4 New Tacticals- Pic Heavy

Kohai999 said:
True words, well said.



Marcus, I started a new thread in Whine and Cheese, just for you buddy.

You should have left it alone, or at the very least not made it so personal.....now, it's on.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Garsson, you are immature and spiteful. Somebody has to say something eventually. ;)
 
These are clearly not Japanese styled tantos, they are Americanized tantos of the sort Sam Eddleman is known for. For Americanized tantos they look fine to me.

I have a lot of respect for Serge as a knifemaker. One of my girlfriends owns one of his art knives -- in fact, she's wearing it right now. I think some of the copper handled art knives he's done show great craftsmanship. The knives in this thread appear intended to be carried and used.

I know Serge used to have a knifemaker membership here not that long ago. I recall the orange letters in his username.

I think both of you guys are swell. :)


Kohai999 said:
...and I don't necessarily see anything wrong with what you are saying, or intending, but I also don't see it being worth accolades of greatness...though others may be completely ignorant to the reasons why.....Japanese style blades had tip geometry for specific reasons....your reason is a valid reason to you, but it doesn't work for me. If you are making simple tools, simple congrats or simple admiration would be in order, but for some reason, my fellow Forumites seem to find necessity in granting superlatives, which I find over the top, and extremely excessive, ire drawing in it's form.

There are makers in the past who have made very simple knives deserving of and setting the bar for this level of praise, Kit Carson, Tom Mayo, Robert Terzuola to name a few.....this product is not at that level.

That's me.....Roger and I sometimes disagree on the level of worship, and this would be a pretty strong case of that.

Be nice if you signed up on the Forums as a knifemaker, fwiw, imo, since everyone besides me thinks you're swell.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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What did you use for the finish on the Ti?
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Sandblasted, nice grippy texture.

Very clean grinds. I think the allen-head thumbstud is a cool touch.
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Thanks James, it fits in with the overall look of the knife I think.


Posted by Kohai999
If you are making simple tools, simple congrats or simple admiration would be in order, but for some reason, my fellow Forumites seem to find necessity in granting superlatives, which I find over the top, and extremely excessive, ire drawing in it's form.
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LOL, Steven, everyone has their own opinion. Why does it bother you so much that others don't agree with you?

There are makers in the past who have made very simple knives deserving of and setting the bar for this level of praise, Kit Carson, Tom Mayo, Robert Terzuola to name a few.....this product is not at that level.
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OK...did I say it was? I'm still a newbie, and don't claim that I'm anything else.
 
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Hey Steve Garsson... have a drink or something pal, I just browsed over this whole thread and it seems like your a little on edge over something....chill out bud! They are all nice looking blades!
 
Nice work as always Serge.

It's obvious from your work that you make what you like, how you like. To my way of thinking this is how it should be. :thumbup:

Ian
 
Serge is great. He's great as a knifemaker, artist, and person.

Just continue doing what you do because you do it better than most people. Keep it up buddy.
 
Interesting discussion.

STeven, I see where you're coming from. I respect and appreciate your point of view.

Here's my point of view. Serge has, in a relatively short amount of time, become quite a successful knifemaker in several regards. First, and perhaps most importantly, he has built a large and growing list of very happy, very satisfied customers. Second, he has developed a very unique style and look that makes much of his work instantly recognizable as his own. Third, he has inspired other knifemakers, craftsmen, and artists with his interpretations of form, texture, and color in metals. And fourth, his knives, which are both purposeful and aesthetic, have garnered the approval, admiration, and praise of a great many knife aficionadoes and dilettantes like myself. Though perhaps not to everyone's liking, these successes are more than enough to meet my definition of "killin' it."
 
Wulf said:
Interesting discussion.

STeven, I see where you're coming from. I respect and appreciate your point of view.

Here's my point of view. Serge has, in a relatively short amount of time, become quite a successful knifemaker in several regards. First, and perhaps most importantly, he has built a large and growing list of very happy, very satisfied customers. Second, he has developed a very unique style and look that makes much of his work instantly recognizable as his own. Third, he has inspired other knifemakers, craftsmen, and artists with his interpretations of form, texture, and color in metals. And fourth, his knives, which are both purposeful and aesthetic, have garnered the approval, admiration, and praise of a great many knife aficionadoes and dilettantes like myself. Though perhaps not to everyone's liking, these successes are more than enough to meet my definition of "killin' it."
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Thanks for the rational and well thought out response, Derrick, I do realize that I am likely not deserving of such consideration from you.

We can agree that Serge is incredibly talented. He may have one of the most exciting perspectives to come along in quite some time. I have been looking at his work with both fascination and disgust for a while.

1. While I give him kudos for "in a relatively short amount of time, become quite a successful knifemaker in several regards", I have severe problems with the conditions of that rise in popularity....and it goes back to my statements about the dumbing down of custom knives. If people don't expect or want clean mirror or hand satin polishes, symmetrical grinds, similar handle materials on both sides of the knife, it is vastly easier to make a name for yourself giving them what they do want. This pains me greatly....when a maker gets kudos for a custom of dissimilar materials in the handle, chisel grind, tumbled finish with a carbon steel blade for a tactical....it is so retrograde as to cause me gut pain...it is not a brave new future, it is a sad part of the near past.

2. There are aspects of Serge's style that I appreciate and those that I do not. At this point, his art pieces appear to me as a second or third rate Virgil England. I would rather see a focus on basics growing into the grand schemes than approaching them head on and MOSTLY getting there. I recognize fully that this is my own deal, my own mental issue, and my own failure to accept what is. But I also feel in my heart that I am right on this subject, and hope to be validated someday. There are aspects of both art and craft that are clearly lacking to me.

3. I can see the influence on other makers and collectors and really hope they take concepts to a higher level of execution. I have always liked the use of copper, and much more, bronze on knives. Bronze is the heat, imo.

I should have been more specific in my thoughts, and I just wound up going ballistic instead. I really do not care for the knives pictured. I hope to have a dialogue with Serge about his approach and truly hope that I can find something he makes that appeals to me someday.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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Serge, the knives look great. You know I'm a fan of your work. As far as the Allen bolt for a thumb stud on a tumbled finished knife, I think it's fitting. Keep up the good work.
 
Not all knives have to be expensive little show pieces for only collectors.

It's nice to see some actual users once in a while.

The blabbermouth that decided to add his fancy pants "critique" is an idiot.

You're doing good work Serge. :thumbup:
 
Nice work. Looks like they would make excellent users. Obviously someone with blinders on and only looking for shiny things cannot appreciate them.
 
Kohai999 said:
I hope to have a dialogue with Serge about his approach and truly hope that I can find something he makes that appeals to me someday.
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That would be cool. I'd really like to see what you come up with if that ever happens. One other thing I respect about Serge's work is that he has shown versatility - making user-grade tacticals alongside art pieces, fixed and folders alike. I'm confident he'll continue to expand his repertoire, and perhaps your dialogue would lead to some interesting new work.

Regarding finishing techniques, I'd like to add one brief comment from my perspective as a part-time maker. Hand rubbing sucks. It's slow and tedious work and it can add hours of labor to a knife. And while its benefits are many (beyond just aesthetic) there is an obvious trade-off. Since a custom maker must be compensated for his work, additional hours of labor translate into added cost, which, in certain cases, may make a knife too expensive for certain budgets. This is why a number of well-known makers (Foster, Knight, and DesRosiers, among others) offer their customers the option of a machine finish on their blades. And, while I do prefer a higher grit finish even on machine-finished blades (I myself use 600 and 800 grit cork belts), in many instances I do find the time and cost savings very worthwhile.
 
STeven, I can see your point and sympathize. When a guy who works in the same general style as I do posts a knife whose socket handle is only about 3/4 of the way closed and whose profile isn't cleaned up at all gets three pages of positive comments, it irks me too.

But your way of putting it was abrasive, especially considering that Serge *is* making pieces with good craftsmanship and (with his art pieces, certainly) a distinctive style. I think he is nailing exactly what he is aiming for at this point. You apparantly like knives with a different aim. I see a lot of well done knives that simply aren't my cup of tea, and I let them pass me by in the currents of the Interwebz. A lot of times they have folks posting that they really like them. So be it.

I like the clean workmanship on Serge's tantos he posted and the acknowledgement of their roots with the handle wrap while using a non-traditional material and construction techniqe. No one is going to confuse them with a traditionally done tanto, but they aren't trying to be. Personally, I don't like chisel grinds, but I admire how crisp the lines are, and I wouldn't feel afraid of using the knife because I might scratch it like I might if it had a higher finish and a hamon. But I really like a well-shaped traditional tanto with a good polish and a hamon.

We take issue more with your delivery than your message. :)
 
No matter how hard Kohai tries to back paddle, his comments were first mean and secondly rude, for which there is no excuse. The arrogance displayed in this statement "I hope to have a dialogue with Serge about his approach" is very sad. For someone who studies the "way of the warrior", you must have skipped the humility lessons.
 
Posted by Kohai999
1. While I give him kudos for "in a relatively short amount of time, become quite a successful knifemaker in several regards", I have severe problems with the conditions of that rise in popularity....and it goes back to my statements about the dumbing down of custom knives. If people don't expect or want clean mirror or hand satin polishes, symmetrical grinds, similar handle materials on both sides of the knife, it is vastly easier to make a name for yourself giving them what they do want.
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Steven, I make, and have always made what makes ME happy and what I"M interested in making, not to make a name for myself giving people what they want. That is the reason I no longer take orders. If you read the "About Me" part of my website, you'd have read that I dislike traditional knives and finishes. There is SO MUCH OF THAT TYPE OF THING BEING MADE BY THOUSANDS OF MAKERS. I don't mean to offend anyone here, but I'm getting tired of opening knife magazines and web pages and seeing knife after knife that has been made thousands of times by thousands of makers. Steven, I get very bored, very fast making the same thing. This is why I keep moving from style to style, genre to genre. This is why one side of the knife may have different handle material from the other side. This is why there may be a cutout in the blade which serves no purpose other than because it is something that has not been seen often. This is why my blades tend to have antiqued, pitted finishes.

There are aspects of Serge's style that I appreciate and those that I do not. At this point, his art pieces appear to me as a second or third rate Virgil England.
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Thank you Steven! To be even metioned in the same sentence with Virgil is an honor. As many of you guys know, Virgil is my all time favourite maker. Steven, if you'd look through my past work you'd see that some of my knives HAVE been inspired by him, many others have not. My inspiration come from many sources and makers, so please don't label everything I do with "2nd or 3rd rate Virgil England". Are all the makers out there making Loveless style blades 2nd or 3rd rate Bob Loveless makers then?

I really do not care for the knives pictured. I hope to have a dialogue with Serge about his approach and truly hope that I can find something he makes that appeals to me someday.
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LOL, Steven these are basic tools that were not intended to impress anyone, I wish you spoke up on the more fancier pieces I posted in the past. I would also like to talk to you, however you like. But, I doubt highly that I will start making mirror polished, stainless guarded, burl wooded hunters after our conversation :)
 
Serge Panchenko said:
LOL, Steven these are basic tools that were not intended to impress anyone, I wish you spoke up on the more fancier pieces I posted in the past. I would also like to talk to you, however you like. But, I doubt highly that I will start making mirror polished, stainless guarded, burl wooded hunters after our conversation :)
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I didn't and cannot go back and speak. I doubt after you and I spoke that you would find the expectation of "mirror polished, stainless guarded, burl wooded hunters"...no stainless expectation in the mix, no wood either. Just metal. I'll seek you out next time we are both at a show.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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