From the arcane world of knifemaking...

[Darrin Sanders]

If minimal effort past your saw blade effort is a diminishing return in performance (not in profit margin), then please tell me when you'll be ready to put up a sawzall knife against a similar design from another maker.

He aint gonna do it because HE (better than anybody else) knows his super duper Sawzall bullshit aint gonna outcut a well made knife by any maker willing to meet the challenge.

 

[BMK]

A knife that is engineered, created and or designed by a couch-bladesmith will always be very different from a knife that is engineered, created and/or designed by someone with extensive outdoor, survival and real world knife using experience. This fact is a hard pill to swallow (for some of you) but I think you will find that truth liberates.

Again, thank you for sharing your ideas and opinions. I look forward to reading more of your comments and ideas - keep them coming!

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Sorry for bumping this but I can't help it!

Dude, you're just trolling now... your initial response was a lot cooler. (response to Darrin)

I have had people be critical of my work here and in retrospect they are usually right.

Knifemaking may be arcane by definition, the average person doesn't understand it. Yes, they can look up the information freely, I just don't think most people get it. The thing is, you came to the least arcane place to discuss such a thing! The way you put it all just seems like trolling.

Good
fit and finish, pleasing lines and general aesthetics

grinding, your grinds look great

nice photos, well done website as far as looks go

I like your knives in general, they are my kind of style


Bad
representation, you seem like you are hiding something

misleading descriptions... are your knives sole authorship, kits, customs

I don't think anyone sees anything wrong with selling kits, please don't try to mislead anyone though

Your statement about materials not being important is shocking, the first thing I do when making a knife after the initial design is to figure out the most appropriate material. It doesn't even have to be the "best" (this is subjective, I always use the best) or do it all, just appropriate.

Please try to make more sense if you want us to take you seriously, you come off as liquid molten crazy and I mean that in the most objective manner. I apologize if that was rude, I am simply trying to be honest. It is probably not to late to earn everyones respect, hey it might not hurt.

 

[BMK]

Thank you for your comments, Dan.

Nearly every knife is made up of parts made by different people. Steel maker, rivet or bolt maker, handle material maker, blade maker, tubing maker, brass maker, adhesive maker...Should a knifemaker give credit to every person who made every part of the knife? Should that list be stamped on the blade like movie credits? Alphabetical order or should the most important component be first? Is the blade more important than the handle - try using a blade with no handle;-) Does a gunsmith make every part of the rifle he builds, the bladesmith, the hamburger maker, the car maker, shoemaker...? This can get ridiculous pdq.

I would like to know how an entire knife made by a "bladesmith" performs any different from a knife made by someone else building a knife around the same blade. If function is your primary consideration then the only thing that matters is how the knife performs. If the name of the bladesmith stamped on the blade gives you comfort, then admit it and buy knives from bladesmiths and pray he built the entire knife and did not just fabricate the blade.

I clearly state that I do not make most of my blades - I fail to see the confusion you cite.

 

[bhyde]

I suppose the blades could cut something..The only thing required to cut is to be harder than the material being cut. Just won't hold an edge for crap. Kinda like a butter knife.
On another note, the company I work for throws away bi-metal blades that the teeth are missing off of for various reasons. I should have been turning them into something useful..Shims for setting up the mill, leveling a lathe etc.

You can add yet one more visit to your website for information. Unfortunately, I found nothing that would lead me towards the purchase, which I believe is the goal. Right now, I believe that the majority of the posters on this forum would draw the same conclusion as I did.

You seem to be intelligent in many ways, but miss the part about the description of some of the processes involved in making your knive(s). To further exacerbate the issue, you insult members intelligence by assuming that their life experience and knowledge isn't as extensive as your own. Some would call that a "logical fallacy".

Here are some tips that might help:

1) Stick to the facts that you are able to provide proof of via documentation. (scholarly sources tend to work best)

2) Answer questions with reasonable answers without insults as text lacks emotion or vocal inflection.

3) If you do not know the answer to a question, it is very acceptable to say so.

4) Never assume that your target audience lacks the resources or time to thoroughly find flaws in reason. (underestimating intelligence is generally a bad idea)

Take as much or as little from my tips as you like. Your own credibility and reputation on this particular forum really depends on you and your actions. All in all, the BF community is a wealth of resources, entertainment and just great people.
Some stats you might not be aware of:

Members: 178,760
Threads: 642,221
Posts: 8,308,523
Top Poster: Esav Benyamin (54,470)

Carry on.

Bill

 

[Wloch248]

A knife that is engineered, created and or designed by a couch-bladesmith will always be very different from a knife that is engineered, created and/or designed by someone with extensive outdoor, survival and real world knife using experience. This fact is a hard pill to swallow (for some of you) but I think you will find that truth liberates.

Again, thank you for sharing your ideas and opinions. I look forward to reading more of your comments and ideas - keep them coming!

Wow, just wow. These guys that make knives for a living are being referred to as "couch-bladesmiths" ?!?!?!?!

Look monkey, just because you have real world experience USING knives makes you no expert on MAKING them. Your statement that the two different kinds of people will make different kinds of blades is absolutely correct. It just so happens that the one you design, engineer, and create is likely to be of no value to someone who needs to rely on a knife. The TRUTH that is supposed to be liberating is the fact that these "couch-bladesmiths" rely on PROVEN SCIENCE to make far superior blades than can even be touched by a arcane sawzall blade inspired knife.

I don't know what else to say. It seems as though you really have NO IDEA what you are talking about when it comes to the COLD HARD FACTS of what goes into making a knife. But we will keep posting and sharing our thoughts and ideas and you will keep side stepping and avoiding them.

I'm off to make the best wooden and plastic knife the world has ever seen. It is going to be a great knife because I have outdoor, survival, and real world experience which is all I need apparently to make some very special knife.

 

[Wloch248]

Wow, 3 posts in they time it took me to type mine up!

 

[BMK]

Thanks for the advice, Bill. As you were...

ps Most of you gentlemen have a great sense of humor!

 

[Fellhoelter]

Should that list be stamped on the blade like movie credits?

Nope, just your mark IF you made the blade.

However, all other credit should be readily given when asked.

Transparency is a big virtue in this community.

 

[Kiah]

A knife that is engineered, created and or designed by a couch-bladesmith will always be very different from a knife that is engineered, created and/or designed by someone with extensive outdoor, survival and real world knife using experience. This fact is a hard pill to swallow (for some of you) but I think you will find that truth liberates.

Again, thank you for sharing your ideas and opinions. I look forward to reading more of your comments and ideas - keep them coming!

Wow. Sorry if I piss in your cheerios with this post, but oh well.

You've came into a forum full of real knifemakers after putting a few kits together and grinding a couple soft Sawzall blades into what are basically display knives, and proceeded to proclaim awesomeness. Now you're curious why people are a bit confused? You're knives are not "engineered, created, and/or designed" by you with the exception of one, which is a total fail in the "engineering" department. My advice is to check your inflated ego at the door, and listen to what people with experience have to tell you.

As for the one knife you can claim as your own. It wouldn't hurt to show a bit of humility there. Your grind is wavy, you ran up on the plunge line, and it looks like you overheated a section of the blade (not that that makes a huge difference considering).

One other thing. Your website lists you as an "Officer of Marines and Special Forces team commander". I'm not calling BS on that, but if you're gonna claim it, you need to at least bother to include your real name somewhere. Way too many frauds out there claiming the same credentials as a marketing gimmick.

 

[Carl_First_Timer]

Some people just don't know enough, to know they do not know enough.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Thank you for your comments, Dan.

Nearly every knife is made up of parts made by different people. Steel maker, rivet or bolt maker, handle material maker, blade maker, tubing maker, brass maker, adhesive maker...Should a knifemaker give credit to every person who made every part of the knife? Should that list be stamped on the blade like movie credits? Alphabetical order or should the most important component be first? Is the blade more important than the handle - try using a blade with no handle;-) Does a gunsmith make every part of the rifle he builds, the bladesmith, the hamburger maker, the car maker, shoemaker...? This can get ridiculous pdq.

Think of it like a car... if you were buying one you would want to know the brand, maybe the kind of motor, auto or manual transmission. You wouldn't care who made the lug nuts; the overall quality of the vehicle would be what you based your decision on. On a knife that would translate over to the blade maker, whether it is sole authorship, maybe the handle material. Nobody cares who made the tubing but it would be smart to point out if you put pricey chainrings on it.

I just linked a photo of one of my knives to an old internet friend on an unrelated forum. He makes things by hand, cuts opal. The first thing he asked me was if I made the blade too. It is important. A maker here was recently called out for putting a handle on a kit and not mentioning it, you should do like him and step your game up.

I would like to know how an entire knife made by a "bladesmith" performs any different from a knife made by someone else building a knife around the same blade. If function is your primary consideration then the only thing that matters is how the knife performs. If the name of the bladesmith stamped on the blade gives you comfort, then admit it and buy knives from bladesmiths and pray he built the entire knife and did not just fabricate the blade.

In my opinion this is not as important as full disclosure. I'd buy a well made knife made from an old coil spring if I felt the maker was knowledgable and made a good knife over some guys magical mystery steel that he claimed was better. I don't even mark my blades yet, I spent my money on a grinder and a kiln because to me that is more important.

I clearly state that I do not make most of my blades - I fail to see the confusion you cite.
I have been to your site.

.....

 

[BMK]

Maybe a better title for this thread would be: "How many "serious" knifemakers does it take to humor just one Bush Monkey?"

 

[Fellhoelter]

Or "How many Jack Asses does it take to drive away potential customers?"

Edit: In deference to the spirit of transparency, I'll answer my own mock thread title.

Just One.

 

[SShepherd]

A knife that is engineered, created and or designed by a couch-bladesmith will always be very different from a knife that is engineered, created and/or designed by someone with extensive outdoor, survival and real world knife using experience. This fact is a hard pill to swallow (for some of you) but I think you will find that truth liberates.

Again, thank you for sharing your ideas and opinions. I look forward to reading more of your comments and ideas - keep them coming!

posts like this will greatly shorten your lifespan as a member here

 

[Mitchell Knives]

How did you come up with this great design?

 

[BMK]

Thanks for the question, Mitch. Based on my experience using knives, the blade looked like a good design. I saw no need to reinvent what was a sound wheel so I engineered around it. Ordering a blade off the internet is pretty simple these days. Can I answer any other questions for you?

 

[Kiah]

Maybe a better title for this thread would be: "How many "serious" knifemakers does it take to humor just one Bush Monkey?"

BMK, the OP is yours, so you're free to change it. Wouldn't be accurate, but neither is the current one.

Simple request. Since every knifemaker I know of uses his actual name as his username or includes it in his posts or site, may we ask yours? Hard to take someone seriously when the only name you have to address them is "Bush Monkey".

 

[AcridSaint]

BMK:

In case I haven't been perfectly clear - I will make a knife of similar design to yours with my "arcane" methods and materials and I will submit said knife for testing (to destruction if necessary) to an agreed upon third party. Provided, of course, that you are also willing to do so with a knife made from a sawzall blade and no additional heat treating (although I'm not sure what heat treating can be done to a bimetal blade). Preferably, you'll leave the sawzall paint on this test knife to allow everyone to see that it really is what you claim.

Since I'll be patterning after your design, there should be no confusion as to whether or not any outperforming has to do with my "couch-bladesmithing" experience since it will have been "inspired" by the design of a real "operator", such as yourself. All you've got to do is say yes, and give me your specs (thickness, blade length, OAL, grind type etc) and I'll get to work on it in the coming weeks.

 

[BMK]

Acrid,

If you and I go into a remote wilderness for a few weeks with just our chosen self made knives, I win and you lose Get to work on that and get back to me.