Good & Great Designers?

Sal Glesser

Sal Glesser

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I don't normally venture out of the "Spyder-cave" very often to start threads, (I lurk) but I had the thought and felt it would make good conversation.

I believe that it is the design that carries the model. For those that purchase knives for their "looks", it is the design that "looks good". For those that purchase their knives for function, it is still the design that creates the function.

We are fortunate in that there have been and are some really good designers in our industry. Who do you think are the Good & Great designers out there? And why? "No best, all good, just different". (present company excluded, please).

Let's give them some credit for their efforts and successes.

I would like to start off with Al Buck on the historical end. The Buck 110 influenced many of our lives. Today, Ken Onion has certainly shared his unique inventions (Speed Safe) and flowing designs.

Who got your attention? and why?

sal
 
I like Jim Hammond, as his "user interface" on knives always seem to feel real good in the hand. His blade grinds are excellent, as well. The Cruiser does indeed rock, as does his other knives.
 
Darrel Ralph has some really incredible designs that catch my eye and feel good in the hand, such as the EDC and the Maxx. Also Tom Mayo, and Jerry Hossom's designs are certainly beautiful. I haven't gotten the chance to actually use one of his designs yet, but someday...
 
Great thread Sal :)

Jerry Hossom's designs always intrigue. His tanto angles are wild compared to the "standard" tantos you see out there, his handles have a whole lot more curve than others out there, and the deep and high hollow grinds he uses are quite interesting. I love talking about geometry and function with Jerry. I think that he really pushes what can be done with tip geometries and hollow grinds. When you hear about what folks like gaucho have done with his knives... well, for me it makes me change the way I think about knives. What takes some makers thicker steel and more obtuse geometries to accomplish, Jerry can do in thinner steel, etc.

Trace Rinaldi I really like too. I designed and made a knife for my brother in law a few years ago and it ended up looking somewhat like a Rinaldi. That knife made me look a lot at Trace's work. The TTKK is a GREAT blade because it has a nice wide blade and a dropped edge and a good handle shape. Trace's designs to me seem lie ehe doesn't set out to make something different, but rather to make somehtign that is going to work very well at cutting chores. Again with the TTKK, the nice wide blade (relative to other blades of similar length out there) makes for a thinner edge, the dropped blade acts as a guard, yet doesn't impair work (such as working over a cutting board) liek a real guard could. To me, Trace knows the simple lessons of what makes great knives great, and executes those lessons with skill.

Neil Blackwood is another star to me. I love knives that offer geometry that cuts well, while providing durability. Furthermore, such a knife can look good, and need not be a blacktical (black tactical) mess! His Ninja series of blades did it for me. I'm not a big recurve fan, but he got the curves right on his ninja blades. The grinds are high, producing good cutting geometry. And the handles, with the black wrap and colored titanium, are a great match. Subtle, functional, and gorgeous.

I could go on, but those three chaps sure influence me and my own knife making. From Neil, I learn to mate 100% function with elegant looks; from Trace, I learn to pay attention to the basics and execute them to the best of my ability; from Hossom, I learn to keep on pushing the performance envelope.

(Spyderco sure added a lot of innovation to the world of knives too!)
 
Whatever person or group is responsible for the Delica and Endura. Here are two of the most highly recommended knives for low price high performance cutlery. Dang near everyone has one or both.
I know that its a "spyderco" design, and you can see some of the same stuff in a lot of their other knives. The Delica and Endura deserve some recognition though.
 
Having grown up in San Diego, the Buck Family has profoundly shaped my view of what a knife should be. My Grandfather, and Father both carried their favorite Buck knives. My first Buck was a 112. It has been my standard measure of what a good knife is.

My first year of college I would pass by AG Russell’s shop on my way to work. This was the first time I became aware that there were quality knives other than the Buck Family. It’s where I first heard of Bob Dozier and saw his knives. He raised the bar for what I expected a knife to do and be.

Al Mar designed knives were the first to make me think how cool a knife could look, as well as function.

Bill Harsey and his simplicity and design toward purpose. RW Loveless the same.

Walter Brend just kills me with his grinds and sense of balance.

I have always thought that Bob Lum's knives were graceful.

Whoever designed that hole you can use to open a knife and the lightning flash that created the pocket clip.Those two ideas are really worth keeping.

Thanks
Mike
 
Chris Reeve.

The One Piece Range fixed blades and the Sebenza folders are both amazing designs! They are elegant in their simplicity and very functional.
 
A couple that no one has mentioned: Charles Elsener for the Swiss Army (Officers) knife and Tim Leatherman for the multitool.


Sal, you deserve a lot of credit for your knife designs, plus your pocket clip and one hand opening blade hole.

Great topic.





- Frank
 
Chris Reeve....as stated above.
Al Buck....as stated above
Matt Conable....The William Henry line has brought the "gents" folder to a higher level.
...and Sal Glesser. Unless you only carry slip joints, chances are the folder you carry has at least some influence from Spyderco.

Paul
 
Jay Hendrickson MS --> handle designs are amazing

David Dempsey --> very appealing overall look, very nice in hand

Ed Fowler MS --> there's no words to describe his overall knife design. From the handle, the guard, and the blade geometry.

Chris Reeves --> simple yet complicated knives. Sebenza, very simple looking, but one of the more complicated pivot system.

Too many to mention :D
 
I forgot to mention Bob Lum, they Spyderco Lum Chinese folder I got in a pass-around not long ago left me very impressed with the overall design. Whoever designed the Lil' Temperance sure did a good job too, it may be ugly but it sure is comfortable!
 
Sal, I believe that you deserve a great deal of credit since it was your ideas that made Spyderco distinctive and that gave birth to tactical knives and manual one handers. Specifically, I like your Military, Calypso, Native, and ATR designs. Your son Eric did a great job on the Dodo also.:)
 
There are an amazing number of great designers working at the moment. That is one of several reason why I consider this a "golden age" of knives. :)

Here is my short list of favorites:

Sal Glesser is the John Moses Browning of folding knives. He is responsible for so many fundamental principles that the modern tactical would be unrecognizable without his contributions. Aside from his inventions, I admire the starkly pragmatic beauty of his designs.

Bob Dozier is a genius at minimalist design. His knives look pretty normal. It's only when you pick them up and begin to cut things that the subtle perfections of grips and blades become apparent.

Chris Reeve changed our conceptions of what a production knife could be. His elegant designs, attention to detail, and outstanding customer service set a new standard.

Ken Onion and Darrel Ralph brought "art knife" styles and custom ergonomics to the full range of production knives. Their designs don't look like anything else on the market, even at the lowest end of the spectrum.

--Bob Q
 
Neil Blackwood: Manages to combine elegance with badassness. :D His designs look equally at home slitting throats or cutting apples. What looks like an assasin's tool in black micarta suddenly looks like a gentleman's pocketknife in maple. That's a tough trick to turn, but Blackwood pulls it off with ease.

Ron Leuschen: No frills (at least on his basic models), just solid WORKING knives. Is anyone else even doing integrals right now?

Hossom: His knives scare me. Not much pretense with something that pointy. Gets the point across and does it in grand fashion. :D
 
My vote goes to Sal also. You may not see his name etched on the blades, but you sure see his signature in their functional beauty. :cool:
 
I must put in a word for P.J. Tomes. His Moose double lockback and his combination lockback/slipjoint folder are subtle variations on the traditional folder. Bob Lum and Scott Sawby also deserve mention because they are two knifemakers that don't mind standing out from their peers. Ilove the Sawby self lock and I like Lum's use of oversize nail nicks.
 
For combat knives, the best is quite simply, Bill Bagwell. Acknowledged as "The King of the Bowies," he's teamed-up with Ontario Knife Co., to produce the best combat knives for the value in the world... If you can't afford a Bagwell original, and I can't yet, the Ontario offerings cannot be beaten by any other production knife... Frankly, I'd rather have one of my Hell's Belle's on, or near me, than just about any other form of blade... If silent "conflict resolution" were necessary, Mr. Bagwell's creation would be paired with my Cold Steel Double-Edged Imperial Katana... So, if you really need a knife when the chips are down, for any task, from skinning a critter as small as a mouse (Bagwell's done it!) to defending yourself against two or four legged critters, or hacking your way through brush, or too many blade necessary tasks to mention or think about, go with the best, a Bagwell Bowie, an original, or by the fine folks at Ontario Knife Company...

http://www.ontarioknife.com/Internet/designer.html

Regards and Respects,
Carter, oldpaladin, out...
 
RW Clark has several good designs, in my opinion. His knives aren't flashy, but they are very comfortable to grip and have good traditional lines. His hunters/utilities are solid traditional blades with great handles and blade shapes (why don't more people make flat ground blades?) while his MAU (Modern Asian Utility) are designs which combine features of the tanto blade tradition and simple modern design. His new folder design is similarly understated, but extremely hand friendly and is both easy on the eyes and easy on your hands.
 
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