Just Want Your opinions

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It sounds like he's deliberately misleading people, i.e., marking the blade, calling himself a knifemaker, etc. If he is misleading people, he should be banned because it's tanamount to fraud. If he is not, I too think full disclosure is in order. And by that, I mean naming him.

Dave
 
Bill DeShivs said:
You guys do know that Randall had most of his blades made in Germany?
While I agree that full disclosure is mandatory, the knives are "custom knives" or "customized knives" if they are built to the customer's specifications.
"Hand made" knives is a better description of what most makers do here.
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Yes, but Randalls aren't considered custom knives, either. And, "Most" of his blades? Where does this information come from? As far as I know, Randall blades are still made in Orlando, FL

This guy isn't a custom knifemaker; he's a knife kit assembler.
 
I've run into guys a bunch of times. Its no big deal if its all honest imo

Usually they are rocking stainless or damascus blades.... and pretty easy to spot if you look carefully.

There nothing wrong with it, and I called myself "knifemaker" the first time I slapped a handle on a blank too.

I know a guy who runs his entire custom knifemaking business just putting handles on blanks. He wont admit it unless cornered though, and still defends the practice. He does make a nice handle.

I make sure to refer to him as "handle maker" or "knife assembler" while in his shop... it pisses him off and balances the karmic scale a little.
 
Sparljo's post really makes a point that I was trying to put into words. If the individuals who assemble parts, and call themselves "knifemakers" are defensive, or "wont admit it unless cornered"....Why would they have that attitude?? Could it be that they know fully well that they are being deceitful, are feeling guilty, and trying to justify/compensate for it??
 
Danbo said:
Yes, but Randalls aren't considered custom knives, either. And, "Most" of his blades? Where does this information come from? As far as I know, Randall blades are still made in Orlando, FL

This guy isn't a custom knifemaker; he's a knife kit assembler.
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IIRC, Bo Randall had blades made in Germany during Vietnam when the demand for his knives from soldiers far outstripped what he could produce at the shop in Orlando. As far as I know, those "Solingen" Randalls have not been made since then. Of course, that was back when the vast majority of Randalls were actually being used for their intended purpose.;)
 
Ed Caffrey said:
Sparljo's post really makes a point that I was trying to put into words. If the individuals who assemble parts, and call themselves "knifemakers" are defensive, or "wont admit it unless cornered"....Why would they have that attitude?? Could it be that they know fully well that they are being deceitful, are feeling guilty, and trying to justify/compensate for it??
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Exactly my point. If there is nothing wrong with it, then why won't they be honest and up front about it?
 
I think that disclosure is the key issue here. While the two most common and visible types are the ends of the spectrum of hand made knife producers there is a middle. Here's my simple minded take of a spectrum:

  • Sole author hand maker.
  • Hand maker who included work by others (e.g. engraving).
  • Hand maker who uses blades made by another hand maker.
  • Hand maker who uses profiled or forged but not ground blanks by another handl maker.
  • Hand maker who put handles (and maybe guards) on a factory made blade.

While I don't think that sole authorship is a vital part of knife making there are makers and collectors who do. They miss the Bruce Bumps of the world -- their loss.

While I would probably not buy a knife in the last category, I recently made a few because I had the decent blades with crappy handles lying around and decided to fix the problem. One's now in my common use kitchen rack. Note that I did not post photos of it here, let alone claim it as my own.

I might well buy a knife whose handle and blade were both hand made but by different people. The common Scandinavian practice has already been mentioned but also think of Chuck Burrows excellent collaborations!

What is vital, and should clearly be in the rules for this site is that all of the above must be clearly and honestly represented to sell on this site. Violation should have penalties.
 
That's just a poor business if it is useless or overpriced.
Lol and neglect them until they move to ebay.
We customers can research them, and truly professionals have no reason to cheat themselves.
Believe that only fine works will survive.
 
Dan Pierson said:
I think that disclosure is the key issue here. While the two most common and visible types are the ends of the spectrum of hand made knife producers there is a middle. Here's my simple minded take of a spectrum:

  • Sole author hand maker.
  • Hand maker who included work by others (e.g. engraving).
  • Hand maker who uses blades made by another hand maker.
  • Hand maker who uses profiled or forged but not ground blanks by another handl maker.
  • Hand maker who put handles (and maybe guards) on a factory made blade.

While I don't think that sole authorship is a vital part of knife making there are makers and collectors who do. They miss the Bruce Bumps of the world -- their loss.

While I would probably not buy a knife in the last category, I recently made a few because I had the decent blades with crappy handles lying around and decided to fix the problem. One's now in my common use kitchen rack. Note that I did not post photos of it here, let alone claim it as my own.

I might well buy a knife whose handle and blade were both hand made but by different people. The common Scandinavian practice has already been mentioned but also think of Chuck Burrows excellent collaborations!

What is vital, and should clearly be in the rules for this site is that all of the above must be clearly and honestly represented to sell on this site. Violation should have penalties.
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Great idea. :thumbup:
 
I think the guy is a charlitan. Tar and feather his sorry ass and throw him to the dogs.
 
Dan Pierson said:
...What is vital, and should clearly be in the rules for this site is that all of the above must be clearly and honestly represented to sell on this site. Violation should have penalties.
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Makes sense. Need to look at the rules of the forum and live by them. If something should be changed, then make the change. I think there's already another forum here to air concerns. Give the inexperienced buyer the tools to make their best decision, without deciding for them.
 
jdm61 said:
IIRC, Bo Randall had blades made in Germany during Vietnam when the demand for his knives from soldiers far outstripped what he could produce at the shop in Orlando. As far as I know, those "Solingen" Randalls have not been made since then. Of course, that was back when the vast majority of Randalls were actually being used for their intended purpose.;)
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Exactly. That's what I remember. With the exception of those "Solingen" blades back in the Vietnam timeframe, the blades are still made in Orlando.
 
Stacey you should also post this question over in the Custom & Handmade Knives forum - lots of collectors over there. It would be good to see their opinion too.

I think the person using kits knives should be allowed to sell on BF, so long as the details of the knife are disclosed........
 
To make matters more complicated, I think that there is also a difference between a factory made knife blank and a hand make knife blank.
If you do the first you've 'assambled' or 'handled' the knife.
If you do the second you've done a collobaration with the blade maker.
In both cases it should be 100% clear who made the blade.
IMHO

And when are you a 'sole author'?
When you've dug your own iron ore out of the ground and cut a piece of hardwood of a tree?
There's always other people involved, the question is, how much.

And Randall's made in Solingen were marked: Randall made Solingen
They must be real collectors items!
 
Junks talk nothing. Don't worry professionals and prove with your fantastic works!!

It's my fault and not your problem when I'm deceived...
 
I must be naive. I had assumed that the kit knives were for folks that wanted a good knife without tooling up and acquiring the skill to grind the blade and were willing to put the effort into assembling and finishing the handle and maybe making a sheath. I had no idea there was a market for them. Those willing to buy such knives must be attracted by the low prices asked. What is this guy asking for price? My vote is for full disclosure.
 
He needs to be upfront and honest , then it is up to the buyer to decide .

But personally , I do not like them selling in the knifemakers FS forum , as I do not consider them a knifemaker . I recently was going to comment on how nice the grind was done on a knife for sale , only to find later that it was a blade bought and ground from TKS for $17.00 , $ 8.00 for handle material and a $140.00 sale price .
 
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