We will now interrupt the regularly scheduled programming for this good old blaze micro podcast. I figured it's about time to take a slight pause from normal micro podcast uh programming and to uh talk a little bit more about what I've been thinking about uh since I've created the podcast and and kind of the trajectory of things. So um I've kind of been out a little bit here and there uh because of gallbladder surgery of all things. Um I've been suffering from it for probably several years, um many years actually, and I finally got the surgery to get everything out, and so I'm feeling a lot better. Um so all of the the content that you're listening to now is up to date after this, you know, um several episodes of kind of being out, um, other than the fact that I I try to uh front load enough of my weekly uh episodes to make sure that um that I don't lose I don't lose uh the momentum that I have on weekly um publishing. So podcasts, um, I try to focus on those. I think I've missed one, and it was uh when uh Chris Crawford uh left the show. And then uh, you know, micro podcasts, uh it's kind of like up it's been up to my health. I've been sick several times, and it's hard to record things and get things published when uh you're sick. So, you know, if you'll forgive me on that, I think we'll be good to go. Uh but you know, as time has um progressed and the podcast has kind of um gotten a little bit more established in what I'm trying to do with it, um, other than this like really broad idea, um, it really comes down to this. The knife industry as a whole confounds me. Uh is so confusing. It's confusing because you know, not everybody makes knives the same way, not everybody uses the same tooling, blade, steel, and everything is subjective as all get out. And uh it's yeah, whether you sell a knife or whether you don't sell a knife, whether you're a big, a big name and can sell knives or not, like all of these things. They're factors that just there it's not like a normal business, it's not like um a normal craft where uh you do good work, you it's supply and demand, it's solving a problem, uh, and you know, you sell, right? Uh, there are so many nuances to knife making that honestly, I just want to talk to other people and and get an idea of what these individual stories are around success, around people and and their history and their their trajectory um with knives, and and just kind of figure it out as I go along, right? The sum total of the podcast, whenever it eventually ends, uh, and I have no idea when that's gonna be, uh, but hopefully not anytime soon, uh, will be that uh you take the the sum total of just a ton of craftsmen, a ton of collectors, a ton of um uh people on the periphery, whatever, dealers, uh I don't know, like everybody, everybody who's involved with knives in some way, shape, or form, um, I want to get to talk to. And I want to try to figure this thing out for myself. And if you, as a listener, can be a fly on the wall and kind of walk through that with me, that's really what I want. And and the the early concept of of the Good Old Blades podcast really came from the fact that in me asking questions of old-time knife makers and friends and things like that about knives, um, I'd have these these phone calls where maybe we'd sit and talk for you know 30 minutes and it would be you know simple, hey, I have a few questions or whatever. And sometimes it'd be I'd sit on you know a phone call or whatever, or or email, or chat with somebody on social media, and we'd have hour-long conversations about just like all sorts of different things. And I was like, man, like I'm asking these questions, and I'm sure a million other people probably ask these questions too. Why don't I take that experience that I have in me asking a bunch of stupid questions or being inquisitive about things and allow a listener to be uh that fly on the wall that that can absorb that and use it as a as a vocal or auditory learning system uh to apply it to what they what they think, right? And so, you know, I'm not all I my opinion is just my opinion. Um, and I I I want to contextualize that with like, don't trust me a hundred percent. I come from a very pragmatic, a very straightforward, straight uh, you know, talking type of uh personality where I don't have a problem admitting that I don't know something and I want to find out about things, and um, and I see it kind of like I I say it like I see it, like a I I guess you uh consider me a realist in some ways. But there's a side of me, there's the boyish side that is a a diehard romantic and optimist. And it's like you know, there you can do anything. Like my life stories like you can do anything if you put your mind to it. I've accomplished a lot of things out of um a really um like if you could tell my fortune when I was uh 10 years old or whatever you'd say, say that my life story was not going to be very great, but honestly, I've been so blessed. A lot of that has to do, honestly, with not taking no for an answer and being able to like look at the world and try to seek answers and find out what the truth is, or at least what you know the the most logical sense of the truth is. So, you know, I I also at the same time kind of experienced this idea uh when getting into the guild and everything, where it's like all of these knife makers that I'm talking to, in 20 years, I don't know how many of them are gonna be around. They're old timers, they're like in their their 60s and 70s, and you know, life expectancy is not that high. Um, and I was like that there all this knowledge, you know, is is going to evaporate, and whatever it is from these guys is the sum total of what's recorded, and so like for me, it's like I want to unpack the knife industry, I want to record and document uh famous knife makers and and people of um of success so that way we have that as an example to fall back on, and I want to do it all in audio, and so uh that's kind of that's kind of it everything that I am doing um in the podcast is to try to push for a better experience for you guys to listen to where you can get uh good information and and form the idea of how you want to fit inside of the knife industry because you see everybody else's example and you can kind of navigate that. Kind of with that being said, um I'm working towards trying to true up uh some of the interview process and everything. Um, I take some examples from like Joe Rogan, like uh his podcast is real popular, he's been doing it a long time now. And uh for for whatever you think of of uh Joe Rogan and whether he's a meathead at times or whatever, I I love him, I love his inquisitive nature. Um, I don't really care about other people's opinions too much about uh Joe Rogan because um when he gets people on his podcast, he gets them to talk and he gets them to get outside of their comfort zone and really just be who they are and represent that in video and audio. And I felt that that's so great because there are so many people that he brings on that I just would never think of. They're not in my purview, and it opens up so many different disciplines that I'm interested in, and people um talk in a way that just expands my consciousness and the way that I think about things, and his interview style is really just you know very laid back. Uh, it's very uh genuine and and candid. And um, what I would like to do is try to build some structure and with lack of experience because I haven't been podcasting in an exceptional amount of time. Um, I want to build some structure around being able to provide really great interviews to you guys um and also capture the same elements of um fascination with my guests that I'm interested in, and hopefully we meet somewhere in the middle with you listening to it and actually, you know, getting something out of it. So my goals are to just keep uh keep on keeping on, uh to focus on uh content and focus on quality of content. And um, I think it goes without saying that I've had a lot of really great guests on. Um, I think I could always do better at finding ways to interview them where it's not just prescriptive, like you're like, I'm oh, he's just going to ask these questions. Um that the questions happen organically, and what draws you into the experience is really just um what happens. Each time should be an adventure for all for for all of us. And if I can uh find some way to be more mature and structure things a little bit better to allow for that to happen, that's really what I want. Like it's like the greatest hammer ins are uh uh are structured in that they have uh demonstrations and education and um uh some prescription to how they're supposed to go, but what you learn in those is a result of that structure, not the structure itself. That's kind of the same thing. The takeaway should be something fabulous out of something that just has a little bit of uh programming or structure to it, and so I I hope that that is evident in where I'm going. It'll be a completely different podcast, a more mature podcast as time goes on, and um, and every day I'm really thinking a lot about how I can change things and become better at what I do to make it a valuable use of your time to listen to it. So I I hope so far it is. Um, and I really appreciate the feedback. Um, there is a link uh if you go to the good oldbladespodcast.com's website, um, then you will see a feedback form. And I really appreciate feedback. I want to know things that I can do better, I want to know things that I'm I'm excelling at, and I want to know things that um like you know, guests and things that you might want to see on because I I have my purview, like I want to I want to be able to talk to a lot of different people, uh, but there might be something like some person that does something so completely different, but in the context of knives, that I have no idea about. And I really rely on you guys to give me some good feedback so that way I can get them on and talk to them and and you know just research them myself. Um, I think that I think that those things are important. So give me feedback um if if you can. Um, I welcome it. And I will continue to roll with what I'm doing and apply myself and to try to exalt my guests, and I hope that uh through this experience uh we learn something and I can build a long-lasting podcast that really just um um stands the test of time of being something that is worth listening to. I really appreciate everybody uh listening in um and and downloading the podcast regularly. Um the the listening stats and things are something I pay attention to, and it's important to me to make sure that I'm getting broad exposure on the show. I pay for everything 100% uh with uh my own funds, so I have the autonomy to kind of do exactly what I want to, but at the same time, um that the feedback and the listenership and everything spurs me on to keep doing it because it's not an inexpensive process. Not only that does it take an exceptional amount of my time, but it takes guests' time, um, and it costs money and resources to be able to, you know, edit edit things with software to record things initially, to host the stuff, and uh all that's done affiliate or um or advertisement free, so that way I can keep everything as open as I can. So um the more that you help me and and kind of stimulate me and spur me on to do these things, uh, the more uh motivated I am to just try to um continue making it better. Uh it's this it's the relationship that you, the listener, and I have. It's where I I really do and need to have some level of validation that it's something that is is worthwhile. Um and that helps me to make improvements and make investments in changing things to make them better. Um otherwise, you know, I'm still gonna do it as long as I do it. Uh, but you know, there's a symbiosis between the listener, you, and me, and it's that um uh I think that all things fair and equal. There are a lot of things that we wouldn't do in life if it didn't seem like it was worth it. But when people rely on you or people enjoy what you do, it spurs you on to do things and push you outside of your comfort zone and uh get you out of bed each morning. Um, so uh, you know, with that context, just you know, keep uh keep listening. Give me feedback if you can. Um, like and subscribe to the uh podcast um on uh other podcast uh social media, like on Instagram and Facebook. And if you can on your individual listeners, uh go ahead and rate them as well because those ratings help me in in getting better positions in the various podcast um uh players. And so uh the more that you can help me out with those type of things if you enjoy the show and everything, um, the the easier it is to get more people to listen to it. So thanks again for all of your time when you invested with me. It really does mean a lot. I see it every day, and I really do appreciate it. So um, I hope this helps. I hope the podcast helps, and God bless y'all, and we'll talk soon.