Big Name Knives

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PrimitiveMan

Joined
Dec 16, 2008
Messages
916
Are they worth it?

To buy a CURRENT production Randall, it is over 50 months wait and pretty good $.

And you don't even know the name of the guy, or guys who made it.

It really isn't a Randall.

Dozier, loveless, AG Russell etc. Icons and great designs, but are they worth the money?

I mean it is great when these artisans or their sons endorse the products, but really, I think a current knifemaker with a good reputation is much more valuable.

I mean NO disrespect to any of the names mentioned. They have forged the knife industry and I am sure they each represent the best in knifemaking. My point is only that the knives they currently produce bear little in common with the handmade blades they themselves produced.

So given equal money, would you go for a Big name from the past produced by someone in their factory? or a Custom blade made by the same person stamped on the blade?

Carl-
 
I think that is a personal choice. Some of the newer knife makers will be the next generations greats:). Just go for the knives that you love. Personally, I am not a fan of those knives mentioned.
 
At the end of the day, it's the knife and can I afford it. I really don't care who made the thing, unless I'm looking to flip it fast.
 
I have semi- customs only. Since your paying for the knife makers time, the more famous they are the more they can charge for their knives. After about 150 bucks you start getting diminishing returns.
 
It has to be a case by case trial for me. Some high dollar knives have been worth the money, some were not. I won't be sucked in by name alone. Show Me.:thumbup:
 
Sometimes the 'Name' stands for the support behind the product, as opposed to whomever actually 'made' the knife. Some names are worth more as a result, as they will do whatever's necessary to make sure the customer is happy with the product. That can be worth quite a lot if, for whatever reason, the knife needs to be sent back for repair/replacement.
 
Most are worth it, but some aren't.

Some of the lower priced knives are great knives, a great example is the Swedish Mora.
 
Well, I'm slightly prejudiced, but I think the knives you mentioned are absolutely worth every penny they cost. Maybe more, which is why they almost always sell for more money on the auction sites.

By the way, anyone who says Randalls aren't made by a Randall might want to have a chat with Gary, Jason and Michael.
 
A knife's worth depends on who is holding it. I have always wanted a Randall knife and I ordered one 16 months ago a #5 with a 6" blade, black micarta and my ship date is
06/13/2013. It is my retirement present to myself.
 
David M said:
A knife's worth depends on who is holding it. I have always wanted a Randall knife and I ordered one 16 months ago a #5 with a 6" blade, black micarta and my ship date is
06/13/2013. It is my retirement present to myself.
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Nice. Did you do it in carbon steel with a compass and wrist thong for the full "Bradford Angier" treatment?

(BTW, the shop is running about three to five months behind the 58-month "ship date" right now, so don't be surprised when you get a letter in the mail saying it will be a little longer.)
 
It depends on how bad you want one. There isn't a knife made, that I would wait 5 years for. IMO There are makers that are on the same level as some of the big name makers, they just don't have the name to justify the big prices...

So is it worth it ? Absolutely if thats what you want.
 
338375 said:
It depends on how bad you want one. There isn't a knife made, that I would wait 5 years for. IMO There are makers that are on the same level as some of the big name makers, they just don't have the name to justify the big prices...

So is it worth it ? Absolutely if thats what you want.
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Well stated and quite correct.

As far as a Randall Made Knives go, folks can get pretty much what ever model Randall they want with all the extras, choice of steel and fancy furniture by the end of the week.. And at a discount from what the shop sells them for to boot. You just have to know who to go to is all. As far as the quality goes, they're hard to beat.

So, is it worth it. Sure it is. Life is to short to settle for cheap knives, or wait 60 months for a good one. Besides, who wants to pass on a cheap knives to ones offspring?. They might look at you like :eek: :( :mad: :rolleyes:
 
It's a good question. The topic of sole "sole authorship" and ethics was recently brought up in the "Custom & Handmade Knives" forum. There the discussion focused on Loveless. Here it will probably focus on Randall (maybe Busse or Lile or...).

Given the choice of proven "sole authorship" knives on the table from Bo Randall, Bob Dozier, or Bob Loveless next to "shop made" knives from Randall, Dozier, or Loveless I would pick the sole author knives, especially at the same cost.

My belief is that a sole authorship knife from a maker will be of greater value in the long run than the same makers "shop made" knife. That being said, I don't think the value of the shop made knife is diminished, only that the proven sole authorship will outdistance the others in value.
 
Yes, well, "especially at the same cost." Therein lies the rub.

What are your feelings about a "custom" knife where an apprentice does much of the work? Ed Fowler comes to mind, but I'm sure there are others.
 
Samael said:
Yes, well, "especially at the same cost." Therein lies the rub.

What are your feelings about a "custom" knife where an apprentice does much of the work? Ed Fowler comes to mind, but I'm sure there are others.
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An "apprentice does much of the work" could be a description of the Loveless/Merritt or Loveless/Johnson partnership.

Unless he is being untruthful Ed Fowler does not have an apprentice doing any of the work.
 
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I would never accuse Ed of being untruthful. But he has mentioned an apprentice to me. Hmm.
 
I wanted to add (and screwed it up) that knives from the Fowler, Dozier or Loveless shops are Fowler, Dozier, and Loveless knives.

What are your feelings about a shop where the master has passed on; Lile and Ruanna come to mind?

Samael said:
I would never accuse Ed of being untruthful. But he has mentioned an apprentice to me. Hmm.
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Maybe I mis-read Ed's quote...here it is but there is a lot more so click on it to read the whole post.
Ed Fowler said:
Roger - you ask has any knife left my shop with my name on it that was not made by me? Yes - one and only one.
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Ed's statement can easily be taken at face value, and still there may be an apprentice involved in some portion of the work. I'm not in Wyoming watching every step of the process, so I really can't say more.

All of your examples raise some interesting questions. As with the Randalls, I think they're all gorgeous knives, and worth every penny. But yeah, these areas are where the definition of "custom" gets pretty gray.

Bastid, Rat, some other pirates and I were having this discussion in a different thread about a week ago, and I think the general conclusion of most of us was that there really ought to be a third, intermediate step between "custom" and "production." These knives are certainly not made by one person (and only one person), and yet it's pretty unfair to lump them in the same category as a Spyderco or a Benchmade, for example.

This discussion has been going on in the knife world for a long, long time, and I'm sure we won't be the last ones to have it.
 
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It all depends on who you ask. The average Joe on the street would think we were all insane for spending more than $30 on a knife. In the end, a knife is worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it, supply and demand drives the price.
 
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That's something we can all agree on - we're not talking $40 knives here.:D
 
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