Loveless Knives Part II

D

dondford

Joined
Nov 7, 2006
Messages
171
I posted a question the other day concerning "user" Loveless knives on the market. Receicved several posts in reply. Thanks to all. One reply was from Loveless knives with a link to thier Web Site with the most amazing eye candy I've ever seen. Nowhere in the Web Site did it say who are actually building the knives now that Mr. Loveless and Mr. Merritt have passed. I noticed that the shop price for the Dropped Loveless is listed at $2,000, less than the $2,300 mentioned several times in the Loveless film someone posted when Jim Merritt died. Does anyone know who are building these knives? Did Loveless and/or Merritt leave a backlog of ground blades. Will these knives have a mark indicating they are not made by Loveless or Merritt (simple to the "Dot" Liles made after his death). Will these knives be highly collectible?
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for any assistance.

D
 
The site you were linked to contains a phone number, email address, and a form for contacting them through the website.

They will be the ones who could best answer your questions.
 
"Will these knives be highly collectible? "

I can understand your other questions but I'm not sure how anyone can answer this question at this time.
 
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Also, if OP wants a "user", who cares if it's collectible?
 
Thanks for your replies Guys.
marcinels
Sure, I could call them up ask them these questions. They are trying to run a business, under I suspect tough conditions, with the two men; legends in the business and whose personalities and skill and workmanship wholly defined the company are no longer here. I'm not sure they would appreciate some guy calling them and asking, in effect:

Are your new "Loveless" knives as good as the original Loveless knives?
Will your knives be heirloom knives, as are the original knives?
Everybody knows who Bob Loveless and Jim Merritt were, who are you?
Are your knives Real Loveless knives?
There is a lot of Loveless knowledge on this Forum and many of you love discussing Loveless knives and assisting the less informed, so I decided to post here.

KenHash
I agree, who can predict the future, but I think there are precedents there. The one that comes to mind are the Jimmy Lile knives; after he died his widow attempted to keep the company running (probably to save their employees jobs) and these "Lile" knives were marked with a Dot above the mark. Unfortunately, the demand for the Dot knives were nowhere near the Jimmy Lile knives and she closed the business.

AntDog - I would love to own a used, even well used Loveless and would continue to use the knife. It would not be a safe queen and I wouldn't be concerned about the continued "value" of the knife, except the intrinsic value to me. The crux of the question was there used, "User" Loveless knives out there more affordable to the average person than the Loveless knives in collections that are only handled with white gloves. Alas, the consensus was no.

I guess the question for me: How are the new Loveless knives, marked with the Loveless mark, but never touched by Bob Loveless nor Jim Merritt be any different than a Loveless >Style< knife made by several very talented makers under his mark. TK Steingass Loveless Style knives come to mind at a fraction of the cost of a "new" Loveless. To be fair, the guys building these new Loveless knives may be the future Bob Loveless or Jim Merritt....... of course, that is also true for TK Steingass or others.

D
 
This is valid, and also the question of interest would be, does anyone own recently made Loveless knives, and how are they?
 
I wouldn’t mind knowing more about the loveless shop and how they plan to continue. Not enough to contact them, mind you. I’m very happy with my Steingass-made loveless designs.
 
dondford said:
Thanks for your replies Guys.
marcinels
Sure, I could call them up ask them these questions. They are trying to run a business, under I suspect tough conditions, with the two men; legends in the business and whose personalities and skill and workmanship wholly defined the company are no longer here. I'm not sure they would appreciate some guy calling them and asking, in effect:

Are your new "Loveless" knives as good as the original Loveless knives?
Will your knives be heirloom knives, as are the original knives?
Everybody knows who Bob Loveless and Jim Merritt were, who are you?
Are your knives Real Loveless knives?
There is a lot of Loveless knowledge on this Forum and many of you love discussing Loveless knives and assisting the less informed, so I decided to post here.
Click to expand...

1) Their knives cost $2000 and up. They will answer any questions you have.
2) They include a phone number and a Contact Us page on the page you looked at. They will answer any questions you have.
3) Of course we love talking about knives and assisting the "less informed"...but the best way for you to get the most accurate answer possible to your questions is to contact them. They are the ones who know definitively. Telling you that is how we informed you.
 
@dodnford Even if you don't find their situation fundamentally trustworthy, contact them and report back to us. Having their response recorded here may be useful to current and future forumites in your position.
 
dondford said:
AntDog - I would love to own a used, even well used Loveless and would continue to use the knife. It would not be a safe queen and I wouldn't be concerned about the continued "value" of the knife, except the intrinsic value to me. The crux of the question was there used, "User" Loveless knives out there more affordable to the average person than the Loveless knives in collections that are only handled with white gloves. Alas, the consensus was no.
Click to expand...

Then why the concern about who makes them now? Why don't you buy an old one made by Loveless and just use it?

More I read this the more confused I get. :confused:

You can get an old Loveless or a Scagel and use it if you want, I guess. Nobody is stopping you. But you are paying for a knife made by a legend that is, really, a "collector" piece.

I mean you can buy a 1969 Ferrari and drive it in the snow to WalMart and drop the kids off at school too, I guess. But you are not going to find a "user" '69 Ferrari at the local Aut-o-Barn for a couple grand. It's not reality. (Enzo Ferrari is dead, btw, too.)
 
This thread is actually really interesting to me. I didn't know the Loveless shop was still making knives. We hear nothing about new production Loveless knives, but their prices are still sky-high. I think a lot of people would be interested to know if they're worth the price, given how widely RWL encouraged other people to use his patterns, and how many high-quality makers are making Loveless-style knives for much less.
 
madcap_magician said:
This thread is actually really interesting to me. I didn't know the Loveless shop was still making knives. We hear nothing about new production Loveless knives, but their prices are still sky-high. I think a lot of people would be interested to know if they're worth the price, given how widely RWL encouraged other people to use his patterns, and how many high-quality makers are making Loveless-style knives for much less.
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They are gorgeous knives, the quality looks immaculate, but you are also paying a premium for "Loveless," even if Loveless is no longer making them himself.

Doziers are more approachable price-wise, even though Bob Dozier is not making them himself anymore. His site says Dan Crotts has taken over operation (I assume he's not making them all himself either....could be wrong).

Upshot someone wants to find out who exactly is making the knives Loveless sells? Ask them. Not some big mystery.
 
"Why don't you buy an old one made by Loveless and just use it?"
"You can get an old Loveless or a Scagel and use it if you want, I guess. Nobody is stopping you"

You either missed the OP and thread that followed or missed the point. The point is I would love to buy "an old one made by Loveless" or "an old Loveless or a Scagel and use it if you want" for an EDC, at an reasonable "used/user" price and not at collector prices. I cannot afford $5000'ish for a EDC and most replies to my OP indicated that "an old" user Loveless knives ( a used/well used, even misused if the knife was still sound) basic model, actually used by someone and not sitting in someones safe) basically are unavailable on the market.

Maybe you could me one of yours.

D
 
To find a “reasonably” priced Loveless, you have to hunt! I doubt you’ll ever find one on a dealer’s website. I bought one years ago for $700 because I was lucky and knew what I was looking at at a gun show. I’d say the internet has made this possibly even rarer as more people know what a Loveless is now more than say 30 years ago. If you really want to use a real Loveless, I’d think paying the collector price and putting the knife to use is the way to go. The years of happy use will make the buy in price fade away.
 
dondford said:
"Why don't you buy an old one made by Loveless and just use it?"
"You can get an old Loveless or a Scagel and use it if you want, I guess. Nobody is stopping you"

You either missed the OP and thread that followed or missed the point. The point is I would love to buy "an old one made by Loveless" or "an old Loveless or a Scagel and use it if you want" for an EDC, at an reasonable "used/user" price and not at collector prices. I cannot afford $5000'ish for a EDC and most replies to my OP indicated that "an old" user Loveless knives ( a used/well used, even misused if the knife was still sound) basic model, actually used by someone and not sitting in someones safe) basically are unavailable on the market.

Maybe you could me one of yours.

D
Click to expand...

I am missing your point. I already said that.

You want to buy a collector knife that is used and at a user price. One more time: they don't exist.
Then you looked at the new ones, but don't know exactly who makes and but wont ask them.

That seems to be the gist, correct?
 
Slightly OT, but I don’t understand how people were ever OK with buying a knife that was “handmade by a legend” when said legend’s hands had never touched it. To me that was always like pulling a Model T off the assembly line and selling it as “hand assembled by Henry Ford.”

Of course I was never going to spend as much as Loveless was getting for his knives, but I always admired his design. I would have been mega-pissed if I found out later he didn’t make the thing. Am I in the minority here?
 
Google atelier. The Master guides the studio's production. From Michelangelo to Warhol, it is the same system.

cook: a person who prepares a meal

chef: a person who manages a team of cooks
 
marcinek said:
I am missing your point. I already said that.

You want to buy a collector knife that is used and at a user price. One more time: they don't exist.
Then you looked at the new ones, but don't know exactly who makes and but wont ask them.

That seems to be the gist, correct?
Click to expand...

How about a CS Master Hunter or Fallkniven F1? They have drop points very similar to Loveless' original and are very good/functional knives at a much reduced price...especially used on the Exchange!
 
dondford said:
I guess the question for me: How are the new Loveless knives, marked with the Loveless mark, but never touched by Bob Loveless nor Jim Merritt
Click to expand...

Last I was aware Jim Merritt was still making the knives up until he became ill. I haven't seen any indication otherwise. I'm sure someone here knows more than me. Hopefully they'll chime in.
 
Bill S.
Thank you for your post and congrats on your Loveless find. I spend a lot of time at gun shows and always check the knife tables. I agree that the days when you founds your Loveless are long gone. One result of the WEB is it's easy to check the value of items. Every junk store now logs on and researches the stuff coming in their store. It's common for them to miss the finer points in their research and put wildly overpriced price tags on their "collectibles". I have an email in to TK Steingass to order an Loveless Style Dropped Hunter in Green Micarta handle and statin finish. It won't be a Loveless but will a fine hunter.

D
 
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