Lum Darn Dao Flash Batch

It feels good, with precise grinds, and a balance slightly forward of the guard.

I'm a "big knife" guy, who has loved and used kukuris for years. (I'm the guy who influenced Larry Correia to use HI kuks in his MHI series.) Blades that can deliver powerful chops are the best fighters, IMO, not the super-stabby Randal-esque knives that have popularly become known as "fighters".

The DD is about the closest thing to a perfect large fighting knife that I've seen. I think something like 5160 or 3V would be more useful for woods use, but I doubt many users will be trying to chop down small trees with this
L-R: HI 16.5" WWII, Native 2 LW, DD, Shirley-Owens Camp Defender II, SO CD 2.75, Street Bowie.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....516619883145.2038816.69403225&type=3&theater

John Shirley
 
What is the purpose of the the two snaps on the sheath?

One is obviously for retention but i don't see the purpose of the second?
 
Interesting! When they went on sale in December 2017 they were selling for a street price of $389.97 (40% off MSRP of $649.95). The MSRP is now $650.00 and with MAP reduced to 30% the street price is now $455.00! Back on January 6, 2018 Sal thought they’d sell all 1,200 pieces in about 3 years: “Eric and I thought that it might take 3 years to run through the batch.” At $455.00 they’ll be around for quite a while longer!
 
RamZar said:
Interesting! When they went on sale in December 2017 they were selling for a street price of $389.97 (40% off MSRP of $649.95). The MSRP is now $650.00 and with MAP reduced to 30% the street price is now $455.00! Back on January 6, 2018 Sal thought they’d sell all 1,200 pieces in about 3 years: “Eric and I thought that it might take 3 years to run through the batch.” At $455.00 they’ll be around for quite a while longer!
Click to expand...


If you call a dealer or ebay seller you can sometimes get it for the original price. I used discounts to get it way under map when it was released.
 
RamZar said:
Interesting! When they went on sale in December 2017 they were selling for a street price of $389.97 (40% off MSRP of $649.95). The MSRP is now $650.00 and with MAP reduced to 30% the street price is now $455.00! Back on January 6, 2018 Sal thought they’d sell all 1,200 pieces in about 3 years: “Eric and I thought that it might take 3 years to run through the batch.” At $455.00 they’ll be around for quite a while longer!
Click to expand...
Stock is running down, GPK and DLT are both out, but BHQ and KnifeCenter still have them. I think Sal said that it was more a labor of love than anything else, and he didn't think it'd be a fast seller.
 
RamZar said:
Interesting! When they went on sale in December 2017 they were selling for a street price of $389.97 (40% off MSRP of $649.95). The MSRP is now $650.00 and with MAP reduced to 30% the street price is now $455.00! Back on January 6, 2018 Sal thought they’d sell all 1,200 pieces in about 3 years: “Eric and I thought that it might take 3 years to run through the batch.” At $455.00 they’ll be around for quite a while longer!
Click to expand...

I thought about buying 1 a couple of times but the notion never lasted long.
 
Another one to rich for my blood. Seems like the expensive fixed blades don't sell as well as the just as expensive folders. Still hoping to find one for a good price, would look good on my belt.
 
It's pretty good in use. I really need to take it outside more


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I sure it's a fine weapon/tool but I can't even imagine doing something like that to a $455 machete. :eek:

My $30 Gerber Gator would suit me just fine. Easy to re-sharpen and if, for some reason it breaks, I could buy 15 more for the cost of a Dao. ;)
 
Personally, if the street price of a new one hits $250-$300 I’ll bite. As is, the current street price now ($455) is 17% more than what it was when it was first in stock at dealers on December 19, 2017 ($389.97).
 
Hi,

Interesting discussion. Talkin' Story. I met Bob Lum in the early 80's. I was a member of the Custom Knifemaker's Guild and we were both fairly new members. I was taken by the beauty and shear perfection of his Darn Dao. I purchased one, which was really expensive. Something like $750 back then. I had hopes of making a production run. As it turned out, there were no factories that could make the knife due to the perfectly flat grind over such an large area. The only maker that could make it was Koji Hara, who was quite skilled even back then, but this prices and production capabilities were no better than Bob;'s and his price was the same.

I held onto the knife for more than 35 years with the hope that we could one day make a run of them and it would give the public an opportunity to experience Bob Lum's creation. As time went on, we did make a few knives of Bob's designs, which were always beautiful, unique and functional. Unfortunately Bob passed long before his time due to some issues when he was in the Military, which makes his pieces even more rare. I did catch my son, Eric, chopping with it in our forest, which created an itch for him. I guess he was about 7 years old. Recently, he decided to try a run, realizing that it would be a slow seller, but it would be timeless piece than a small number of people could appreciate.

sal
 
Hey, Sal. Great back story! You almost got me. Put one in my cart after reading your post above and was ready to hit send but I just couldn't do it.

I can appreciate the beauty and rarity of the Dao but I just can't bring myself to buy one. Sorry. :(

However, I am particularly fond of the Lum tantos -- both the folders and fixed blades - which I have in my collection.

Many thanks for those! :)
 
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