Knives that go CLACK!

SharpByCoop

SharpByCoop

Enjoying the discussions
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 8, 2001
Messages
12,336
... that would be folders. Good stiff ones. :thumbup:

I am immersed with quality cutlery every day. All types. My own tastes are varied, but I seem to be distinct in two areas: tactical knives and Mediterranean-styled fixed blades. Just a bit diverse, eh? Nuthin' wrong with either. ;)

I have acquired a few harder-designed pieces in the past few months that never got a proper introduction.

Charlie Dake D/A (Courtesy of Don Guild knives).
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This does not fit into the 'tactical' category, but it sure lights up a smile when you look it over and work it. REALLY fast action, and great fitment. I understand Charlie is rebuilding his shop after losing everything to hurricane Katrina. I wish them well.

Grant & Gavin Hawk - R.A.M. flipper (courtesy of Steel Addiction knives)
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If you like mechanically intense pieces, then this fills the bill. R.A.M.: Reticulated Arm Movement The Maker/engineers will fill pages on why it flips open with ease. All I'll add here is they are correct. :thumbup:

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Alan Folts hawkbill folder
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I don't know. I just liked it and it was offered for sale right here on the forums for an attractive price. It's a monster with a 4.5" blade. Might have something to do with ivory micarta and red liners..... ;)

Pat & Wes Crawford - Kasper folder (courtesy of MyKnifeDealer.com)
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This has been on my 'must get' list of top tacticals for years. I finally worked with one of my clients and Pat C. to construct an order up to my specifications:

Carbon scales
Jewelled bolsters
Red fiber liners, blue titanium liners
Fileworked backspine ONLY
Thumbhole instead of stud
Custom pocket clip

Absolutely top-rate F&F and a solid feel to the action, open and closed.

There is a LOT of metal being pounded in this forum, and handles that were once alive.

Not here, not today.... ;)

Coop
 
A great refreshing change from this forum's constant stream of bowies, damascus, natural handle materials and over embelished knives. Too much damascus, engraving, mamoth ivory, busy file work, American Bullsmith Society and "how can I maximize the worth of my collection" threads makes this forum dull some days. Nice to see a collector who knows what he wants and gets it even though it might not be on WWG's must buy list.
 
Thanks, Coop. Good posting.
Great photos; really like the photo of the Hawk RAM Flipper.
That knife is essentially shades of gray and black (maybe some blue in the micarta layers?). Your photo renders the monochromatic tones beautifully. Geez, love that little detail of the black shadow sitting perfectly along the sharpened blade edge. Nice subtle touch with the fading gold background. Obsession with the details (knife and photo) is a good thing with results like these.

I know very little (nothing?) about folders and it's always interesting to see what impresses someone like yourself who handles so many.
Nice selection of what appear to be 'reasonable' price models without excessive embellishment. Beautiful stuff. Now I want one.
 
The RAM knife is REALLY nice, kudos to the designer. It's simple, but it works. I might have to ask if it's ok to make myself one...hmm...
 
Thanks folks. :)

Jared, I'm impressed if you are going to try to duplicate those workings! :eek:

BTW--look at the stop pin on the RAM Hawk. It's cushioned by rubber o-rings. It is designed for repeated impact. There is no friction from a liner lock detent ball, so once you overcome the initial pressure of the closing detent, it swinges out with no friction to the lock. You almost CAN'T make it not flip locked.

Four thumbs up but only for the Folts hawkbill!? :confused: Obviously it's a good looking knife with appeal. It languished on the for sale forum for days with a lousy photo.... I saw beyond the fuzziness. ;)

STeven: What do you and don't you like about this assortment? Come clean and wake this thread up..... ;) :eek: :D

Coop
 
coop.....not necessarily on these pictures but i have noticed in the past some of your pics almost defy gravity.....it looks like the knives are in positions they couldn't stay in.....is that a result of photoshop skills or am i imagining things.....also ....on the hawkbill....is the topof the folder dark like that or is that a shadow on the top of the blade......it looks pretty cool.....on a side not....i have always wanted tosend you my collecton to photograph but i'm scared i would never see it again:) ...ryan....i don't know how you have the strength to ship them back
 
It's actually a very simple design, the blade has pins that protrude from it, which engage the lock. The lock is designed so that pushing on the thumb studs allow the pin to slip past the detent and flick open. Pulling the switch back allows the pins to swing freely, and the flipper works the same as the thumb studs. Looking back on my post it may not be the most coherent, but it does make sense in my head :D
 
ryan9977 said:
coop.....not necessarily on these pictures but i have noticed in the past some of your pics almost defy gravity.....it looks like the knives are in positions they couldn't stay in.....is that a result of photoshop skills or am i imagining things.....
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Stop looking behind the magician's curtain! ;) I have well-documented the advantages of rolling up a wad of white masking tape in reverse and propping a knife on a sheath, or getting the tip off the floor for the shadow. On knives where I show a backspine I sometime plunge the tip through a business card to hold it upright. Shhhhhhh!
ryan9977 said:
also ....on the hawkbill....is the topof the folder dark like that or is that a shadow on the top of the blade......it looks pretty cool.....
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That's a natural shadow of that part of the blade not reflecting the light tent. Gives it contrast.
ryan9977 said:
on a side not....i have always wanted to send you my collecton to photograph but i'm scared i would never see it again:) ...ryan....i don't know how you have the strength to ship them back
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Just ask the previous owners of these knives that question! Bwahhahhahha!!!! ;) :p :D

Jared, you 'get' it. :thumbup:

Coop
 
thanks for the info coop....now all your secrets are outta the bag.....i'm gonna go buy me a camera and set up shop....look out....ryan
 
that RAM folder is amazing, and the lock mechanism is amazing too.
It looks like it locks both open and closed?
 
SharpByCoop said:
STeven: What do you and don't you like about this assortment? Come clean and wake this thread up..... ;) :eek: :D

Coop
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1. Charlie Dake is one of the top 3 in auto's going back to Dake, McHenry and Vallotton. They work extremely well, and that filework is tops. Blade-to-handle ratio has slipped a little with him, and the blade is short in this case. The use of damascus for the button has me scratching my head a little, seems like silver twill G10 might have been a better choice. Good get.

2. Grant and Gavin Hawk are friends of mine, have been for about 10+ years. I don't care for this flipper model, the blade is ungainly, while the mechanism is appealing and elegant. This is probably their most popular model yet, and they can't make enough to satisfy demand as it is, so this is good for you!

3. Hard to tell if the Folts is true Ivory micarta or white. DO NOT care for the CF bolsters, I don't like bolsters to be anything but metal. Wood, synthetic, glass, or any other material bolsters are a distinct turn off. From the picture, the bead blasting on the flats looks a bit rough, like his media might have been dirty.

4. Hard to go wrong with a Crawford, good hard-use knife that holds it's value. Not my favorite pattern(blade-to-handle ratio again), but a good one.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
SharpByCoop said:
Four thumbs up but only for the Folts hawkbill!? :confused:
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Well...since I was one of the Folts-only thumber-up, I'll give you MHO on all four knives. Remember I'm mostly unedumacated and quite green in the knife world so take my opinions with less than a grain of salt.

1) The Dake is nice but there are a lot of details that irk me. The damascus button with CF scales doesn't work. The button placement is too far back down the handle, possibly because the bolsters seem a bit long and the blade too short. The filework on the back spacer seems to clash with the filework on the liners. And finally the thumbstud is a bit too large.

2) I've seen enough RAM photos to know that I would love to own one someday--as a user!--but frankly there are a LOT of RAM photos out there. Yours are particularly well done but there isn't enough variety in the RAMs I've seen to elicit much excitement from me.

3) The Folts is an unusual format from a maker whose work I've never seen before. Plus I have this recent obsession with hawkbills that has taken hold with a vengeance. The overall lines on this knife are particularly nice. However it is rough in some places (was it a user at any point?) and the clip doesn't flow with the piece at all.

4) The Crawford looks impeccably finished (nice dovetailing!) and the overall shaping is very elegant but I abhor hole-openers in general. The mix of filework and jeweling clash a bit, and that particular jeweling pattern doesn't appeal to me. IMHO there needs to be more overlap.

With all of that said I'd be proud to own any/all of the last three (the Dake doesn't look like it would withstand my daily abuse and I generally unload knives that I don't use).

Hey, you asked for it... :D
 
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