Another Collaboration: Ron Lake / CAS Hanwei

R

rprocter

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If you collect Custom knives, you know of Ron Lake. But likely you do not own any of his knives as the prices are high ( average ~ $20,000).
But you can get close for less than 1/100th of the price. Ron Lake has entered into a collaboration with CAS Hanwei to produce a 3" Interframe, Tail Lock, Gent's knife with either Stag or Pearl inlays. Blade steel is Sandvik 12C27 stainless with 58Rc. A one word description is: Precise.

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anyone else have one of these "collabs" ? or a Ron Lake for comparison ?
roland
 
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Congrats, Roland. Looks like a fine addition to your collection! :thumbup:
 
Roland, I think you have one too many zeros in your first post and meant to type 1/100th of the price of an original.
 
Blues said:
Roland, I think you have one too many zeros in your first post and meant to type 1/100th of the price of an original.
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Elliot...I agree...I feel that a just punishment for Roland would be to send me the knife immediately!!! :D
 
rprocter said:
If you collect Custom knives, you know of Ron Lake. But likely you do not own any of his knives as the prices are high ( average ~ $20,000).
But you can get close for less than 1/1000th of the price. Ron Lake has entered into a collaboration with CAS Hanwei to produce a 3" Interframe, Tail Lock, Gent's knife with either Stag or Pearl inlays. Blade steel is Sandvik 12C27 stainless with 58Rc. A one word description is: Precise.

anyone else have one of these "collabs" ? or a Ron Lake for comparison ?
roland
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I've admired Ron Lake's Tail Lock for years and have wanted to get my mitts on one of the collabs. Very nice!
 
These are the Chinese made collabs right? Is so, I've seen nothing but very positive comments about them. I think there was an article in a recent knife magazine (can't remember which) about these as well. The article mentions that side-by-side and at first glance, they had a difficult time readily picking out the custom Lake over the factory model. I really like the way these look but I can't get over the price tag hurdle. $200 + for a factory made knife is tough for me get past.
 
I was at a small gun show in St. Louis this weekend and there was a guy sharpening knives with a few for sale. One was this Chinese Lake collaboration knife. It was nearly impossible to fault on any level. I have a Ron Lake knife, albeit not a $20K one, I got mine about 15 years ago, but it is an Interframe Tail Lock very close to these. The quality resemblance is scary. I wish I had bought one and I may yet. $160 was quoted. I too find that price point a big hurdle but the quality is certainly there.
 
Yes, my poor math. 1 too many zeroes, now corrected. The seller states that these are hand made, one at a time. Price wise it's well below our other favorite Collab knives, so if you like the design i don't see the price as a deterrent.
And you get a nice leather pouch too:

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roland
 
They have been around for a while. I first noticed them on Don Guilds website. The price was near $300. For that price, I felt there were better knives (actual hand made customs) that I would prefer to one that says "China" on the blade etch.

There have been quite a few positive responses to them as mentioned.

I had a chance to handle one a while back at a show, and while they were nice, fit and finish was not as smooth as most custom folders i've handled.

Are the Hanwei versions different?

Peter
 
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Quote: "Are the Hanwei versions different ?"
I have 3 Hanwei knives, 2 folders and 1 FB. Fit and finish on all 3 is excellent and exceeds some of my custom knives.
These were all bought recently so i can't say if their 'older' work is as good, but based on this small sample, fit and finish is not a problem with this company's knives.
I haven't used any of them yet, but the blades are shaving sharp, action is smooth, lock up solid, so i expect they will perform as well as any other well made, top notch knife.
roland
 
Anybody else feel compelled to mention China in their discussion of the knife?

Just curious if we haven't established the country of origin yet.

Be nice to see if we could respect the OP and his attempt to share his new knife with us and rise above this pettiness by actually discussing the merits (pros and cons) of the knife itself without having to resort to the inevitable pointing to the country of origin. (And leave our preconceived notions, prejudices or opinions for more appropriate sub-forums.)

I'm sure as heck not suggesting that you purchase knives produced overseas if that is against your personal beliefs (which I respect) but enough is enough.
 
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That looks great Roland. I may have to check one out (I can certainly swing a few hundred easier than $20K).
 
What is the weight like? Is it noticably heavy in your pocket? It really is a pretty cool design.
 
Kerry, not heavy at all. Similar to a Wm. Henry, but more solid feeling. Seller listed weight as 2 ounces. I'll weigh mine and if different will post back.
roland
 
I think CAS Hanwei made the ones Don Guild had also, this was a few years ago. AG Russell had them listed years ago too.

I'm wondering if this is a re-issue as I looked for one forever a few years back and could't locate one.
 
AG Russell has shown them in their catalog pretty recently. I just cleaned out most of my Russell books from 2010 a few days ago but I would swear I saw them there within the last 3-4 months.

And perusing AG's site just now they have both models listed though one is sold out. The pouch looks exactly the same as the one posted above but photo of the knife doesn't show same etch next to the nail nick.

Hell of a nice looking knife in any case.
 
I sold the one Lake tail lock I had a while ago, so I can't make a direct comparison.
A real custom Lake like the one pictured is more like $11k today. For $20k you can get one with a solid gold frame. If you want an aluminum frame model, they are around $5k or even less.

So, this collaboration is a bargain, but not quite as big a bargain as initially thought. ;)
Looking at the photos, I would say there is no way anyone would confuse this with a real Lake.

The original run of replicas (original replica - isn't that an oxymoron?) was made by Cas Iberia and had 440C blades and an escutcheon. They were made in a limited run of 500 pieces. Just from looking at photos, the first run seems to have better fit and finish.
 
Bill, thanks, i didn't know that there was more than one iteration of this repro.
Is CAS Hanwei the same company as CAS Iberia ? i'll trying some googling to find out.
I've been told that the Ron Lake alumimium knives may not be a good deal at even less than $5000 as there is almost no collector interest in these early Lake's. that if you can afford a Lake, you at least want a newer, stainless steel frame one.
Perhaps the repro referred to above as being available is the Iberia one as it is more expensive than mine.
for me it is the opportunity to see what a Tail Lock is like at an 'affordable' price.
roland
 
Dr Bill said:
I sold the one Lake tail lock I had a while ago, so I can't make a direct comparison.
A real custom Lake like the one pictured is more like $11k today. For $20k you can get one with a solid gold frame. If you want an aluminum frame model, they are around $5k or even less.

So, this collaboration is a bargain, but not quite as big a bargain as initially thought. ;)
Looking at the photos, I would say there is no way anyone would confuse this with a real Lake.

The original run of replicas (original replica - isn't that an oxymoron?) was made by Cas Iberia and had 440C blades and an escutcheon. They were made in a limited run of 500 pieces. Just from looking at photos, the first run seems to have better fit and finish.
Click to expand...

The original tail lock replica was offered by AG Russell a few years ago also. That's the one I recall. It did have the escutcheon. When I went to buy one they had sold out. The newer ones don't look as nice.
 
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