I was very fortunate to be able to attend Blade West on Sunday, as my work brought me into the Ontario airport Sat. night with a big break on Sunday. I knew I'd have a good time, but it was better than expected. Bumped into a lot of old knife buddies and some new ones. Finally met Bill Burke, which I have been looking forward to, for quite some time. He's a real nice guy, lives in one of my favorite places (Salmon, ID) and had some gorgeous knives on his table. He learned from and was inspired by one of the best, Ed Fowler. Which brings me to another subject.
They say (who are "they", anyway?) that you never want to meet your heroes. For the most part, I've found that to be true. Most of the time, reality doesn't live up to expectation. Such is the case with a very (read that as "VERY") well known maker of tactical fixed blades, whose work I've admired and collected over the years. Not a bad guy, but didn't treat me the way that I'd treat a customer, doesn't seem to appreciate the business, seems to think he's pretty important. That's okay with me, but I cancelled my orders.
Sometimes and very infrequently, reality exceeds expectation. Such is the case with Ed Fowler. I've owned 7 or 8 of his knives over the years, have really enjoyed them and read all of his writings that I can get my hands on. I was a little hesistant to meet Ed, but I'm sure glad I did. Great guy, real gentleman, took all kinds of time talking with me. I was running on 3 hours sleep, so he lost me a little in some of the technical areas. That's okay, what I got out of it, is that he's excited with and absolutely devoted to the advancement of his craft. Ed's motivations are pure, he loves knives and he strives to redefine the cutting edge of the envelope in terms of performance. With Ed, it's not hype. With a 9 year backlog, he doesn't need to hype his product. And he wouldn't anyway. It's excitement, he loves his work and the knifeworld, as a whole.
The knives made by Bill and Ed feel good in my hand, always feel good to own, inspire confidence and deliver the goods when called upon (ask Jerry Shipman). I don't know anything about microscopic grain structure, scientific testing methods, etc...but I DO know that I've carried and used the best performing blades that I could get my hands on over the years. This has involved experience with a lot of blades and a lot of use. If I plan on heading out the door with a fixed blade, I'll take an Ed Fowler or Bill Burke knife above any other. It was a real pleasure to meet these two knifemakers and walk away knowing that they are so dedicated to their craft and the satisfaction of their customers.
A couple others that I really enjoyed seeing were my old friend, Gary Shaw, my new friend, Matt Cucchiara (Pontiaker), Dave Ellis and Joe Szilaski. The forums are fun, but there's nothing like a good show.
Pete
They say (who are "they", anyway?) that you never want to meet your heroes. For the most part, I've found that to be true. Most of the time, reality doesn't live up to expectation. Such is the case with a very (read that as "VERY") well known maker of tactical fixed blades, whose work I've admired and collected over the years. Not a bad guy, but didn't treat me the way that I'd treat a customer, doesn't seem to appreciate the business, seems to think he's pretty important. That's okay with me, but I cancelled my orders.
Sometimes and very infrequently, reality exceeds expectation. Such is the case with Ed Fowler. I've owned 7 or 8 of his knives over the years, have really enjoyed them and read all of his writings that I can get my hands on. I was a little hesistant to meet Ed, but I'm sure glad I did. Great guy, real gentleman, took all kinds of time talking with me. I was running on 3 hours sleep, so he lost me a little in some of the technical areas. That's okay, what I got out of it, is that he's excited with and absolutely devoted to the advancement of his craft. Ed's motivations are pure, he loves knives and he strives to redefine the cutting edge of the envelope in terms of performance. With Ed, it's not hype. With a 9 year backlog, he doesn't need to hype his product. And he wouldn't anyway. It's excitement, he loves his work and the knifeworld, as a whole.
The knives made by Bill and Ed feel good in my hand, always feel good to own, inspire confidence and deliver the goods when called upon (ask Jerry Shipman). I don't know anything about microscopic grain structure, scientific testing methods, etc...but I DO know that I've carried and used the best performing blades that I could get my hands on over the years. This has involved experience with a lot of blades and a lot of use. If I plan on heading out the door with a fixed blade, I'll take an Ed Fowler or Bill Burke knife above any other. It was a real pleasure to meet these two knifemakers and walk away knowing that they are so dedicated to their craft and the satisfaction of their customers.
A couple others that I really enjoyed seeing were my old friend, Gary Shaw, my new friend, Matt Cucchiara (Pontiaker), Dave Ellis and Joe Szilaski. The forums are fun, but there's nothing like a good show.
Pete
