Yesterday John Noveske died in a car accident. He was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown from the car. John is remembered as a giant in the evil black rifle industry, know for producing impeccable reliability. He was only 36.
I don't know much about him, really, but I saw the FB article. That's sad. It's sad for anyone to die at such a young age, especially with children. May he rest in peace.
I never knew he was so young. This means he had to start producing top of the line rifles when we was no more than 28. Amazing that someone so young can take an existing product, tweak it just a bit, and make a damned good living off of his version of the tried and true project. If you've seen on my wall, there is an industry photographer who goes by the handle "Stickman". Apparently Stick and Jim were close friends. Stick had posted a photo of Jim that I think captures him and that any man would be well memorialized by.
That was the one I saw that got me thinking enough, so that when I saw this thread, I wanted to honor his memory. Honestly, I feel terrible for his family, and it's sad to see someone, who obviously had a keen intellect for creating what he did in so short a time, taken so soon.
It sounds like he had a good transition policy in effect at the company. To me, that is a huge part of your legacy. I hope his company continues to do well!
[action=Ramen]ctrl-f's the word "hero" and finds the first and only entry in El Chup's post.[/action]
Hero no. He did redefine customer service and raised the bar on what quality should be while at the same time not charging an arm and a leg. Here is this kid in his early 20s. He saw that the producers were being was being unresponsive to customer needs. The industry was pumping out unreliable sub par products in some areas and not other types of products that were in demand. So he said I'll do it. No one told him he couldn't do it. So he started to produce custom barrels and firearms parts. He made a few threads on a few message boards and that was it. He never had a marketing budget or effort. However the quality of his work was such as the internet was ablaze with testimonials. The word spread. Before he knew it everyone wanted what he made. Eventually he would move into producing complete firearms. His demand for quality was ruthless. He set the standard for quality. His "slightly off" parts bin was always full. He would reject any part for even the most insignificant deficiency. A cosmetic blemish, which would not impair function at all was good enough for him to reject something. Through his work and commitment to excellence he reset the bar through out the entire industry. He became the gold standard by which other manufacturers were judged and was considered second only to Colt. He listened to his customers. Many of the innovations seen in today's rifles on the battlefield and at home were due to his and his followers efforts. He was also a great guy, not the stereotypical maniac of industry. He was very humble and was never comfortable with being in the limelight or accepting his elevated place in the industry. He did all of this while still in his late 20s and very early 30s.
No one said hero, as far as I can recall. I did say he had a keen intellect, and that it was sad he passed. I don't know if you would call that being a hero, though.
I respect this guy because he shows the kind of workmanship that I want to be known for on watches. I respect Steve Jobs for that reason to.
Hero? Can people not respect a craftsman who's work they appreciated and express some small level of sadness at his passing? Or is a single thread on a low traffic board a little too ostentatious?
