Darren Chard?

S

SpyderJon

Joined
Jan 27, 2002
Messages
2,038
Howdy! I was wondering if anyone has had experiences with this canadian maker's knives? They look stunning, but I am looking for those who might have experience with his knives in the using sense. Hopefully someone here can provide a good basis for comparison? thanks!

Sincerely,
Anthony
 
I own one of his knives and have another on order at the moment. I have never carried or really used it (i popped her cherry cutting a peice of paper).. but the quality and fit and finish are superb. The one thing i would have changed is the lock didn't quite engage as strongly as i would have liked and the handle is not so comfortable for my smaller hands. I have another that is planned to be a user in the makes right now, and will hopefuly have a smaller handle for me to be able to use more comfortably.
 
Bring together an anal-retentive knife collector and an anal-retentive knife maker and what do you get?

Darren Chard's "Satin Wheels 11" liner-lock titanium folder! This was another folder that my friend Darren made for me a couple of months ago. I screwed up the photos in Photoshop (sorry), but at least you can get a fairly good idea of what the knife looks like.

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Anodized titanium scales and back spacer, hand turned thumb stud, machine turned liners, and - my favorite bit of decoration - some filework where no one else can see it!

Action is butter smooth, locks up tight as a frog's a** in a puddle of ice water, blade sits dead-center, and has a quality of fit and finish that matches anything else in my collection.

In a word: SUPERB.
 
Originally posted by cockroachfarm
locks up tight as a frog's a** in a puddle of ice water
Click to expand...

Some folks have a way with the quality of their words as well as the quality of their knives. ;) :p ;)

Congrats on such a great knife. Thanks for the post, Holger!

Coop
 
Coop,

I wish there was some way I could ship this knife to you so you could judge it for yourself, in your hands. The fit and finish is amazing and you of all people would really appreciate the care that went into making it. When I figure out what I did wrong in Photoshop, maybe I'll post a few more pix. Darren Chard's work definitely needs to be exposed to a much wider audience.
 
I was interested in the VERY knife design that cockroachfarm posted! I'm very interested in Mr. Chard's work, but I'm interested in knowing if his pieces are mostly for show, or for use? Obviously I wouldn't try to cut through a car door with his knives, or pry anything. And obviously the knife would be carried in a sheath on my belt, but how well does the anodizing hold up? Especially given the absolutely DROP DEAD GORGEOUS finish that he's able to get on his knives! I ALSO like that bit of filework, is that standard on his knives? It's enough to get me to order one, but I really can't have a lot of safe queens. I need knives that can fit into a good rotation. Currently the rotation I have planned includes thus:

3 Obenauf small model 2s
1-2 Charles Marlowe knives
1 Sebenza (Like I said elsewhere, the knife is kinda like the 1911, some like it and some hate it, but grudgingly it IS a classic)

and Now I need something else. Mr. Chard's knives have the value of the Sebenza, but the bonus of being: 1. custom, 2. Beautiful, and 3 having an aesthetic (sp?) appeal that I can't get over! Please let me know what you think about his suitability as a semi-regular carry candidate!

Sincerely,
Anthony

By the by, THANK YOU to everyone who's contributed. Especially Cockroachfarm- again, that knife is smokin'!!!
 
Originally posted by SpyderJon
....I ALSO like that bit of filework, is that standard on his knives?...
Click to expand...

No, it isn't. That was done as a surprise for me by Darren. He knows how much I like folding knives with "hidden" filework. (I have several custom folders from my good friend Bud Weston where either some or all of the intricate filework can only be seen if I point it out to you! Gives me some kind of perverse pleasure, I guess! ;) )
 
Here's a photo of Darren Chard's shop. It's as immaculate as the fit and finish of his knives.

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Darren picking up a few pointers from Bud Weston (left).

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Oh, and here's a shot of the very first fixed blade that Darren Chard has ever made - when it was about 90% finished. After I took possession, I sent this fighter to Adone Pozzobon for some very restrained, very tasteful engraving of the guard.

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Those are some nice photos! Say, Cockroachfarm, what do YOU think, are his knives for EDC or not? How does the anodizing hold up to use? Thanks, again!!

Sincerely,
Anthony
 
I wouldn't be a good judge of that - even my steady rotation of EDC's doesn't get a really strenuous work-out.
 
Originally posted by cockroachfarm
No, it isn't. That was done as a surprise for me by Darren. He knows how much I like folding knives with "hidden" filework. (I have several custom folders from my good friend Bud Weston where either some or all of the intricate filework can only be seen if I point it out to you! Gives me some kind of perverse pleasure, I guess! ;) )
Click to expand...

So you were who Darren was talking about!!! Darren told me that he had a client that he had suprised with some Filework and some other stuff and it was his Satin Wheels model.. didn't think i'd actually see it tho!

I once asked Darren about the finish and annodizing and how it would hold up, and he said that it should hold up fine as long as you don't chuck it around with the keys. He said he received a Satin Wheels model back from a customer for resharpening after about a year and the finish and annodizing looked the same as the day he made it just about.
 
OK Murray, am I gonna have to yell at you for posting gorgeous knfe pics without any specs ? I really like that second one - are those snakewood scales?

Roger
 
those are snakewood scales on the 2nd folder. I don't have much info as Darren provided those at a show for me to do and I did not get details.
 
That first knife belongs to me, so i can give the specs for the first one, and i remember Darren sent me the specs for the second as well since they were made at the same time...

First one:
Rose Damasteel Blade
Purple Ti Bolsters
Pale Moon Ebony Scales
Blue machined/jeweled Liners
Purple Backspacer
blade is about 3 1/2" handle is about 5"

Second one (i think):
ATS-34 Blade
Mokume bolsters
Snakewood scales
 
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