Anza bias?

I had never noticed them. I might have to look into one as the prices arent bad at all and the file look would be neat. I went to their website and they have quite a variety.
 
Maybe if they had names?? I don't remember ever seeing one with a name.:confused: Maybe Tom Odell can name a few, Delta Warrior, Ragin' Force, The Comando, etc. The one that just killed me, no lie, "the Odellie" Thought I would die laughing!:eek:
 
Charlie Davis, the owner of Anza Knives is a friend that I talk with on a semi-regular basis, and was a maker featured in a knife article that my wife wrote for the now defunct Knifeforums magazine...IOW, we know Charlie and Anza knives fairly well...

That said, there are several reasons why Anza'a aren't as 'popular' as they could be...the first being that Charlie doesn't advertise, it's not in his budget. Secondly, the knives are fairly inexpensive, and many people unfortunately equate price with value. As an inexpensive knife, Anza knives are a great value...though many folks don't realize it.

Further, people equate inexpensive to also mean cheap, and of poor quality...while nothing could be further from the truth here. I broke some junker blades at the Anza shop, after putting them in a vice and stressing the heck out of them with a pipe and/or a heavy sledge...but it took some serious effort, and was not normal use by any means...

The downside to Anza knives is that most of them are just plain butt-ugly, they rust & stain easily, and most of the blades are fairly thick at the spine. The upside, however, is that they're little cutting machines, good material separaters, and they sharpen up quite easily...

We keep Anza knives in our vehicles, camping gear, and kitchen...a little funky looking by modern standards, they work quite well :)
 
wwells20 said:
Maybe Tom Odell can name a few, Delta Warrior, Ragin' Force, The Comando, etc. The one that just killed me, no lie, "the Odellie" Thought I would die laughing!:eek:
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Pardon my ignorance, but who is Tom Odell?
 
Quiet Storm said:
Pardon my ignorance, but who is Tom Odell?
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He and another goofball sell Jim Frost's junk knives on late night tv. They have big "dealer lots" of knives they sell for some super low price. ( like 100 knives for 188.95) It's like watching a train wreck. There are some threads on this floating around. I'll try to find a link. Just search Odell.
 
Melvin-Purvis said:
That said, there are several reasons why Anza'a aren't as 'popular' as they could be...the first being that Charlie doesn't advertise, it's not in his budget. Secondly, the knives are fairly inexpensive, and many people unfortunately equate price with value. As an inexpensive knife, Anza knives are a great value...though many folks don't realize it.

Further, people equate inexpensive to also mean cheap, and of poor quality...while nothing could be further from the truth here. :)
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What Melvin said... I've got two, a 5 1/2"ish semi-bowie style that is sharper than anything I own and a really small version of same I got as a gift. I've never done anything to the mini, no oil, no sharpening, no nothin' and it is still as unblemished and as sharp as when I got it, although I just use it for envelopes. And the larger one, I've used on boxes and cardboard; a little discolored but still doesn't need sharpening.

My only complaint, if that's what you want to call it, is the pakka-wood handles - they do remind me of Frost cutlery on the Home Buying Network, but they are so out of that league due to the steel, the grind and the heat treat that you will notice the difference immeadiately upon using.

If Mr. Davis doubled the price, I figure you'd hear a lot more about them!!! :D
 
My only complaint, if that's what you want to call it, is the pakka-wood handles - they do remind me of Frost cutlery on the Home Buying Network...
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Agreed. But Anza usually has a large selection of other handle materials - just e-mail them for a current list. In the photos above, the set of three were done in Cocobolo and the lone knife is coa wood.

-Bob
 
Bob W said:
Agreed. But Anza usually has a large selection of other handle materials - just e-mail them for a current list. In the photos above, the set of three were done in Cocobolo and the lone knife is coa wood.

-Bob
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Very true - I've seen their catalogs and stuff on the net and they can put on just about any handle material ya want. Great using knives at a truly GREAT price! :thumbup:
 
I've been to the shop many times to make purchases. Nice owner, and crew. I have 4 different types. They do hold a great edge, and are good working knives. Also a decent value for the money. They have a kind of crude feeling to them that I like. They are not very slick, but that's part of the appeal.I like the file grooves.It gives them character.I also like the simplicity of the design, using for the most part a single brass spacer.Check them out.
 
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