anybody know this Bob Legler

mountone70

mountone70

Joined
Jul 30, 2009
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I met him at the Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh, NC, and when I started asking some questions about how he made his knives he got really defensive. When I got home I looked up his website and noticed I had seen some of the knives he was selling in Jantz catalog. Looked through Jantz and all of his knives are in Jantz. Just wondering if he makes them for Jantz or if Jantz makes them for him? He and his website said they were all handmade custom knives.http://www.leglerknives.com
 
Hmmm....they do look similar. Especially the folders. He does do nice handle work, it looks like.

--nathan
 
This was all hashed over on the General forum fairly recently. Seems there are some custom knife makers who purchase their blades, then custom handle them. You will note that nowhere on his website does he claim to make the blades--he "makes the knife", which is certainly true--it's not really a knife w/o a handle.

This topic quite quickly degenerates into a "just what constitutes a custom knife? discussion. Must one grind out the blade blank? Must one forge the blade? Must one dig the ore and refine it and make their own steel? Must one cut down the tree or shoot the stag oneself? Must one hand file each blade? Must one make one's own file first?

There really is no answer--each maker takes the "custom made" aspect to a level of his or her choosing.
 
Seems to be a bunch of these.
We need a new classification it seems.
Kit finishers, assemblers, kit customizers, etc something that would eliminate any confusion.
 
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His handle work is great. I recognize some of the blades from when I done kit knives, Jantz for sure. I never tried to pass them off as handmade.
 
This is from his website:

About handcrafted knives ~
Our handcrafted knives are just that... they are handcrafted! Each one is an individual knife crafted by Bob Legler. When you place an
order for a handcrafted Legler Knife (provided the knife is not in stock), Bob has to make that knife specifically for you, and Alice must make the sheath. Sometimes, material shortages,
show schedules, even something as simple as the flu can delay the shipping of your order. There is no "machine" that we chuck the materials into, and the perfect finished product ejects out of a chute. There's not a crew of people sitting at a long bench completing your knife ("They" is us... just Bob & Alice!).
So rest assured, your knife is indeed truly special!
Click to expand...

I have no problem with someone finishing out pre-fab blades. He looks like he does really nice handle work. And he was very crafty about the wording of his site. He does not mention that he makes the blade. He dances around it pretty well.

To each his own. I definitely don't fault him for doing what he does, though a little more clarity would be nice....

--nathan
 
Mr. Bad Example writes:

"This topic quite quickly degenerates into a "just what constitutes a custom knife? discussion. Must one grind out the blade blank? Must one forge the blade? Must one dig the ore and refine it and make their own steel? Must one cut down the tree or shoot the stag oneself? Must one hand file each blade? Must one make one's own file first?

There really is no answer--each maker takes the "custom made" aspect to a level of his or her choosing. "

-----------------------------------------------------------------

No; there is an answer.

To make something "custom" or, to "customize" anything, you first must have a stock product/design/color/material etc.... from which to deviate.

A customize Chevelle SS must first just be a stock Chevelle SS: factory..... then it gets customized.

In the case of knives, a maker/manufactuer must first make one or more standard models from which he or she can then take a custom order; in other words "deviate from..."

Bo Randall is an excellent example of this; he had quickly developed a line of models; then you could order more than just the stacked leather handle or brass for the guard that was his standard.

Most knifemakers, myself included, are just that: knifemakers. Very few of us make dozens upon dozens of knives per month so as to have even a few models which we could really call stock patterns. I for the most part follow my nose and do whatever I fancy. I don't call myself a custom knifemaker and most likely never will.... I'm just a guy who makes knives. Hell, I don't even take orders.

As for the fellow for which this thread concerns; well, he is a knifemaker. And... "if" he takes orders, special orders for guard and handle material, then he is indeed a custom maker in my book.

This has nothing to do with "where" his steel/blanks/or finished blades come from: from looking at his webpage, he definitely has standard patterns from which he "could" deviate" in a number of ways.

Are they quality knives?? what of the grind? fit and finish? the steel and it's treatment?

Your guess is as good as mine. For the most part; these look like home crafted kit knives to me and, at $100+ and buffed to death, over priced.

A knifemaker is only as good as his or her's reputation; custom or no.

regards, m






regards, m
 
I've been coming back to this thread all day... this is probably the 5th post I've started, but I won't cancel this one. I'm kind of torn... I don't think this forum should be used to outright bash people... frankly, I don't like seeing that anywhere. I don't think he posts for sale here, and unless he's wronged someone here, I don't see the point of mudslinging. That being said.. I did look at his site, and while i didn't do a model by model comparison, some certainly were right out of the jantz catalog. I don't think there is anything wrong with that as long as he is telling his customers what is going on. I think the compound handles he does are ok. It really comes down to being upfront and honest. If the blades are from a factory, you should let your customers know. I would never mark my name on a bade I didn't forge or grind. His site said that it was 440c on his knives. It seems Jantz uses a lot of AUS8 or the ever mysterious "high carbon stainless"(which would seem to be a red flag if you see a maker "using" it...mostly mid range factory knives and kits from what I've seen... a debate for another time perhaps). I guess I'm rambling. It's late... It's about ethics. Be honest about what you are giving your customer.
 
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This is something I've pondered before as well since the first couple of knives that I "made" were from kits. Great knives and got me hooked on this endeavor. My interest lied in doing all of it so I began designing, grinding (not into forging yet but it's coming I'm sure), heat treating, handling and making the sheaths. I like the fact that I can say that I did all of the work except making the steel. (I do realize that some would say that stock removal doesn't count as sole authorship, that's their opinion).

I remember reading that in the old days it wasn't all that uncommon for the blacksmith to make the blade all the way through proper heat treatment then someone called a "Cutler" would take over and make the handles and fitting for it.

I do not want to diminish Mr. Legler's knives, they look good. However if I was purchasing one I would want to know if they were made with pre-done blade blanks or if he fashioned the blade himself. An informed customer is a good customer (at least most fo the time).

Perhaps we should revive some of the old terms such as Cutler.

Charlie
 
Sorry if it seemed like I was bashing the guy. I'm not a person who speaks much(notice the number of post I have) and like to think everything through before doing so. That's why I asked the question, does anyone know if he makes the blades for Jantz, or is he getting the blades from Jantz. Somebody makes the blades for Jantz, although factory made would be my guess. And if he didn't make the blade, the handle and fingerguard finish was great. Even better in person than on his website. I have a blade I ordered from Jantz for my first experiment on a knife. Finished it, and use it still today. I've been asked to sell it multible times but just don't feel right doing so, since I didn't make the blade, and can't just sell the handle. Anyway sorry for starting a community riff.
 
there are those who consider stock removal knifemakers to be synonymous with kit knife guys. i don't see any standardization of labels on the horizon.

i don't think it should be taken to heart. call yourself what you will, people will see you as what they will, and somewhere in between, you're still making knives and should be loving it.
 
Canid, while there are definitely those who find a forged blade superior to a stock removal blade (which entirely depends upon the skill of both makers), I have yet to meet anyone who considers stock removalists the same as kit makers. Though I'm sure they are out there....

--nathan
 
silver_pilate said:
Canid, while there are definitely those who find a forged blade superior to a stock removal blade (which entirely depends upon the skill of both makers), I have yet to meet anyone who considers stock removalists the same as kit makers. Though I'm sure they are out there....

--nathan
Click to expand...

I sure would like one of them Bob Loveless kit knives!:D
 
I met Legler at the Big Buck Expo in Lakeland, Florida. The guy was pretty rude when I had any questions about his knifes, and became even more defensive when i mentioned that i make knives as well. He did say though that to keep the look of the knives similar, he outsourced his blades, and bought them unfinished.
 
I'm sorry, if he's actually using kits from Jantz or a similar supplier he's not making a knife, he's finishing a kit, he may be custom finishing a kit, but he's not a knifemaker, he's a finisher (in medieval England that was called a "Cutler") calling it anything else is tantamount to fraud. I realize that may not be a popular opinion, and that is just that, my opinion, but if I take a knife kit that Bob made and finish it, it is still Bob's knife with my assembly work put into it. If those are Jantz knives with his handle work, anything else is misrepresentation.

-Page
 
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I have to go back to what another member said earlier, just a blade is not a knife, to be complete, to be a knife it has to have a handle too. Its one thing if you take an old Case folder and put new handles on it, then no you didn't make the knife, they did. If you take a piece of steel that is merely shaped, and add an edge and a handle, then yes you made the knife.
 
gatorforge said:
I have to go back to what another member said earlier, just a blade is not a knife, to be complete, to be a knife it has to have a handle too. Its one thing if you take an old Case folder and put new handles on it, then no you didn't make the knife, they did. If you take a piece of steel that is merely shaped, and add an edge and a handle, then yes you made the knife.
Click to expand...

The difference between a merely shaped piece of steel (blank) and what Jantz sells which is the blade, ground, heat treated and polished, bolsters, furniture etc. is the difference.
If you take a blank, grind the bevels, heat treat it, finish it, add furniture add a handle and finish the whole package, yes you could theoretically claim that you started with a blank and made a knife.

If you started with a kit

*AND JANTZ SUPPLY CLEARLY LABELS THESE AS KITS*

YOU ARE NOT MAKING A KNIFE YOU ARE FINISHING A KIT

If you sell this as a handmade knife that you made you are misrepresenting your product

THAT IS FRAUD

If you have convinced yourself that you are a knifemaker because you are finishing kits from a supplier and this makes you feel defensive, suck it up and deal. Learn how to actually make a knife and get out of the mall

-Page
 
I did notice in his "Limited Lifetime Warranty" that he refers to covering "regrinding of the blade" which would be pretty hard to do if he does not have a grinder and the knowledge to use it. Or maybe he just scraps the blade and throws in a new one just like it. I wish he would at least mention somewhere that he does not grind his own blades. You would think that if he's proud of what he does, believes that the blades he buys are high quality, and that he has nothing to hide, he would not have a problem putting that fact right out front instead of cleverly glossing it over. Maybe he feels that his customer base, if fully informed, would go to a "real" knifemaker for their needs- maybe they wouldn't, but he should give them the choice. Or maybe he should just get a grinder so he wouldn't need to feel insecure about what he does or does not "make" himself.
 
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