Marble's Knives - has any one purchased new models?

M

maddog2020

Joined
May 25, 1999
Messages
973
Hi, I was talking with Corduroy one evening and he mentioned Marble's Knives. Have any of you purchased any of these knives? They look similiar to the real oldies
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I was kind of eyeing the Trailmaker 10" blade: it reminds me of the Blackjack #1-7", but a little bigger
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. Rumor has it the guys from Blackjack are at Marble's - quality similar to handmade, not production knives.

Thanks for any help!

Ray 'md2020'
 
Seen the ads. They say they're using 52100 high carbon steel (if I have that right) which is pretty highly rated by knowledgeable people at BladeForums. Haven't seen any in Canada yet. Their designs seems very traditional though (maybe that is their marketing strategy). I have wondered why BlackJack folded; their products were highly rated altho I was never able to find any up here in Alberta.
 
I haven't handled one yet, but from the pics I've seen they look nice. I'm kinda shy about buying something with out handling one first. I went to a gun show yesterday, and now that I think about it, I didn't even see one there.

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PRIGGER


 
M's have Blackjack beat hands down, no contest. I've got both. Yes they are mainly using their old designs with a few modifications. Why not, they were winners fifty years ago as well.
Happy Trails,
Dan
 
I have got a few and have sold a few of these Great knives. I think they are just as well made as the originals. Some of the first ones in fact were made from the same steel they had left from the old factory. Good steel. Good sheaths too.

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Danny Ridenhour
1-888-KnivesRUS
www.888knivesrus.com
Check out our new website!
 
Marble's is filling a rather large void left by BlackJack when it went belly up. BJ made, IMHO, some of the finest production "using" knives I've ever had the pleasure of handling. I have the Marble's Plainsman and it's quality is easily the equal of BJ. If they pick up some of BJ's patterns, then the sky is the limit. They are really that good. IMO of course!
 
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I have a new Marbles Woodcraft with the 52100 steel with stag handle and aluminium pommel. It comes with a nice leather sheath that is a little more stylish than the old ones.
The 52100 knives are 1/4" longer in blade and handle making for a total of 1/2" overall. I think this was to make them a little more comfortable as well as distinguishing them from thier other steel,but not sure where I heard,read that.
I don't know if thier "New" old style knives have the same lengths or not. I understand that they had several of the old blade blanks,etc on hand and made them up. They are of 1095 and if they have the temper of the old ones they will be excellent. I have one of the old "Ideal" knives and except for sme scabbard etching and leather dscoloration from oils it is like new. One day-um-ed good knife! The sheath has gone,but I still have it.

I had wanted one of these Woodcrafts every since I was a kid. Now I have one with the fancy steel. I haven't used it extensively,but enough to know the blade discolors instantly when cutting some old turkey meat that had been frozen off of a wing. (Drying it for an Indin Dance Fan.) A little Fitz and it comes back like new.

I have done some prying just to test its lower limits.With the minor chopping I did on some chicken bones it held up okay with no chipping.
The edge holds nicely and all I have done is used the crock stick and stropped it for fun.
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I absolutely love mine and bought it sight unseen from them directly after seeing them on thier website.
I like the "feel" of it as does my cuz who is as much a knife knut as me.
I think there are cheaper places to get them,but I bought mine before I found Bladeforums.
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If you want a really good knife from "yesteryear" I would recommend it highly. The Fieldcraft is just a tad smaller in blade length and I think the other one (Bison?) is a trailing point skinner. I like them too.
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They also still have the Trailmaker I believe it is called. I believe they are made from 5160. They are Big Knives!
I hope this book helps. I just like Marbles knives.new and old.
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A little extra info. The old ones in nice shape are going for as much and sometimes more than the new ones.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
The civilized man sleeps behind locked doors in the city while the naked savage sleeps (with a knife) in a open hut in the jungle.
 
Thanks for all the info so far folks! It is good to hear that Marble's Knives are worth looking into. After I looked around their website a bit, I realized why the named sounded familiar: they make Poly-Chokes for shotguns, and sights for firearms.
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I remember seeing the leather handles knives when I was a boy, but didn't know the name of the company. The Trailmaker and Bison have my attention right now.
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Like I NEED another knife .....lol. Of course!

md2020

 
I would highly recommend Marble’s knives. The fit and finish are always great they always come in shaving sharp, plus their customer service is very good, most of my questions have been answered by the president of Marbles. I have the Scout, Expert, Woodcraft, Fieldcraft, Plainsman at this time and the Trailmaker and Bison are next on list (of course). The Plainsman happens to be my favorite. I’ve handled both the Trailmaker and Bison. The 10” Trailmaker is a big knife with a very nice balance, good for any general camp tasks, the 7” Trailmaker is also very nice piece, very manageable. The Bison also has a nice usable shape; it’s a small knife about the size of the Fieldcraft.

Marbles did use the older steel, hardware and washers from the 60’s & 70’s (?) on the first run of knives when they reintroduced their knife line back in the marketplace about three years ago (Scout, Expert, Woodcraft). I don’t think they have anymore of those available, but if someone was interested I’m sure the factory would know.

Take care,
Tom
 
I have a Woodcraft and a Loveless designed Sport '99. The steel is greatwith a heat treat to match. The edge geometry is very usable, especially for blades convex ground from such thick stock. My only complaint is that the traditional handle and guard styles and too small and slippery. My Woodcraft is stag with stacked leather and the Sport is smooth black Micarta. Both handles are beautiful but are too round and short for my average sized hands. The brass guards are tiny. I've almost slipped up onto the edge several times. I'd like to see these great blades with modern, ergonomic handles made of non-slip materials.
 
Rick,
If you think the current production is TINYm you should see the stuff from 75 years ago.

And to all, why should they copy BJ knives???? Blackjack Knives were in business using everyone elses designs. I don't ever remember them having an origional design in their line-up. Workmanship and QC were "catch as catch can". I certainly don't see their passing as any great loss.
Dan
 
DanK,
I have 8 BJ's (fixed and folders) and I have no problems with any of them. I was specifically referring to the Black Jack Model 1-7 (the knockoff of Randall's Model 1, me thinks), as a possible pickup piece for Marble's. I would like to see Marble's interpretation of it. You are correct, of course, about BJ's use of other's patterns in some of their knives.

Regards,
Misque
 
DanK,
I have 8 BJ's (fixed and folders) and I have no problems with any of them. I was specifically referring to the Black Jack Model 1-7 (the knockoff of Randall's Model 1, me thinks), as a possible pickup piece for Marble's. I would like to see Marble's interpretation of it. You are correct, of course, about BJ's use of other's patterns in some of their knives.

Regards,
Misque
 
What is the web address for Marbles? Anyone?
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Work hard, play hard, live long.
Outlaw_Dogboy

 
Dan K,

"Everyone else's designs?" Could you elaborate? Their US line included some Randall copies, some original pieces, and some Ek designs which they had full rights to. I admit that I have misgivings about their use of Randall patterns (folks may know from other posts that I am violently against copied knives), but these area very old patterns used by hundreds of makers and several companies now. Like the Loveless-style drop-point, there comes a time when a design is "public property."

As for their QC and workmanship, all I can say is that they were "like handmade." very few people worked on each knife and there was little "high-tech" equipment involved. Blade shape varied from one knife to the next, guards were different lengths, and sometimes pieces were a little rough around the edges. I would damn a folding knife for those characteristics, but in a fixed-blade I call it "character." When you consider that their competition in price range was Cold Steel's slab-o'-steel with Kraton on one end, I can accept a little rough finish for a knife with a hand-fitted handle in Micarta, Dymondwood, or Stag, with brass guards, aluminum pommels, and even nifty spacers. They were solid, traditional knives, largely handmade, at very low prices. That's what I feel was lost to the industry with their passing, and what I hope Marbles brings back (though it will clearly be in a somewhat higher price range).

And it bears remembering that Blackjack claimed the sharpest factory edge and delivered it. I think there are plenty of Blackjack owners here who will back me up on that. I've never seen another knife (factory or handmade) that will take as frightening and edge, or do so as easily, as a Blackjack.

And just to end on a troublemaking note, I've seen far worse QC on Randalls than on Blackjacks at 1/4 the price. Plus the worst soldering in the business.

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-Drew Gleason
Little Bear Knives
 
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