OK, lets all just concentrate on the OP question.
Bob Loveless ( Robert Waldorf Loveless) created a popular line of knives that became known as Loveless Style Knives. He was famous for several shapes, one being the "chute knife" he invented in the late 60's. His most successful style was a basic, drop point hunter. Most everyone suggests that style for a first knife. The reasoning why it is a great beginner style is the same as why Loveless was so successful with it.....Simple lines, no frills. It is a simple blade, with a simple guard/bolster, and a simple handle. The ergonomics are just right. Changing these basics may be tried, but no one has come up with any real improvements. Bob's main feature was quality materials and quality construction. Bo didn't invent the knife, and these shapes pre-date him on one form or another. What he did is invent a business ethic where ha made a few styles very well....and marketed them equally well. His " naked lady" logo was surely a stroke of genius. Only Hugh Hefner has marketed a simple silhouette more successfully.
He had a few features that were his trademark, and make a Loveless knife unique. A hollow ground blade, a tapered tang, and a threaded handle rivet. The rivet is known as a Loveless bolt to almost everyone. Loveless bolts and Corby bolts are the strongest handle construction method. Loveless also pioneered the use of etching his mark and logo instead of stamping.
He brought stainless steel to the forefront ( ATS-34/154CM) and the use of Micarta for tough handles. Prior to Loveless showing them wrong, most custom makers claimed that "Stainless won't cut" and the "Wood is Good".
Bob Loveless freely allowed anyone to use his shape for two reasons. One was because it was a generic shape, and two was because he wanted makers to succeed at making a good knife. I know of no one who doesn't proudly call their rendition a "Loveless Style Knife". Obviously, marking a knife you make " RW Loveless" or etching a reclining nude would be wrong, but many people have marked the word "Loveless" or " Loveless Design" on a blade along with their own mark. It is a tribute to a great man, not a rip-off of his design. A note to Jim Merritt who runs the Loveless shop would be a proper gesture if using the name.
