Congratulations Orvet

[Miller Bro's]

Dale, I believe you are the first person on this board to reach 10,000 posts!

[Beechtree]

I am glad you commented on this Dimitri, I noticed that the other day. Congratulations Dale! That is a LOT of knowledge you have shared

[johnnierotten]

Congrats Dale

[Tennessee Dave]

Atta Boy Dale!

[TripleF]

Congrats Dale!....and thank you! Thank you for willingly sharing your love of the steel!!

[Forensic Jim]

Congrats Dale! This must be a first!!!

[glennbad]

Either that, or he's just a yapper...

Seriously, thanks for all you do here!

[FRJ]

That's quite a milestone, Dale. Thanks for everything.

[Unk]

Congrats, Dale!

[Ramrod]

Dale,
You da man!
Thanks for all you do.
Your friend,
Mark

[philco]

Quite a milestone Dale. Show's you've got a lot of influence round here. We appreciate you too.

[jmh58]

Nice going there Dale!! Congrats. . John

[PigSticker]

Bet Jerry was right on your ass-----
Congrats Dale

[Knife Nut]

You are the go-to guy on this great site Dale.
Congratulations indeed!

Paul

[Cutty]

You are the go-to guy on this great site Dale.
Congratulations indeed!

Paul

+1


Learned a lot from ya Dale

[jerryd6818]

And this is why we end up on the phone for at least an hour every time we talk.

[Iron Hoarder]

Way to go Dale!!! Thanks for all the great info!!

[griz1200]

Thanks Dale. I've gained a lot of knowledge from your posts.

griz

[orvet]

Thanks guys, it is humbling and uplifting at the same time to be so appreciated.

But truthfully it is I who have learned so much. AAPK is really very educational. Though I had some background in the cutlery business and had some familiarity with some knife companies, mainly those here in Oregon that I had purchased from, I did not have nearly the breadth of knowledge I have acquired since being here at AAPK.

We have so many member at AAPK who have such in depth of knowledge in various areas of knife collecting, cutlery history, history of various companies, and all other facets of knives & knife collecting that there few questions a person can post that will not get at least a partial answer. If no one knows the answer, there usually one or two guys who were wondering about the same issue. Together they can often pool their knowledge and find the answer. It is an unique and interesting phenomena that I have seen occur repeatedly. The total of our knowledge is far greater than the sum of its parts!

Besides being such a great repository of knowledge AAPK is just a fun, friendly place to hang out with friends.

I have one regret about being the first person to reach 10,000 posts; I wish johnnierotten could have reached 10,000 posts before he passed away. When he went into the last downturn of his health he was only about 150 posts behind me. I wished Johnnie could have made 10,000 before I did.

[jerryd6818]

Another fount of knowledge, Johnnie Fain (jonet143), was headed that way when he passed in March of 2009 and had he lived more than likely would have been the first to break 10k. I didn't look at things like that back then. I was too fresh faced and new.

The active membership at AAPK has changed significantly over the past four+ years. There are many names in the thread announcing Johnnie Fain's death that we seldom or never see anymore but because of people like Dale, the spirit of AAPK remains constant and consistent. It's still a great place to hang out and learn about knives, talk knives and fellowship with a great bunch of guys. It's still the friendliest knife site on the web.


Want to check the flavor of the active membership in March of 2009? http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... =2&t=12172

[orvet]

Some of the members are still around, but life and other interests have directed much of their attention away from AAPK.

I have not spoke with Fran (Sauconian) in several months, but he is alive & well last I spoke with him. He bought a house that is taking up his time.

Darrell Hukkanen has been in contact with me by email and will be sending a knife to auction for Johnnie.

Over the years I have seen people come and go from AAPK, I have even seen people return after a long absence.
For some knife collecting is a passing interest, for others the focus of their collecting changes and they find a site they feel speaks more directly to their niche of collecting.
For others work, family or other commitments must take precedence over AAPK. I understand these things.
I appreciate the humor, knowledge and personality they have added to AAPK; it still remains for us to learn from and enjoy. That as another of the unique things I enjoy about AAPK.

[Old Hunter]

Congratulations Dale, thank you for all you do to help make this a great and welcoming website. OH