I think someone has their boards mixed up. I find this board to be a very happy place
I imagine this working as a one-off, a single pool of sabers rotated among a group of friends who know each other personally. Personally, I tend to fear the worst until the moment I receive anything I've ordered by mail. Having a saber of mine do a world tour... I would definitely need to have very little of myself invested in the saber to survive the ordeal.
Fair enough. It would be hard to ensure complete safety of everyone's work when so many things can happen between point A and B. I definitely think this sort of thing would be simplified if done in person, though. If this sort of event was held physically, at least then all of the shipping issues would be nonexistent.
Perhaps an in-person gathering of traders would eliminate postage costs, and maybe even scammers ( /optimistic thinking mode)
however, something far more expensive would be introduced: transportation costs. This forum has posters not only from all
over the U.S.A., but several parts of the globe... truly an international community we have here.
This reminds me, a forum for one of my other hobbies (chainmail) had a far less expensive trading discussion a few years ago:
a tea exchange.
Do you hear that?
That is the sound of a thousand terrible things headed this way.
It could be arranged to happen at already-established events. Maybe it could just be done at certain conventions?
I like the idea. Seems like something the newer builders could get to do, the "older" more "experienced" smiths would probably not want to do something like this mainly because some of them make an actual living out of it, and would no want to let slip any trade secretsI could not blame them for that, letting that kind of "cat out of the bag" situation go awry could shut people down.
However I am fond of trading with people I've spoken to on a regular basis with in the community. When I say trade, I do mean straight up trade. No money, just handing over my work for a change, not "for" change. Then getting a part of what someone else put their time into in this hobby. For me it builds an appreciation, not just of the hobby and the community. But for the time and effort it takes to put together something all of us enjoy.
So trading with some one you trust is not such a bad idea, trading and/or buying (at least lately) with some builders could be....interesting. So avoiding a big hassle by starting with a big "exchange", maybe start small and go from there. Could be pretty cool to do
Maybe we could just try to organize convention meet-ups?
Saber get-togethers have happened - and are wicked fun from what I've heard, never been to one though. There have also been saber trades, sort of like what you're talking about but just between two gentlemen/ladies here and there.
At one time there was a thing where you give someone your work (or parts) for the sole purpose of allowing them to modify it, just to see what they could do with it. I have actually done this with numerous peers; joint projects are super fun.
As a seemingly simple solution to the "don't take apart" problem, why not build (or modify) a saber for the express purpose of being taken apart. With MODULAR parts and wiring, quick disconnects, screw-together parts, chassis, etc. a protocol or checklist for disassembly seems like a no-brainer. Plus, modifying a hilt to be field-strippable is a wicked fun challenge, and in the basic sense, not very difficult at all. You might pop a wire here and there, but hey, this is TCSS for crying out loud - if you can't fix it, we'll SHOW YOU.
I really like this idea, especially since I'm a novice when it comes to crafting sabers, and I definetly get the "legends" not wanting to trade so that they don't give away secrets.
I do like the convention idea however. I' muses many sabersmiths already go to cons and if they all organized an event at the con where they could just hang out, show off sabers (sell some too) and maybe, juuuuust maybe, give away some small tips here and there (and thank god for the TCSS YouTube channel and MadCow cause I'd be stuck if I hadn't been looking to that for insight).
The convention might work? And it could help the saber community draw in a little tighter? I don't know though cause I haven't been in this hobby very long :/
"Peace is a lie. Perhaps the greatest of them all. Peace, or a lack of change equals Death. If the waters of a pool cease to move, and become stagnant, the waters poison themselves, and kill all who drink from it. Chaos, on the other hand, brings great change. Should the pool be over taken by a river, life springs anew.
-Lord Malyce, Exile of Sith, First Warrior of Sands
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