Taking Dave's class

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monty

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I haven't had a chance to sign in for a while. I have been finishing up a project for my work that has literally monopolized my time. I am only now getting out from underneath it. Anyway, I had an opportunity to take a one on one class in April with Dave and I've been dying to share some of my experiences.

I should begin by saying that after I decided to go to Pennsylvania it also occurred to me that I could save some money by driving 16 hours each way. Big mistake. By the time I showed up at Dave's I was so tired I was literally dizzy. I could have kicked myself for showing up in that condition but I figured that eventually I'd get a second wind - and I did. It's amazing how much I learned from just having an initial conversation with Dave about knife sharpening in general and Japanese knife sharpening in particular.

By the time we hit the stones I had already had most of my pre- conceived notions about how to approach sharpening Japanese knives blown away. As we walked through each step together I found myself feeling like I should have booked another couple of days. I won't even go into how I managed to massacre my new knife from Jon because of my exhaustion and the fact that I had to virtually relearn my technique in order to incorporate all the new information I learned.

Needless to say, this class was just the beginning. Now when I sit down at my stones I approach them with a little (admittedly borrowed) wisdom. I have had to slow down and reconsider what I thought was the right method and all the fun of discovering a new skill is still part of every sharpening session - even if I'm not as fast as I used to be.

If you have any desire at all to take your sharpening to a new level, dig through your wife's purse, look under the couch cushion for spare change, do whatever it takes to get to Fleetwood, PA and begin the process by taking a class. The next time a class is scheduled I'm there - ready to learn from Dave and anyone else who shows up for the seminar. But next time, I'm taking a plane!!

BTW, I was so out of it that I forgot to take any pictures :shocked3:
However, if I would have been thinking I would have taken, and posted, a pic of the major road running through Fleetwood. The name of the road is Kutztown (it this spelled right, Dave?) Seriously!!
 
sounds like u had a great tme and learned alot....i know i always learned something at one of dave's classes....ryan
 
Damn.. Wish he would plan a trip to Singapore sometime soon lol.
 
Too far for the west coast folks. How does it. Ompare to the carter dvds?
 
I have never seen the Carter DVDs,so I can't make a comparison - other than to say there is nothing like being able to have immediate feedback - whether it comes in the form of an answer to a question or an idea about your technique.

I should also add that seeing all Dave's sharpening stones made me almost sick with envy :)
 
Nathan, you're alive! :D

It was great to meet you and spend some time sharpening with you. I thought that you did real good and can only get better from here. Thanks for taking the time to come out for the training and to post this review too. :)

Dave
 
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