Custom fixed blade bargains for less than $400

Senator

Senator

Joined
Oct 2, 1998
Messages
1,874
In light of the Lynn Griffith forum knife controversy, I thought I'd offer up a few custom fixed blades that cost less than $400, and that I think are true bargains. In no particular order...

Herb Derr damascus hunter - $250. 3" blade of Derr-forged 2700 layer 01/L6/nickel "bird's-eye" pattern damascus that's also been hot-blued. The handle is oosic with a water buffalo horn spacer and nickel silver guard and accents. The sheath is leather with ostrich skin inserts.


John Etzler hunter - $175 (IIRC) for a 3.5" 440C drop point blade. Hand-rubbed finish. Gorgeous spalted maple handles. Stainless guard.


GenO Denning Chute Knife - $350. 4.5" ATS-34 mirror polished blade. 9.5" overall. Kudu horn handles with red spacers and a tapered tang. Gorgeous leather sheath.


GenO Denning GM Model - Approx. $180. 3.5" ATS-34 mirror polished blade. 9.5" overall. Stag handles with red spacers and a tapered tang. Gorgeous leather sheath.


Oh, hell - ANYTHING by GenO. Just go to Les Robertson's GenO page and see for yourself...


Daniel Winkler knife - $350. 3" blade forged from a file. 6.25" in OAL. Maple handle with rawhide wrapping. Painted rawhide sheath by Karen Shook.


'Nuff said.
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Kelly
My Custom Knife Collection

Member NCCKG , SCAK, and AKTI

Deo Vindice

[This message has been edited by Senator (edited 10-28-2000).]
 
Corbet Sigman Working and Utility Hunters starting at $80 US for guardless carbon steel and going to $190 US for 440v with a guard are a great knife from a great maker.
 
Hey, this could be fun Kelly!
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None of these knives are for sale. They are listed only for general reference purposes. All prices listed are the prices I paid for the knife

Jim Crowell, ABS MS, boot knife with 4 inch spearpoint and forged 1084 blade with distal and tang tapers. $365

A Pair of GenO Denning hunters with 3.5 and 4 inch mirror finished ATS34 blades, stag scales, and tapered tangs $150 and $170

Herb Derr san mai hunter with Hippo tooth handle and walnut burl spacer $265

Tim Morgan Persian Fighter with 8 inch blade forged from 1075, Japanese style clay tempered hamon, carved bocote handle $175

Tim Morgan Pukko with 5 inch forged blade of W1 tool steel. Triple temper line and bocote handle $125

John Perry Bird and trout with ATS34 blade, mosaic pins, desert ironwood scales, and the most impressive file work that I have ever seen $325

Connie Persson hunter with three bar mosaic damascus blade and stabilized willow root handle. Amazing damascus. Really poor photo (sorry) $325

Hembrook Hunter with random damascus blade and engraved bolsters and jigged elk bone scales $295

Schuyler Lovestrand Persian Boot knife with tapered tang, desert ironwood scales and absolutely flawless mirror finish $275

Schuyler Lovestrand H2 hunter with Mammoth Ivory scales. This one is on order for $400 $400

Roger Green 5 inch hunter with 5 inch satin finished O1 blade. Perfect fit, finish, and balance with mortised (hidden tang) stag scales$425


I have others in this price range (including two of Tim Morgans fine forged work for less than $100, but that is probably enough to give you a good idea of the quality and beauty of fixed blades knives available for $400 or Less.

Paracelsus
My Knives

 
Kelly and Para have brought up excellent examples of great knives under $400.00. There are thousands more out there.

Staying strickly with Hunters some of the makers I recommend are:

Joel Chamblin
Geno Denning
George Herron
Jerry McDonald
Schuyler Lovestrand
Mike Sakmar
Russ Sutton

At the $450 level you can get hunters from:
David Broadwell
Jerry Fisk
Lloyd Pendelton

The hunting knife market is far and away the largest market in custom knives. Want proof go to the Blade Show.

There are hundreds of makers out there who make a very good hunting knife under $300.00.

To me it seems simple, if you like hunting knives do your homework and YOU figure out which one is the best bang for the buck.

My 2 Cents says, at the $400 level, the knife needs to be made by a World Class Maker who's knives are in demand and generally offer something more than a base knife.

Happy Hunting
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Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur

http://www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
 
Barry and Phillip Jones also make nice knives in that range. Dozier is a good one. There are several up and coming makers out there who makes great quality hunters for much less then $400. To me, a hunting knife is meant to be used. It doesn't have to be the prettiest knife on the market. If I want something pretty, I am gonna get something in damascus to hang on a shelf. Some forum members, L6Steel (Mike Cooper), and MaxTheKnife (OGG Knives) make great working class hunters for a lot less money. WITH hand rubbed finish. I recently bought a custom folder with stabelized wood, stainless bolsters, jewled and anodized ti liners, and a satin finish ATS34 for cheaper then Lynn's cheapest base knife. Anyways, look around and you will see some great makers.
 
I got a GenO Denning GM Hunter from Les a couple of weeks ago for $140.00. ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY BUCK for one of the nicest handmades I've ever seen. Fit and finish, flawless. And for $140.00 you have to pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming because of the price. GenO's knives are almost too good to be true. I've talked on the phones with GenO a couple of times and he always has the time to answer any of my questions
Tom Mayo also makes EXCELLENT hunters for around $250.00. Tom's a great guy also and more than willing to answer any questions you have and ALWAYS makes sure you, the buyer, are happy.
Plenty of others out there but these are two that I highly recommend.

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"But if we took out all the bones it would'nt be a crunchy frog."
 
Well, I hate to kiss and tell, but that fine looking Draper (knife) that I wrote about in a separate thread earlier was under $300 shipped.

As with some of the knives described above, this is a totally handmade and unique knife forged by a master smith!

I guess that goes to show that outstanding quality is still available at an excellent price if one is willing to do a little "homework".

Blues

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Live Free or Die

Blues' Knife Pix
 
Those utility hunters from Corbet Sigman are THE most custom knife a person can get for the money. Perfect fit and finish, tapered tang, killer high carbon tool steel blade, sharp enough to scare the hair off a gnat's ass, and sheath for around $100-120.

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Danbo, soul brother of Rambo
 
Paracelus,

Real nice pieces in your collection. Tim Morgan's stuff is really interesting. Never heard of him. Does he have a website?

sing
AKTI #000356
 
I have two Simonich Cetans, one in Talonite with Cocobolo scales and the other in D2 warncliffe style blade with blue G10 scales. Both were purchased direct from Rob for less than $400 and I believe they are probably worth more than that if I were to sell them (not that I would!!). I've also had a Rinaldi, an Elishiwitz, a Mattis and a few others that all came in well under the $400 mark. All were very well executed pieces with no apparent flaws.
I think you can pick up a beautiful knife with lots of bells and whistles for $400.

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Buck Collectors Club Member # 572
Dedicated ELU
Talonite fan
Knifeknut(just ask my wife)
 
I'll second the nods for any of Bob Dozier's knives, as well as the Cetan from Rob Simonich! Awesome knives. IMHO... Dozier's are the best value in truly awesome hunting/using knives.

AJ
 
In that range ($300 or so) I have picked up several:

W.D.Pease-

Semi-Skinners and Wharncliffe danglers. While an older style, they have first rate workmanship and all the style that the good Rev. puts in his folders. All in the 3" range and even some engraving. Did I ever mention I love this guys work...

Don Lozier-

Picked up one of his upswept? skinners at the SOS show. Well under 3 beans and really well done. This guy does a great mirror finish and the fit is top notch. He is funny as hell too. I will get some more of his work in the future.

 
Originally posted by AJ:
I'll second the nods for any of Bob Dozier's knives, as well as the Cetan from Rob Simonich! Awesome knives. IMHO... Dozier's are the best value in truly awesome hunting/using knives.

AJ
Click to expand...

I agree on both accounts. Bob Dozier has his knives down to a science. I set up beside Rob Simonich at Blade show. I had high expectations of Rob's work before seeing it. His work was better than I could have imagined. Both Rob and Bob are very interesting and fun people to talk to as well. I look up to both of them as knifemakers, and business men.



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Lynn Griffith-Knifemaker

griffithknives.com
GriffithKN@aol.com
Griffith Knives Forum
 
Have just gotten an email back from Matt at www.lameyknives.com confirming my blued 4" Hornet, chisel ground for lefty and with a canted forward USD lefty sheath will come in for less than $150 shipped. I don't know if its "be kind to Australians week", but this is a bargain I reckon.
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[This message has been edited by Ferret (edited 10-29-2000).]
 
Danbo, I certainly agree with you about the sigman Utility Hunters in Carbon Steel. I let my guide gut and skin ablack bear I had shot with a #5 and he was so taken with the knife, that I asked him if he wanted the knife instead of a bonus and he took the knife having no idea of the value. that knife is getting so much use that it is stating to wear! I have a #5 and #4 in 440V that my son and I will try out deer hunting this fall. We do our own processing and I will report on how the knives did. The #5 did have to be sharpened once while skinning the bear, but that is Carbon Steel and it sharpened right up.
 
Nobody has mentioned David Manley yet. He makes some beautiful small hunters, mirror polished ATS34,serialized with natural handles and custom leather pouch sheath for ~ $100-120. Can't go wrong with any Denning or Simonich either.
David

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AKTI# A000150
NC Custom Knifemakers Guild member
NC Knife Knuts member
 
I'll add a couple of more.

Top to bottom, Michael L6 Cooper, GenO Denning (where have I heard that name before) and JA Lonewolf.

View


Now for $400, you could get the Cooper and Denning, or the Cooper and Lonewolf, but you couldn't buy mine.
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Another BF's maker is kind of new here, but getting quite a reputation for making quality hand forged, at remarkable prices is Max Burnett of Ogg Custom Knives.



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"Will work 4 Knives!"
My PhotoPoint Site

[This message has been edited by PhilL (edited 11-03-2000).]
 
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