In need of guidance buying my first custom knife

folder geek said:
Have you tried going to some of the knife stores in LA.
There are at least 3 amazing knife stores I can think of that have a terrific selection of custom knives.
Best of luck in your search.
Cheers
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Can you please let me know exactly which knife stores you're talking about? I know of Ross Cutlery, and I've just discovered Recon-1 (after googling more closely this time as a result of your last post). Which other ones are you referring to? Thanks!
 
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Quite a few custom knife dealers have excellent return policies.

You have quite a high "limit" that you're willing to spend. So the best way is probably just scouring the various high end dealers or e-mailing a couple to tell them what you're looking for so that they can keep an eye out.

You list some names like "Begg".

Personally I wouldn't go there right now. He's too hot. Meaning his knives are at a high as far as price goes. That means that you're paying for scarcity rather than just quality too. A little like what Hinderer was a couple of years back.

But that's just me.

Plenty of makers out there that I like other than that. Let me shine a light on a few makers from my area that make VERY nice knives that usually have stuff available.
First of all Martin Annegarn. Who makes exquisite folding knives. Like this "Shiny flipper"

Shiny-Flipper-017.jpg


Or this "frontflipper bowie"
DSCN2318_zpsu6npbj61.jpg


Website can be found here: http://www.maknives.nl/custom-knifemaker

Then there's Gudy v. Poppel
Who makes his own killer damascus but who's also ventured into making folding knives like his Bullet folder

(this is the flipper version)
225769d1453499684-gudy-van-poppel-framelock-folder-framelock1.jpg


Which he also makes in slipjoint or lockback version with bolsters, without bolsters, you name it:
12195845_635288629945804_5058643903742610805_n.jpg


Or his "Tactical" which come in a range from fancy dress to utalitarian bada$$
Gudy%2Bvan%2BPoppel_3x.jpg


He has a website but it's not very up to date. If you want to know what he has in stock you need to contact him.
http://www.popl-blades.com/


Good luck in your search.
 
your pininterest created page shows folders that are up to $25,000 each! blade 16 in atlanta, ga, in june would be a great experience for you. i'm going...but you may go into "overload" there...look up custom knife dealers through google, and start looking at their pages...trying to pick your first custom knife out of everything 'out there' is like trying to pick the best import car available. the options are too extensive, and the range is too wide to start with just that too general a basis...jzs
 
m021478 said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I took a look at John W. Smith's work over at Arizona Custom Knives. He certainly has some beautiful stuff, but I don't think it's quite as "holy shit!" as I'm looking for (if you know what I mean)
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Say what? How is this not holy shit enough,

images


JWS is one of the best art knife makers around. He makes tactical knives in his sleep basically. His work is handmade perfection.
 
If you can, I would also suggest that you attend "Blade" show in Atlanta. You can meet the makers, and see & handle, respsectfully, the knives that you are wanting to buy.

I have simply bought them from trusted dealers, as I really don't have the luxury either of seeing them in person. I have certain custom dealers that I buy from.
 
Each time I attend Blade I always find a custom to take home. I've had good luck with contacting the maker and see if he has anything on hand. Just scored a Phil Wilson chef knife with a simple email.
 
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m021478 said:
I'm not buying as an investment. There are plenty of other more lucrative things to invest in if all I was concerned about was money.

I'm buying for beauty. I'm buying for the feeling I get when I hold it in my hand and can't help myself from starring at it. I feel that way about a few of my production knives pictured below, so I know how I'll feel when I have a proper custom knife in hand.

production-knives.JPG
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Dude the custom knife show is coming up here in May. It's free and in the city of Brea. Also, you can always make a trip to Recon 1. Plaza Cutlery also has a lot of nice stuff. Unfortunately I work at Knife Gallery, and we don't have much custom stuff :( but the other two do and the show is nothing but custom makers. There's also the USN meeting at Steel Flame this weekend. If you know anyone on USN you might be able to go.
 
AG Russell used to publish a monthly catalog called Knives for Immediate Sale. I subscribed for a while, 15-20 years ago. He featured full colored photos of custom made knives on the front and back covers. I have seen a lot of beautiful knives from all over the country in that magazine.
 
I also have a friend selling a Custom Knife Factory knife. I forgot what model. But anyways, the show in Brea is a solid bet along with Recon 1. Reply to me on here if you want more info
 
k_ozdragon said:
I also have a friend selling a Custom Knife Factory knife. I forgot what model. But anyways, the show in Brea is a solid bet along with Recon 1. Reply to me on here if you want more info
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Would definitely love more info about the show in Brea. Thanks!

Going to visit Recon 1 at some point this week for sure!
 
Check out Mike Gavko on Youtube, He hangs with some top notch guys, Sorry I'm a Fix Blade Guy with Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget and I don't drink go figure.
 
m021478 said:
Hi all,

I'm new to bladeforums and new to custom knives.

I own a number of nice production folders from top manufacturers (i.e. Benchmade, Zero Tolerance, Spyderco, etc.)... But I'm now looking to pickup my first custom/semi-custom knife and I could really use some guidance from the community.

I'm not particularly looking to reach out to a knife maker directly and specify the exact details of every aspect of a knife I'd like made, then wait months if not years for it to be created for me... Rather, I have a half a dozen knife maker's in mind who's work I truly admire, and I'd like to find the best way to window-shop available custom/semi-custom knifes by these knife makers.

Thus far, I've been using tapatalk to monitor the knife exchange sections of these forms in hopes of catching something that pops up which fits my taste, but that's what it feels like finding a needle in a haystack (not to mention that everyone else is so quick on the draw to snag anything worthwhile that I doubt I'll have much success this route).

I've also found a bunch of custom knife dealer websites which seem to randomly add a new custom knives every every once in a while, but again, this feels like I'm waiting for something that might never come.

Anyone else have any suggestions on how best to go about the process of buying my first custom knife?
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Read my post on last page, basically I said check out Mike Gavko on Youtube he hangs with some real good ones.
 
I'd love to get my hands on either of the two knives pictured above. Do you think my best bet is to reach out to him directly via email?
 
m021478 said:
Would definitely love more info about the show in Brea. Thanks!

Going to visit Recon 1 at some point this week for sure!
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Ok cool. See if you can sign up for the USN meeting at Steel Flame. It should be this weekend. Only members can sign up. There might be a cut off, but ask politely to be entered anyways and see what happens. I'll get more info on the show tomorrow.
 
m021478 said:
I'd love to get my hands on either of the two knives pictured above. Do you think my best bet is to reach out to him directly via email?
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Btw if you like those two knives, Marfione of Microtech does some *very* similar stuff. Check out his customs. They're top notch!
 
m021478 said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I took a look at John W. Smith's work over at Arizona Custom Knives. He certainly has some beautiful stuff, but I don't think it's quite as "holy shit!" as I'm looking for (if you know what I mean)
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Once you handle a JW Smith knife you will say HOLY SHIT!
His stuff is understated but from a quality standpoint you will not find a finer knife.
The Solvang show is more of an art knife show than anything. The Plaza Cutlery show is right around the corner and I'm positive you'll find something there.
You might want to go to recon one in Glendale and handle some of the customs there before you dive in. I'd also suggest checking out some of the mid tech knives before you drop $1k plus on a full custom.
 
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