The voting is open for 10 days, and if I did this right, will end 12/11/2009.
Lets set a date for completion for 1/31/2010. That's two months from now, and should be enough time to get your contribution finished - and is after the holidays so as not to interfere.
To recap on what a Pipe In The Hat (PITH) is:
To reiterate from my post of last time:Andrew Garret wrote:The technical deffinition of a KITH is this: Knife In The Hat = A bunch of knifemakers agree on a theme if there is to be any (i.e., spring steels, Christmas, recycled material, daggers, arrowheads, etc., etc.) and a draw date. Each maker completes a knife by the draw date, and then the host draws names from the 'hat' to determine who gets which blade. The most common method (in my own experience) is to draw the names and make a list. Each maker sends his knife to the maker whose name appears below his on the list. The guy on the bottom ships to the guy on top. Done. Right? Not quite...
A KITH as it was conveyed to me is a modern adaptation of an old practice where guys at a job site would gather at lunch on Friday and throw their pocket knife in a hat, draw one out and that was what they carried for the rest of the week. Around these parts, the KITH evolved from an IITH (Iron In The Hat), where projects were kept very simple (arrowheard for example) to encourage participation.
In the end, a KITH is about community. It represents a challenge to new makers to do their very best work because they are sending it to someone who knows knives as well or better than they do. An honest critique can be a blow to a sensitive ego, but worth so very much in the development of a maker. For the ol' masters, it represents a chance to share years of accumulated knowledge and wisdom. For all, it represents a sense of brotherhood, sharing, and belonging.
It doesn't matter if you've been carving for 5 years or 5 weeks, you should feel welcome to participate. If a pro or semi-pro joins in, he does so eyes wide open, and with the knowledge that he may get the work of a total noob. Maybe he's feeling as if this is some way he can give back to the community from which he learned, or perhaps he's trying to foster the continued presence of talented pipe carvers from around the world. Whatever the reasons, please don't be intimidated by it - the goal is to get folks learning, collaborating, and, most of all, establishing lasting relationships in this brotherhood. All forum members are welcome to join!
Keep in mind, you are sending your pipe away forever - this is a trade. In return you get a shiny new pipe for yourself.
And speaking of joining in - the cutoff date for joining in is 1/22/2010. This is only for the peace of mind of the organizer (me).
If you want to join in, post a message here with a "I'm in." style message. I'll add your name to the official drawing list.
Who's in?
The Official List Of Who's In:
Kurt Huhn
Vermont Freehand (Steve Norse)
FredS
SimeonTurner
staffwalker
kkendall
buster
T3pipes
circularthoughts
TimGeorge
Nick
Charl
pierredekat
Briarfox
BeatusLiebowitz
mrhydepipes.com
mredmond (micah)
Daniel
OldnGrey
pennyscott
smokindawg