Hey Scott,

Having you as part of the NKCA leadership team sounds like a great fit!

Best of luck to you, Derek

Hey Scott,

Congrats on your appointment to the Board of the NKCA.  I know you will be a great plus to the orginization.  Get ready for some heavy work though :)  The bottom line is to get more revenue and blood into the club.  Buzz Parker, my long time buddy and I are both Life members of the NKCA.  He had a great idea!  Not sure what the Life membership is at this point, but making them pay dues yearly would be a great help finacially to the club.  I, being a Life Member, would be more than happy to pay a yearly due to insure the stability of the NKCA.  You may have some "ol timers" that may have a fit over this but in my opinion, if a person is willing to step up and be a Life Member, they should also be willing to step up when the going gets rough...  Just a thought my friend!  Best of luck to you and the NKCA ~ I love knives!!!!

@Edward, NKCA has a limited amount of logo clothing and other things on their website  www.nkcaknife.org.

@Ed Henley,  I'm an old timer with NKCA and after thinking it over I believe you may have a good idea with Lifers paying a yearly dues (until the club is back on it's feet).  Over the years there was a lot of mismanagement and hopefully with Scott's help we will see the club get back on track.

Jim

Hey Scott...thanks for the invite and congrats again on the board position!  I got to admit I never heard of the NKCA until I read your posting but, will definitely look more into it.  At 1st glance it reminds of the NRA...which of course I'm a member of and whole-heartedly support!

Hey Scott!!  Thanks for the invite, being new to the knife community I certainly appreciate the knowledge this association offers.

Mike

Many thanks for inviting me Scott. If it is one thing I think we need to get rid off, it is the thought that knife collectors are "hoarders".

For obvious reasons this illness has been spread to label even mere hobby collecting, I'm not sure if this is the case in America though since your constitution has a completely different law regarding guns and knives.

What the unbaptized doesn't know is that there is only a tiny percentage that gets "swallowed" up by their interest and reaches the straw that breaks the camel back. Often they are psychologically labile or with previous sicknesses and such. This is not the average knife collectors.

In Sweden they would for example ask you who you were going to stab with the penknife you always carry on you to clean and trim your nails - it's ridiculous!

In any case I understand it's all business here and there won't be much time over for international countries (we need to save the foundation and get it back up in tip-top shape first.)

I know it's personal and all with knife clubs and that some people wants to see some people at positions more but there are countless examples of people pushing for him/her only because it's a friend, relative, girlfriend or lover or whatever.

Scott is a perfect example of how anyone in a "key" position should act and it's no surprise that you're being needed by organisations :)

Scott,

Thanks for taking on this important task., and for inviting all of us to comment and join in on matters that we all think are important . 

Steve,

A technical area on the site would be nice. There we could find factual info like tang info, knife part diagrams, Knife makers contacts and examples of their work, knife company history, ete & etc. Also maybe a list of suppliers

@Greg- thanks. Good ideas

@Doug- thank you for inviting them. We'd love to have them in iKC.

Scott.

Somewhere along the line I read that someone suggested charging an extra $1.oo for the NKCA membership if the member didn't have an email adderss.  Two comments about that: 1). a dollar would only cover the cost of mailing 1 newsletter 2). there are a lot of places to get a free email address, yahoo, google, hotmail, bigfoot,... so why would anyone with a computer be without one?  Put links to these URLs so members can obtain an account.  As usual Steve's suggestion are great.  You have already read my "throw it against the wall" post from March 5, but I believe the thing to remember is the website is going to be the main method of communications and needs to have lots and lots of content to attract the membership back.  In the internet age, attention spans are very short.  You have 12 second to capture someone landing on your site.  Stick something interesting in my face as soon as I land or I'm gone. 

Jim

Scott,

My opinion is that the NKCA should be folded into iKC. Now iKC is a free community and NKCA is not, and that is a BIG difference. For me there is a lot more value in the experience that is available to ALL knife collectors for free here on iKC, than that that is presently available to NKCA members for a fee. That may be different for those who are knife dealers out there, where an association with NKCA does have benefits that are truly tangible, but for the amateur knife collector, meaning in the French language a "lover of", iKC offers just what we need: communication, information, camaraderie, and support, on a social media platform that right now the NKCA cannot match and is in the stone age by comparison.

How to reconcile that difference, a free organization that has evolved into a living breathing organism composed of many cells, individuals, and organs, groups, that is self nourishing, growing, and thriving compared to a fee based organization that seems to be incapable of providing that same level of sustenance to its members, I don't know. Information wants to be free, and that's what iKC provides us with. Friendship and camaraderie can only come free, and that's what iKC provides us with. Why not extend that friendly hand, that welcome invitation, that hand up to all of the NKCA and have them join us here for free. Then perhaps a separate group, or page, or area here could be created to generate income for the NKCA, where dealers could advertise, knife makers could hawk their wares, and shows could post their dealer rates and such and info for the general public as well.

I know it has been said before, but that all that the NKCA has to offer presently is discounted table rates, which appeals only to dealers, a book, free admission to some but not all shows, and the possibility to acquire a knife you may or may not like, and an instantly outdated newsletter, is frankly not enough anymore.

The only and easiest way to instantly and effectively bring an organization such as NKCA into the 21st Century is to fold it into iKC. Now Scott, and Gary, I know that perhaps you may not want to "pollute" the purity of iKC with commerce, but we do have our knives for sale and trade section here and that's a start, and things could be arranged so that the present experience and a more commercial experience remain separate. On the other hand, what you must do for the NKCA is to set it up so that it mirrors the experience we all enjoy on iKC, but if you did that it might compete with iKC and I can understand your not wanting to do that. Since iKC is SO far ahead of the NKCA at this point, in look, feel, functionality, information, images, possibilities, and actually has a bright and beautiful future before it, it makes sense to me that we, iKC ,won (though this isn't a competition) and winner takes all. Fold the NKCA into iKC and make it free for the amateur collector while extracting a nominal fee from the professional dealer or maker who uses the site for commerce in a separate section, while at the same time keeping a section where the casual amateur colector can still buy, sell, or trade a knife now and then.

Actually, I'd like to see iKC swallow up not only the NKCA but also All About Pocket Knives, Blade Forums, and all the other ugly nasty knife sites out there, then the world would be a prettier, happier, friendlier place.

Luca commented ... Actually, I'd like to see iKC swallow up not only the NKCA but also All About Pocket Knives, Blade Forums, and all the other ugly nasty knife sites out there, then the world would be a prettier, happier, friendlier place.

imo

What we have here is unique .. Scott started it .. then he extended the freedom required for growth .. 'n we all ran with it !!!

Our community has lil bits of ea 'n every one of us ..

.. we have a true community where personal gain has been mimized .. can anyone honestly state that NKCA remained un-corupted by when money was introduced .. I am continually reading the words .. financial transperency .. so if it isn't outright a problem .. it is percieved as one.

introduce the possibility of monetary gain .. and become .. exactly what we do not want ....      All About Pocket Knives, Blade Forums, and all the other ugly nasty knife sites out there.

I must vote for ... offering a helping hand ... while maintaining a healthy seperation !!!!

I don't always agree with every statement that is made, but I also respect everyone's right to their opinion.

Billy nailed it.

Every single person I know on iKC ... who has become an active productive valued member of this community ... has that in common. What a wonderful learning environment we have here.

Let me pose a question .. has anyone had a personal viewpoint changed .. as a result of being a member of this community ???

I've certainly learned a thing or two .. and what fun I've had  .. 'n friendships I've formed .. along the way !!!!!!

WOW! Interesting conversation going here with the last posts. 

Luca- it won't ever happen, and honestly, I wouldn't want it to. Our interests here are fairly simple- friends talking knives. The NKCA is a business- albeit a non-profit (or is it a not-for profit?) doesn't matter. Money drives many of the decisions there, not that that is a bad thing.

iKC is pure (sounds hokey, I know). It is collector started and collector driven. It's not perfect...maybe not the deepest knife related content- but it's getting better with every member that joins, like Dale said. I'd love to have a couple full time employees to research and write articles for us, but I intentionally didn't want to make iKC about making money. Just look at KnifeShowcase, for example. As I understand, you have to pay to blog there, among other things. I don't want that. I know if a few NING knife sites already out there- and maybe the NKCA will go that direction....I know it's all I can do to keep up with you guys here- so they'll have to do it without me, that much I know :)

The other sites and forums serve an important function in the knife world. Those that have been up for years and are very established have some really good discussions/content from knowledgable folks. We are relationship focused, more personal, I think, than those forums and our content is getting better and will continue. But either way- it is the members that make iKC what it is, literally. 

Hey Scott,  Unfortunately I don't have any contract person for the NRA. Like you I felt it would be a perfect fit. Most people I know EDC knives and guns and are members.

Mike

Scott said

"We are relationship focused, more personal, I think, than those forums and our content is getting better and will continue. But either way- it is the members that make iKC what it is, literally. "

Very well said

NKCA Members- we had a good productive board meeting last Saturday. Many of the items presented were well recieved and yet, we still have a funding issue remaining before we can implement many of the items. We put a fund raising plan into place so we can move forward on them as soon as possible.

Also, a nominating committee was established for officers and directions for the next term (2012- 2016). Please if you know of anyone interested in serving in an official capactity, please speak with them and confirm their interest and then email me their name and email address if you'd like to recommend them. Send to me at scott@ iknifecollector.com

Thanks!

Last Saturday's Special Board Meeting- These folks care about our organization!

Scott

Keep up the good work, I visited the museum this weekend and loved every minit.. had a nice talk with the lady overlooking.. real nice!

I had an opportunity to stop by the NKCA table this weekend.  Be sure to renew or sign up, good things will be happening with this group