-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Burt Foster Knives
- Thread starter Kohai999
- Start date
brightred
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2004
- Messages
- 473
mr garsson,
that's (still) a beautiful bowie knife you got! i was tempted very much myself, but as i expected a camp knife at that time i didn't pull the trigger.
while we obviously share a passion for burt's knives, my opionion about how to (mal)treat the work of a craftsman and artist is a little bit different from yours. i completely understand that it can be important to alter a handle if a knife is often used and when ergonomics are crucial, e.g. for safety reasons. but i suppose that neither the bowie knife nor the fighter will be used very often. so in my opinion your "garssonizing" comes down to a disdain for burt's artistic work. his eye for lines and proportions is excellent and every alteration to one of his knives diminishes the aesthetic overall value. compared to the original design , the new handle lacks strenght and clean lines, it's somehow blurry and has no character. and this has nothing to do with big or small hands.
usually, i can't see too many pictures of burt's knives, but that "improved" handle really hurts my eyes. and please, beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, that's just a cheap excuse of poeple without taste; beauty is in the object itself.
brightred
that's (still) a beautiful bowie knife you got! i was tempted very much myself, but as i expected a camp knife at that time i didn't pull the trigger.
while we obviously share a passion for burt's knives, my opionion about how to (mal)treat the work of a craftsman and artist is a little bit different from yours. i completely understand that it can be important to alter a handle if a knife is often used and when ergonomics are crucial, e.g. for safety reasons. but i suppose that neither the bowie knife nor the fighter will be used very often. so in my opinion your "garssonizing" comes down to a disdain for burt's artistic work. his eye for lines and proportions is excellent and every alteration to one of his knives diminishes the aesthetic overall value. compared to the original design , the new handle lacks strenght and clean lines, it's somehow blurry and has no character. and this has nothing to do with big or small hands.
usually, i can't see too many pictures of burt's knives, but that "improved" handle really hurts my eyes. and please, beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, that's just a cheap excuse of poeple without taste; beauty is in the object itself.
brightred
Kohai999
Second Degree Cutter
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2003
- Messages
- 12,554
brightred said:
You feel that I have disdain for Burt's artistic work. If Burt felt that way, I think that he would not continue to work with me on future projects.
If you want more of Burt Foster knives, buy them, by all means. That was the whole point of this thread, it was not to highlight my modification skills. If it is not your knife, than your opinion is of little concern to me. I consider your post fairly insulting, especially the "that's just a cheap excuse of poeple without taste". It's spelled "people", BTW.
You are free to do what you want with the knives in your collection, I am free to do what I want with mine. As I am sure you have heard, even in Europe, "Money talks, and bull***t walks."
FYSVM,
STeven Garsson
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2002
- Messages
- 2,761
Seems to me, the only person who can really be insulted by Steven's mods is Burt, and if Burt's OK with it, and it appears he is, then I suppose that's all that matters. Personally, I would never do what Steven does to his knives, nor do I really understand it, but hey, they're not my knives and he is free to do whatever he wants with them, after all, he paid for them, and they are his.
Michael Starr
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2003
- Messages
- 816
STeven,
Love the knives - so much so I own the ones in the first picture. Burt's knives are incredible. Yes I do use them, not everyday mind you, I have a couple of his "Blue Collars" for that. I was looking on Burt's site and your "mods" seem very slight, if it works for you so be it. Like others who have posted previously, I should have bought that knife. Burt builds them to "use" - enjoy it!
Love the knives - so much so I own the ones in the first picture. Burt's knives are incredible. Yes I do use them, not everyday mind you, I have a couple of his "Blue Collars" for that. I was looking on Burt's site and your "mods" seem very slight, if it works for you so be it. Like others who have posted previously, I should have bought that knife. Burt builds them to "use" - enjoy it!
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2003
- Messages
- 270
I have been shaken from my slumber on this whole "messing with my knives" issue, so I guess I should throw in my 2 cents.
Steve and I talk a lot on the phone, and he's very open about what he thinks about me, my knives, other people's knives, whatever. H says what he thinks,in case anyone missed that about him. I take his toying with my handle shape with only slight offense, and I try not to take it all too seriously. When he did it to my first knife, I told him that all future knives made for him would have pins around the edge of the handle so that the shape could not be changed without it looking really bad. All kidding aside, I probably would have done that on this bowie but it was not made for Steve, so it did not have the anti-modification features I had threatened. If I did make one that way, I think he'd take it in the spirit that it was intended, as a subtle joke, and not as a harsh objection to his past actions.
As a full-time maker, I live in the real world enough to sell a knife to a person as long as the check is good. If the buyer appreciates the knife, detests the knife, babys it or destroys it, it really does not affect my attitude toward future transactions with him. Sure, I have feelings and opinions, but I'm not a snob about them. I think that brightred and Steve have more in common than it appears on the surface, in that they both have strong opinions on handmade knives.
For instance, brightred likes to use my knives and Steve does not. Steve likes to tinker with the design and brightred does not. Both think that the actions of the other detract from the value of the knife while they both defend their own actions as enhancing the custom knife experience for themselves.
So lets play nice and agree to disagree. Or just agree to meet somewhere in Oklahoma where dueling is still legal, last I heard,and settle it over bowie knives. Oh, and sell the video....
Steve and I talk a lot on the phone, and he's very open about what he thinks about me, my knives, other people's knives, whatever. H says what he thinks,in case anyone missed that about him. I take his toying with my handle shape with only slight offense, and I try not to take it all too seriously. When he did it to my first knife, I told him that all future knives made for him would have pins around the edge of the handle so that the shape could not be changed without it looking really bad. All kidding aside, I probably would have done that on this bowie but it was not made for Steve, so it did not have the anti-modification features I had threatened. If I did make one that way, I think he'd take it in the spirit that it was intended, as a subtle joke, and not as a harsh objection to his past actions.
As a full-time maker, I live in the real world enough to sell a knife to a person as long as the check is good. If the buyer appreciates the knife, detests the knife, babys it or destroys it, it really does not affect my attitude toward future transactions with him. Sure, I have feelings and opinions, but I'm not a snob about them. I think that brightred and Steve have more in common than it appears on the surface, in that they both have strong opinions on handmade knives.
For instance, brightred likes to use my knives and Steve does not. Steve likes to tinker with the design and brightred does not. Both think that the actions of the other detract from the value of the knife while they both defend their own actions as enhancing the custom knife experience for themselves.
So lets play nice and agree to disagree. Or just agree to meet somewhere in Oklahoma where dueling is still legal, last I heard,and settle it over bowie knives. Oh, and sell the video....
brightred
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2004
- Messages
- 473
burt, you are a good mediator, thanks! i promise to take stock of myself (?english?)!
as the blade of my foster bowie is shorter than that of mr garsson's i'd only agree to that duel if mr garsson shortens his blade by one inch... hmm, so i think we better forget about the duel!
brightred
as the blade of my foster bowie is shorter than that of mr garsson's i'd only agree to that duel if mr garsson shortens his blade by one inch... hmm, so i think we better forget about the duel!
brightred
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2005
- Messages
- 8,337
Burt Foster said:So lets play nice and agree to disagree. Or just agree to meet somewhere in Oklahoma where dueling is still legal, last I heard,and settle it over bowie knives. Oh, and sell the video....
If you're making the bowies, sign me up too...
Hey, it could be a 100% real More Proof video!
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2003
- Messages
- 270
Madcap,
You may be on to a new market. Hmmmmmmm.....
On one hand, repeat business could be slim, but think about the dvd sales!
You may be on to a new market. Hmmmmmmm.....
On one hand, repeat business could be slim, but think about the dvd sales!
Walking Man
BANNED
- Joined
- May 28, 2003
- Messages
- 9,606
Well written, Mr. Foster.
BTW, I did not meet you at the Ohio Valley knife show this year, but I did see you! Maybe I'll get one of your knives one of these days, since I really like how they look, of course, there's SO many beautiful knives out there.
BTW, I did not meet you at the Ohio Valley knife show this year, but I did see you! Maybe I'll get one of your knives one of these days, since I really like how they look, of course, there's SO many beautiful knives out there.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2005
- Messages
- 8,337
Burt Foster said:Madcap,
You may be on to a new market. Hmmmmmmm.....
On one hand, repeat business could be slim, but think about the dvd sales!
Exactly! And you can copy DVDs a lot faster and cheaper than you can forge bowies... think of the BF market! All the W&C members who'd pay to see each other fight to the death...
Kohai999
Second Degree Cutter
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2003
- Messages
- 12,554
What happens in Knife Club, stays in Knife Club!
No video, no DVD, no secret recordings. Prospective members will be searched.
Rule number two....
Two men in, one man out.
Rule number three...
Bust a deal, spin the wheel!
(Only on BladeForums can you mix references to Fight Club and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
No video, no DVD, no secret recordings. Prospective members will be searched.
Rule number two....
Two men in, one man out.
Rule number three...
Bust a deal, spin the wheel!
(Only on BladeForums can you mix references to Fight Club and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
