Marcus Lin New York Special

markb said:
Does Markus solder the bolsters and guards?

I know Loveless does but I'm wondering if other makers in his style do, and if it is more desirable, or if a seamless, solderless fit is.

Thanks
Mark Behnke
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Loveless does not solder the guards anymore. There has been much problem with the flux not neutralizing, and it eats the knife out from within, as well as the solder discoloring over time.

The knives are precision fit, and epoxied now.

My Loveless Dixon fighter does not have a shop number scratched on it, and I am just fine with that.....but it wouldn't have bothered me if it did. Personal preference for the buyer of this knife. My Lin and Lovett's have numbers cut in, my Ankrom, Buchanan, Bump, and Velarde do not. All of them are superb.

Marcus is not Loveless....at this point, he is not close....but he will get there if he works hard and steadily. He makes a VERY fine Loveless style blade.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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STeven
Thanks for your correction and reply.
I'm trying my hand at the Loveless style and gathering as much info as possible.
You've been very helpful.
Mark Behnke
 
markb said:
STeven
Thanks for your correction and reply.
I'm trying my hand at the Loveless style and gathering as much info as possible.
You've been very helpful.
Mark Behnke
Click to expand...

Thad Buchanan is located in the Eugene area and spends a fair amount of time in the Loveless shop working with the MASTERS....we have interacted a fair bit this year, and he is really pushing for an authentic representation of Loveless work....contact him for help in reaching your goals, he will provide it.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thank you STeven,
Much appreciated.
Mark Behnke

Big Rick
I apologize for the hijack.
 
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No problem at all Mark.

I do have to disagree with STeven though with his comment that Marcus is'nt close to Loveless. A friend who has an original Big Bear and I had them side by side and compared them and there ain't much in it, it fact he always says he can tell a Loveless by the feel I said ok we will do a blind test and he got it wrong. Just my 2cents worth.
 
Firstly, Thank you for all the views and posts.

Big Rick said:
:D:D:D:D I received these pics from Marcus this morning of a Loveless style NYS I commisioned of him a while back, its #5 of 10 that he is making for me in all Bob's style, next one a boot knife. He finished this knife a couple of weeks ago and was sent to Coop to to do his magic on it. I think you will agree both excelled themselves.

NYSMarcusLin.jpg
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Thank you for posting the photo Rick. It's always a pleasure working with you. :thumbup: I'll be back to work on the Boot knife on Monday. :)


castor0troy said:
looks awesome.
that doesnt look like a nys style sheath.
is it a new design?
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Yes, this is the type of sheath that the Loveless shop makes these days for the NYS.

martinr said:
I like the knives but scratching the shop # on the knife just kills it for me. Why do it?
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Bob inscribes the shop order number or in the past the customer's initials. I mark the knife with a "birthdate."

SharpByCoop said:
Would a Michael Jackson tribute dancer NOT wear a jeweled glove?

Just sayin..... :p :thumbup:

I've been yearning to see JUST how clean Marcus' knives are. I wasn't disappointed!

Coop
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Hi Coop, I really appreciate the work you did for me. Thank you. I'll be sending you more in the future. :)

markb said:
Does Markus solder the bolsters and guards?

I know Loveless does but I'm wondering if other makers in his style do, and if it is more desirable, or if a seamless, solderless fit is.

Thanks
Mark Behnke
Click to expand...

I solder when my fit around the guard isn't a push fit ... but now that I have a real milling machine there will be more cold fitting from now on.
 
Kohai999 said:
Loveless does not solder the guards anymore. There has been much problem with the flux not neutralizing, and it eats the knife out from within, as well as the solder discoloring over time.

The knives are precision fit, and epoxied now.

My Loveless Dixon fighter does not have a shop number scratched on it, and I am just fine with that.....but it wouldn't have bothered me if it did. Personal preference for the buyer of this knife. My Lin and Lovett's have numbers cut in, my Ankrom, Buchanan, Bump, and Velarde do not. All of them are superb.

Marcus is not Loveless....at this point, he is not close....but he will get there if he works hard and steadily. He makes a VERY fine Loveless style blade.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Hi Steven,

I'm getting a lot better everyday ... and I'm just getting started. (My first knife Loveless style knife was made around Feb/ March '09). How about I send you a mini-wilderness I'm working on for critique? ;)
 
flatgrinder said:
Yes, this is the type of sheath that the Loveless shop makes these days for the NYS.

I expect the exception would be the "snap" style New York Specials still gets the more familiar sheath.

Bob inscribes the shop order number or in the past the customer's initials. I mark the knife with a "birth-date."

Wouldn't it be interesting if Bob's scribed shop # would have indicated the birth date and who made it? Should would eliminate a lot of "guessing" today.
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This is a beautiful knife and beautiful image. Congrats.
 
flatgrinder said:
Hi Steven,

I'm getting a lot better everyday ... and I'm just getting started. (My first knife Loveless style knife was made around Feb/ March '09). How about I send you a mini-wilderness I'm working on for critique? ;)
Click to expand...

Sure, you know the address.;)

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
'Marcus isn't close to Loveless yet':eek:
I beg to differ.
I reckon if a picture of this knife and a Loveless NYS had been posted together with the makers marks blanked out it would be interesting to see who could 'spot the Loveless'.
Or am I missing something here?:confused:

Ian
 
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irbailey said:
'Marcus isn't close to Loveless yet':eek:
I beg to differ.
I reckon if a picture of this knife and a Loveless NYS had been posted together with the makers marks blanked out it would be interesting to see who could 'spot the Loveless'.
Or am I missing something here?:confused:

Ian
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I had a similar thought, not really about spotting the difference between the two but about what makes the knife a New York Special. It seems to be the differences between makers NYS'S is the handle material, amber stag, sambar stag, micatra, whatever. The blade grind and shape are the same. Of course the makers skill comes into play but unless the knife is a poor specimen it would be hard to tell one from another.
 
Kohai999 said:
Loveless does not solder the guards anymore. There has been much problem with the flux not neutralizing, and it eats the knife out from within, as well as the solder discoloring over time.

The knives are precision fit, and epoxied now.

My Loveless Dixon fighter does not have a shop number scratched on it, and I am just fine with that.....but it wouldn't have bothered me if it did. Personal preference for the buyer of this knife. My Lin and Lovett's have numbers cut in, my Ankrom, Buchanan, Bump, and Velarde do not. All of them are superb.

Marcus is not Loveless....at this point, he is not close....but he will get there if he works hard and steadily. He makes a VERY fine Loveless style blade.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...


I pour my heart and soul into every knife I make and the blanket statement of "he is not close" really got to me ... I honestly think it is overly harsh. I should probably be more thick-skinned, but it's hard not to take it personally.

Just wait to see the mini-wilderness and we can have a re-evaluation of my work.
 
flatgrinder said:
I pour my heart and soul into every knife I make and the blanket statement of "he is not close" really got to me ... I honestly think it is overly harsh. I should probably be more thick-skinned, but it's hard not to take it personally.

Just wait to see the mini-wilderness and we can have a re-evaluation of my work.
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Marcus,

I have been studying Loveless and Loveless style knives for over 25 YEARS. I got a Wilderness style knife from you less than 6 months ago, and made this statement based upon the observations from that knife and the photos that you have posted.

S.R.(Steve) Johnson is close, and he should be, right?;)

When makers like Charles Vestal and Thad Buchanan, who have been working in the Loveless style for YEARS came on the Loveless Tour this year at Blade and noticed differences between their work and Loveless'....it is an eye opener.

I wasn't insulting you, and it was not a personal attack....it was an observation.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I haven't handled to many loveless knives and I don't know any of the subtle differences some might see. To me this knife looks kickass and very similar to loveless to my untrained eye.
 
flatgrinder said:
I pour my heart and soul into every knife I make and the blanket statement of "he is not close" really got to me ... I honestly think it is overly harsh. I should probably be more thick-skinned, but it's hard not to take it personally.
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I totally see where you are coming from. However, you picked the only discouraging statement from a string of encouraging ones, from one who is not known to be overly encouraging.



Perhaps you should reword Steven's statement in your own mind thusly;

Marcus is not Loveless, but he is getting closer and he will get there if he works hard and steadily. He makes a VERY fine Loveless style blade.
 
It's a superb knife and VERY close in profile. Grinds are fantastic and so is fitment. The sheath is as good as Bob's and a near duplicate.

Be proud!

That said, look closely at about a dozen of these originals on my site.

Bob Loveless gallery

The most visible change I see is; Bob does not allow the handle to grow out much wider towards the end. And that might be the sole reason which prompts STeven's comment.

You are getting solid feedback. Embrace it. :D

Coop
 
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