Horological Meandering - I like Dustin Atkins already …

I like Dustin Atkins already …

Mar 26, 2010,02:38 AM

“… had no soul … emotion in the design … soul soothing ... eyeball and hand test … ignite something in me … the passion that makes this hobby go … buy what you love … don't lock (them) away in the safe … get them out and let them make you feel good.”

I realize that we come to this ‘hobby’ from different directions, but deep down we are very similar. Personally I could apply my approach to horology to many endeavors, and in fact I have done so in the past.

The things that appeal to me are: history, mechanical systems, design, human endeavor and spirit, art, complex systems that allow classification, sorting and organization, and workmanship and beauty. Basically I could be describing many different hobbies/interests, and I have a few of them, as readers of TO would be aware.

I just better stay away from handcrafted knives and Dustin Atkins; I don’t really need any more hobbies like this.

The internet, and sites like PuristS, has brought a large number of like-minded individuals together. We should calculate one day how many square meters of earth each Purist would occupy if we were equally distrubuted on this planet. The chances of meeting each other would be slim.

Thanks Thomas for bringing this essay to our attention.

Andrew

Comments: view entire thread

Post Humpday Headscratcher - We Are Not Alone

By: ThomasM : March 25th, 2010-17:25

(Photo credit: AlexS for his wonderful photoshop skills, who helped composite three separate shots by the WanderingPurist) It's funny - sometimes, one feels loneliest in a room full of people. As much as the internet tears down barriers and brings the wor...

My first response...

By: tee530 : March 25th, 2010-18:36

....was to spend ten minutes googling the Kershaw Zing knife. If my time here has taught me anything, it is that honestly held passion is worth listening to, if only for a brief time, even if I fully believe I have absolutely no interest in the subject at...

This should I hope make us feel more comfortable in our little world of horology

By: Tim Jackson : March 25th, 2010-19:00

A field of study, if pursued for academic and then emotional reasons, will almost certainly become a passion, sometimes just a hobby, occasionally a career or profession, if it is found to contain something compelling, that resonates on a deeply human lev...

another perspective

By: Chromatic Fugue : March 25th, 2010-20:21

We normally speak in positive terms about collectors who have a "passion" for whatever it is they collect. Hobbyist websites like this one tend to bring together people who reinforce one another's need to believe that there is something noble about spendi...

A Tightrope Walk

By: Heinrich : March 26th, 2010-12:54

Thanks a lot for this thought provoking post. I appreciate that someone has the standing to touch such a topic in this forum. Your reference to the world of Tolkien’s novels made me recognize the tightrope walk between a passion for beautiful things...

Your thoughts are not out of line, especially since your point is

By: ThomasM : March 26th, 2010-14:31

not a harangue or accusatory. It also touches on issues that I have wrestled with all my life. "material objects" vs "experiences" One's good fortune vis a vis other's "lesser fortunes" But first a clarification - I've always tried to encourage, even embe...

Why on earth would anyone call a knife: ZT0300 TAD USN?

By: AndrewD : March 26th, 2010-02:01

But I couldn't live without the 7027/BA/11/9V6 I posted on today's WristScan thread! A

I like Dustin Atkins already …

By: AndrewD : March 26th, 2010-02:38

Interesting...

By: aaronm : March 26th, 2010-14:27

That the bulk of his collection is production knives. As someone for whom knife collecting came first, i'd say it is a very different, but compatible hobby. When I first started collecting watches I was constantly annoyed at the lack of transparency (ok, ...

This could be interesting.

By: ThomasM : March 27th, 2010-12:25

Hi Aaron. Please define Production piece vs custom. Please share what the practical differences are (besides consistency of fit and finish) Is there a middle ground, say, "tuned" production pieces that gives one 98% of custom at 1/3 the price (using a ben...

Customary use...

By: aaronm : March 27th, 2010-17:27

Custom="the name on the knife is the maker (ground, fitted, polished, etc..." with other participants usually named (engraver, smith, HT) or at least acknowledged (I buy my sheaths, etc). Usually this has everything made unique for that knife(excluding sc...