Big Name Knives

Hell, if you really want a Randall and don't want to wait months/years check out A.G.'s catalogs; I have a Randall I have had for years and only waited shipping time; a little more money, yep but got a good customer discount at the time .
 
It seems like a master could get away with letting an apprentice do some of the grunt work, especially through the rough early stages, and then do the finishing themselves. Basically it is still their design, their choice of materials, and they are stamping their name on the blade to signify that they approve of this piece being attributable to them. They are also saying that they will stand behind it and take full responsibility for the blade. I bet not a one of these guys would ever say 'oh actually I'm not surprised that one broke, it was made by my apprentice.'

If the custom maker doesn't get his hands involved in any stage of the fabrication then I feel like the lines get blurred. He (or she..) is stamping their name to say they take responsibility for the blade, and it is still their design; however, they didn't actually make it. Maybe in that case it would be better to have a second marking which is that of the actual craftsmen, or all those involved? It would be interesting anyway. I stopped by a blade shop close to my families house in NZ last year and chatted to a custom maker for a while. He had a selection of his knives for sale and then a few of his son's blades, which were a bit cheaper. I suppose in that respect though his son's work was marked as such.

Luckily for me I have not yet been in any position to have to worry about this sort of thing personally. Maybe ignorance is bliss :)
 
Samael said:
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.



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.
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I think when Ed mentions apprentice, it's more or a longtime student that works a bit on their own knives in Ed's shop. Ed is there as a guiding hand, but it's not like the Loveless situation. I remember a series on Dick Iiams, that explained it.

As for the Randall, Russell-Morseth, Ruana, Etc.... I wish we could go back to the old term from the 70's, "Benchmade", alas, now more people associate it with the Oregon company.

In the meantime, I go on:

A) Not caring about such things.

B) Using the term "small shop", as it doesn't have same sorta edge to people that production has to it.
 
Is it worth it??? You bet it is! :thumbup:

Compare a comparably priced Bark River (an excellent knife, BTW), to a hand make Dozier.

Same basic price, but the Dozier is several orders of magnitude better.

Since I own several of each, I can compare them side by side.
 
An apprentice in my shop does stuff I cannot do, like reach high over his head and replace a light or pull a heavy box off of a shelf, do general repairs on equipment and help harvest sheep horn. Often they do ranch work or organize my grinding belts or as Chris Amos does, now help with seminars.

With one exception I have made all the knives that bear my name. I make a knife, they watch, then do their work on their blade. Chris recently worked on what we call our "Adventure Knife" and it will bear his name along with mine. This knife will not be for sale.

I ofter refer to the knives "we make", this is meant to include all who have shared thoughts and knowledge through the past 45 years. Rex in his laboratory, many authors and friends as well as critics, noit to mention the steel mill and buck sheep.

No maker stands alone!
 
Name matters but I don't care it is big or not.

Let me correct it.
To be honest, as choosing a knife plays some important role in this hobby,
I'd love to find a great piece with unknown name.
 
As I said, many shops where the original master has passed are still making great blades.

I guess for me, I would rather go with the full custom though.

I look at it this way, FORGETTING resale value, if you were going to actually put it to hard use would you choose an original NOS Randall, or Lile, or AG Russell OR it's modern day counterpart?

Would you choose the NOS made by the person stamped on the blade or the one made this year that bears his mark but not his work?

Both probably very good knives, but I'm thinking I'm going NOS by the original Master.

Carl-
 
Can't say I know much about Lile or Randall workings, but Ruana knives are still made in the same shop Rudy built and mostly on the same equipment. Rudy started making knives full time around 1952. His son-in-law, Vic Hangas, began making knives with Rudy in 1965. Rudy retired in '84 and died in '86. Vic continues to make knives with two of his sons (Mark and Mike). It's a three man shop with Rudy's son-in-law and two grandsons, at this point Vic and I believe his two sons also have been full time knifemakers longer than Rudy was.
 
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Whew, this is a very touchy subject. Let me just say I love my Dozier Wilderness, Bob's son in law does a great job.
 
I have more than a few Randall Made knives. I still buy one, when I find a decent deal, on a RMK that I want.

More often than not though, I buy a custom knife by a lesser known smith. I have found some amazingly high quality blades, and at really decent prices.

I can buy one Randall for say, $450, or two, maybe three from a maker here for that same amount of money.
 
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