Knives with "Soul"...or not.

F

FastJack

Joined
Mar 24, 2002
Messages
180
I suggested in the "Soul" thread by Alarion that we
need a thread to tell about knives with "Soul" and
knives without it. So, I will begin the process and
tell about a knife I feel has soul and why I think
it has soul.

Since I basically collect knives by Darren Ralph, why
not start with one of his, the Madd Maxx Dagger. This
knife not only feels great, but it looks fantastic.
Some knives seem to be too light in the blade or too
light in the handle, the MM is weighted perfectly.
Feels so solid when one holds it. The MM I have is
anodized a blueish color with nuggeting in the grooves
of the titanium handle. It has double flipper guards,
a 4", D2 blade, with awesome blood grooves. This knife
flips open very quickly and has a neat little stop pin
that stops the knife exactly where it is susposed to be
open and closed. This Madd Maxx (great name) is one
incredible knife and definitely has soul-a keeper for
sure. A well designed knife and VERY sharp.

Now, it would be nice to hear about one of your knives
with soul..or not.
I will write another post later about a Darrel
Ralph knife I have that does not have soul for me.
 
Here is a picture of the Madd Maxx........with soul.
 

Attachments

  • 08050002.jpg
    08050002.jpg
    7 KB · Views: 222
This may not be a very popular statement that I am going to make, but here goes. As much as I like Darrel's regular knives, to me they do not have soul. They are beautifully made and the construction is flawless, but they are for the most part exactly like the other 500 of that model. They may have nuggeting and different colored anodizing, but other than that there is really no difference from one Madd Maxx, Apogee or EDC to the next. This is the result of CAD (computer assisted design) and CNC (computer numerical control) milling machines. Personally, I can find no soul in knives that have had much of their design and construction done by computers.

On the other hand, I think that Darrel's one of custom knives just ooze soul. To me, the knives that have soul are those that the maker has put much of him/herself into. These are quite often not great looking knives, but there is just something about them that makes you want to see, hold and own them.

My statement above is not in any way meant to infer that I don't think that Darrel's knives are great, because I do. There is something about knives that gives them soul and that something will more often than not be different to each of us. That is as it should be.
 
So Keith does not find any soul in Darrel Ralph
knives, absolutely no problem with that statement.
Only knives totally made by hand can have soul?

Keith, which knife do you find soul in and why? Do
you find soul in an Onion, a Lake, a J.W. Smith, or
what? Lead the way to a knife with soul.

Come on guys, let's hear it. Which knives do you
think have soul? By the way, I do have a knife
by J.W.Smith, a hawkbill, and it has soul too.
But then that is for another time.
 
I've got a Randall 16 SP-1, while it may not be a one person start to finish custom job, it's got "it". Never gonna let this one go, and it's a good user. I've got a SOG Recon Bowie and a Kabar, while not customs, the history behind the two knives give them "it". The crap that I've put my "cheap" Schrade Old Timer slipjoint instilled the knife with "it".

Not only customs have "it", or soul, or attraction, or whatever you want to call it, production and semi-custom knives can also.

I've bought plenty of knives, custom and production, and as soon as I get the knife, sure, I'm happy, but then it wears off and I want something else. It's all in what the person wants.
 
I have to agree with Keith. While we definitely admire great makers knives, not all of them speak to us and beg us to hold them and own them. On the other hand there is always one particular knife that demands to be held. That knife has soul. That can be said of any makers knives.

Marcel
 
I feel that my Blackwood Henchman has both Soul and Attitude .
To me this knife just feels right , and the makers soul does shine thru in this blade.
 
I've liked this knife from the day it arrived, a surprise to me when I unwrapped the knife, had no idea what she'd be like and was tickled pink!

attachment.php


even provoked me enough that I had to break from folder sheaths and create a special sheath for a fixed blade, which I truly don't like to do...:(

attachment.php


The sheath itself has a little of my soul in her...:)
G2

edited to add the Why Part...

Hmm why does this knife evoke the emotions it does for me,
First off, a friend made it, especially for me, with me in mind, very key to the Soul thingy

Two, it's the right blade shape for me...again I stress the for me part...;) as others may not care for the design.

Three, Ironwood...ahhh

Four, solid, strong and sharp, able to cut at will, all things you'd probably find in other knives but are found in this one here...

Five, Blade finish is such that I can work it if there are scratches that appear over time, hand sanding isn't a problem and that is another and last good thing I'll comment on.
 
As I stated quite clearly in my original post, I find that the handmade custom knives from Darrel have plenty of soul. I also made it clear that it my opinion that when it is a standard model that has some standard options and was made with the help of a computer, that these knives don't have soul to me. I am sure they do for other people, but not for me.

What knives have soul for me? Many of the knives of Bill Moran, William Scagel, Ed Fowler, Jerry Fisk, Steve Filicietti, Roger Massey, John Fitch, Ed Caffrey, Buster Warenski, Shane Taylor, Ron Newton, Roger Massey, Johan Gustafsson, John Nelson Cooper, Al Pendray, Jonny Walker Nilsson, D.E. Henry, Bo Randall, JD Smith, Josh Smith, Jim Crowell, Ron Lake, Brian Lyttle, Henri Viallon, Michael Bell, Rick Dunkerly, Rudy Ruana, Joe Flournoy, Stephen Schwarzer, Mike Williams, Daniel Winkler, Lloyd Hale, Steve Johnson, Dr. James Lucie, Ted Dowell, Dellana, Yoshindo Yoshihara, Rob Brown, Tim Foster, and on and on. There have been and currently are hundreds of makers that have made/do make knives that I feel have soul.

So I guess the answer is yes, for a knife to have soul to me it must be a handmade custom knife. As I have read many times on this forum, your mileage may vary.

Edited to correct a typo.
 
Hmmm.., boy I suppose we will get into some fairly diverse constructs of what constitutes "soul" in this thread..., and I'd be the last one to attempt a definition of "soul" beyond my own.

Being in my 50's.., I suppose it is hard to associate the latest and greatest in technological advances to any knife made by John Nelson Cooper.., an artisan profiling 52100 in the Philippines with a family member driving his wheel by peddling a bike..., or some guy in Syria a few hundred decades ago that took three weeks to make a fine blade.

At each extreme.., and to what extent we equate truly "handmade" artistry with the term "soul".., I suspect there is no clear answer..., but threads like this may illuminate the complexity of the question. :).....or not...lol!.

I just opened my gun safe and pulled out the first knife I ever owned (for my very own). My Grandfather on my Mom's side gave it to me when I was 5 or maybe 6, so 1952 or 1953. It is stamped "Imperial", Prov., R.I., with USA stamped vertically next to the manufacturer's mark. 5" Clip Point, with a scaling spine, jigged plastic handles and two brass pins securing the handle material. The blade is deeply pitted and 1/16" stock, poorly hollow ground, and the gaurd appears to be some form of "pot-metal". The sheath matches the knife perfectly. Both are "junk".

I used the knife primarily for digging in the dirt looking for worms to fish with, and I don't know if I ever cut anything with it, simply because I don't remember. Does it have "soul"??? Yes..., because it is my favorite knife in many ways which have significance only to me.

Why did I mention this in the "Custom Forum"???? Well.., because it is tied with my "other" favorite knife, by what I consider "soul".., which can be seen by scrolling down to the bottom of this page:

http://www.jodysamson.com/gallery.htm

Jody named this knife "Persephone" in 1978.., and it is a work of art in my opinion.., although the picture is poor (last knife on the page). It has a 9" blade of 1/4" D2, with Jody's classic aggressive hollow grinds, and can shave your face on either side of the blade with ease. It is signed and dated by Jody "August 1978", with extensive filework on the bottom of the handles, and some sort of Dianian Witchcraft lingo etched across the top. The brown micarta material is held in place by 120 stainless steel pins that run all the way through the piece.., and this material is sculpted/fluted with contours I have rarely seen done to suit my particular taste. It weighs 1 pound exactly.., and was on the cover of "Knife World" or one of those huge clunky books they sell at knife shows in 1979 (someone correct me if they know the exact publication, because I'm not going to dig through stuff and look it up...lol). Also.., "Persephone" has no brothers, sisters, or cousins. There is only (1).

Both these knives of mine have "soul" in my way of defining the undefinable.., one for obvious reasons.., and one abstractly. One a singular masterpiece of artistry.., and the other a piece of sh**. :)

I am guessing many of us may have similar problems with defining the soul of a knife..., as it's essence seems to be equally evasive as the term "love".

Anyone's Buck 110 have soul....??? ;)


"Hunters seek what they [want].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
The great thing about this whole topic is that no one can be wrong. What gives a knife soul seems to be different for each of us, so there can be no absolute answer here. It is an interesting topic though. It gives us a chance to find out what others feel gives a knife that extra something that we refer to as soul.
 
Kind of did not initiate this thread to discuss what
"soul" is or is not, even though it is interesting
to ponder what others think of soul. Really tried
to focus on WHAT actual knives do we feel have soul.
And what is special about each knife to warrant such
a feeling. Which knives have "it" and "why." :) :)
Or do not have "it" and "why." :( :(

Or.........is it not possible to separate the terms
soul and why, when discussing a knife? Hummmmmmmm.
 
What I think is the problem is that what we consider to be soul in a knife is a very subjective thing. It is very hard to describe why we feel a knife has soul. I could show you a few hundred pictures of knives that I feel have this quality, but would have a very difficult time telling you why. It is just something about these knives that keeps bringing me back to take another look and to dream about one like it making its way into my collection.

When someone asks me why I think a certain knife has soul, I tell them that I don't know how to describe it, it just does.
 
Originally posted by FastJack
Kind of did not initiate this thread to discuss what
"soul" is or is not, Or......is it not possible to separate the terms soul and why, when discussing a knife? Hummmmmmmm.
Click to expand...

Well :)..., phrase a question using a highly subjective term..., and you are likely to get highly subjective answers...????

I don't think it's impossible at all to separate the terms "soul" and "why"..., so the very second someone concretely defines the word "soul".., we can all find out exactly what the soulful knives are.. ;)

Until then.., my POS little Imperial Bowie is Aretha Franklin on steroids .. :)


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Keith, so true....some knives just inspire you to
look at them more and dream about adding them to
your collection. Like the shape of the blade, or
the design of the scales, or.......... WHAT is it?
I look at hundreds of knives a month and nothing,
but then, there is one or two that just grab me.

Would very much like to see knives that grab other
collectors-I want to see what I am missing. And then
go after some of those knives. You know, and I think
many collectors are guilty of this, I sometimes get
stuck on a few favorite makers, and overlook so many
other incredible makers and their knives.

A good example of this is Gary's Mike Irie posted
above. This knife looks fantastic and now I know
it is out there and would be nice to find and add
to my collection.
 
:) Pete, do not know if your Bowie has Aretha
Franklin quality, but your Persephone sure does.
Wow!
 
Thanks Jack :)..., both knives have considerable "soul" to me.., but Persephone will no doubt win out on the fiduciary end.

Wow.., this could start a whole new thread.. :)

Can POS knives have "soul"???? ~~~> and why... :rolleyes:


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Pete, I think you may have started something.:)
My POS Colt Cobra with laser serrations definitely
is not an Aretha. It has noooooooooooooo soul.
The laser serrations are just about the most
worthless feature ever put on a knife. Ugh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top