- Joined
- Apr 10, 2010
- Messages
- 684
This story starts back in 2010. I was new to Bladeforums, but not to knives. I lurked around the forums for a while, looking for something that caught my attention. I soon stumbled upon the Wilderness and Survival Skills forum. Within the magical walls of that forum I saw my first Laconico knife. I was hooked.
A Laconico HWK. Some say, that very design thrusted Ray to the forefront of the W&SS woodscraft/bushcraft culture.
HWK
Fast forward to the latter part of 2010. The announcement of the Wilderness and Survival Skills "Bushcraft Knife Challenge" shook the W&SS world to the core. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But, there was definitely a stir in the air.
So started, a group of top tier knife makers, designing and forming their creations. All vying for the top prize of "Best knife bragging rights"
Down in Visalia, California Ray Laconico hard at work, slaving away in front of his belt sander, working diligently on his entry for the competition.
While in Toronto, Canada. The news of the "Bushcraft knife build-off challenge" was trickling in. I immediately flooded Ray's email inbox with requests to purchase whatever he was to create, sight unseen!
Challenge entry knife
Fast foward again, this time to the challenge. All knives were in, and the testing had commenced. Ray's knife seems to be blowing the proverbial doors off of the other knives. Slicing and dicing it's way to the top of the pack.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/828712-Bushcraft-Knife-Challenge-results!!!?highlight=bushcraft+challenge
Alas, when the results came in, it wasn't the best news. But, definitely not the worst. Ray's entry had finished in fourth place. Really, it was a three-way tie for second place if you don't take into account decimal points!! Regardless, I was as happy as a (fill in whichever cliche line you prefer) I couldn't put down the knife for the first week. Ray had even signed the sheath to commemorate the event.
Ok, one last fast forward, to earlier this year. While hunting down ever elusive Laconico knives, I came across a knife for sale.
In this sale thread, Ray had commented...
"It's 1095 steel and the handle is not cocobolo, it's a light colored macassar ebony. I remember this knife because I made it for a bushcraft knife challenge a few years ago. It performed great on my own testing but I ended up having to sell it because I needed the money at the time. I submitted a "lesser" knife for that challenge instead. This is a great knife and a great price. I would not make another one for that price. Also, FWIW, I'm not hyping the knife for the seller. I don't know him and I don't think he bought this knife directly from me. "
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1034360-Laconico?highlight=laconico
Could it be, a virtual twin to my challenge knife?! One knife, that if submitted, might have brought the win to Visalia, California?! Before I could make a jump to buy it, it seemed to be gone. Sold. Disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.
Dreary days and lonesome nights passed, one brother without his half (I'm exaggerating, it wasn't that bad) Then one night while lurking the classified forums, as I'm sure everyone does at 1am. I came across a thread titled "Laconico Bushcraft". Of course, I clicked and opened the thread. Much to my surprise, it was the same knife, long lost brother to my own Laconico challenge knife. I'll take it!! And the rest is history.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1054843-*-Sold-*-Laconico-bushcraft?highlight=laconico
Here they are reunited.
Hope you guys enjoyed this little story, it's 2am here. lol
A Laconico HWK. Some say, that very design thrusted Ray to the forefront of the W&SS woodscraft/bushcraft culture.
HWK
Fast forward to the latter part of 2010. The announcement of the Wilderness and Survival Skills "Bushcraft Knife Challenge" shook the W&SS world to the core. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But, there was definitely a stir in the air.
So started, a group of top tier knife makers, designing and forming their creations. All vying for the top prize of "Best knife bragging rights"
Down in Visalia, California Ray Laconico hard at work, slaving away in front of his belt sander, working diligently on his entry for the competition.
While in Toronto, Canada. The news of the "Bushcraft knife build-off challenge" was trickling in. I immediately flooded Ray's email inbox with requests to purchase whatever he was to create, sight unseen!
Challenge entry knife
Fast foward again, this time to the challenge. All knives were in, and the testing had commenced. Ray's knife seems to be blowing the proverbial doors off of the other knives. Slicing and dicing it's way to the top of the pack.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/828712-Bushcraft-Knife-Challenge-results!!!?highlight=bushcraft+challenge
Alas, when the results came in, it wasn't the best news. But, definitely not the worst. Ray's entry had finished in fourth place. Really, it was a three-way tie for second place if you don't take into account decimal points!!
Regardless, I was as happy as a (fill in whichever cliche line you prefer) I couldn't put down the knife for the first week. Ray had even signed the sheath to commemorate the event. 
Ok, one last fast forward, to earlier this year. While hunting down ever elusive Laconico knives, I came across a knife for sale.
In this sale thread, Ray had commented...
"It's 1095 steel and the handle is not cocobolo, it's a light colored macassar ebony. I remember this knife because I made it for a bushcraft knife challenge a few years ago. It performed great on my own testing but I ended up having to sell it because I needed the money at the time. I submitted a "lesser" knife for that challenge instead. This is a great knife and a great price. I would not make another one for that price. Also, FWIW, I'm not hyping the knife for the seller. I don't know him and I don't think he bought this knife directly from me. "
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1034360-Laconico?highlight=laconico
Could it be, a virtual twin to my challenge knife?! One knife, that if submitted, might have brought the win to Visalia, California?! Before I could make a jump to buy it, it seemed to be gone. Sold. Disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.
Dreary days and lonesome nights passed, one brother without his half (I'm exaggerating, it wasn't that bad) Then one night while lurking the classified forums, as I'm sure everyone does at 1am. I came across a thread titled "Laconico Bushcraft". Of course, I clicked and opened the thread. Much to my surprise, it was the same knife, long lost brother to my own Laconico challenge knife. I'll take it!! And the rest is history.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1054843-*-Sold-*-Laconico-bushcraft?highlight=laconico
Here they are reunited.
Hope you guys enjoyed this little story, it's 2am here. lol
