I like the Yard. There's good folks here. If there were never another new release, I'd still be ok.

In no way trying to sound rude or insensitive, but if Dan doesn't provide more feedback, I'm ok with that too. Eventually new knives will arrive. When they come, the come. Yeah, it's frustrating to not get more info when we're told info will be forthcoming, but at the end of the day, Dan IS a businessman, and I have a hard time believing he'd be doing something to purposefully anger his most loyal customers. I don't think the lack of his active participation lately is malicious.

This is a great forum for us to come and chat and whatnot, but I don't get the sense that it's AS important a part of his daily (weekly) routine/personal community as it is to some of us. Again, not a slight against Dan and if it's true, it in no way offends me. I like Dan. It's nice to hear from him when he checks in. He's "one of the dogs." But folks here all have different levels of participation and that's ok.

As sparse as the commo has been lately, it's still pretty amazing to me that the owner of a company like this is still AS personally involved with the customers as Dan is. It seems that Scrapyard is growing as a business (along with the whole of Busse-dom) so I suspect that we are likely going to see decreasing communications from the head honcho from here on out. The company is growing, it remains family owned, the owners are intimately involved with planning and production, so if something has to give, it makes sense that his participation here would be among the first.

I think the longer folks have been on the forum, the harder that shifting reality might be to take (and understandably so). I've not been here more than three years, but already I can see that it's no longer the same company it was when I first found the Yard. They've moved to computer-based production, simplified the standard steel lines to INFI and SR101 (I assume to achieve better economies of scale), invested greatly in both the production side and the user interface side, and totally overhauled the business model to make knives available longer--seemingly permanently--to make Bussekin steel more reachable to the general knife-buying public. All this, to me, indicates they are undergoing rapid business expansion (or are at least trying to), and I'd assume there are likely going to be some serious growing pains--like lessened communication--associated with this expansion.

To me it's neat that they are STILL trying to make it interesting and exciting for collectors and rabid knife-o-philes with shows, ganzaaas, and special occassional offerings. Like I said, I hope I'm in a place where I can do a new blade when it's released (and if it fills a niche), but if not, c'est la vie.

I am of course wildly speculating on all of this, but it makes sense to me. I'm trying to be zen about it and it eases the pain in my heart a little to think like that (sniff sniff)