I wanted to figure out how to identify/describe a silver blade vs a steel blade for a fic, and I found a post on silver-collecter.com from 2010, and answers from a man named uncle_vic:
in this same thread, olewheat asked about another silver piece; uncle_vic explained that blades were not made from silver, because it'd be too soft - often carbon steel would be silver plated, and eventually get pitted.
after a volley of questions, several users asked if they could contact uncle_vic directly. vic responded, very kindly:
I am always, always charmed by a clearly veteran hobbyist helping out new people on a forum, and i wanted to see what else uncle_vic posted, what other nuggets about his life i could learn, and it turns out he was a pillar of the community:
He joined in 2006, when the website was only 2 months old, and throughout the next 6 years, he helped many identify their silver pieces, and welcomed them all with: "Hi there and thanks for joining us", and always ended with a "Regards, Uncle Vic"
He helped so often, he'd post on the social thread to let people know he'd be gone without internet access for an extended period of time!
These often didn't get many interactions, but he did so anyway, like a journal made public: one about how a hurricane was reaching him in Baton Rouge; several about his fishing trips, like this one in 2011:
A year later, he wrote a similar vacation post, which became his final topic on the forum, titled: "Gone fishin'".
In May 2012, 3 months later, a newer user asked Vic what type of fishing he liked.
Vic replied: (content warning for cancer)
This was Uncle Vic's last post on the silver-collecter.com forums. Unflinchingly honest, and this time, instead of his usual "Regards", he ended with "Keep the Faith".
According to the obituary posted in the same thread, he passed away the next day, at his camp on the Tickfaw river -- well known for fishing.
This isn't the first time I've come across kind, dedicated forum users, usually knowledgeable retirees, who suddenly stop posting; it certainly won't be the last. But everytime I fall in love with them, and in turn, with humanity even more, to see what we leave behind.
A retired Cajun lawyer from Baton Rouge found a silver collecting forum from a hobbyist magazine in 2006, and decided to spend the next 6 years, up to his dying day, sharing his life, his love, and his knowledge with strangers.
Thank you, Uncle Vic, for the forum users you helped; thank you for the countless, anonymous users who found your posts through search engines like me.
I'm glad your corner of the internet exists so that, 12 years since you've been gone, I can visit and you can still teach me a whole lot about identifying silver and silver makers.
