INFO POST An open letter to the KKF and its Admin Austin.

An open letter to the KKF and its Admin Austin.


Yesterday I was mentioned in a post regarding a vendor leaving the KKF after his concerns were being ignored by the owners there. Austin alleged that our forum was failing and I gave a knife maker a ''special deal" to leave the KKF and join the KKFORA, claiming that it would ''Save'' the KKFORA. Trust me, with the cost of a year’s Professional Craftsmen or Vendor subscription here being $125, if the fora needed saving, that would not put much of a dent in it.

The fora needs no saving thank you....

As you know Dave Martell and I founded the KKF. I was responsible for the feel of the site, creation of community standards for it, creating the various subforums, developing member policies and how the KKF operated. This was no easy task, but I really enjoyed facilitating a pleasant environment where we could all share our passion for knives.

When Dave decided to sell the forum and name, I stood by my community and continued as admin on KKF for more than a year, attempting to work with you Austin until I realized I could perhaps serve our community better by creating a new place for it.

When I left the KKF I did so with integrity and honor. I was completely up front with you, Austin, and the KKF’s new owners. I did not harvest email addresses nor contact KKF members under the table to get them to join my new site. A disgruntled Admin can wreak havoc behind the scenes. I didn’t and treated the admin and new owners of KKF as I would like to be treated. It was a clean break. The only thing I took was what I created...an idea that we could have a place to support our hobby. Only then did I start the KKFORA.

What do I get in return? My integrity was publicly attacked with slanderous comments and charges of underhanded tactics. Austin, you should be ashamed.

All are welcome here to share our passion, with respect.