Chute knife

Del Raso Knives

Del Raso Knives

Joined
Dec 24, 2005
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851
Just completed and ready to sharpen and ship. Loveless Chute knife in 3/16" ATS34, hollow ground, full tapered tang. and mirror polished. 416 guard pined and soldered.

Black linen micarta scales with red fibre liners and stainless Corbys and lanyard tube. Hope you like it.













 
What a classic design!
I'd like to see a Chute knife with an integral guard.
rolf
 
Loveless design knives, while excellent generally, are so ubiquitous as to become somewhat boring, imo. They get dressed up with high end materials, and that elevates them for sure, but you just can't get away from the feeling of standardization that often comes with them. Patterns rendered faithfully, but often lacking in je ne sais quoi.

That being said, when a Loveless design is rendered as close to perfect as possible, it really stands out. To me, at least. It's easy enough to copy a pattern, but to understand the ins and outs of the design parameters requires a quasi psychic correspondence with the author. It also requires a subtle appreciation for line, and a high level of control and skill. This knife is one of the better of this pattern I've seen. I'm no expert, but it looks like you got everything exactly right.
 
Lorien said:
Loveless design knives, while excellent generally, are so ubiquitous as to become somewhat boring, imo.
Click to expand...

The only way a Loveless pattern becomes boring is 1) If you have no idea what you are looking at, specifically in terms of what has been before, and what happened since, or 2) you are an idiot wrt knife design.

Lorien said:
That being said, when a Loveless design is rendered as close to perfect as possible, it really stands out. To me, at least. It's easy enough to copy a pattern, but to understand the ins and outs of the design parameters requires a quasi psychic correspondence with the author. It also requires a subtle appreciation for line, and a high level of control and skill. This knife is one of the better of this pattern I've seen. I'm no expert, but it looks like you got everything exactly right.
Click to expand...

In order to BE an expert in Loveless knives....you just have to handle a bunch of them, spend a lot of time talking to S.R. Johnson, Kuzan Oda and most importantly Jim Merritt.....get a real feel for what Loveless was doing and notate differences between good and great.

This is a really solid interpretation.....it is not rendered as close to perfect based on the photos alone. They only tell you so much. I'd like to be able to handle it.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Very much agree with you Steven, unless you spent time working in the Loveless shop the best you can hope for is a good representation. I have always been impressed by the feel of the few Loveless knives I have handled. I have often thought about asking for templates but never had the balls.

This knife has two specific modifications that may not be immediately obvious from the photo. The first is a 5mm lengthening of the handle as requested by my customer after handling another I had at a show. Second is the placement of the lanyard tube. I have always had an issue with Bob having it so close to the edge of the tang. This is my issue and in no way diminishes my respect for the man's designs and legacy.

Again thanks to everyone who has posted a reply.
 
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Really hard to tell much from those pictures which were taken at . . . some weird angles prone to distorting things, IMO.

While I am no expert like STeven, I will still offer my thoughts based only on what I see in the pictures . . . which might be off due to the pictures as noted above.

1) The handle looks nice. Looks to have really good palmswell.

2) The one thing I can tell for sure is that the junction of the blade and guard is extremely well executed. This is one area where so many Loveless style knives fall short, IMO.

3) I LIKE that the placement of the lanyard tube and agree that it is an improvement.

4) The blade grinds look a bit off. The upper sharpened edge looks too thin, and the bottom edge appears to be lacking the very subtle graceful undulation I expect to see on a Chute - it looks completely straight. Again, this may because we do not have anything approaching a straight-on view.

5) The guard appears to be a bit too thick at the tips and the tang a bit too wide at the guard.

Overall, it looks like a very nice knife that anyone should be proud to own.
 
Kohai999 said:
The only way a Loveless pattern becomes boring is
Click to expand...

Not to harp away on this, but I think a direct response is necessary since my comments were selectively quoted, and either misinterpreted or recontextualized.
I didn't say Loveless' patterns are boring, but that Loveless design knives, (aka; interpretations and copies) are, except for very few, for the reasons I thought were most relevant.

I consider this to be one of the few Loveless design knives that stand out, which is all the more remarkable, since Mr. Del Raso wasn't even working from an original template. It's a true interpretation, not a copy, and that's all the more impressive, since it is difficult to design a great looking knife using Loveless' build methods.

I was actually saying something that I have heard you say many times over the years, Steven. Perhaps I didn't say it clearly enough, I thought I had explained myself thoroughly. Sorry for the confusion.:o
 
I compared it to this one taken at the same angle as peters first pic and find it a very pleasing interpretation. I like the use of the
corby bolts and the relocated lanyard tube. Lovely knife. :)


143nqeo.jpg
 
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Lorien said:
Not to harp away on this, but I think a direct response is necessary since my comments were selectively quoted, and either misinterpreted or recontextualized.
I didn't say Loveless' patterns are boring, but that Loveless design knives, (aka; interpretations and copies) are, except for very few, for the reasons I thought were most relevant.

I consider this to be one of the few Loveless design knives that stand out, which is all the more remarkable, since Mr. Del Raso wasn't even working from an original template. It's a true interpretation, not a copy, and that's all the more impressive, since it is difficult to design a great looking knife using Loveless' build methods.

I was actually saying something that I have heard you say many times over the years, Steven. Perhaps I didn't say it clearly enough, I thought I had explained myself thoroughly. Sorry for the confusion.:o
Click to expand...

It's all good Lorien.

As you know, with the internet, it is hard to tell the difference between what is being said and what is meant.

I'll be the first one to admit that I am not a Loveless expert, but I do love them knives.

Dave Ellis is an expert, John Denton is an expert, Lou DeSantis is an expert, and aside from Jim Merritt who makes them, Maj. Louis Chow may be THE expert. With that I have been fortunate enough in my knifetime to speak with all of these luminaries and it only scratches the surface.

Bob was an innovator, a genius of design, pure and simple.

Peter, call or write the shop, Jim will happily share templates with you....it isn't a matter of balls or no balls, it is a matter of desire and effort, just like making knives.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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