[Tim Simmons]

We often here the term "crude" but this bothers me. I associate crude with something badly made. Something may appear very simply made but that is not crude. A fine finnish is not always the desired goal, just a basic function and comfortable feel in the hand. Some of the things termed crude may have been made in the most humble of forges with very little in the way of tools. The materials and customers may have been quite scarce, poor, happy with and more importantly only knowing a local aesthetic. These are among the main points of interest in my collecting. I guess it is a bit like carpets with collectors of town or nomadic pieces. Tim