Scott Dog, no "bows and arrows" here Brother.
I've been thinking a lot about the comment on the "Outdoors" section of the
Emerson Knives web site since it was brought it to our collective attention.
It's been my distinct pleasure to have met many knife makers since I got into collecting their products. There are those that I can say it was a great pleasure to have meet, and there are those that I can say have been less then impressive. But I respect their abilities none the less. One maker comes to mind in particular. He makes awesome knives. I respect his ability as a knife maker, but I wouldn't cross the street to say "Hi" to him and will
not own one of his knives.
It never ceases to amaze me that with basic raw materials, a knife maker can create a thing of beauty, yet retain the qualities of the basic tool that a knife is.
Many popular makers have been brought up and touted as the "Supreme Maker" or "this one is better then that one", yadda yadda.
I take nothing away from any maker. Each has their following and perception in the publics eye and among their peers, good or bad.
As I mentioned, I have met many of the more popular, well established makers, as well as some of the "up and coming" makers. It has been my pleasure to have met Ernie and I've talked with him on several occasions. I personally have found him to be very knowledgeable, gracious and <u>humble</u>.
Loveless, Moran, Walker, Fogg, ect, ect. Their all great makers . . . I suppose. Everyone says they are. I've never owned one of their knives. I don't even know anyone personally that owns one of their knives. The impresion I have is by reputation only.
Scott, so you own a "Loveless" or a "Moran"? Or do you respect them from afar? Is your respect based on personal knowledge of thier products and quality, the market price of their knives, "word of mouth" admiration or on their innovations and accomplishments?
Ernies been building damn fine custom knives for like twenty odd years. Add on top of that the Martial Arts and Defensive training he teaches, running a fairly large, ever growing production knife company, plus raising a family.
One doesn't have to look far to see Ernies influence on the knife community. Go to the General Forums and look up the strings about what features people like on their knives. Every other post mentions "The Wave". I don't recall one post saying "Integral Guards" or "Sub hilts" or "Hand forged Damascus" . . . do you?
To see Ernies influence on the market, both production or custom look no further then Bolker copying Ernies logo or Benchmades 722 "Pardue" or Farids folders and fixed blades or Microtech's Amphibian or people cutting the top of their Spyderhole or . . . . the list goes on and on.
Do I think the comment on the web site was a little "over the top"? Yea. Ad copy is sometimes pretty whacky. Next time you see a car ad where the car in question is sliding sideways through a desert or empty parking area, think about this . . . do you really want to own a car that they advertise slides sideways?
It's all for looks, it's all hype.
Notice that the claim that everyone has taken exception too is in the "Outdoors" section of the site. The side of the site that appears to be aimed at the "Unwashed Masses" and not the side that the members of this forum and members of other knife forums are the target audience for. Take it with a grain of salt.
Do I respect Ernie. Yea I do. Is he my "most respected knife maker" . . . . . yea, I suppose he is. Maybe if I actually got a chance to sit down and talk with Mr. Loveless and bought a $20,000 "fighter", I might change my mind.
Until that time, Mr. Loveless has my respect just the same.
Respectfully
John
[This message has been edited by John Hollister (edited 03-19-2001).]
