Gotta love the Slipjoint Cartel!

[mnblade]

Here's a pretty great video about some of the finest makers in the custom (slipjoint) knife business!

 

[Blues]

Nice to see some of those faces.

 

[mnblade]

I'd love to see what these gents carry on a day-to-day basis!

 

[Chui]

Great vid, thanks for sharing

 

[Blues]

I'd love to see what these gents carry on a day-to-day basis!

They usually can't (afford to) keep their own stuff, so it's either something that was a gift, something that was not up to snuff, (by their standards), or something relatively pedestrian. (Based on what several of my maker friends would be carrying.)

I used to like bringing some of Bill Ruple's knives to the shows and have him look at them. You could see in his eyes his thinking back to where and when he built 'em. Kind of fun.

 

[Blades of Glory]

Incredible video. Thanks for sharing. Makes me even more proud to be a part of this community!

 

[JW225]

Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Centermass]

What an awesome video. Thanks so much.

 

[Ben Kabisch]

Cool video! Some great makers and even better people in that group! Proud to know a few of them!

 

[Matt_WY]

That’s a great video, thanks for posting.

 

[Jason Fry]

Those guys have raised the bar for sure. Most are members of the Knifemakers' Guild.

As a Guild guy who's made 50ish slipjoints myself, I almost hesitate to build one any more because those guys are SO good. A "regular" good slipjoint won't hardly cut it these days.

 

[JW225]

I had always heard the "Slipjoint Cartel" referred to as the "South Texas Knife Cartel." I guess no matter what you call it, it includes some mighty fine slipjoint makers! I know that knives from some of these makers have been posted in other threads from time to time, but perhaps this thread could include some photos of Cartel knives all in one place to admire. I'm lucky to have a small sampling:

Bill Ruple:

Toby Hill (Mammoth Ivory):

Burt Flanagan (with Bill Burke "River of Fire" Damascus):