Generic knives

W. Anderson said:
Oh I totally get it. I just wanted to point out that "handmade" and "custom" aren't the same thing, and that some quality production knives can surpass the quality of handmade at similar pricing.
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Really, I didn't know that.
 
W. Anderson said:
I'm sure you did. Others may have differing opinions, though. I just see a lot of knives being referred to as "custom" when they aren't. Simply making a distinction.
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Thanks for the public service announcement.
 
W. Anderson said:
Welcome.
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You assumed I didn't have input on my bodyguard, that was incorrect. If you knew what his regular bodyguard looks like you would have noticed this one is vastly different, that's per my choices. I chose everything on this knife material wise, including handle, guard, and heat colored titanium. I had the blade made to my preference. The only thing I left alone was the shape of the handle because it looked perfect for my hand.


He made this knife per my request from scratch, and I had complete control over every feature. When I drop 1k on a knife I like to have it my way ;)
 
jaseman said:
Regarding customs....

Can most people here afford a custom from one of the makers here? Sure. But I think you need to make a big distinction between a $1000 custom, made to your exact specs, and a $130 one you find in the marketplace.

This is NOT a dig at those making affordable knives. In fact, I've been considering one for quite some time now. And yes, there are other expenses that are tying up my funds. But the 'affordable' knives are often cut from blanks instead of forged, made to the makers standard design 'template', and have few custom touches. This isn't to say they're not worth the money, or don't have soul, but you're still buying something pre-made vs. custom designed just for you. If you contacted one of them, and had them build to spec, you're most likely going to start getting out of what most of us consider affordable.
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I suggested trying a handmade knife from a craftsman here. Seems a few people got confused for some reason and thought I suggested buying a full custom? It's clear in the OP.
 
danbot said:
Not exactly cheap in my eyes, but I have to pay in $CDN. +duty and shipping.:oops:
The fit and finish on handmade folders is by and large immaculate though!:thumbsup:
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plus your govt snags them from the mail and slaps your wrist.:)

jokes aside.....

I dont mind production stuff but I also get your point shiny. have hundreds of productions, but I do have one custom and it is special as it was slaved over and designed for me. hard to not really enjoy that. it does feel special in my hand and I appreciate it more the some of my production favorites.
 
shinyedges said:
As my knife journey has progressed, I've realized many knives I like in pictures (or theory) once in my hand, lose appeal to me rather quickly. Typically I can say they all share this generic knife "feel" to it. It's actually not easy to convey what I'm trying to get across so bare with me.

Maybe this is what some people refer to as "soul? I don't quite know as I never really got the term soul as applied to knives.

The generic "feel" is more than just a physical feeling a knife has. I've come to appreciate a knife for more than just the sum of its parts. This journey has led me to custom knives, hand made knives by people.


My current favorite for months now is a Ben Seward body guard ( @RevDevil when you come back my foot will be here waiting for you ) :
View attachment 988927


It's made by a real human, not mass produced. It has character and a feel that speaks to me in a way no production knife ever has. Now this "feeling" is intangible and is 100% in my head but it is very real and it changed my buying habits.


Support our craftsman here on the forum, try out a handmade knife and see if this is true for you.
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I fully get where you're coming from, but in my experience the ability to impart a 'soul' onto a knife is not solely limited to a craftsmen hand-making one-off custom masterpieces. I have yet to order a full custom from any maker but I have purchased at least 4 knives I can remember brand new from the custom makers here on the forums so I do have handmade knife experience.

However, the knives I am most attached to that to me have more 'soul' than almost any other knives I've owned are 1. a production Ka-Bar Becker BK20 (limited run, but still production) I purchased NIB from Ka-Bar, and 2. A Fiddleback Bushfinger I purchased second-hand from the Flea Market. Each of these blades called out to me through the internet so strongly that I had a hard time buying them quick enough, and once in my hand I knew they were going to replace every other knife I owned. 2 years later and I have yet to find an equal to either one, yet neither was personally crafted by a knifemaker or spec'd out for my own personal tastes.

I do believe that handmade custom knives are the pinnacle of the knife's potential but I don't believe a handmade knife is the only option for someone to achieve perfection.

Photos for posterity.

t7yEra5l.jpg


JD9R5eJl.jpg
 
KingMC said:
I fully get where you're coming from, but in my experience the ability to impart a 'soul' onto a knife is not solely limited to a craftsmen hand-making one-off custom masterpieces. I have yet to order a full custom from any maker but I have purchased at least 4 knives I can remember brand new from the custom makers here on the forums so I do have handmade knife experience.

However, the knives I am most attached to that to me have more 'soul' than almost any other knives I've owned are 1. a production Ka-Bar Becker BK20 (limited run, but still production) I purchased NIB from Ka-Bar, and 2. A Fiddleback Bushfinger I purchased second-hand from the Flea Market. Each of these blades called out to me through the internet so strongly that I had a hard time buying them quick enough, and once in my hand I knew they were going to replace every other knife I owned. 2 years later and I have yet to find an equal to either one, yet neither was personally crafted by a knifemaker or spec'd out for my own personal tastes.

I do believe that handmade custom knives are the pinnacle of the knife's potential but I don't believe a handmade knife is the only option for someone to achieve perfection.

Photos for posterity.

t7yEra5m.jpg


JD9R5eJm.jpg
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I don't get the knife has "soul" either. Never did, still don't. What each person defines as perfection will vary (obviously) and honestly my bodyguard isn't perfect. I never said it was. There are things I'd change about it. Just because you feel a certain way about a knife now doesn't mean another knife won't change that. You're in a different place in your knife journey than I am, nothing wrong with that.

Despite having things I'd change about the bodyguard, it has made me "feel" more connected to it than all my previous knives.
 
shinyedges said:
I don't get the knife has "soul" either. Never did, still don't. What each person defines as perfection will vary (obviously) and honestly my bodyguard isn't perfect. I never said it was. There are things I'd change about it. Just because you feel a certain way about a knife now doesn't mean another knife won't change that. You're in a different place in your knife journey than I am, nothing wrong with that.

Despite having things I'd change about the bodyguard, it has made me "feel" more connected to it than all my previous knives.
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Yes, like if the knife was somehow a part of your extended family. It's a strange feeling for sure to appreciate a knife so much you confuse other people by your adoration and praise for it.
 
KingMC said:
Yes, like if the knife was somehow a part of your extended family. It's a strange feeling for sure to appreciate a knife so much you confuse other people by your adoration and praise for it.
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Yep, and that feeling for me is the same now as the day I received my Seward. Hasn't faded, if anything it's grown.

That's unusual for me, I move on rather quickly :D
 
shinyedges said:
You assumed I didn't have input on my bodyguard, that was incorrect. If you knew what his regular bodyguard looks like you would have noticed this one is vastly different, that's per my choices. I chose everything on this knife material wise, including handle, guard, and heat colored titanium. I had the blade made to my preference. The only thing I left alone was the shape of the handle because it looked perfect for my hand.


He made this knife per my request from scratch, and I had complete control over every feature. When I drop 1k on a knife I like to have it my way ;)
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Roger that. It's a good looking blade.
 
shinyedges said:
Despite having things I'd change about the bodyguard, it has made me "feel" more connected to it than all my previous knives.
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I think that's what is meant by the knife having soul. It has "soul" when we project that onto the knife. It "speaks" to you in some way, it gives you a "feeling" and that's what we interpret as soul.
 
danbot said:
I think that's what is meant by the knife having soul. It has "soul" when we project that onto the knife. It "speaks" to you in some way, it gives you a "feeling" and that's what we interpret as soul.
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I guess for me, the word soul has deeper meaning. So I never associated a soul with a knife, I'd say the knife has character that invokes those feelings. Of course that's just tomato, tomato. There goes that expression again that's useless in text :D
 
shinyedges said:
And for what it's worth, a hand made custom knife is a thing. Not all handmade knives are custom though.
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And not all custom knives are handmade. Throw that term midtech in there and now I’m officially confused.

For what its worth custom seems like it can mean quite a few things. Sometimes it means a true one off custom knife as requested by a customer. Sometimes it is a whole series of knives. For folders especially most the time the maker isn’t cutting out the titanium scales with a jewler’s saw. So lots of customs are basically a small production run that the maker adds a few special personal touches to.

Sometimes a knife built the exact same way will be called midtech by one maker and custom by another. So not always but a good sign to me that a knife is custom is that it is not just a knife but has the maker’s artistic touch to it. It is a piece that expresses the soul of the maker. Perhaps this is the “soul” in a knife we are all looking for?
 
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I'm all about supporting the makers here. I would think buying one of their handmade blades offered in the knife makers sell forum, would help determine if a custom would be down the road.
Someone may find that a hand made knife fills the boxes the same as a custom.
 
Kbrasmodeler said:
Uncalled for, dude. Chris, Shinyedges, is not pretentious in the least. He's hard working, kind to everyone (until they don't deserve it) and direct. I don't know if you suffer from an inferiority complex, but perhaps you should try to resist flinging insults and judgments.
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...equally uncalled for. Thanks for the help.
 
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