Macchina
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2006
- Messages
- 5,213
I have been researching Marbles Knife Co, especially the Gladstone, MI made fixed blades. I ended my search as soon as I found out about Hess Knives, located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This Father-Son duo once worked at Marbles and after the factory closed they started Hess Knife Works and began turning out their own twist on the void that was left when Marbles closed. As far as I can tell, the blades are made by GEC from their excellent 1095 and the Hess family does all of the work from there.
They describe these knives as being "high quality "Made in the USA" bench made custom knives" and they weren't kidding. This knife is everything I wanted in a Marbles knife but with a useful design and custom-grade finishing all for less than $100! At this price and this level of quality these knives are an absolute steel.
The model I decided to start with was a very unique knife they call the Tiburon. It has the classic leather-washer handle and aluminum pomel of classic hunting knives with a very utilitarian drop point blade. The knife looked great online but I could hardly believe what came out of the box! The blade is actually a full convex zero grind starting with 0.125" stock and thinning out perfectly to an excellent edge. The grinds on the blade itself are great and have the quality of a fully hand-finished blade.
Moving down the knife is (in my opinion) the perfect length guard. If you're going to have a guard, it should be as long as your pointer finger is thick. This provides maximum comfort (when you're actually pressing your finger against the guard) without getting in the way. The blade-to-guard-to-handle fit is ground perfectly and one of the most common areas for gaps to show up in these kinds of knives. The leather handle is expertly shaped and features not only leather washers but a mix of brass and micarta at the ends of the stack for a bit of class. The aluminum pommel is also hand finished and a great fit to my size Large hands. It caps the handle in a gentle way to prevent slipping but it stays out of the way much better than the usual hook at the end of most shaped handles. The blade is affixed to the handle with a full-length tang that is screwed into the pommel. I have heard people look down on this kind of assembly method but I have yet to hold a full-tang knife that allows such an ergonomic handle geometry as a stick tang. This assembly method also keeps the entire handle assembly in tension which automatically prevents gaps and keeps the knife tight under a variety of conditions. The specific nut that Hess Knife Works uses at their pommel really adds a cool flair to the knife and will allow someone 3 generations from now to take apart the handle and clean the 100 year-old washers for another 100 years of use.
The sheath that the knife comes with is utilitarian and lightweight. It is a perfect fit to the Tiburon and I REALLY like it on the belt. The leather is nice and thick (1/8") and assembled in a way that prevents the blade from cutting anything on the way in. The snap fits snugly and prevents any motion whatsoever of the knife (this is where that guard is essential). If you're into fancy sheaths you're going to want to order aftermarket pants but if you can appreciate a well designed and executed piece of leather you should be thrilled with the simple perfection of their sheaths.
I am already shopping for my next Hess knife and can't wait to get out and try out my Tiburon. I will try to update this thread when I get some use on the knife. I'm a bit shaky, but I took a few pictures:
And after a bit of Sno-Seal and Obenhauf's on the sheath and handle:
They describe these knives as being "high quality "Made in the USA" bench made custom knives" and they weren't kidding. This knife is everything I wanted in a Marbles knife but with a useful design and custom-grade finishing all for less than $100! At this price and this level of quality these knives are an absolute steel.
The model I decided to start with was a very unique knife they call the Tiburon. It has the classic leather-washer handle and aluminum pomel of classic hunting knives with a very utilitarian drop point blade. The knife looked great online but I could hardly believe what came out of the box! The blade is actually a full convex zero grind starting with 0.125" stock and thinning out perfectly to an excellent edge. The grinds on the blade itself are great and have the quality of a fully hand-finished blade.
Moving down the knife is (in my opinion) the perfect length guard. If you're going to have a guard, it should be as long as your pointer finger is thick. This provides maximum comfort (when you're actually pressing your finger against the guard) without getting in the way. The blade-to-guard-to-handle fit is ground perfectly and one of the most common areas for gaps to show up in these kinds of knives. The leather handle is expertly shaped and features not only leather washers but a mix of brass and micarta at the ends of the stack for a bit of class. The aluminum pommel is also hand finished and a great fit to my size Large hands. It caps the handle in a gentle way to prevent slipping but it stays out of the way much better than the usual hook at the end of most shaped handles. The blade is affixed to the handle with a full-length tang that is screwed into the pommel. I have heard people look down on this kind of assembly method but I have yet to hold a full-tang knife that allows such an ergonomic handle geometry as a stick tang. This assembly method also keeps the entire handle assembly in tension which automatically prevents gaps and keeps the knife tight under a variety of conditions. The specific nut that Hess Knife Works uses at their pommel really adds a cool flair to the knife and will allow someone 3 generations from now to take apart the handle and clean the 100 year-old washers for another 100 years of use.
The sheath that the knife comes with is utilitarian and lightweight. It is a perfect fit to the Tiburon and I REALLY like it on the belt. The leather is nice and thick (1/8") and assembled in a way that prevents the blade from cutting anything on the way in. The snap fits snugly and prevents any motion whatsoever of the knife (this is where that guard is essential). If you're into fancy sheaths you're going to want to order aftermarket pants but if you can appreciate a well designed and executed piece of leather you should be thrilled with the simple perfection of their sheaths.
I am already shopping for my next Hess knife and can't wait to get out and try out my Tiburon. I will try to update this thread when I get some use on the knife. I'm a bit shaky, but I took a few pictures:
And after a bit of Sno-Seal and Obenhauf's on the sheath and handle:
If I could arrange it I could do them, Bark River, and Rapid River in one afternoon their so close to each other. The one upside to the Marbles downfall is that all of the people behind those knives seemed to have opened their own shops and now we have more options as a result. :thumbup:
I just might have to follow your lead on that Outdoorsman.