Is there anything wrong with Gil Hibben knives... like this amazing Bowie!!!

Don't forget the Browning knives. Gil designed the Browning line back in 1968 and they recently started selling some of those designs again.

If you like the Bowie styles, you should check out his 50th Anniversary knife. It is selling for a big price because it's a special commemorative piece and he is only going to make 50 of them by hand but it is a really nice heavy duty knife.
 
You mentioned the perfect grinds. That's one of the most amazing things to me about watching him grind knives. He never uses a bench rest or any kind of guide, he just holds the blade against the grinding wheel freehand and does perfectly even, countoured hollow grinds with perfectly straight grind lines. I have seen him do a 10" hollow grind on a 8" wheel by doing two hollow grinds, one above the other, and then feathering them together so perfectly that you couldn't tell that they weren't done on a 10" wheel...all freehand. It is amazing to watch. I guess when you have been doing it every day for 50 years it becomes second nature but I can say firsthand that it is not nearly as easy as he makes it look.
Gil is 70 years old and still grinds knives every day in his shop. He still teaches Kempo Karate at karate camps every year. I can only hope that if make it to 70, I will have half the energy that he has.
 
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