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Thread: WkFineTools

  1. #1
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    Default WkFineTools

    Sorry if I'm repeating - but Wictor's website is going away ...
    That will be a huge loss to everyone online if the information becomes inaccessible.

    Is Wictor still here? I wonder if he has thought of Patreon-type funding? (if that's part of it)

    The History of Industrial Development and Toolmaking in US and UK - wkFineTools.com

    "It is time to say Goodbye!It’s been thirteen years since I started this website in July 2005. It was, in many ways, an interesting and satisfying project for me.


    I met many interesting people, and some of them became contributors to this website. I also learned a lot about old woodworking tools, their history, and use. The site was also a platform for me to continue and publish my research about the history of various industries and toolmaking companies.


    However, it is time for me to close the doors and take this website offline. There are various reasons for this decision, too many to discuss here. This site will go dark on July 31, 2018.


    Thanks,
    Wiktor A. Kuc"

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  3. #2
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    Melbourne
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    Default

    That's a real shame - I have made regular reference to his site over the years, and always get something new and valuable from it whenever I visit.

  4. #3
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    Apr 2001
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    Perth
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    I saw the notification. 13 years ago - it brings back memories. Wiktor approached me at this time to write articles for his then-brand-spanking-new website. For some while I was the only contributer, and then a couple of others joined up. I recall Chris Schwarz being one. Bob Smalser was another.


    I left after about 18 months to start my own website, but by now there was quite a sizable collection of excellent articles uploaded by Wiktor (such as his work on restoring egg beater drills). The website deserved to get more attention. Now it will be missed.


    Regards from Perth


    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  5. #4
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    Jul 2015
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    Default

    It's already been preserved here: https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.wkfinetools.com

    Haven't tested many of the links but they seem to be working, albeit slow.

  6. #5
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    It's been up for 13 years. There are a lot of great sites that don't last that long, but while we often grip on things and fight them going away, I'd say anyone who wants content from the site would be better off just going out and saving it before the 31st. There'll always be something else.

    Yesterday, I received an email from a UK seller of Auriou products that Auriou is in financial trouble and they need capital, so the appeal at this point isn't so much for customers, it's just for people who want to provide (donate? I don't know, it wasn't clear) capital to Auriou. I'm sure if something doesn't work out, it'll lead to all kinds of hand-wringing about losing such a company, but perhaps if it can't be financially viable and the government of France doesn't want to subsidize it, it's time for it to go.

    Things change - can't save everything everywhere. But you can copy what you want off of wiktor's site, and if Auriou is in trouble and doesn't have capital to invest for the future, you can also buy a bunch of their rasps on the way out (I have a feeling they'll be fine - 10 years ago, they sort of went through the same thing - but if they're not, it's OK - we'll all survive, even if their business doesn't).

  7. #6
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    Apr 2013
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    Albuquerque, NM
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    Derek,

    Get a grip of your self and start taking Ginco Biloba - it helps to maintain memory performance.

    You were not the first contributor. By the time as asked you to allow me to post your "articles" on my website there were at least 3-4 regular contributors. And don't put yourself in the company of Schwarz and Smalser. You don't have the integrity to be in one sentence with them.

    You didn't quite to start your website. You quit because you engaged in smearing campaign against me in the matters that you didn't know much about.

    That's the truth!

    Wiktor

  8. #7
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    I saw on the oldtools list (presumably wiktor's site is mostly down now, because I read elsewhere that there is just a frontpage up) that he had chewed someone out for downloading the page.

    Apparently, it's his preference that it not be saved by anyone and allowed to "just go away".

    I've never gotten a great vibe from the guy, but I'm a little off myself (not in a way where I expect something out of someone, but in that I admire facts more than friendships when it comes to the internet). I get the sense that he was hoping for something out of the page that he didn't get. Who knows? But to post a public page and then ask people not to save any information from it (and make a request that anyone who has downloaded stuff delete it) is kind of bizarre.

    Something underlying must be driving it (it would cost little to continue to serve the site and pay for domain and bandwidth - I'd be willing to bet people will or would send more than enough to make that happen), but it's none of our business what it is - it just smells funny.

    Over the years, any time I've done something unusual (like starting to make wooden planes and documenting it, for example), someone pops up and wants me to write an article for them to publish in their upstart website or upstart magazine. In every case except one, it's ad driven websites or an attempt to draw eyes, and I've never done it. For the folks who wrote unique articles to go on Wiktor's site, I hope they have the rights to take their articles and post them elsewhere. And for the folks who have been tempted to donate money to Wiktor since the notice was posted, I hope they directed their money elsewhere. Oldtools list had a good suggestion - provide a donation to the internet wayback machine. The website (and various past iterations) can be viewed there, and presumably will be viewable for quite a while.

  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by wiktor48 View Post
    You don't have the integrity to be in one sentence with them.
    I doubt that's true.

    What's it with the absurd personal attacks, and the strange requests asking people not to keep anything they've saved from the website? None of it is necessary.

  10. #9
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    Apr 2013
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    Albuquerque, NM
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    D. W.,

    I don't know who you are and what justifies your post, but most of it are lies, speculations, and assumptions.

    One item is the truth – “it's none of our business what it is.”

    You said: "I've never gotten a great vibe from the guy.” You never contacted me and I even don’t know who you are – you are just a troll.

    I never “ask people not to save any information from it (and make a request that anyone who has downloaded stuff delete it) is kind of bizarre.” What bizarre is you, pathetic creature, spreading rumors around, insinuating something you don’t know anything about, and smearing others – you are just a troll.

    As to the domain and hosting – again, you have no clue what you are talking about. If you would bother to learn anything about the technology used to build and run this site, you might understand the issues. But I do not expect that from you – you are just a troll.

    And if you “willing to bet people will or would send more than enough to make that happen” I will bet you with a lot of money. I asked for help and posted “DONATE” button three years ago. Over these years I got five donations. I will post the record of these donations after you challenge me with your bet. But I know you will not take that challenge – you are just a troll.

    The site was always free to all, to the last day.

    Wiktor A. Kuc

  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by wiktor48 View Post
    Derek,

    Get a grip of your self and start taking Ginco Biloba - it helps to maintain memory performance.

    You were not the first contributor. By the time as asked you to allow me to post your "articles" on my website there were at least 3-4 regular contributors. And don't put yourself in the company of Schwarz and Smalser. You don't have the integrity to be in one sentence with them.

    You didn't quite to start your website. You quit because you engaged in smearing campaign against me in the matters that you didn't know much about.

    That's the truth!

    Wiktor
    Wiktor, be careful here. It is so easy to get proof of my comments - and a whole lot more - with the Wayback Machine. I was generous with my comments above. I have no idea why you would wish to attack me. I could have said a lot more. I suggest that you back away now.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  12. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by wiktor48 View Post
    D. W.,

    I don't know who you are and what justifies your post, but most of it are lies, speculations, and assumptions.

    One item is the truth – “it's none of our business what it is.”

    You said: "I've never gotten a great vibe from the guy.” You never contacted me and I even don’t know who you are – you are just a troll.

    I never “ask people not to save any information from it (and make a request that anyone who has downloaded stuff delete it) is kind of bizarre.” What bizarre is you, pathetic creature, spreading rumors around, insinuating something you don’t know anything about, and smearing others – you are just a troll.

    As to the domain and hosting – again, you have no clue what you are talking about. If you would bother to learn anything about the technology used to build and run this site, you might understand the issues. But I do not expect that from you – you are just a troll.

    And if you “willing to bet people will or would send more than enough to make that happen” I will bet you with a lot of money. I asked for help and posted “DONATE” button three years ago. Over these years I got five donations. I will post the record of these donations after you challenge me with your bet. But I know you will not take that challenge – you are just a troll.

    The site was always free to all, to the last day.

    Wiktor A. Kuc
    You must have a short memory - from the old tools list, literally three days ago:

    "Every gigabyte we download costs him money, with no income from sales or advertising.
    He asks that we delete what we have taken and just let it go away."


    (I have run a website in the past, by the way. Now that everyone wants to either pay a service to develop a web page or pay for fairly expensive software, that part has changed perhaps, but not much else).

    Strange vibe, meaning accounts I've heard from others suggest you have a different perception of situations than most people do. Taking a slash at derek is unusual, and the two other people I can think of who I've seen do it are definitely off, too. He's one of the most objective and even-handed people I know of in woodworking, and he's not selling books or woodworking classes, etc, just offering his account of things.

    I could be wrong about any of the above, that's the risk we take in life in discerning things. You can sweet talk me some more if you'd like.

  13. #12
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    Australia
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    Wiktor; ignore the personal attacks. A great deal of online users appreciate the value in research your site has provided over the last 13yrs.

    regards Stewie;

  14. #13
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    Gee I wonder why the site failed when the guy running it posts such with such vitriol.

  15. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by D.W. View Post
    You must have a short memory - from the old tools list, literally three days ago:

    "Every gigabyte we download costs him money, with no income from sales or advertising.
    He asks that we delete what we have taken and just let it go away."
    I am not the author of this statement.

    You state "I admire facts more than friendships when it comes to the internet", and right away revert to gossips and secondhand information that you never confirm. That's a big problem on forums like this and with people like you.

    WK

  16. #15
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    Mar 2018
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    Sydney
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    Default

    I think that it might be best to let this thread follow in the footsteps of wkfinetools and die.

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