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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Anyone have one of these . . .
- Thread starter soloman61
- Start date
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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- Apr 6, 2000
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That's neat. Like a long handle on a Subcom blade. 
Blackie Collins is one of the great designers. Too bad he never hooked up with a great production company.
Blackie Collins is one of the great designers. Too bad he never hooked up with a great production company.
- Joined
- Oct 8, 1998
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That's neat. Like a long handle on a Subcom blade.
Blackie Collins is one of the great designers. Too bad he never hooked up with a great production company.
I thought he designed the first all FRN handled folder for Gerber, the LST.
Marion
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
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- 90,915
He also designed the bolt action for them, which gave rise to other locks on up to the axis. But he was never a long-term designer for them like Ken Onion did for Kershaw.
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I see the distinction you are making.
Marion
Marion
About a year ago, I did a search on Collins' knife related patents. He holds quite a few, a couple dozen IIRC. His design influence can be seen on companies like Gerber, Ontario, Case, Camillus, and probably a dozen others.
One thing I did come away with is that he's the type of person who throws every idea up against the wall in the hopes that at least one might stick. In that sense, he's very successful. On the other hand, my take on his patents, is that his ideas tend to be gimmicky and not particularly revolutionary. He occasionally made claims that might seem contentious to lots of knife nuts here, such as inventing assisted opening before it was known as Assisted Opening™. Another measure of his success is that he's pretty good at marketing his personality. His name seems to have kept the likes of Meyerco/Camp USA alive. Even though the wares bearing his name with those brand stamps end up as poorly thought out end products which look better on paper than in person.
One difference I perceive, which may be completely wrong, is that Collins seems not to have been a highly regarded knife maker so much as designer. If this is true, it stands in contrast to the likes of Ken Onion. Perhaps this is why the products bearing his name seem to come up short in final form. Perhaps he's largely disconnected from manufacturing processes, not only in his current associations, because he's never been all that versed in the nitty gritty of making stuff in the first place?
Whatever may be the case, he seems successful at keeping his name out there. More power to him. I should be so lucky.
One thing I did come away with is that he's the type of person who throws every idea up against the wall in the hopes that at least one might stick. In that sense, he's very successful. On the other hand, my take on his patents, is that his ideas tend to be gimmicky and not particularly revolutionary. He occasionally made claims that might seem contentious to lots of knife nuts here, such as inventing assisted opening before it was known as Assisted Opening™. Another measure of his success is that he's pretty good at marketing his personality. His name seems to have kept the likes of Meyerco/Camp USA alive. Even though the wares bearing his name with those brand stamps end up as poorly thought out end products which look better on paper than in person.
One difference I perceive, which may be completely wrong, is that Collins seems not to have been a highly regarded knife maker so much as designer. If this is true, it stands in contrast to the likes of Ken Onion. Perhaps this is why the products bearing his name seem to come up short in final form. Perhaps he's largely disconnected from manufacturing processes, not only in his current associations, because he's never been all that versed in the nitty gritty of making stuff in the first place?
Whatever may be the case, he seems successful at keeping his name out there. More power to him. I should be so lucky.
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
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- 90,915
That's interesting. I believe association with some of the great makers helped a number of companies to improve their quality. If Blackie Collins stopped at the design stage and never got into the factory, that would explain a lot. Part of the allure of a Ken Onion Kershaw or a Darrel Ralph Camillus was always the connection to a similar custom, which would have been priced out of most people's range.