I have discovered the ultimate coolness: and its name is.....

jimh0220

jimh0220

Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
3,010
ANZA!

What a great little company putting out a unique, yet ultimately brilliant and useful product. And at a reasonable price, too!

Just got one on a trade last week, and wasn't sure what to think of it... until it arrived! I mean, it's a simple idea: a knife made from a HC steel file. Nothing new there. Most folks start there when they make knives. But Anza mad a business of it, and with a custom flair. Handmade, every one. With a decent, smple sheath included. And reasonably priced to boot.

30+ years doing the same thing simple, because it works.

Nice. I think I found a new brand to collect.

Any other Anza lovers out there?
 
They're nice knives by all means, but not as popular as you'd think. Everybody I know that owns one holds them in high regard though. I enjoy mine a great deal. Anza is a cool company IMO , and Charlie Davis, used to work for Buck. They're priced right, and if you call Anza Charlie answers, how cool is that. I talked with him 30 minutes or so the other day, and he answered a lot of my questions, and seemed like customer service was #1.

 
This is what Smith's did for years to ensure the steel they used was very best possible and to keep costs down. For your sake Whetrock I hope that there is more than just coloured tape holding those handles on. Drilling through file metal is a chore (so as to rivet on scales) but entirely relying on glue is not a recipe for longevity.
Nice-looking knife, by the way.
 
I don't know the exact process they use, but I' know they have to temper the files down to be more easily grindable and less brittle. No reason they couldn't take the tangs down even further to facilitate drilling of pin holes or whatnot. This does appear to be an epoxied handle, but there's no reason they couldn't easily use pins if they wanted.:thumbup:
 
Yea it's epoxied. I'm not too concerned about it, but could understand, being leery of non-pinned scales, the only commentary I heard about it on the local level, was from a friend of mine who was a retired machinist, and hobbyist knifemaker he said on a handle that small (whole knife is 6 inches or so), unless one wanted to use minute pins that pins might do more harm than good cracking the scales. I can offer no advice for or against pins.
 
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Great thread idea!

This is my first Anza, made to my own specs. I picked different features from existing standard models, selected a handle material from a lengthy list of what was on hand, and chose a size. Not only did the final product arrive quickly, the Anza staff included a photo sheet showing the knife in various stages of progress. How cool is that?

AnzaCustom.jpg


Anza2.jpg


This is a second design Anza made for me, again using features from existing standard models. A matching set of three, one for each of my brothers and myself.

1Anza1-3.jpg


3Anza1-3.jpg
 
scotchleaf said:
Like their knives, just dont like the Pakkawood handles.
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The first one of mine I can't recall the wood, but it's natural. The set of three are cocobolo.
Contact them to see what materials they have available - I recall them having about a dozen different wood species to choose from. And they frequently use stag too, as well as synthetic materials like micarta.
 
When I make knives I mainly put pins in the handles... not only for aesthetic looks but also to give the customers piece of mind. In all reality though.. the 3-Ton epoxy that I use to hold the handles on is not going anywhere. I have thrown knives way up in the air, ran them over with my truck etc... testing the epoxy and handle strength and have yet to have the scales fall off.

MedartCutlery
http://www.wowfrag.com
 
Mine has been a trustworthy companion for 9 years now. Pakkawood or not it's a solid, dependable affordable knife that has served me well.
anza001.jpg
 
Wow. Never heard of them before but looking at the knives I think I know what my next purchase will be.
 
I don't know much about fixed blades, really. I always thought glued on handles were cheap and would come off eventually. But with a good epoxy, I probably shouldn't worry about it.
Check out the TW (teenie weenie) Is it not the cutest little thing?
anzaTw001_zps563d15ed.jpg
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I had one a while ago and I never really used it much so I traded it for something, it's a little thick, could use to be thinned in profile to make a better slicer out of it. That said I paid $25 for mine, I wish I'd never traded it... :(
 
Franciscomv said:
I wish they offered flat ground models as well. I'm not too fond of hollow ground fixed blades.
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For a utility blade it's hard to beat hollow ground and convexed to the edge. Very strong but can slice if need be.
 
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