AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH this is kinda frustrating.

I've just been watching you Dogs post for the last few hours or so.

I've spent literally... hundreds... of hours in this "community" and hate to see anything start falling apart. I don't have any insightful words to say, or any opinions to change, I just got a big sinking feeling, and hope that things can be smoothed out. I guess. Some points that I agree with are that the general discussion is what keeps the core members of the Yard "active." This place would have been a graveyard without it. Any knives that are made will be purchased - I am sure - as in the past, regardless of what the daily banter is about. I've talked about Scrapyard knives at so many other people's forums that its ridiculous. I wonder how many people have found out about Scrapyard and how many knife sales have come as a direct result of the "older" dogs spreading the word (granted the family name had a whole lot to do with it as well!) In fact, Vic (HornDog), who is a character that has been central to "The Yard," was turned on to Scrapyard when I was talking about the Dogfather on the RAT Cutlery forum way back. Speaking of RAT Cutlery, this is directly from their website, (where they advertise their own knives), in the "links" section:

"Manufacturer's Links

Throughout our years of tromping around in less-than-desirable areas, we have always sought out unique companies that go above and beyond when it comes to their product and "outside the box" mentality. The following companies build equipment that we believe in and have used in remote areas of the world or in other locales. Good people, great product, excellent customer service.

Knives:

Ranger Knives
TOPS Knives
Ontario Knife Co.
KaBar
Al Mar Knives
SwampRat Knives
SOG Knives "

That is on their main site! Much less some forum banter. Notice Swamp Rat is in there...

Dan - I'm a die hard fan of Scrapyard Knives. I've said things at forums as recently as 2 days ago to the effect of "I took my (Ranger RD9) to the woods yadda yadda chopped a 6" log yadda yadda and it performed well, although it is worth noting that my Scrapyard Dogfather was able to do the same task in less than 1/2 the swings". Thats pretty blatant, for me to say "I really like your knife, but its worth noting that Scrapyard makes a similar knife that outperforms yours by double." As much as I've discussed other makers here with the Dogs, I spend twice as much time on other forums talking about how much I love my Scrapyard (mainly) and Busse knives - I recommend them to friends and family, and when asked, I have never told anyone that any knife was better than a Scrapper or Busse because I have yet to find knives of higher quality in existence. I'm patiently (very patiently) waiting for the Dogfather to come back so that I can buy 2 more for myself, and snag one for my dad and brother. And I'm broke! Your knives are so great that I often get them even when I truly cannot afford them.

I have an enormous amount of posts here because I truly feel that this is THE BEST knife community on the 'net - and its fitting those people support the best knife company on the planet. I can understand if the "other makers" issue would have been "nipped in the bud" way, way back - but you always seemed to give positive feedback when people posted pix of their new acquisitions between releases (Knives and Gear thread?). Now, as then, there is little to worry about as far as loyalty goes - although there have been a lot of frustrated people wanting to get their hands on SR77 - I've always been very encouraging and optimistic with my replies to those people, especially those who are new to the forum.

I think it says a lot that so many people have stuck by your forum, religiously, for half a year, discussing anything and everything under the sun (the deathchat has over 28 thousand posts) - a lot of it being knives - because we really love it here.

The challenge coin gift was a heck of a gesture on your part - and I never took it lightly (and still don't). I have a great respect for you and everything that you do.

(in closing, I'd like to suggest a subforum for general knife discussion <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> )

I know that it may not make sense on the surface to have people on your forum talking about other knives, but considering how steadfast your crew has been, and the fact that we're all chomping at the bit for new SR77, I hope that it can be tolerated. I can definitely understand moderating some posts if they get to the point where they promote another maker directly on your forum, but we all love knives here - yours most of all.