How do you feel about Hunters?

Kohai999 said:
1. If you plan on using it...a hunter is the way to go.

2. IF you plan on collecting it...the bigger knives are the way to go. Hunters is usually the first knife to be SOLD out of a collection, as well a the first to be purchased.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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I would go further and say that from my own limited exeprience of selling two big knives to guys in the UK, if the big knife looks decent and is priced reasonably for a maker's postion in the market (or lower...lol) they will sell VERY quickly. One of mine that I had priced too low sold in 7 minutes on BB . One I listed this past week which was priced more in line with what Les told me a knife like this should sell for lasted a whopping 15 minutes and I had three guys PM me telling me to let me know when I had another one ready before I post it on the forum. By comparison, a hunter I sold for cheap lasted about an hour and I got one order from that. Folks like hunters but they LOVE those big bowies:D And my stuff is not collectable by any means at this point in my knifemaking journey. I think that some folks just like to have bowies around the house if they can get them for a fair price.;)
 
As we were speaking of Jerry's Sendero Hunter earlier and since it's one of the most recognizable Hunter designs thought you may want to read about how it came to be:

fisk said:
On the Sendero. Years ago I had a client that hunted a lot as I did at the time. Ever time he ordered a knife from me we would talk hunting but he never ordered a hunting knife. I finally asked him what he used for hunting. He just laughed and said no one made a knife that was as comfortable as the Russell Canadian belt knife. I promptly ordered one. I took the idea of the back end of that knife, tweaked the handle design a bit to suit what I liked, and put it on a drop point. I could tell I liked the handle but I did not like a true drop point blade with it. I played with it in the field testing and tweaking my first designs from there until I got what I felt was really a useful and comfortable field knife. The Sendero is not a heavy duty field knife, my Gamemaster model will do better heavy work, but the Sendero was designed to be an overall use model. I have used this design for years in the field on small game and large and really like it.

The name Sendero is a Spanish word that means "path or clearing" Down in south Texas you hunt on Senderos in order to hunt the Javalina hogs, deer etc. The brush was so thick you could not do anything unless you stayed on the Sendero. Harvey Dean and I were bow hunting Javalina on one of the Sendero's and I told Harvey that would make a good name for a knife since it was the path we were on. I had just about finished tweaking the pattern at about the same time so I just hung that name on it.
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Kevin Jones said:
***********************



Roger, you totally missed my point as I was not addressing all knives of that style collectively to date. I specifically stated the comparison of today's typical Sendero (which is dressed) and today's typical Rojo (which is almost never dressed).

Jerry came out with the Sendero design about 16 years ago.
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No Kevin,

You totally missed mine. I was addressing the availability of Senderos as compared to larger knives in the aftermarket. Drawing an artificial line of demarcation that excludes all but the most recent knives simply makes no sense at all in this context. All of Jerry's past work is a potential source for the current aftermarket. Amongst those knives, there will be fewer fancy Rojos than fancy Senderos. There will be fewer plain Rojos than plain Senderos. Like I said - comparing apples to apples, my point stands.

Whether, going forward, more Senderos than Rojos will be dressed up is very much besides the point. And to the limited extent it is relelvant, it tends to support my original point - the smaller fancy knives will be far more plentiful and more readily available than the larger fancy ones.

Roger
 
RogerP said:
No Kevin,

You totally missed mine. I was addressing the availability of Senderos as compared to larger knives in the aftermarket. Drawing an artificial line of demarcation that excludes all but the most recent knives simply makes no sense at all in this context. All of Jerry's past work is a potential source for the current aftermarket. Amongst those knives, there will be fewer fancy Rojos than fancy Senderos. There will be fewer plain Rojos than plain Senderos. Like I said - comparing apples to apples, my point stands.

Whether, going forward, more Senderos than Rojos will be dressed up is very much besides the point. And to the limited extent it is relelvant, it tends to support my original point - the smaller fancy knives will be far more plentiful and more readily available than the larger fancy ones.

Roger
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Doesn't seem like you and I can have any productive exchanges here these days. :confused:
 
Kevin, those are some outstanding hunters. Don't see one I don't love, although the last Fisk and the Tim Hancock are my favorites and are wonders to behold. Thanks for sharing those.
 
I don't collect hunters, but have three that I use as utility knives. At this point I have no thoughts of collecting them in the future either.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Doesn't seem like you and I can have any productive exchanges here these days. :confused:
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That's not how I see it, Kevin.

1. I think the exchanges between you and Roger are productive, just coming from a slightly different perspective.

2. You WANT hunters to be regarded just as highly as big bowies, and camp knives....and that ain't gonna happen.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Murray White said:
hey Steven -- unless they are Loveless or SRJ's eh
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Murray,

They may be the top-o-the heap as far as hunters go.....BUT...every collector that I know wants the move the ones that they have to upgrade....utility....chute....boot....wilderness knife.....Dixon fighter....small subhilt....the holy grail....Big Bear.

Oh, it is a vicious chain, I tell ya!:D Everyone wants the hard to get stuff.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I JUST picked up the damascus hunter that Roger P. got in Chicago from Russ Andrews.

I called dibs on it when he picked it up, and got it from Danbo.

Why? Because it is damascus, his FIRST damascus knife that he completed...and I prefer damascus-it weathers better.

The handle is blackwood and compliments the other Andrews knife that I had in my permanent collection.

The price was right.

Piece....Maker.....Price.;)

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
That's not how I see it, Kevin.

2. You WANT hunters to be regarded just as highly as big bowies, and camp knives....and that ain't gonna happen.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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I don't WANT anything of the kind STeven.
I guess I have twice as many Bowies as Hunters. I'm just surprised some only see them as stepping stones to get to something better and want to see if others see small knives as interesting and desirable as large knives.

As with ALL of my threads, I started it because I thought it was an interesting topic, was curious and perhaps productive discussion would come from it.

Kevin Jones said:
I only bring this up as the result of some recent conversations I have had regarding Hunters as being entry level or "second class citizens" so to speak to larger knives, which came about by some's opinions that Hunter's prices are down (something else I don't agree with).
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Kevin Jones said:
Doesn't seem like you and I can have any productive exchanges here these days. :confused:
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I don't see our exchange as counter-productive.

1) My original post was in response to your question about the relative position of hunters versus larger knives.

2) I illustrated my point using what I thought would be a non-controversial example - Fisk - whose knives across the board are very much in demand in the aftermarket (Much as STeven used Loveless) but whose hunters (like Loveless) outnumber his larger knives.

3) To my mild surprise, you suggested my example was less than valid, pointing to the relative frequency of embellishment of one type versus another.

4) I responded that whether we are comparing field grade or embellished pieces of the two types, the example still holds.

5) You responded that I had "completely missed your point" as you were specifically addressing current and future Fisk knives.

6) I responded that you had completely missed my point - and that in the context of comparative aftermarket desireability, you can't draw an imaginary line excluding from the analysis the vast majority of Fisk knives made to date.

Where's the problem? :rolleyes: Nobody has engaged in any name-calling histrionics. There has been no mud-slinging, no hissy-fits. We just see this differently. Speaking for myself - I don't require that my friends agree with me. ;)

Roger
 
Kohai999 said:
1. If you plan on using it...a hunter is the way to go.

2. IF you plan on collecting it...the bigger knives are the way to go. Hunters is usually the first knife to be SOLD out of a collection, as well a the first to be purchased.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

Always having a production hunting knife around had a lot to do with my eventual interest in custom knives. And, my first customs purchased were hunters, some for use.

If I chose to use these early custom hunters, and had no interest in collecting, the trio here would be all I would need:

Early Don Hanson, Howard Clark, Al Dippold,

Huntertrio.jpg


But, these purchases lead to a desire (need??) to have one made to my specifications. Don Hanson filled that desire with this nice nice walrus hunter, and it has been downhill for me ever since. ;)

WalrusHunter-Don.jpg


These smaller custom hunters have lead to an interest in fighters and bowies of similar caliber for me. But, at this point, I will always have the same interest in all sized fixed blades. Plus, supply and demand will allow those hunters to be more readily avaliable, which is a good thing, I think. That may make it more difficult for hunters to demand top dollar when sold, but there will always be a larger market out there for them, due to fewer dollars needed to purchase over larger blades, and they are easier to carry and more likely to be used.

- Joe
 
For me Hunters make up the largest percentage of what I make. I do find that Hunters make the best entry-level knife and I put a lot of effort into attracting new customers. By getting new people interested in my knives now I keep my business strong and create more demand for after market pieces later. A few of these new customers grow into true knife collectors and will evolve into larger more expensive pieces and will collect from other makers too. Hunters make a good gift that wives are willing to buy for their hunting husbands. A lot of these sales are a one-time thing and that is alright. Larger more expensive pieces don’t often fit into this category.

Are Hunters second class, no, just a different class. Are makers that focus on more entry-level knives neglecting their collectors, no, not if they are working to assure a larger customer base for the future.

I find as a general rule that I sell more Hunters at shows and through my advertising and web site and larger more elaborate pieces to established collector customers. Karen and I pay attention to this trend and will focus on being well prepared. With some of our up-coming shows focusing more toward the collector market, The ABS Expo and Solvang in 2009, we will probably lean more to higher end more collectable pieces at these shows.

Daniel
 
Hunting knives are a class of their own, and represent a large part of the knife market. I make mostly hunting knives, and kitchen , bowies, steak knives make up the rest.

I nearly always have a hunter on my person. While hunting is only one job the knives do, the rest of the time they are used for all kinds of utilitarian cutting jobs. Maybe 'hunting knife' does not describe them well enough, perhaps simply calling them fixed blades would be better.

Hunters feel good in the hand, are beautiful to look at, and a real joy to use and carry- gotta love em.
 
DWinkler said:
For me Hunters make up the largest percentage of what I make. I do find that Hunters make the best entry-level knife and I put a lot of effort into attracting new customers. By getting new people interested in my knives now I keep my business strong and create more demand for after market pieces later.
Are Hunters second class, no, just a different class........... Daniel
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Really nice viewpoint.
Thank you.
 
RogerP said:
I don't see our exchange as counter-productive.

1) My original post was in response to your question about the relative position of hunters versus larger knives.

2) I illustrated my point using what I thought would be a non-controversial example - Fisk - whose knives across the board are very much in demand in the aftermarket (Much as STeven used Loveless) but whose hunters (like Loveless) outnumber his larger knives.

3) To my mild surprise, you suggested my example was less than valid, pointing to the relative frequency of embellishment of one type versus another.

4) I responded that whether we are comparing field grade or embellished pieces of the two types, the example still holds.

5) You responded that I had "completely missed your point" as you were specifically addressing current and future Fisk knives.

6) I responded that you had completely missed my point - and that in the context of comparative aftermarket desirability, you can't draw an imaginary line excluding from the analysis the vast majority of Fisk knives made to date.

Where's the problem? :rolleyes: Nobody has engaged in any name-calling histrionics. There has been no mud-slinging, no hissy-fits. We just see this differently. Speaking for myself - I don't require that my friends agree with me. ;)

Roger
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Roger, as obvious from the multiple controversial threads I start, I enjoy and invite challenge and alternative opinion in the sake of identifying, addressing and perhaps promoting resolution to issues affecting the customs industry. In the year I have been participating on forums, my knowledge has increased immensely as a result of your guys opposing opinions, challenges and general knowledge.

In addition, STeven and I agree on basically NOTHING regarding customs, but we are quite good friends and I have learned a lot from the different ways we approach customs. Anthony and I agree on little, but I sure, respect, take note and enjoy his views and opinions as I do yours.

But this is about more than this particular thread, so all I ask is that if there's a problem with something I've said or supposed to have said, the BFB Bowie, or just me personally let's address it privately and resolve it or not. But I don't want to drag it across this forum. That's what I'm referring to in regard to our recent non-productive exchanges.

In addition, I know I'm the newbie here. I also know, a handful of you guys have been instrumental in building this custom forum over many years and protect it. So if my threads threaten you in any way, all I can say is SORRY.
 
Kohai999 said:
Murray,

They may be the top-o-the heap as far as hunters go.....BUT...every collector that I know wants the move the ones that they have to upgrade....utility....chute....boot....wilderness knife.....Dixon fighter....small subhilt....the holy grail....Big Bear.

Oh, it is a vicious chain, I tell ya!:D Everyone wants the hard to get stuff.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

If I had the opportunity to pick up ONE Loveless knife and the price was not an issue, I'd go for a hunter with micarta. If I could pick a second one, I would hesitate between a NY special, a chute and a big bear (in micarta too).
Now, if I wanted to invest in Loveless knives, I'd go for the fighters.
 
DWinkler said:
For me Hunters make up the largest percentage of what I make. I do find that Hunters make the best entry-level knife and I put a lot of effort into attracting new customers. By getting new people interested in my knives now I keep my business strong and create more demand for after market pieces later. A few of these new customers grow into true knife collectors and will evolve into larger more expensive pieces and will collect from other makers too. Hunters make a good gift that wives are willing to buy for their hunting husbands. A lot of these sales are a one-time thing and that is alright. Larger more expensive pieces don’t often fit into this category.

Are Hunters second class, no, just a different class. Are makers that focus on more entry-level knives neglecting their collectors, no, not if they are working to assure a larger customer base for the future.

I find as a general rule that I sell more Hunters at shows and through my advertising and web site and larger more elaborate pieces to established collector customers. Karen and I pay attention to this trend and will focus on being well prepared. With some of our up-coming shows focusing more toward the collector market, The ABS Expo and Solvang in 2009, we will probably lean more to higher end more collectable pieces at these shows.

Daniel
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Great post as usual Dan. :thumbup:
 
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