Loveless question

[Canesplitter]

Hi Guys!

I´m from over the ditch (crazy Merkel country) and we do not have much information on Bob Loveless knives in generel.

Lately I watched a video on youtube where the midaged Bob Loveless mentioned, that he uses NickelSilver (30 % Grade) for his bolsters.
Now, did he do so in his later years?

There´s a lot of guys out there who are making Loveless inspired knives! Do you use the same material for bolsters or are you just using stainless stuff for that purpose?

Is there high grade Nickel Silver 25-30 % Grade available at your side of the ditch?

Thanks guys very much for your help!

Cheers Christian

 

[eisman]

I have 50+ Loveless pattern knives from dozens of makers, both commercial (Seki, Lone Wolf, etc) as well as custom. Most have stainless bolsters, especially the more current ones. That may just be my preference showing thru, I find I prefer the color and ease of maintenance with stainless. I suggest you can get a better answer doing a little research (not on youtube). Take a look at the sites that actually sell higher end knives, they will tell you what the materials are. Or look at the makers websites, almost anyone making knives will have one.

It's been a long time since I built any knives, but nickel silver (also known over here as German silver) was not hard to come by.

 

[brownshoe]

I think the Loveless shop used stainless steel “in the later years.” Given the prices for many Loveless repros, stainless is common, but I’ve seen some cheaper copies with brass (e.g. hunter.) Nickel silver is available.

 

[Canesplitter]

Eisman, thank you very much for your input. For some knives I made in the past, I used 25% nickel silver. When the nickel content in the alloy is hi enough I find the material to be more or less maintenance free apart from scratches,
because it is much softer than stainless. But it is very easy to work with. I was surprised to see that Bob Loveless at some stage used Nickel silver at all.
It´s difficult to get high grade Nickel Silver over here. It would be fantastic if somebody here knows of a source for high grade NS!