Brian, thanks. I agree that Whitewing, and CRK, and Randall, etc should be categorized differently from the broader category of 'production' knives. They are indeed in a class by themselves.
SammyB, thank-you very much. You have explained to me why Bailey feels it necessary to distinguish between His knives and Whitewing knives, e.g. he does not grind them by hand: he is using CNC technology to grind the blades.
I know from in depth conversations with several noted makers (both ABS and KnifemakersGuild) that They think a 'custom' knife must be ground by hand.
That is really a key element in 'custom' knife making. The maker has to use tools controlled by his hands so that his skills (or lack therof) will be evident. This is a crucial element of knives as Art.
Does grinding a knife by hand make a better knife than a machine ground blade? I dunno. Maybe not. But I like to look at the symmetry of the plunge cuts, and the way the grind tapers and flows, and I expect that stock-removal and forged blade makers will shape the blade from bar stock with tools controlled by their hands. If not, I want to know how they did make the blade.
Another maker who uses a 'production' logo instead of his own name on Some of his knives is Steve Mullen. Read the bottom part of this page:
A note on authorship
Makers feel the need to distinguish between their own work, and work that they may contract with others to complete. Or maybe they are only acknowledging that their customers value the way a knife was made. Mullen's Pack River knives are a tremendous value, but they are not made the same way Steve makes knives marked with his name. They are not priced the same, and they do not have the same value to collectors of 'custom' knives. It is (and will) be the same with Whitewing knives.
Trying to make something sound better by calling it a 'custom', which to me is a hand-ground, hand-finished knife made and assembled by one man's hands, is not fair. But at the same time, lumping Whitewing, or Chris Reeve Knives, or Busse, William Henry knives into the same boat as Benchmade is unfair as well.
Maybe Brian is right about the need for a 'third' category. But in reality, it takes a lot more than the words
custom Or
production to adequately describe what a knife is. A hand-forged, sole authorship, one-of-a-kind, mosaic damascus knife with engraved bolsters, file work, and carved mastodon ivory scales is not the same thing as a Carson model 4 with black micarta scales, is it? But they are both usually considered 'custom' knives. For me, the word custom means: made by one man using techniques that will show his skills as an artist, and craftsman. So both knives I just described are custom knives, despite their obvious differences.
I guess it is just up to the buyer to know what he wants, and what it is worth. I don't have a single knife that I consider 'custom' ordered by me for Me
I own almost three dozen pieces of individually crafted art made by several ABS Mastersmiths and KG members. I did not 'customize' them in any way other than specifying handle scale material and choosing between two blade steel options in one case. But that hardly seems to mean it was 'custom' made for me. There are many other similar knives made by this noted maker with stag scales and 52100 blades. Mine is unique only in that the maker Hand ground the blades and fitted each knife individually, so my knife will show slight variations compared to others of the same basic design. Call it custom, call it handmade, I know what I want and what it is worth.
Para
