Category: Blog Related – Meta

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Waynorth Cutlery T Shirts Available from Knife Thoughts!

A while back, the news came out that Great Eastern Cutlery would not be manufacturing any more SFOs (special factory orders) in the future. While I knew that they weren’t taking new dealers for a while, I was surprised to hear that there wouldn’t be Special Factory Orders for the typical dealers and producers. In particular, I was concerned that Charlie Campagna wouldn’t be able to continue his new Waynorth Cutlery brand.

Waynorth Cutlery #93 Lambfoot for Charlie Campagna, 1 of 27

Charlie has produced many of the most popular GEC knives. From TC barlows to Harness Jacks, Charlie’s designs have helped propel GEC to its current stratosphere of popularity. Recently Charlie created his own brand in Waynorth Cutlery. “Waynorth” is what Charlie uses as his online screen name, particularly on BladeForums. A few knives were made under Waynorth Cutlery, with only the #93 Lambfoot and #86 Black Jack having the Waynorth tang stamps.

I’m sorry, but I can’t guarantee you’ll look this stylish in your Waynorth Cutlery shirt.

I personally have been a fan of Charlie and his designs throughout my time as a GEC enthusiast. My first GEC was a TC barlow, and getting to talk with Charlie and see his collection was always a highlight of the yearly Great Eastern Cutlery Rendezvous. So one of my first thoughts when I realized GEC might not make any more SFOs for Charlie was wondering how I could help keep Waynorth Cutlery active.

Framed “OIL THE JOINTS”

The idea came to me to create some non-knife gear related to Waynorth Cutlery. I contacted Charlie to see if he would be alright with me producing some shirts with his Waynorth branding. We had a great conversation wherein he let me know that I had his blessing to go forward with the idea. Fast forward through several months of trying different ideas and designs, till a fellow GEC enthusiast offered to create digital illustration facsimiles of the Waynorth tang stamps. They turned out incredibly great, in my opinion, and I went ahead and set them up for purchase. I had used print on demand services previously both for Knife Thoughts and my normal job, and I am happy with the quality and service provided by Printful.

Mockup of the dark version front

So, I’m happy to say that Waynorth Cutlery shirts are available now on Knife Thoughts! There are two versions; one in black heather with “OIL THE JOINTS” unframed as on the tangs, and the other in heather dust with “OIL THE JOINTS” framed with an outline. I think both options look great. The Bella + Canvas shirt is soft, comfortable, and fits well to my preferences.

Mockup of the dark version back, with unframed “OIL THE JOINTS”

These are not priced to make a huge profit on each shirt, but a portion of the profit from each will go directly to Charlie. I think these offer a great way to show your enthusiasm for Waynorth Cutlery, Charlie, and GEC. So, if you’d like to pick up a Waynorth Cutlery shirt for yourself, go to this link or to the Shop tab in the top menu. I hope you enjoy the shirts and I’d love to hear your thoughts on them!

I sincerely thank you for your time, support, and interest! Don’t forget to tell your friends about KnifeThoughts.com, subscribe via email, and share this article on social media. You can find Knife Thoughts on YouTube where I have hundreds of knife videos, as well as on Instagram and Facebook! You can find all my latest links at LinkTr.ee/KnifeThoughts

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Knife Thoughts at the 2019 Great Eastern Cutlery Rendezvous

This past weekend Great Eastern Cutlery held their yearly Rendezvous. It’s a combination of several things: a gathering of GEC enthusiasts, an open house, and (since 2018) a small knife show. I’ve gone the last 6 years, and always look forward to the trip. If you want to know more about the Rendezvous in general, checkout my article here:

Why All Traditional Knife Enthusiasts Should Attend the Great Eastern Cutlery Rendezvous

2019 is the second year GEC has offered tents and tables for collectors and vendors to set up displays, and this year I decided to set up as Knife Thoughts. I wasn’t sure that it was a good idea to set up a display, being that my collection and knowledge pale in comparison to that of many of the collectors who attend the Rendezvous, but I decided to go for it. I thought I could offer something worthwhile mainly by displaying the last 6 years (2019 inclusive) of Rendezvous Specials. In all the years I’d gone, I never saw any of the Rendezvous Specials displayed and I felt people would enjoy seeing them. I also wanted to display my Allegheny Mountain Knife Collectors Association club knives.

  • 2019 Rendezvous Special
  • 2019 Special Factory Assembly
If you want to know more about the parts knives, subscribe for updates via email, as I plan to write a short article explaining them.

After waiting in line all night and getting my 2019 Rendezvous Special and a Special Factory Assembly, I set up my first public knife display! I used a very nice stepped display given to me by my wife to display the Rendezvous Specials, a magnetic kitchen knife holder to display some fixed blades, and laid out many of my traditional pocket knives in a semblance of order.

Knife Thoughts display the 2019 GEC Rendezvous (and a little shirt flair)

It turned out to be a great experience! I had many people stop at my table to discuss the knives and GEC in general. I also got to see some old friends from previous Rendezvous, and meet many new friends. I got to meet and talk with Mike of Collector Knives, Austin of C. Risner / Traditional Pocket Knives, and Jamie of JSR Sports & More. I also got to see and talk with Ken of Blue Creek Cutlery / Maher & Grosh, as well as Gary of Kifer Cutlery Classics, whom I’ve seen at previous Rendezvous. It’s always a treat to get to discuss knives with others who share your enthusiasm for all things cutlery!

  • The line to get in at 7am just before they opened the doors
  • The Special Factory Assembly aka parts knives for 2019

I also learned a few things in the process. First, I should bring knives I plan to sell and have their prices pre-determined. Pretty much everyone who came to my table asked if I was selling. Even the knives I was willing to sell, I didn’t pre-plan pricing which made it awkward trying to give an asking price. Second, it would be easier to have a table and still be able to look around at the other displays with a partner to help watch. Thirdly, I should have a Knife Thoughts shirt and/or banner to help distinguish and identify my display (rather than just stickers). So not only was this Rendezvous a fun time, it was a learning experience to help improve Knife Thoughts displays at future shows.

A Special Factory Assembly #93 Lambfoot for Charlie Campagna
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I’m Tying the Knot!

Today I marry a wonderfully good, strong, intelligent, beautiful woman with whom I am proud and blessed to be able to spend my life. I scheduled this (and hopefully some other) post out in advanced, so that I don’t have to fiddle with the website and social media during our wedding and honeymoon.

Not how are wedding is going to go obviously, but too classic and hilarious not to include

My (soon to be) wife had no particular interest in knives before we started spending time together. She was familiar and comfortable with them as someone who grew up on a farm doing outdoors stuff like hunting and fishing, but she didn’t know anyone who was an enthusiast like I am. However, she has been extremely supportive in my enthusiasm for knives. She is a big part of the reason why Knife Thoughts exists. Not only does she respect my taking time and energy to write these articles, film the videos, and make the posts but she even encouraged me to go for it and start the website itself. Over the past few years together she has given me some awesome knives like the Spyderco Ouroboros and Roadie, and the Cold Steel FGX Balisong. I know she hears a lot more about knives than she ever expected, and I know she’s been paying attention because she’s become quite knowledgeable!

All the knives I have with me, out for sharpening

However, she and I both deserve to take time to focus on each other during our wedding and honeymoon. With that in mind, I won’t be posting as much if at all on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and will only be posting pre-scheduled articles. If for some strange reason you desperately need to get ahold of Knife Thoughts (extreme, non medical, unable to wait, earth shattering knife emergency?!) I will still have access to email but won’t be checking it regularly.

Something she gave me and something I gave her

Thanks for reading, as always. Knife Thoughts will be back in full force soon!

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A Note on Honesty, Negativity, and Enthusiasm in Knife Thoughts

I was just showing off the Spyderco Native Chief that I’m testing as part of a passaround facilitated by Rivers Edge Cutlery and a point came up that I wanted to address.

I realize that my articles often seem to shed an unrealistically positive light on the knives in question. I know that I rarely totally denounce a knife as a failure, and even often give counter arguments when I point out a negative characteristic of a knife.

There are a couple reasons for this tendency:

First, I generally know that I’ll like a knife before I buy it. What I mean by that is not that I’ve never been disappointed by the build quality of a knife or liked a feature less than I expected, but that I spend a lot of time (probably too much) researching and deliberating on what knives I want. This naturally weeds out most knives that would be likely to garner a truly negative review, because I know if there have been reports of quality issues and the like well before purchasing a knife.

Second, I am usually thoroughly excited to get a new knife and that can put a rosy tint on my perception of it. Being that I am a knife enthusiast through and through, getting almost any knife amounts to an overall good experience. Of course there are exceptions, but I generally find something to be happy with on a knife simply because I enjoy knives.

However, I try first and foremost not to allow my view of a knife and especially my published thoughts on a knife to be influenced by the manufacturer’s, dealer’s, owner’s, or general population’s expectations. I mean to give fully honest reviews based solely on my genuine feelings and experiences of the knife.

Authenticity is one of the core values of Knife Thoughts and I intend to ensure it remains a pillar of my writing and posting.

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More Knife Thoughts Coming Soon!

The blog hasn’t had a new article in a bit now, so I wanted to update my horde of loyal readers on the status of things at Knife Thoughts.

Spring is Sprung: Possum Skinner with some Crocus Flowers

Spring has arrived, and with it a myriad of things to take my attention momentarily away from blogging. I am helping plan a wedding and honeymoon, work has picked up as we move into a new facility and start a new schedule, and I had a birthday to enjoy. Still, rest assured that although I haven’t published a Knife Thoughts article recently, I have been thinking knife thoughts… lots of them!

All American Made EDC

I have several articles currently in the works. I’m writing topical articles on gifting knives, knives I wish I’d kept, and user versus collector knives. I’m also planning some knife specific reviews. In the meantime, you can check the recent posts page at this link and make sure you didn’t miss any articles, or check out my YouTube channel at this link.

The Spyderco Endura 4 is a great work knife!

I’ve also been receiving some great feedback and suggestions on Knife Thoughts articles! I want to make sure that Knife Thoughts stays relevant and engaging to its readers, so I’m always open to feedback and suggestions. Don’t forget to subscribe by entering your email, and feel free to reach out to me through the contact page which can be found at this link.

The GEC Tidioute Lumberjack from the 2016 Rendezvous

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Knife Thoughts is LIVE!!!

“It is something to have started”

Treebeard ~ J. R. R. Tolkien

I’m practically buzzing with excitement to launch this website and blog! In fact, it’s kept me up… I planned to launch “tomorrow” yesterday, but “tomorrow” quickly became today as my mind raced and kept me away from sleep and hard at work. By no means is this website as polished as I’d like, but I think Treebeard hit on some great wisdom when he said that “It is something to have started”; there’s value in just beginning, even if I know there will be lots of refining to do going forward.

I decided to start this website for several reasons. Foremost, I wanted to start blogging about my knives and experiences in the knife community. I have been posting on various forums for years and have made many knife videos over the last year or so, but I realized that in many cases a written format can be easier for people to consume in their busy lives. I know that I enjoy watching knife videos on YouTube and perusing threads on BladeForums, but I rarely have the time to watch through a long form knife review or maintain interest through a forum thread containing hundreds (or often thousands) of posts. Second, I wanted to create a place to compile and broadcast my various knife related media: videos, pictures, articles, etc. Third, I wanted to build a more coherent brand and identity within the knife community. Finally, and probably the best reason, I wanted a challenging but fun endeavor to channel my enthusiasm for knives!

To all of you reading this, I sincerely thank you. I appreciate you taking your time and attention to check out my first steps into the world of blogging. I have done a relatively generous amount of writing in my life, but it has largely consisted of historic and other non-personal topics. I am not intuitively comfortable writing from a personal perspective, so I expect to experience a long (but hopefully not too painful) learning period.

It’s late (or early) and I think that’s enough for now. Upon launch I’ve added links to my Instagram and YouTube pages, as well as some embedded videos. Check those out, and don’t forget to check back soon for updates and new posts!!!

Logan