Originally posted by Lin Rhea:
Thank you sirs.
Jim, If I can make a knife, I know that anyone can. Believe me, it's been impressed upon me time and again that some of the techniques are simple enough when broken up into small steps. Yes, I have been very fortunate to have some training by great makers, but even so, it's like anything else. With a few tricks and good materials and a hat full of stubbornness thrown in, knife making can get very interesting.
Not comparing my work to Lin's by any means, and not saying talent isn't important, but I've found that the quality of the results of a knifemaking venture (or any craft really) depends much more on the maker's level of patience than his level of talent. The design process, and especially coming up with new design ideas, such as the guard design here, or the "X-Rhea" handle design is where the talent really factors in the most. IMO