobbies, but I have been out of it for awhile.

I have carried a knife of some sort on me at all times since about 12 years old. When my father gave me a small swiss army knock off knife, he told me I can carry it on me, if I promised never to take it out at school, and I never did. Back then it wasn’t as big of a deal, but can you imagine a kid having a real knife at school? Kids are getting expelled for a butter knife to spread jelly on bread. I was always amazed at my late uncle who was a butcher, and his ability to take a knife from an edge so bad, it wouldn’t cut air, to an edge that would shave the hair I didn’t have on my arm yet, but it also shaved the hair off his! My father is an average chef knife maintainer, as he worked in, and owned restaurants for about 25 years. He can hone a knife on a steel good enough for a great working kitchen edge.

I used cheap honing tools off the shelf and a steel to keep my knives kind of sharp. When I graduated from my vocational high school from the machine shop program, and started working in the trade, I started to acquire stones for polishing and deburring, I then started using them to stone my knives a little more than kind of sharp. Eventually I learned about the burr, and how it was a good thing!! I purchased an EP Apex a year ago, and love it, but discovered its main weakness – repeatability and the struggle associated with knives that do not have a large single ground surface, and small knives are really tough to do with that system. I have seen what the WEPS can do, and I purchased one, and it is currently on preorder. Now I will add another tool to my workbench, and I cannot wait for it to come in.

No children, yet but working on it. 🙂

I will put up a picture later.

[jeff williams]

OK..Here we go
Name..Jeff born in 56.. Live in NW Georgia..Selfemployed, Siding & Window buisness..only job I’ve ever had. Benchmade knife fan…and I like sharp knives..getting used to my Wicked Edge,think it’s going to do the trick. I am looking forward to learning a lot from you guys. Any or all of my post are subject to have typos or errors of some sort,thats just the way it is…you’ll learn to overlook it. B)
looking forward to the forum growing…to learn from it….thanks guys

[Jende Industries]

Tom Blodgett aka, jendeindustries here.

I’m 36, and owner of Jende Industries, LLC. I started my entry in to reed knives when I moved to Taiwan as Principal Clarinet of the Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra in 1999, and within a few years, I stumbled into sharpening in an effort to stop the rust from forming on my reed knives. In 2004, I opened shop, and it’s been all downhill from there… B) Now I’m into razors, knives, scissors, dental instruments, and whatever can be sharpened.

So there is no confusion about my role here on this forum, my company is working with Wicked Edge – and I am proud to say that. We supply some of the accessory stones. Some may view me as a salesman here, and that is inherently true, but I am personally involved with the forum as an [strike]obsessed[/strike] avid student of sharpening. Those who know me from other forums know that I am on my own sharpening journey, and am very interested and dedicated in the sharing of knowledge.

Now let’s have some fun! B)

[Leo James Mitchell]

If you don’t mind Tom, just for clarification. A reed knife is a tool used by woodwind player (clarinet, bassoon, oboe,English horn,saxophone) to carefully custom shape the thickness of their instrument’s reed or double reed, to the correct thickness for the best sound. Players are very particular about this. The task requires an extremely sharp edge to thin out the reed, often just a hair thin difference from its original condition. I believe some players even fashion the whole reed from a blank but I will stand corrected on that. Did I get this right Tom?

Cheers
Leo

[Scott Babineaux]

Damn Leo, how about a little warning next time. :whistle:

[Leo James Mitchell]

I will try better next time mate! LOL!

Cheers
Leo

[don griffith]

Ah, well. I’ll bite.
Born and raised in Ohio, where teachers were teachers and students learned the 3 R’s and got their ass whacked if they misbehaved–twice. Once by the teacher and again when they got home! Ah, the good old days…

Joined the Air Force at 17(1972), retired at 37, and been working for NASA at the Dryden Flight Research Center since ’95. In between I worked retail at a mom & pop sporting goods store. Working retail is how you find out how stupid you seem to the idiots taking your money. Never seen so many idiots–from both side of the counter!:lol: And I’ve been both!
I shot competitive pistol and sixgun, with a little rifle and shotgun tossed in. And that’s where I was introduced to Spyderco knives. We all carried one in the back pocket, and they got used on occasion to pry stuck brass out of chambers!
Who know’d you wuz supposed to lookie-see how much powder you waz puttin’ in… :silly:

So, I ordered a Pro Pack. My number is quite high, so perhaps by the holidays I’ll be forced to tell my wife what I did.:ohmy: But my wife is the perfect example that it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission!

[Jende Industries]

I’m always amazed at the diversity of groups like this. B) Keep them coming!

You are correct, Leo. People can use the knife from beginning to end, after the cane is split and initially gauged and profiled (which is done on gauging and profiling machines). They use it to thin the reed in the proper places and to cut tips. I actually had a couple of people ask me about using the WEPS on the reed knives, and when compared to other guided devices the WEPS can actually meet the shape requirements of the edge (which is not the same angles on both sides) much better and faster.

[Leo James Mitchell]

Whew! Glad I was correct Tom. Sometimes you stick your neck out when you write something on a forum and occasionally someone tries to take a slice at it! Not here though…these are good people. As you say, there is a great diversity of folks here and hopefully more of them will write something on this thread so we get to know each other better. Come on folks, don’t be shy!!:blush:

Best to all
Leo

[Leo James Mitchell]

I am going to bring this post forward again since I am sure there are many new members of the forum who haven’t seen it and so have no chance to do a write up.
Give us a sketch biography so we can better get to know you.
Join in!

Cheers
Leo

[Aaron Smith]

OK I’ll Bite…
My name is Aaron. I live down in Jacksonville, FL. I am just shy of 30, and have been married for about 2.5 years. I grew up an avid off shore fisherman and actually had a chance to go pro on the Southern Kingfish Association tournament trail, but turned it down (thankfully). My real passion has been developing over the last 8 years or so, Hunting. I have always been extremely passionate about guns and the outdoors, and finally started getting out into the woods. Now i go as often as i can and have even gotten my wife interested into it. I used to shoot competition revolvers with the local Sheriff’s Department and have shot in skeet competitions as well.
I think my love of knives came from my Great Grandfather, who always had a SHARP knife on him, and was always giving me one of his knives. it’s unfortunate he died before i ever thought to ask him to teach me how to get my knives that sharp. I struggle to sharpen knives free hand, and have tried just about every gimmick out there to sharpen my hunting and fishing knives. i haven’t ordered my WEPS yet, mostly due to the backlog and the lack of funds. But i suspect i will order the pro pack right around the first of the year (when hopefully there is no backlog! I’m not very patient.) I love benchmade knives as well as the classic Buck 110 folding hunter. I have a box full of knives, but those seem to be the knives i always gravitate to.

[jeff williams]

Glad to have another Benchmade fan onboard..

[Ziggy]

Batter up!
Hello all!
I’ll try to be short .. like Leo, 5’6″ but thick, fighting weight was around 220, never thought I was short until those tall guys tagged me with that reach. Now, I’m just thick 🙂
Anyways, done more than I can remember, and like Leo, SCUBA was one of them, including teaching and UW Photography, managed a shop, traveled a lot, worked in the restaurant and club biz in every position except owner. Always had 2-3 jobs, and tried everything I was interested in, and seems I’m still doing that.

Again like Leo, got into weight training at an early age, by my early 20’s started studying various forms of martial arts, with boxing, muay thai and jiu-jitsu as my base.

Then it happened, got into kali/escrima and Russian systema and just dug into knife and stick fighting. This brought on the addiction of buying/collecting knives, then the addiction of getting them sharp.

Fast forward 20+ years, wear and tear of the mats has made me glad knives and other hand held toys got into my life.
Now work for myself in a mainly decorative finishing business, http://www.classicwallworks.com , still dabble in things my body still lets me do, still keep my hand in computers, webdesign, graphics, and now, branching out starting a small sharpening business on the side and exploring sharpening anything I can get my hands on.
Addicted to surf fishing and trying to figure out a way to live closer to the water.
Main EDCs revolve around Spydercos, Benchmades, Kershaw etc.
For Saltwater, the H1 steel is amazing and easily gets scary sharp on the WEPS.

[Leo James Mitchell]

Wow Zig! Well done mate! Sounds like you and I both tried to reach 6 feet in height by the same methods.When I was younger one of my friends noted that even though I was short, I walked like a tall man. A very well written bio and full of coincidences criss-crossing between the two of us. Although I am 76 :ohmy: and I suspect you are a bit younger.
Good to have you here Zig.

Best regards:)
Leo

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