Gordon Knives - Bill DeFreest

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UnknownVT

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Feb 15, 2003
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Gordon2266_S.jpg

Semi-Skinner - 4" mirror polished ATS34, cocobolo, 8 1/2" overall

Gordon2266_2S.jpg
Gordon2266_2hdl.jpg
Gordon2266_taper_2S.jpg


I've long been an admirer of Loveless knives -
but to my eyes this knife by Bill "Gordon" DeFreest of Barnwell, SC (and the two following) seem a little bit more elegant and better looking (of course this is all personal taste).

I think although these are Loveless originated designs - these also have some George Herron influence.
(George Herron seems to have influenced a lot of knifemakers from the Carolinas.)

The Cocobolo on this semi-skinner is particularly nice - bought ~1998 at the New York Knife Show.

I like the contour in the middle of the belly of the handle, and the flare/swell toward the butt of the handle.

--
Vincent

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Stag Drop Point -
Gordon.jpg

4" mirror polished ATS34, sambar stag, 8 1/2" overall

Gordon_1578.jpg
Gordon__1578_hdl.jpg

Gordon__1578_taper_S.jpg


I like the slightly "clipped" drop point blade, the contour in the middle of the belly of the handle, the flare/swell toward the butt of the handle.

This is one the nicest looking stag drop points I have ever seen
(of course I'm biassed :D)
bought ~1997 at the New York Knife Show

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
 
Drop Point - Desert Ironwood
Gordon1199_S.jpg
Gordon1199_hdl.jpg

4" mirror polished ATS34, desert ironwood, 8 1/2" overall

As in the Stag Drop Point above - I like the slightly "clipped" drop point blade, the contour in the middle of the belly of the handle, the flare/swell toward the butt of the handle.

The Desert ironwood handle is slightly thinner and the flare/swell toward the butt is not quite as pronounced, bought early '90s after placing an order at the New York Knife Show.

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
 
Originally posted by UnknownVT
I've long been an admirer of Loveless knives -
but to my eyes this knife by Bill "Gordon" DeFreest of Barnwell, SC (and the two following) seem a little bit more elegant and better looking (of course this is all personal taste).
Click to expand...
Agreed. I have a semi skinner of Bill's in cocobolo also, and it's a gem. Fit & finish seem to be better than Loveless'.
Originally posted by UnknownVT
I think although these are Loveless originated designs - these also have some George Herron influence.
Click to expand...
True. But to be clear, Herron was influenced by Loveless. Just like Steve Johnson and Dietmar Kressler and a host of others were influenced by Loveless designs.
 
Great looking hunters,the stag is a real beaut.The first thing that came to my mind looking at the pics is "very clean".
 
many thanks for the encouraging comments guys.

yep, Keith and ebbtide - you've caught me :o - I've found that using a flatbed scanner quicker and easier than using even my digicam - especially for small object like knives. Even scanning at a humble lowly 150dpi can yield well focussed high definition and detailed images.

With obviously the reservation that mirror polished blades can cause some difficulties (as they do with conventional cameras). Whereas satin and matte bead-blast finishes are reproduced really well

This was the first time I've seen this rainbow effect - I actually (perhaps perversely) find it quite attractive - although it is not, strictly speaking, a true respresentation of the blade.

I think/guess the rainbow effect might have something to do with the blades being aligned with the scanning sensors (eg: parallel or at right-angles) causing an optical effect.

Whereas the diagonal scans don't seem to have quite as pronounced rainbowing - like this other "diagonal" pic of the stag drop point -
fc70fde3.jpg


A little while back I wrote something on flatbed scanners -

some general flatbed Scanners advice

If you look carefully at the other diagonal pic of the stag drop-point - perhaps you can just see the sheath's formed contour is of the actual stag handle - these sheaths appear to be individually formed for each of the knives - and not mass produced from a single template knife (that's why on the reverse side of the sheath on the horizontal pic of the stag drop-point there's a number at the lower end of the belt loop - which is the serial # of the knife itself etched on the lower end of the tang near the guard.)
 
While trying to do a web search for Bill DeFreest of Gordon Knives - I was saddened to come across this:

http://www.thepeoplesentinel.com/articles/2005/11/16/news/04_barber.prt

"William Gordon “Bill” DeFreest Sr., 62, died Nov. 12 after a short illness.
...........
Beside barbering, DeFreest crafted his “Gordon knives,” custom-made blades which he sold literally worldwide. DeFreest used to travel to Europe, Japan and other countries showing and selling his cutlery at trade shows, she said.
After “Field and Stream” outdoor magazine featured his knives in a 1997 issue, demand for his knives exploded. DeFreest worked hard to meet the demand but after manufacturing knives while still barbering, DeFreest scaled back his knife production in recent years, she said."

Here are some retries at better representation of his handles on the knives I photographed above -

Stag -
StagDiag2Hdl.jpg
StagDiagHdl.jpg


Cocobolo -
Cocbolo2Hdl.jpg
CocboloHdl.jpg


Desert Ironwood -
IronW2Hdl.jpg
IronWHdl.jpg


RIP Bill......

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
 
Defreest Made very nice knives, ment to be used. Being a friend of both Bob Loveless, and George Herron, I can tell you that on the first knife pictured, the blade grind is More Loveless, the grip, more Herron. And a fine job it is too! Mike Lovett http://www.lovettknives.com/
 
Beautiful knives, though very sad about Mr De Freest passing on. A real loss to the knifemaking world. For me, there is a distinct difference in styling between "Loveless" and "Herron" styles, even though they are obviously similar and have a common ancestry. These knives look more "Herron" styled. Just nit-picking...

Also, those are nice tapered tangs. Theres something about a dramatic tapered tang that adds $100 and more to the looks, let alone the balance and feel of a knife. Jason.

Jason Cutter Bladeart
Jason Cutter aka Dr Kwong Yeang
Knifemaker, Australia.
http://www.jcbknives.com
 
Jason Cutter said:
For me, there is a distinct difference in styling between "Loveless" and "Herron" styles, even though they are obviously similar and have a common ancestry. These knives look more "Herron" styled. Just nit-picking...
Click to expand...

Many thanks for that input.

I tend to agree - in fact Bill (DeFreest) told me the hump backed semi-skinner with the cocbolo handle was a George Herron design.
(Wayne Hendrix - another of my favorite makers - also says his model #1 semi-skinner knife is a George Herron design).

However I kept getting "corrected" that they are "really" Loveless designs - once by no less than Ken Warner - the editor of "Knives 'XX" for 20 years when I showed him that "Gordon" semi-skinner knife just after I bought it .......

So I now compromise, and say they are originally Loveless designs with George Herron influence - which is what I said in my opening post :)

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
 
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