Is the Loveless Shop still operating?

Kevin Wilkins

Kevin Wilkins

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 7, 1998
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I read that Jim Merritt would be continuing to operate the shop after Bob Loveless' death, however I haven't seen any knives on any of the forums since then or heard anything else. I hope Mr. Merritt was able to continue. Does anyone know what's up?

Mike Lovett used to have a lot of info on the Loveless / Merritt shop but I haven't seen any posts from Mike in a long time either. Maybe he knows and can post?

It would really be a shame if the Loveless shop stopped operating, I hope the grinders are still grinding over there! :thumbup:
 
I just talked to Mike Lovett. He says the Loveless shop is still busy turning out knives and Jim is up early several mornings a week at the shop and closes around noon.
 
Anybody got any pics of the knives he's making?

How's Mike Lovett? He used to post here all the time.
 
I miss Mike, too.
He used to have some good Loveless stories, one sticks in my mind
about how thin they ground the blades and once ground all the way through.
Hope Mike's doing well after the eminent domain move.

Doug
 
Kevin Wilkins said:
I read that Jim Merritt would be continuing to operate the shop after Bob Loveless' death, however I haven't seen any knives on any of the forums since then or heard anything else. I hope Mr. Merritt was able to continue. Does anyone know what's up?

Mike Lovett used to have a lot of info on the Loveless / Merritt shop but I haven't seen any posts from Mike in a long time either. Maybe he knows and can post?

It would really be a shame if the Loveless shop stopped operating, I hope the grinders are still grinding over there! :thumbup:
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-The Loveless shop is still very much in operation.

-I'd e-mail or call Mike directly.

-The Burr King 1272's are still running. :thumbup:

P.S. You make very good knives Kevin, been fond of your folders since I joined this forum many moons ago. I particularly like the Leafstorm. Keep grinding! :)
 
Thanks for your kind words, knifemaking is a great hobby but a tough business.

I wonder where the knives Mr. Merritt is making are going? The Loveless brand is certainly the most famous and valuable brand in the knife world, yet you never see any new knives posted on any forum I ever visit along the lines of "Just reveived from the Loveless shop." Folks still post pics of older Loveless knives they have purchased, why no pics of the new stuff? Somebody must be buying the knives? (Wish I could!)

There also doesn't seem to be any licensing of the Loveless brand or of his designs. I wonder if Mr. Merritt or Mr. Loveless' widow or family own those? Lone Wolf did several Loveless designs before Benchmade bought the company. There is a lot of money to be made with careful licensing of the Loveless legacy.

God knows just about every knifemaker out there today - including myself - has been influenced by Loveless' genius. Quite a few makers have based their entire careers on putting out versions of his designs. It would be nice to see very high quality official production versions of his work from which his family and heirs could benefit.

Forgot to mention...
I don't have any reason to call Mike on the phone, I just miss his input here on the forum. Speaking pf MIAs, where did Les Robertson go after his returns here several years ago? Did I miss his leaving again?
 
I did miss that too Doug. Ouch. I guess we better keep this thread on Loveless / Merritt!
 
Hi there,

I know there haven't been any posts here in a while. If anyone is interested I have pictures of some of the more recent knives from the Loveless Shop. Even today Jim is still at work as he always has been. I have also been wondering why you don't see many around. They are still the same one of a kind Loveless knives but quite a few collectors are resistive to them. I guess they think without these around the price of the older ones will go up. Doesn't matter because Jim has pretty much made them all. I hope people start giving Jim some credit and show more interest in these.

Enjoy the pictures,

Tom
 

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Thanks for the pics!

Maybe Jim needs to market the knives better? I have never seen them for sale, don't know any dealers who carry them and as far as I know, there is no website for Jim's shop where prices or other info are available. Makng knives is one thing; selling them is another. If Jim wants recognition for his work, he needs to mark the knives with his name. Perhaps something like Jim Merritt Maker / Loveless Design or Loveless Shop?
 
^They will show up on a dealer site or two every so often. At Jim's age, I expect he's making/selling all the knives he wants to sell.
Thanks for posting the photos Tom.
 
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If Mr. Merritt is selling all he wants, then there ain't a problem!
 
Kevin Wilkins said:
If Mr. Merritt is selling all he wants, then there ain't a problem!
Click to expand...

Hello Kevin. I may be totally off base regarding how many Loveless knives Jim Merritt is producing these days or wants to produce/sell, however there's usually the trend for a maker to slow down after so many years as oppose to speeding up.

I don't believe the quantity of new Loveless knives we see posted on the internet has ever been a good indicator of production as so many of these knives have traditionally been sold, purchased and traded behind the scenes by dealer and collector insiders.

I try to keep up with what's going on in the Loveless market (or least as much as someone whose not an 'insider' can) as the mystique and uniqueness surrounding the way Loveless knives have been created and marketed over the years has always fascinated me.
It seems it has the potential to get even more interesting and fascinating in coming years as we see if the Loveless Mark retires with Jim at some point or is passed along to any number of deserving makers of 'Loveless' style knives. I've heard several 'names' mentioned. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Good thread Kevin and thanks to Tom for reviving it.
 
Loveless was in a class - market position - all his own. Even though Jim Merritt has been making the knives coming out of the Loveless shop for a long time, as long as Loveless was still around, they were "Loveless knives." Now that Loveless is gone, there will never be anymore Loveless knives.

I think Mr. Merritt is making a mistake using the Loveless mark, even slightly changed on the knives he's making. If I were buying - which I wish I were financially able to - I would love to have a "Loveless knife" made during Loveless' lifetime. I would also love to have a Merritt knife, but only if it were so marked.

There are a number of folks making excellent knives that are basically, if not totally Loveless' designs. Merritt as the heir to Loveless' shop, is in the position to continue the shop using the original patterns - but several other guys have also either used Loveless patterns with permission or have worked with Loveless and certainly learned his design language from the inside out. These are the guys with whom Jim Merritt will now have to compete. That is if he is interested, he can certainly do as he pleases. I just doubt that collectors will accept the knives he is making now at the same market position as the identical knives he made when Loveless was around.

That would be my take on the situation... :-)
 
Kevin Wilkins said:
Loveless was in a class - market position - all his own. Even though Jim Merritt has been making the knives coming out of the Loveless shop for a long time, as long as Loveless was still around, they were "Loveless knives." Now that Loveless is gone, there will never be anymore Loveless knives.

For any other maker's knives I would be in agreement with your bolded statement, however as you state Loveless was in a class - market position - all his own and Loveless knives still are even now that Bob Loveless is gone. IMO, as long as Jim Merritt or other noted makers who Bob would have approved of are making knives true to the Loveless patterns and Loveless 'way' in the Loveless Shop in the spirit of the Loveless Tradition there will continue to be 'Loveless' knives.

I think Mr. Merritt is making a mistake using the Loveless mark, even slightly changed on the knives he's making. If I were buying - which I wish I were financially able to - I would love to have a "Loveless knife" made during Loveless' lifetime. I would also love to have a Merritt knife, but only if it were so marked.

I believe the Loveless 'Mark' was changed slightly more as a time-stamp to mark Bob's passing then anything else. The knives haven't changed as they are still being made by the same maker in the same way in the same place as they have been for years.

There are a number of folks making excellent knives that are basically, if not totally Loveless' designs. Merritt as the heir to Loveless' shop, is in the position to continue the shop using the original patterns - but several other guys have also either used Loveless patterns with permission or have worked with Loveless and certainly learned his design language from the inside out. These are the guys with whom Jim Merritt will now have to compete. That is if he is interested, he can certainly do as he pleases. I just doubt that collectors will accept the knives he is making now at the same market position as the identical knives he made when Loveless was around.

I don't believe Jim Merritt is having to or will ever have to compete with anyone, just like Loveless knives have never had any competition.

Collectors seems to be accepting them. They are bringing less on the secondary market than the knives made before Bob's death. I'm not sure if Jim has reduced the shop prices since Bob's death, I doubt it. If anyone knows for sure, please tell us.

That would be my take on the situation... :-)
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