Christopher Malouf
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Rex, that is a fantastic critique and the kind of constructive advice that benefits us all.
It's extremely important to continually be excited about our work so that we can continue to make progress but it's also important that our feet remain firmly on the ground (and not on cloud 9). Staying in touch with reality, through quality feedback from our peers, is what achieves this. A false sense of reality or expectations can lead to a greater disappointment or even a complete failure on the next project when overconfidence (by attempting to go beyond our abilities) sets in.
Ryan,
What I am learning is that every project we undertake will not always be our best. As engravers, we tend to look at the engraving by itself and then judge the entire piece. One question to ask yourself .... does the engraving add to the knife ... I think so and so will the average customer who decides to buy the knife. Don't grind off your work and recut it. Being better prepared with Rex's advice you can move on to the next knife ... maybe spending a little more time with a pencil and paper before cutting if you feel the need.
I guess I jumped in here with this post because I am going through this whole scenario right now. I've been completely elated by some of the work I've done over the last year ... every job just seemed to come out better than expected even if I winged it .... until....... overconfidence set in. I just wrecked a knife (or so I thought) by trying something different. It bottomed me out for two weeks where I didn't want to finish the other bolster. In fact I haven't touched my tools all week. Bottom line is that the knife will sell because the engraving does add to it. The average customer looking for something unique will buy it and that's because he/she sees the entire knife, not just the engraving. I've learned a whole bunch of things and there's a happy customer out there that doesn't see the technicalities us engravers beat ourselves up over.
On to the next project ... armed with the knowledge to make it even better!!
Well ... I'll be heading off to the winter engraving bunker real soon 'til spring so I won't be drivin' anyone nuts here for a bit ... catch ya all later,
Chris
It's extremely important to continually be excited about our work so that we can continue to make progress but it's also important that our feet remain firmly on the ground (and not on cloud 9). Staying in touch with reality, through quality feedback from our peers, is what achieves this. A false sense of reality or expectations can lead to a greater disappointment or even a complete failure on the next project when overconfidence (by attempting to go beyond our abilities) sets in.
Ryan,
What I am learning is that every project we undertake will not always be our best. As engravers, we tend to look at the engraving by itself and then judge the entire piece. One question to ask yourself .... does the engraving add to the knife ... I think so and so will the average customer who decides to buy the knife. Don't grind off your work and recut it. Being better prepared with Rex's advice you can move on to the next knife ... maybe spending a little more time with a pencil and paper before cutting if you feel the need.
I guess I jumped in here with this post because I am going through this whole scenario right now. I've been completely elated by some of the work I've done over the last year ... every job just seemed to come out better than expected even if I winged it .... until....... overconfidence set in. I just wrecked a knife (or so I thought) by trying something different. It bottomed me out for two weeks where I didn't want to finish the other bolster. In fact I haven't touched my tools all week. Bottom line is that the knife will sell because the engraving does add to it. The average customer looking for something unique will buy it and that's because he/she sees the entire knife, not just the engraving. I've learned a whole bunch of things and there's a happy customer out there that doesn't see the technicalities us engravers beat ourselves up over.
On to the next project ... armed with the knowledge to make it even better!!
Well ... I'll be heading off to the winter engraving bunker real soon 'til spring so I won't be drivin' anyone nuts here for a bit ... catch ya all later,
Chris
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