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2008
N.S.S.G. Trade Show and Certification
2008
N.S.S.GUILD SEMINAR & CERTIFICATION offered a great time with a lot of
information exchange for all of the attendees.
We were glad to see several old faces (no
pun intended) and we welcomed many new faces with varying levels of
sharpening expertise. Everyone attending was excited to view the variety
of machines, shears, and parts available.
Larry Brooks began the education on day one
covering the subjects of: analyzing and understanding the inside ride,
the set or the bow of a shear blade, the curvature of the cutting edge,
how to properly use a water stone. This was completed by 12:30 and the
group enjoyed a catered lunch and companionship.
Most of the afternoon of the 1st
day was well spent straightening out a gentle bend in a bevel edge shear
where Larry Brooks was assisted, by Dennis Brooks and Craig Cazier. The
day one training was concluded with a question and answer session.
Training on day two featured Nick Cutter
using the morning session to demonstrate convexing and shear finishing
with some hands-on work. This was followed by questions and answers
from the observers.
In the afternoon of the second day training,
Bud
Raithel did an excellent job using a power point
presentation on how to grow your business. This was well received by the
audience.
At 2:30 pm the sharpeners that had signed
up to test their skills picked up the certification shears. They had
until 4:00 pm to complete the task of restoring a convex edge, and a
corrugated bevel edge shear back to factory specification. The
certification was conducted and monitored in a controlled environment.
At the trade show on day three, sharpening
machine distributors and shear wholesalers were more than willing to
talk about their products. Talk about a candy store for sharpeners, this
was it!
Certification results followed in the
afternoon …. A DRUM ROLL PLEASE!
1st Place & Master Sharpener
Dennis Brooks
2nd Place & Master Sharpener
Sidney Rubenstein
3rd Place & Master Sharpener
Tamara Ault
4th Place Guild Member
Craig Swanson
5th Place Guild Member
Doreen Marchetti.
On a
more personal note, I would like to recognize my son, Dennis as the 2008
First Place and Master Sharpener. After watching him earn guild member
status four times in the past three years, this was the proudest moment
of my sharpening career!
Check out the new website for the N.S.S.G. at
www.nssg.biz or
contact J.A. Fleuridas by phone 1-800-338-0805.
2007
N.S.S.G. Seminar and Certification
The seminar and certification held in Las Vegas for the National
Shear Sharpeners Guild was well accepted by the sharpeners attending.
Two Master Sharpeners and six Guild Members resulted from the
certification process. First place and Master Sharpener status was
earned by Joe Carson from Vancouver, Washington. This is the second year
for Joe to earn Master Sharpener status. Second place and Master
Sharpener status was earned by Kevin Buck from Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
Craig Swanson from Shawnee Misson, Kansas placed third and
earned Guild Membership. Other sharpeners earning
Guild Membership at the certification were: Robert Oh, Dennis
Brooks, Kim Moeckel, Tamara Ault, and Emillio Morales. Our
congratulations and respect goes out to these fine sharpeners,
who proved them selves worthy of the status they so laboriously
gained. We also wish to respectfully recognize all of the
participants in the certification for their confidence in their
ability to perfect their sharpening skills and offer them to be
judged by their peers.
Our thanks also goes out to the sharpeners
attending the seminar portion of the National Shear Sharpeners
Guild, those who came to learn and share information about
convex and bevel shear sharpening. The information shared at
these seminars is always useful to our profession and at this
forum all sharpening systems are accepted with no reservations.
We like to extend our appreciation to Larry
Brooks, Nick
Cutter, Craig Cazier, Robbie Sheets and Neil Brunck for their
assistance in judging the shears after the certification
process.
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