Ed Fowler fixed blade

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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After reading Ed Fowlers Blade column, and learning so much from his articles, I have decided I want to buy one of his masterpieces. I just wish that my wallet would've made the decision with me! :( I got to thinking, what about one of his proteges, are there knives available? I realize that they will not be as good a quality, and somewhat cheaper, but it seems to be worth a shot! I recently saw on of his fixed blade signature knives go up on eBay for mucho bucko :eek: . Slowly but surely entering the world of custom knives... :D
 
There are a number of blades available by Audra Draper on www.bladegallery.com I don't purport to comment on whether these knives are "not as good quality" as a Fowler blade, not being intimately familiar with the knives of either maker. I will say that Audra is an ABS Master Smith - and her knives strike me as highly desireable in their own right. She did study with Ed. There are also a few knives by on that same site by Bill Burke. I am not as clear on his association with Ed, but his knives clearly show a strong Fowler influence. I am sure others will know better than I.

Roger
 
Bill Burke has worked very closely with Ed. His knives are less expensive than Ed's, but they are still up there. So are Audra's.
 
Not to diss the quality of Ed's knives, but if you think his prices are indicative of a higher quality than that of makers with lower prices, you're in for quite the disappointment. Ed has a huge following, but I could easily name 20 bladesmiths offering higher value.

If you are entering the world of custom knives, I would strongly suggest you look at other makers too before deciding what you want. It is my personal belief that Ed's knives are hugely overpriced compared to other makers of similar or higher quality, and you should not pay this price unless you know exactly what you are doing and are decided that nothing else will do.
 
Joss, I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. Though Ed's knives may not have the degree of fit and finish that some other makers have, his knives do what they are intended to do as well as any, and that is to cut. His blades are also designed to take huge amounts of abuse and even though Cliff Stamp didn't find that the knife he had lived up to the legend, I can guaranty you that many of his knives have.

His knives are expensive, but he has a backlog of many years. If his knives didn't live up to the expectations of those that have purchased them then his reputation would suffer. It hasn't. His reputation continues to grow, actually.

Ed spends a great deal of time, energy and money trying to get the most out of his chosen steel. He is constantly looking for ways to get more out of 52100.

Ed's knives aren't for everybody and I can understand someone not thinking that they are worth what he is charging for them. I am not one of those people though. Right now I am looking at the possibility of Ed doing a collaboration with Joe Szilaski on a reproduction of a Michael Price dress knife. It may turn out that it will be more than I can afford, but it is unlikely that I will consider the price to be more than the knife is worth.

Once again I guess this only goes to show that each person has to make up their own mind as to whether a knife is worth what is being asked for it. I respect Joss' opinion very much, because I consider him to be a very knowledgeable collector, but there are definitely going to be times that we don't agree. This is one of them.
 
I agree with Joss, Ed's knives are nice but definately not worth what they are priced at. also, I owned one of his proteges knives for about three days and it was duller than a butter knife. I would suggest going to a knife show and handling the different knives.
 
Westflorida said:
I agree with Joss, Ed's knives are nice but definately not worth what they are priced at. also, I owned one of his proteges knives for about three days and it was duller than a butter knife. I would suggest going to a knife show and handling the different knives.
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Not sure what a protege is, do you mean Pronghorn? Very surprising that this knife was dull. I owned one of Ed's Pronghorns and it was certainly anything but dull. Was this a knife purchased directly from Ed or was it second hand?
 
Keith Montgomery said:
Joss, I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. Though Ed's knives may not have the degree of fit and finish that some other makers have, his knives do what they are intended to do as well as any, and that is to cut. His blades are also designed to take huge amounts of abuse and even though Cliff Stamp didn't find that the knife he had lived up to the legend, I can guaranty you that many of his knives have.
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I am not saying they're not good, and I'm not even saying they're not as good as the knives made by the very best makers with the best metallurgy knowledge, I am just saying that they are more expensive and hence, similar return for higher price = lower value.

His knives are expensive, but he has a backlog of many years. If his knives didn't live up to the expectations of those that have purchased them then his reputation would suffer. It hasn't. His reputation continues to grow, actually.
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Which by itself doesn't mean anything, as we're not more immune to bubbles than anyone else. However, again, I am not saying his knives do not perform well. I am saying that you can get knives that perform as well for considerably less.

Once again I guess this only goes to show that each person has to make up their own mind as to whether a knife is worth what is being asked for it. I respect Joss' opinion very much, because I consider him to be a very knowledgeable collector, but there are definitely going to be times that we don't agree. This is one of them.
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Thanks. I'm not saying the knives are not good. I'm saying that the collector should take a hard look at what else his money can buy before plunging. Then, if when knowing all the tradeoffs he chooses to go ahead, more power to him.

Mr Fowler has always been a gentleman with me, and he is one of the many makers that have contributed significantly to the advancement of the forged blade. He's also a gifted writer. It remains, there are many makers that make as good a knife for half the price or less.
 
Here is a knife I got from Bill Burke a couple years ago and is based upon the Ed Fowler Pronghorn. I have attended Ed's seminar about the "High Performance Blade" and enjoy learning his reasoning about why he builds a knife like he does. I always enjoy chatting with Ed and his love of knives is infectious. His collaborations with Joe Szilaski are legendary.

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Keith, here is the definition for you.

PROTEGE

n : a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career


Bill Burke and Audra Draper would be considered protege's of Ed Fowler. Where did you get the idea I owned an Ed Fowler knife?

Yes, the knife was as dull as a butter knife.
 
Sorry Westflorida, for some reason when you said that you owned one of Ed's proteges knives I was thinking that you were talking about a model, not an associate. I obviously totally misunderstood what it was that you were saying. The question I asked is still relevant. Was this knife directly from the maker or secondhand?
 
I want to share a couple things about Ed and his knives. In my conversations with Ed I find that he is aware of some of the finer points of working hot metal that many others have not observed. Ed's low temp forging is almost the same approach that Al Pendray came to to forge wootz steel. I've experimented with this method with other steels and found that it is benefical. Ed has worked hard to squeeze as much performance as possible out of 52100 steel. If your hand gets wet with blood or moisture the sheephorn grip gets tackie to the grip. I don't know anyone who in the use of a Fowler knife has every slipped past his substancial guard. His preferred geometery is extremely strong. I competed against Bill Burke in cutting competitions. Bills blade cutting .5 inch rope on a scale at less than 30 lb has outcut the competition by a factor of 5. Ed, Bill and Audra are good smiths and quality people. If I had to go into the wildness with two blades only one of those blades would be my Fowler pronghorn...Ed Schempp
 
Hey All,

I like Ed Fowler, he is a nice guy and very knowledgeable, maybe almost scholarly in his approach to his chosen metal, and he has been kind and patient with me over the years.

I also think that Joss is right about knives as good, for less money.

Ed makes his knives with brass and sheephorn, and there are no options. If you happen not to like either material, you are SOL. I do not, and will not own any knives that have brass as a major component of the handle. Ed Fowler calls brass an "honest metal", and I think that we can all say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

That said, if he was to make me an ironwood handled one with stainless guard, I would pay a reasonable price for it. Anything over $1,000 for a 4 inch drop point hunter designed for hard use is not reasonable to ME. That is $250-inch of blade steel.

If you are the kind of guy that hunts with a Perazzi shotgun, then a Fowler Pronghorn may just be for you. I am more of a Bob Dozier kind of guy when it comes to users. Low enough price that if you lose it, or bang it up than it does not hurt as much. High performance due to exceptional heat treat. May not be in the same league as the Fowler Triple quench, but after having used knives hard and steadily for 20 years, I have not found the need for that kind of over engineering.

If your reason for buying the knife is because you like his knives, and his writing, and handle one, and fall in love with it, buy it, by all means!!

But, because the subject may be new to you, go to a knife show (a real one, like Blade), and put your hands on everything you can, to see what you like best.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
A lot of this thread has gotten off track. The original post had mentioned that the Fowler was too rich for the poster's blood and he was asking who made a similar knife for less money.

I would contact Bill Burke. I would also get in touch with Ed Fowler and ask who he would recommend. He is working very closely with a gentleman by the name of Eldon Perkins these days.

Now to take things off track again...many of you probably don't care, but the reason that Ed's knives are as expensive as they are is that he spends a huge amount of money and time to figure out how to improve the performance of his knives. Just recently he made five experimental blades to do testing of incremental thermal cycles and their effect on the performance of a blade. This is very costly in both materials and time involved (especially time). Ed ran out of material before he was finished doing his testing so he will be starting all over again.

When people say that there are knives of as good quality as Ed's for less money, this may well be true. This could also be said of the knives of many of the other top makers. You pay a premium to get certain makers knives and you have decide for yourself if you are willing to pay that premium.

Another thing I am sure you will find is that the price of Ed's knives are as inexpensive as they are going to be. Knives that Ed sold years ago for $350.00 are now selling for $2000.00. If you purchase one of Ed's knives and decide that you don't like it, you won't lose any money when you re-sell it.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
Another thing I am sure you will find is that the price of Ed's knives are as inexpensive as they are going to be. Knives that Ed sold years ago for $350.00 are now selling for $2000.00. If you purchase one of Ed's knives and decide that you don't like it, you won't lose any money when you re-sell it.
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Not to be a pain in the butt, but you (or anyone) don't know that. The fact that the value has gone up so much in the past does not mean that it will keep going up ad infinitum, or even stay at that level. Case in points are Emerson knives and Mayo's, both of which have come down from a peak in the last year or so.

This is not something you should say to a beginning collector.
 
Silenthunter,
Take the opportunity if you find one...
David
 
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Joss said:
Not to be a pain in the butt, but you (or anyone) don't know that. The fact that the value has gone up so much in the past does not mean that it will keep going up ad infinitum, or even stay at that level. Case in points are Emerson knives and Mayo's, both of which have come down from a peak in the last year or so.

This is not something you should say to a beginning collector.
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You're right, I should have stated that this was my opinion, and it is my opinion. A very educated opinion, but an opinion none the less.
 
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