Hey folks,
Long time lurker, but I only recently got my kit in. I apologize in advance for this being a long winded intro post, but all things considered I think we’ve got quite a story here for anyone interested!
About me: My name’s Tom, and I’m a self employed, formally trained gunsmith out in the woods here in southern PA. I’m just a youngster in my early 20’s, which is far from the norm in the gun world. Our farm here was host to three generations under one roof until about two years ago, and we’ve always been the self-reliant types running multiple family businesses for as long as I can remember.
I started looking into the Wicked Edge completely by accident. I began researching knives more seriously just out of curiosity, and because guns and knives tend to cross paths often in the sporting world. I happened to encounter the youtube videos Clay posted, and was extremely impressed by the system, for many reasons most of the folks here can relate to I’m sure! But one reason in particular came to mind which wasn’t for myself, but rather for my father.
My dad John is a disabled veteran, who spent 16 years in law enforcement before losing his career to a car wreck that left him with a form of epilepsy and serious mobility problems. His back and neck injuries were so severe that doctors predicted he would be wheelchair bound within the year… but he’s still up and walking 15 years later! During that time, we’ve gotten the epilepsy under control, but a side effect of the trauma from the crash was short term memory loss that has plagued him ever since. I’ve tried to involve him with the gun shop as much as possible, but some things just don’t “stick” and it really frustrates him when he can’t recall some order of operations doing a clean and oil or how to access our dealer catalogs online. That’s what motivated me to jump on board with the Wicked Edge.
Clay, Kyle, Kay and the whole gang here are just awesome people to deal with and helped tremendously in figuring out where to start. I managed to keep the order a secret through the whole backorder and got my kit in just over a week ago. Dad was speechless, and more than a little uncertain about this contraption and how technical knife sharpening can get. I showed him the basics, explained how to record settings and he was floored by how straightforward everything is. He took to it like a duck to water, no longer afraid of forgetting the details or being overwhelmed by being too technical. In no time he was practicing on some old junky knives, and in just a few days the two of us have gathered up a pile of stuff to practice on and are getting great results! It’s been a great experience passing along the tips and tricks from Clay’s videos and having both of us share our own discoveries back and forth. He can’t wait to get to the next gun show and set up!
I really can’t say enough. Clay and the crew are great, the forum here is awesome and full of great folks too. I’m thankful I stumbled on it! I’m looking forward to contributing here and learning everything I can.
P.S. – Still working on those pictures, Clay. Neither of us are very photogenic though 😆
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