A kind of recycling: A Groten /Hartkopf knife from Solingen

Very nice looking 'marriage' I'd say, good handle and a nice thin ground blade is any connoisseur's dream.

My experience of Böker Germany has been strong, I like their carbon as it sharpens better than CASE's cv I find, nicely made knives too, nor are they too expensive.

I was interested that every swedge/swage had its own maker's shape. Not so long ago people could actually make things with skill, not very much these days in Europe or America - except on an artisan or custom level.
 
Will Power said:
Very nice looking 'marriage' I'd say, good handle and a nice thin ground blade is any connoisseur's dream.

My experience of Böker Germany has been strong, I like their carbon as it sharpens better than CASE's cv I find, nicely made knives too, nor are they too expensive.

I was interested that every swedge/swage had its own maker's shape. Not so long ago people could actually make things with skill, not very much these days in Europe or America - except on an artisan or custom level.
Click to expand...

That´s true, in the old days there was much more knowledge and skills. But today there´s much more pressure to compete with cheap (in all meanings) imported products from the far east. So I can understand, that the quality in mass production can´t be high and on the same hand the products are cheap. But the real question is: must this be the aim to compete in the price area? I´d gladly pay more for the knives, if I would get a nearly 100% perfect product. But actually it´s kind of a game of hazard, what you get.
Sadly I have to say, that this game is very risky, when you play at the Boker table. I have got nearly everything from perfect to unacceptable, so I don´t find any constancy in their productions, even more, when Boker plus is involved.
And also I´ve heard ´bout artisan knifemakers, who respond to quality claims of their customers, that their knives are handmade and because of this a lack of precision has to be accepted :rolleyes:
 
Dirk D said:
That´s true, in the old days there was much more knowledge and skills. But today there´s much more pressure to compete with cheap (in all meanings) imported products from the far east. So I can understand, that the quality in mass production can´t be high and on the same hand the products are cheap. But the real question is: must this be the aim to compete in the price area? I´d gladly pay more for the knives, if I would get a nearly 100% perfect product. But actually it´s kind of a game of hazard, what you get.
Sadly I have to say, that this game is very risky, when you play at the Boker table. I have got nearly everything from perfect to unacceptable, so I don´t find any constancy in their productions, even more, when Boker plus is involved.
And also I´ve heard ´bout artisan knifemakers, who respond to quality claims of their customers, that their knives are handmade and because of this a lack of precision has to be accepted :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I wanted to share the copperhead I was talking about here, so here it is.
IMG_0845.JPG

it is right about 7-1/4 inch open, and the sharp edge is right about 3 inch. Very well made, slim, and smooth action. Blade stamp is Ludwig Groten Solingen.
 
Duane, I remember that knife very well. I bought it as an antique Groten made knife. But IMO the blade is one made by Groten while the rest of the knife is fixed together by Friedrich Hartkopf, Solingen. At least its shape and appearance seems to be a Hartkopf made knife.

I liked it, but I didn´t carry it and it´s amazing to know it on a good new home being carried and taken care of :)
 
Dirk D said:
Wonderfull knife and the blade looks very similar to mine. Could imagine, that it's really usefull
Click to expand...
It is very useful, and because the handle is thin, it's very light in the pocket, I can hardly even know if it's there sometimes :)
 
Humppa said:
Duane, I remember that knife very well. I bought it as an antique Groten made knife. But IMO the blade is one made by Groten while the rest of the knife is fixed together by Friedrich Hartkopf, Solingen. At least its shape and appearance seems to be a Hartkopf made knife.

I liked it, but I didn´t carry it and it´s amazing to know it on a good new home being carried and taken care of :)
Click to expand...
That's really cool Andi, so maybe this one is also a recycled knife :D that makes it even better :thumbsup:
 
Humppa said:
Duane, I remember that knife very well. I bought it as an antique Groten made knife. But IMO the blade is one made by Groten while the rest of the knife is fixed together by Friedrich Hartkopf, Solingen. At least its shape and appearance seems to be a Hartkopf made knife.

I liked it, but I didn´t carry it and it´s amazing to know it on a good new home being carried and taken care of :)
Click to expand...

sitflyer said:
That's really cool Andi, so maybe this one is also a recycled knife :D that makes it even better :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Don´think so. It seems, this knife is from the 1970s and it seems to be fully made by L.Groten. I found a few others presented in AAPK which look quite similar to this one except the cover materials. And the shield doesn´t refer only to Hartkopf, this type and shape is used by several companies
 
Last edited:
sitflyer said:
It is very useful, and because the handle is thin, it's very light in the pocket, I can hardly even know if it's there sometimes :)
Click to expand...

Whe it comes to thickness I often found german made ones are a little thinner then other one- layers. But this is not necessarily combined with lightness ;)
 
Thanks for the advice, Dirk.

Much appreciated. I don´t know much about its origin. So I can just suspect. But maybe you are right about the originally time of manufacturing.
 
Humppa Humppa and sitflyer sitflyer : you can simply identify, if your knife is original or not. Hartkopf didn´t manage it to have a real good fit between blade and spring, though they were not made for each other. There´a gap between them and the spring is a little proud over the blade as you can see here
dsc000141.jpg
 
Last edited:
Dirk D said:
Humppa Humppa and sitflyer sitflyer : you can simply identify, if your knife is original or not. Hartkopf didn´t manage it to have a real good fit between blade and spring, though they were not made for each other. There´a gap between them and the spring is a little proud over the blade as you can see here
dsc000141.jpg
Click to expand...
The spring to tang fit on mine is not at all like yours. It is pretty flush like one would expect, no big step like that one you show. That would not bother me in a knife though, because it will not affect the function in any way.
 
sitflyer said:
The spring to tang fit on mine is not at all like yours. It is pretty flush like one would expect, no big step like that one you show. That would not bother me in a knife though, because it will not affect the function in any way.
Click to expand...
It also doesn´t bother me, as you said, no affection to function and stability. But it´s a clear sign, that blade and handle are not made for each other. Hartkopf uses a handle, which they normally use for one of their other serial knives.
If the fit at yours ist quite normal and as expected, this is a sign, that handle and blade stick together as it should be and they were build together with intention. I think, yours is a full L. Groten knife
 
Dirk D said:
It also doesn´t bother me, as you said, no affection to function and stability. But it´s a clear sign, that blade and handle are not made for each other. Hartkopf uses a handle, which they normally use for one of their other serial knives.
If the fit at yours ist quite normal and as expected, this is a sign, that handle and blade stick together as it should be and they were build together with intention. I think, yours is a full L. Groten knife
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info Dirk, much appreciated. When I saw this thread and your knife caught my eye, my knife from Andi jumped right into my mind and I had to find it. It had been some time since seeing it because some of my things are still in boxes from when we moved a year ago:eek:
 
Dirk I take your point about some 'artisan' makers handing out dubious work and then hiding behind the 'hand-made' mantra :rolleyes: It does go on. The real craftsman aims not at 'perfection' a meaningless word debased by popular culture, instead they seek to be outstanding.
 
Will Power said:
Dirk I take your point about some 'artisan' makers handing out dubious work and then hiding behind the 'hand-made' mantra :rolleyes: It does go on. The real craftsman aims not at 'perfection' a meaningless word debased by popular culture, instead they seek to be outstanding.
Click to expand...
I agree, the aim of a craftsman should not be a perfect product. Instead of this he should aim to improve himself and to lead his personal skills to a higher level. The product is only a result of his seek - but often an outstanding one ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top