Blackwood customs?

T

TGV

Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
9
First post!

Been following threads on bladeforums for a long time in addition to youtube videos which are both very informative in their own ways if you want to know/share about knives. Where I live you can't EDC knives without a reasonable purpose intended and those being; work related and you can get away with good intentions as camping/fishing. That said I never carry knives outdoors in the civil life, only exeption being when hiking/fishing with the family. Nevertheless that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good folder and I always keep a few in one spot to use for what ever around the house.

Enough about that. After months of searching/watching I've aquired (always had fixed blades around) throughout the months in order:

Benchmade Emissary
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
Spyderco Paramilitary 2 (blue sprint m390)
Hinderer XM-18 (arrived two days ago!)

I've also started sharpening! My kitchen knives are now a dream to use :-)

Now it boils down to... There's a user in me but there's also that itch to have a full on custom to really appreciate. I've searched but just can't see too much on Neil Blackwood's knives. The two big models being the Skirmish and the Henchman Flipper. I can't find any video of the Henchman and not a lot of information here. Are the customs not disirable? Is there a good second hand market if one would get one and wanted to sell it down the road to fund something else?

Please show off your Blackwoods! :-)
 
Welcome anonymous named member.... ;)

Neil's knives were REALLY hot property about five years ago. And they still may be. He's not a regular member of this forum, so his current lineup isn't familiar, nor is his aftermarket.

His designs are dreamy, his builds exacting. Last I heard, he's not a full-time maker. He produces very few knives, so they will always be in demand.

I like Neil. He's a good egg. :D

That said, you won't find them cheap. Desireable? Absolutely. Any of his folders will command prices north of $1000, and up to $3000 (Speculative estimates. I may be low or high).

So, you are jumping from good quality production to unobtainium Customs.

Coop
 
I appreciate the kind words Coop! Still making knives as time permits. I'll fill out my contact info here when I get back on my PC.
 
Hey Coop, thanks for the feedback. Yeah why not take the leap from good productions to customs? :-)

Neil posts regulary on his knifeblog with new grinds and experiments with different materials on his three/four models but there's never any comments... I've seen his knives appear with certain dealers afterwords ranging from maybe $1200-1700 and it doesn't take long before they are gone so I would imagine there are happy customers out there. I just don't find any forms of reviews, people posting pictures, this is good about them and so on. When someone gets a Hinderer or a Sebenza for the first or second time, many are made aware it seems, "I know have this in my possesion" if what I'm saying makes sense...

Tom
 
Hi Neil

Here's a bad pic of a great little knife.

I don't recall the model but for a time it was my skinning/capeing knife and saw a ton of use.

Great knife

knives3.jpg
 
Neil Blackwood- I'm glad you posted, I see you've just signed up!
Your work is very impressive and I would like to see more of it.

I've been visiting USN lately, and there are a great many discussions and transactions involving state of the art folding knives.

One of Neil Blackwood's knives available in the exchange forum here caused me to incur an infraction. And here it is; http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Neil-Blackwood-Skirmish?p=6060278#post6060278 this has to be the most awesome folding knife I've ever seen.
 
The only Blackwood knife I have...definitely want a few more! :)

Very comfortable for its size, both in the hand and on the neck, and sharp as heck... :thumbup:

Mini Neck Ninja:
Necker_Blackwood-MiniNeckNinja.jpg
 
I didn't see the man himself post here! Just love your work Neil, being the reason I wanted to see more, hear more from the customers.

Please keep the pictures and words coming people :-)

Thanks
 
TGV said:
I didn't see the man himself post here! Just love your work Neil, being the reason I wanted to see more, hear more from the customers.

Please keep the pictures and words coming people :-)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Wow!! It's good to see my fixed blades still getting some love!!

Let me provide a bit of history.....

First, "back in the day" I got my start and first orders right here on BF.com. I went by Dr. Lathe back then. The USN started and at that time there seemed to be more of a focus on the type of knives I was making. My work and business continued to expand there. After several years, myself and several other makers started the Custom Knives and Guns forum where I'm still quite active. Everyones keeping me going in facebook too! You wont see me on the USN as I was banned the day we launched the CKG. Now that I'm signed up here, I'll try to be around to provide info for anyone interested. As far as my blog, that replaced my old website. My friend Uwe in Germany runs it and updates it often.

These days I'm in the process of selling my home in order to build a much larger shop. I'm only making knives as time permits and I'm not taking any custom orders. A few years ago I really got myself into a deep backlog that ended up costing business, customers and even friends. I never want to be in that position again.

I really appreciate the interest and enthusiasm here. Thanks again for the kind words.
 
Tom: Thanks for the post. :D

^^^^ THAT'S the Neil I admire. :)

Thanks for the update. Yes, we'd LOVE more of your presence here.

It's been a while since I had the opportunity to capture the beauty of Neil's work. Here are some older pieces which stand the test of time.

orig.jpg


I owned this for a while, then let it slip away to a prominent collector in the northwest. I hate when that happens... :grumpy:
orig.jpg


medium800.jpg


Coop
 
Wow, thanks for the background history there Neil. As I've seen new work from you lately from different dealers, Nth Degree for the most I think are you in the process of finalizing dealer orders before move only? Hence the no custom orders at the moment...

And Coop, that's exactly what I'm talking about :D what liner material is that on the skirmish? Never seen that one, ivory G10?
 
No synthetic on that piece. That was once stomping around grasslands. Pure ivory. Grade A: V-A-L-U-A-B-L-E.

Coop
 
I have yet to own a blackwood custom, yet his deisgns and workmanship appear fantastic!
 
I was here in those good ol days and remember Dr. Lathe. His knife have always been very desirable. It's nice to see you back again Neil!
 
Here is a Titanium Henchman like mine. What a nice piece of work. Kevin
 

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