Advice on purchasing custom field knife

[kurtjohn]

I'm relatively new to posting in this forum and could use some advice. I'd like to purchase a custom fixed blade "field knife" to carry while camping, hiking, etc. Nothing too large. . . a 4-5" blade is fine. An article in Tactical Knives highlighed Mike Mann's Woodsman knife. This is essentially the configuration (blade design, etc.) that I am looking for.

Are there other custom makers that I should consider? I'd prefer not to wait more than six months for delivery.

Thanx in advance!!!

Kurt

 

[jdm61]

There are alot of makers, myself included, that could buld you a field knife in the time alloted. The pertinent questions woud be what materials you want to use and how much do you want to pay for it?

 

[steierknives]

There are many makers who can build you something along those lines. A good place to start in the ABS or Knifemaker's Guild. The list is very long. You could go to one of the many shows, meet the makers, and view their work. The Chicago show which was held last month would have been a good one to check out. View the show schedules is Blade, Knives Illustrated, or Knife World, to find coming shows in your area.

 

[RogerP]

The godd news is that there are a lot of makers and a lot of knives that fit the bill. Unfortunately, that's also the bad news.

You might need to add a few specs to narrow things down a bit - Joe's point about materials and price is a good place to start. If you want to purchase directly from a maker, then the 6 month delivery window will definitely narrow things down - but there is always the secondary market.

Here's a knife that I think would fit the bill perfectly - unfortunatley, it has been sold:

Roger

 

[jdm61]

pricing AND availability might be an issue with Dan's knives. But he does make some gorgeous ones!!!:thumbup:

 

[RogerP]

I just took a stroll through the knifemaker's for sale forum. Man, if I were in the market for a quality field knife at a reasonable price, I could find happiness several times over.

Roger

 

[jdm61]

You are correct, Roger. As much as I would love to get a few more orders it is definately a buyer's market out there for good solid users at fair prices. I think that my VERY limited success at quickly selling a few pieces has been because I have fancied them up a little bit and still held the prices way down. Not sure how long I can continue that once I run out of nice pieces of wood and a big pile of high quality hunter sheaths that were paid for long ago.