When you see a nice example of my work, what are you "seeing" that you don't recognize? Let's take this small unfinished pocket folding knife ....



Most readers will first notice the handle material, and it's grain pattern. Good. Now, "what is that?" Well - forgive me .... We've just met. I'm Gary L. Barnes. One of the arts I work with, is knife making. That handle material is something I make. I have a bit of a "reality overload humor" sometimes. We moved to Florida about 4 years ago. I call this material "Fossilized Florida Misquito Tusk". The current skeeters are pest enough - you can imagine the joys of our earliest ancestors needing to fix their stick or rock, and swatting the Saber Toothed Versions of Early Skeeters! However; their fossil ivory tusks remain, and I harvest them from the Barnes Pneumatic Tar Pits here on the Compound. Ok - you recognize the tongue in cheek parts of that description. Following is some "Tusk Tech .... What are you seeing, that you aren't aware you are seeing?

I've said that I make the material. But, it doesn't come in a kit. I researched binding agents and choose one I'm pleased with for the purpose. I know of four others which would also do the job. I like this one best. I researched matrix materials, and made educated choice based upon my previous experiences. Experience with what? First ... with woodworking. At 19 years old, I opened a professional Cabinet Shop in Maryland. Pro at 19? Brag? No. I built custom furniture. I went to private homes and discussed the desires and thoughts of clients, and then drew out, designed, sourced, and built custom furniture and cabinet work. I repaired Antuques. I even Reproduced copies of Antiques for a client who, for instance; wished to have "two" matching bedside antique 4 drawer tables. (Aside: 20 years later - one said client insisted that my copy was the original. Got a bit steamed about it in fact. Ha. I quietly checked my signature under one drawer. No need stress the situation farther.). I laminated bentwood bows for an antique convertible auto restoration. Became familiar with timing, technique, clamping, multiple stage applications, products. I also began making Custom Knives. By October, 1983, I completed the certification testing and achieved a Master Bladesmith's Rating from the American Bladesmith's Society. I was the youngest man, to date, to do so. Part of this testing was the initial mastery of manufacturing Damascus Steel - the laminated Super Steel of the Ancuents. I'm very familiar with laminated materials, methods of achieving them, methods of achieving patterns by manipulating the plies of laminates, and frequent failure points to avoid. My Fossil Skeeter Tusk is made in steel forms. It's bonded under hydraulic pressure. Timing is essential. Technique is essential. Safety measures are critical.

So far, we have hit just a few high points regarding one segment of one knife. So far; if you have just joined us; you have seen ONE picture. I've been making items, full time, for 42 years professionally. There are more pictures.

Let me give you the most brief possible Thumbnail, of "Where/When/How" you find me. By 1999, if won a trunk full of awards, plaques, magazine articles, magazine covers, book covers, book articles, etc. I had begun making handmade Air guns in 1996. I had achieved accuracy, power, and distance shooting records which had not yet been recorded - or not knowingly so. I was booked up with orders I'd accepted on my "Ledger System" of no interest payments toward purchase. And, my neck was killing me while my hands were loosing sensitivity. I was in panic. By 2000, I was producing a large Airgun Festival we called "Standing Stone" with the hope of supporting the hobby and industry of custom airguns. And my hands were going numb.

I came home from Standing Stone One, and began a huge push thru The forest of Doctors, Therapy, CAT Scans, MRI's, and Nerve Conductivity studies. I continued to work at my best possible pace. Over the next year, I had three surgeries. It began with open surgery on only wrist for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Next came the removal of two discs in my neck - and the replacement of both - secured by titanium plates and screws. I was back at work one week to the day later. I'm self employed. Lastly, my right wrist received the arthroscopic version of carpal tunnel surgery. All this took a good year to complete. I worked the entire time. The surgeries worked pretty well. I continued. But, of course, I'd grown behind schedule. No sweat - I'll catch up.

Within a year-ish, my right hip was killing me. Hip/groin. Like a spear Thur the right buttstock, coming out the joint between thigh and torso, and the hip would just GLOW with pain. I kept working, and started the Doctor circuit again. They Xrayed by hip. It was good. They consigned me to Therapy Hell. It hurt. And it kept hurting. And I kept working. It hurt more, and I endured more therapy, and it hurt. Finally, I said ENOUGH therapy. It's killing me. And I kept working. I delivered guns, and accepted orders. People made $100-150/mo no interest payments. It worked. But I hurt like heck.

Finally, a new office of Specialists sent me for MRIs. @WELL- THERE'S 'yer problem. Your spine is all jacked up! You have 4 disintegrating discs! They are pinching nerves all over the place! That must hurt like "HELLO". You have .... wait for it .... "Degenerative Disc Disease". Your discs are little degenerates!!! The Creeps!!!

And, I kept working. Slower, and in considerate pain.

This is the thumbnail so I'll wrap it up. 4-5 Specialists tell me you COULD maybe have two of the remaining bad discs surgically altered, but you are a big guy. BTW - that means 6"3, 245. Often, when the joints between discs are "fused" - meaning screwed together with plates and screws ... It transfers stress to the joints above and below the Fussion. Then, those joints fail. Now - the two bottom bad discs are at the very bottom of your spine they carry all the load of your torso. Fussion there is really asking for failure. Consider NON SURGICAL solutions for as long as POSSIBLE! That is the injection of Steriod Anti-inflammatory Drugs INTO the space next to the spine. Yep - 5 1/2" needles inserted to inject medication to shrink the swelling of tissue pinching the nerve bundles. That pinching produces the severe pain in the back, buttstock, hips, groin, outside thigh, legs, and numbs the lower legs and feet. I kept working. But I stopped taking orders.

People felt empathy for me. They send their thoughts and prayers. They were patient.

I kept working and took no orders. The injections lasted about 3-4 months. Medications helped along with the injections. I delivered some guns. Took no orders. People sent their thoughts and prayers. And asked men I thought their order might come up.

I got slower. When the pain flared up, it did so with a vengeance. And, I started having migraine headaches. I kept working took no orders. People felt bad for me. Sent thoughts and prayers. We're pretty patience - mostly. And, hated to ask but .... how's mine coming.

People had given me some time now. They hoped to see me healing. Now I had migraines too? I kept working. Learned to work thru significant pain.

I'll post here and continue.

CONTINUATION: Today's Barnes Products.









When I was young and healthy, with a bag of skills and tools, I bought an old Three Story Victorian house. The home I was renting in Feb., 1980 - Burned - while I was displaying my Custom Knives at the East Coast Sportsmen's Show at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa. I was lucky that my family was not hurt, and I was able to recover most of my tools from he huge basement of that building. I moved in. I bought this Victorian at 24 years old. I had the youth, skills, tools, to restore it. And I worked on it for the next 35 years. You never get done with a Victorian until you drive away.

Perk up for this next Key Paragraph. . (see what I did there ...?)

By 2012 the Maryland Winters were agonizing to me. My shop was smallish and cold. I'd never be able to keep up the home and shop. I'd recently lost my borrowed space to shoot/test my rifles, and Md. Crop changes had left me with 7 foot tall corn, instead of grassy hay. Maryland itself, was becoming less gun friendly daily. My shop was smack in the middle of the small town of New Windsor, Maryland. In 1980, our area had actually retained a sleepy mood. There was a huge vacant lot opposite my shop in my early years there. I tried to buy the lot. I missed. It later got built up. Homes were restored around me. The whole mood of my immediate area changed. The house next door had gone thru 5 owners in my 35 years. Hey - it WASN'T me! But we had a particularly bitter old trouble seeker there now. I was suffering the Winters, and had a "Gun Shop" in the middle of town. So said the powers which we could see gathering. When the insurance I'd had for 35 years went belly up - my blessed insurance agent told his search group for new insurance for me ... Quote .... "He has a GUN and KNIFE SHOP in his back yard!!!" Thanks Friend! 35 years of business good will. Thanks sooooo much.

We couldn't get insurance on our house. Nobody wanted a NUT CASE with a 117 years old house. We weighed it all. We had to relocate. South. Warmer. With a bit of simple land to test on. Just a simple house. Bigger shops. Maybe a less highly strung area inside the 50 mile radius from DC.

Now- how to do it. Our shop was on an alley. Couldn't get a tractor trailer mover in there. Didn't have a loading dock. No fork lift. You can rent moving trucks with lift gates, but they won't drive 1,100 miles then. They'd have to transfer all to tractor trailers. Heavy milling machines and lathes. No, we couldn't just sell it all and buy it all back again down there. I'd accumulated and built purpose make tools and tooling over 38 years. The costs were staggering to transport it. Couldn't have the shop all boxed up and sitting inside the same shop that barely contained the items when in use, anyway. We bought a 16" box trailer. Disassembled the shop and loaded it one trailer at a time. Two friends helped with their trucks and trailers too. We drove 10 -12 trailers to the Florida Panhandle. Unloaded and set up here. Drove back to Maryland. Forever.

Right before we moved, a Neurologist diagonised me with Chronic Migraines, and prescribed a med that started to help a lot. Paired with the 3-4 month Epidural Injections, we had a system. We had to get out of there. Get warm. Get simple. Something we could maintain. Had to go. So we moved.

No - of course we could foresee how absurd the details of the move would become. The housing market crashed. We couldn't sell our Maryland home. We went thru 5 Realtors. And then, aided my constant stress and moving, my health began failing again.

And, people sent their thoughts and prayers. But - this was getting complicated. They'd given me some time to heal. Had I really healed as fast as good manners would dictate? And, how come you bought a big old house when you were 24 anyway. They'd say, "When WE moved, we did it in one Uhaul Truck and the Military reimbursed us". "Our neighbor had back surgery, and he runs seven miles a day now. He's 35." "When do you think you'll sell your house, get your shops set up, and finish my gun?"

And, I kept working.

Now .... You have found me. Welcome. There are 42 years of learning, and mastering various trades, included in everything I produce. Quickly; there's Carving, engraving, Acid Etching, Forging, Heat Treating, Machine Work, Woodworking, Die Making, Bluing, Design, and a dozen more that pop up like Glass Carving, Wooden Toys, Wind Toys, Jewelry Making, etc.

I show things for sale here. I still don't take orders, because it's a sort of good will to many waiting. My health needs demand what they demand. I don't plan them. My Doctors do their best with them. Many folks are good friends. They send their best and prayers. They are ALL waiting for Air Guns. As you might expect - time passes here as it does on your side of the screen. The insurance which cost us $247/mo. 20 years ago is $1,650/mo. now. The rifles which were bought on the $109/mo. plan never went up. And my $/mo insurance .... no pills for that. But those seperately. So; yes, I have to sell some stuff while I work on the old orders and try to keep my health needs met.

You get the story 'cause here we are. Some folks are good friends now. They know I'm doing all I can. They occasionally buy something from me. They still send good thoughts. The majority don't bother sending their thoughts anymore. Probably as well, since the thoughts include ... "I gave you years to heal - and you haven't". "I see you make things to pay your medical expenses, but not my order." "You take a month to finish my order, then I'll think about buying a belt buckle from you."

New readers, old readers .... I'm doing all I can. Figuring it out. Do you know how many businesses have gone bust in the last 5-10 years. Take a drive down 95-S and look at both sides of the road. It's like a wasteland. Yet, by fighting it - I'm fortunate enough to still be here. I still answer. You got me right here. You know what I'm doing.

When I stopped being fun, most people split. You ever get a prolonged illness, I'm sorry to tell you that is something you quickly learn. Also; I can get lots of new readers, but they don't seem to realize you can buy the items I post for sale.

It's a group effort. Myself and Kelly, Friends, and New Buyers. That keeps the lights on. The ones who spit my name in the darkness, will be shocked when they get a crate one day. No, I can't foretell the day. But, as long as I can, I work. I work, hurt, work some more, rest a bit, repeat. When the FOR SALE goes up, anyone can buy it. It's now only for the old friends. Some of you hundreds of new readers have to join in. It would be much appreciated. I've learned over 4 decades of intricate craft Proceedures. Wanna see?

Gary

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It was brought to my attention that I missed the obvious: Please participate. Feel free to introduce yourself. Ask questions. There are many here, beside myself; who have knowledge and experience on many subjects. This isn't just strictly about Gary. We are pretty free with hijacking threads too. Haha.

Please start a new thread. There is a thorough tutorial regarding posting pictures. We would enjoy sharing your experiences.

I've fought, for the last 9,000 posts of mine .... to NOT have this "Rendezvous" Forum exist where everyone crowds into MY TENT. Post something. It's supposed to be a Rendezvous.

And .... for the love of Pete, BUY SOMETHING!

Gary

Thanks Gary, I'm sure the new folks appreciate the synopsis, quite a bit of history there.
That last picture is of a knife I just bought, I love it. I really do appreciate all the opportunities to buy something special. This is something that I couldn't do in years past and my family and I cherish every piece of jewelry, knife, trinket etc that we have been able to pick up over the past few years. I really appreciate the history, the skill, the lifetime of experience that goes into these pieces. I even go as far as printing your posts and keeping them with the items I keep and give as gifts. It really adds to the experience. "Thanks for the knife Sal...... oh, wow, this guy made this, oh wow, this is really special." And then I go on to tell them your story, makes for great conversation.

It breaks my heart to know the struggles you have been through and I pray for some semblance of good health and happiness for you and Kelly. I'm very happy to know you (even if we have only met once ) and I feel privileged to know part of your story.

Sal, I feel like you are a good friend. You are welcome in my home.

I've enjoyed our interaction. Was enjoyable to meet your Sons too.

Thanks for sharing. 42 years ago. I figured the owners of one "Barnes" anything would sell the next guy. They'd use, enjoy, show, talk. Then the Internet turned everybody into Secret Agent Man. They mainly sneak in at 2:30 am. Sit in collar, slipped tie, boxers, and Gucci Loafers. Tape over their laptop camera lens. They don't sign in. Just read ..... then faaddeeeeeeeee awayyyyyyyyyy

It's great when one of my guys speaks up and shares that owning one of my pieces won't ruin your life.

Gary

Hello again folks, I've been off the forum for a while but I'm making the time to get back and post a bit here and there. And even though I've been a forum member since before is was called the Rendezvous, I'm still learning new stuff every time I come back here to visit. This time I think I've learned one of the secrets behind the good looks of Garys new series of knives....namely, his "fossilized mosquito tusk" might not be quite as ancient as we might have thought.

Ah well, there goes the idea of harvesting the preserved DNA of ancient monster mosquitoes and cloning them for an exotic high-priced theme park. What could possibly have gone wrong with that?

Gary :

Quite the history detailed above. Has it really been that long? Geeze I feel old now.... I have to say that your latest 97 folder was a beauty. I understand that it went quickly too. For those of you who are new to the discussion I can personally attest to the fact that owning Barnes products doesn't ruin your life..it could possibly even enhance your sex appeal. Though YMMV applies.

Karl