Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with making armor or weapons. I think it's a very cool thing to do, however based on that particular (and admittedly biased) piece it sounds like he's doing a fair bit of manufacturing in his home.
As far as the differences between how your dad does his paintings and the way this guy does the swords, I would guess that the major difference is in volume (and the resulting by-products). Based on what this guy apparently said/implied it sounds like he's a full time weapon maker and considering what it takes to work with leather, metal, etc... I would imagine that if he's making a living doing this, then he's probably generating a good deal of waste, noise, etc... in the process of making his stuff. If he's running his business in a completely above-board manner then I think he should be allowed to, but if his business is seriously non-compliant, I think he should resolve those issues and run his business properly.
I don't see a problem with enforcing existing laws about what this guy can do in the weapon making department because most communities already tend to restrict all manner of businesses (e.g. food production). If you changed his product from swords to cakes then I think most people would expect that he would jump through the appropriate hoops with the local health department and city licensing departments in order to run his business.
Keep in mind, all of this is speculation on my part, all I know is that he apparently lied to someone about what he does for a living (he either lied in court or to the "client" that video taped him) and that tends to make me a bit wary of him. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he doesn't make any wepons at all and that he was honest when he went to court. He very well might only buy and resell them and the whole "weapon making" angle was just something he threw out for prospective clients in order to pad his prices a bit for "handmade" weapons etc...
Bottom line, I think that this particular article/story is just pandering to people's fears and it has absolutely zero journalistic value, but from what I saw in the article, I'd be reluctant to trust that specific guy and I certainly wouldn't buy a $1200 $800 sword from him.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Business
Date: 2004-05-12 09:50 am (UTC)As far as the differences between how your dad does his paintings and the way this guy does the swords, I would guess that the major difference is in volume (and the resulting by-products). Based on what this guy apparently said/implied it sounds like he's a full time weapon maker and considering what it takes to work with leather, metal, etc... I would imagine that if he's making a living doing this, then he's probably generating a good deal of waste, noise, etc... in the process of making his stuff. If he's running his business in a completely above-board manner then I think he should be allowed to, but if his business is seriously non-compliant, I think he should resolve those issues and run his business properly.
I don't see a problem with enforcing existing laws about what this guy can do in the weapon making department because most communities already tend to restrict all manner of businesses (e.g. food production). If you changed his product from swords to cakes then I think most people would expect that he would jump through the appropriate hoops with the local health department and city licensing departments in order to run his business.
Keep in mind, all of this is speculation on my part, all I know is that he apparently lied to someone about what he does for a living (he either lied in court or to the "client" that video taped him) and that tends to make me a bit wary of him. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he doesn't make any wepons at all and that he was honest when he went to court. He very well might only buy and resell them and the whole "weapon making" angle was just something he threw out for prospective clients in order to pad his prices a bit for "handmade" weapons etc...
Bottom line, I think that this particular article/story is just pandering to people's fears and it has absolutely zero journalistic value, but from what I saw in the article, I'd be reluctant to trust that specific guy and I certainly wouldn't buy a
$1200$800 sword from him.