ML Knives:

[scdub]

Edit: Sorry - standby.

I found a way to contact ML and will see if I can get an answer to my question before re-posting my original content…

 

[scdub]

Ok I’m back.

A couple of weeks ago I randomly received something called “The Boundary Waters Catalogue” in the mail.

It contains a bunch of gear that I’d mostly consider best suited for “glamping”.

It also features a prominent two page section selling “Handforged ML Knives”, “Custom blades designed exclusively for us”.

The add never specifically states that Matt Lesniewski personally makes each knife but certainly implies it. However the somewhat creative wording of the add along with the fact that these are presumably being advertised and sold to LOTS of folks has me feeling a little skeptical that this operation might have quietly become “mid-tech” without any apparent change of logos. Prices still seem like full custom…

Hopefully I’m wrong, because that would be a pretty lame if true imho. How can you tell an original custom from a mid tech without different logos?

Anyway, I didn’t want to go off half-cocked, so I wrote to ML Knives via their website. I asked if Matt made all of the knives himself, or if there was a team of people making them.

Their site said they would respond within 48 hours, but they still haven’t responded eight days later.

At this point I’m thinking mid-tech. Can anyone confirm? Do you folks find this kind of thing suspicious too?

 

[cbach8tw]

Not sure if this relevant to this site but there was a note from Matt about someone not authorized trying to sell his knives as a distributor. I had some kind of message warning about it, I cannot remember where. Knowing Matt’s work, unless I hear it directly from him about some kind of arrangement, I would be very dubious. Just to clarify, did you contact Matt directly though “his” website? The way the wording above sounds you contacted him though “their“ site. Sorry if I misunderstood your intent.

 

[cbach8tw]

Ok finally found some info about a scammer in Etsy from Matt’s email I had received on Sept 22, so not sure if it is the same situation, this is a copy and paste from that message:

Also as some more info. If you received and read one of my recent email updates you know about the scammer on Etsy. Thank you all again for letting me know about the thief that is stealing my work/photos on Etsy. It is appreciated and I am in the process of trying to get this stopped.

 

[scdub]

Not sure if this relevant to this site but there was a note from Matt about someone not authorized trying to sell his knives as a distributor. I had some kind of message warning about it, I cannot remember where. Knowing Matt’s work, unless I hear it directly from him about some kind of arrangement, I would be very dubious. Just to clarify, did you contact Matt directly though “his” website? The way the wording above sounds you contacted him though “their“ site. Sorry if I misunderstood your intent.

I contacted him directly through his website, and his website also lists Boundary Waters Catalogue as a distributer.

If anyone has another contact for him I’ll try again, or he’s on this forum feel free to direct him to this post and hopefully he can dispel my suspicions.

 

[cbach8tw]

I heard back from Matt, it was not Boundary Waters, but a person in Etsy.

 

[beeinak]

I heard back from Matt, it was not Boundary Waters, but a person in Etsy.

Boundary Waters has been around for quite a while and has a good reputation and lots of followers (especially with canoe folks)- I sure can’t imagine them risking reputation being sleazy. I am sorry to hear someone is scamming on Etsy. So many knock-off knives around.

 

[eveled]

Sounds like a good partnership then, but I’d try to buy right from the maker.

You were right to question it. Situations change. There was a time you could walk into a famous outfitter in New York City and buy RANDALL knives off the shelf.

The famous outfitter? Abercrombie and Fitch! . Things have changed.

 

[cbach8tw]

Sounds like a good partnership then, but I’d try to buy right from the maker.

You were right to question it. Situations change. There was a time you could walk into a famous outfitter in New York City and buy RANDALL knives off the shelf.

The famous outfitter? Abercrombie and Fitch! . Things have changed.

i remember reading about that when i read the randall book.

 

[geargeek]

This Boundary Waters outfitter is legit; I have bought from them before (canoe paddle and other gear but not knives). Their prices on all knives are pretty high but that is not really their main thing; primarily they sell canoes and canoe tripping gear. I would purchase knives elsewhere for a better price but I am sure what they sell is the real thing.

 

[fuyume]

I'm pretty sure Boundary Waters/Piragis was who I purchased my Gransfors Bruks Mini Belt Hatchet from, way back in the day, at the Newport WoodenBoat Show, like 20+ years ago.

 

[Jason Moses]

Edit: Sorry - standby.

I found a way to contact ML and will see if I can get an answer to my question before re-posting my original content…

I contacted Matt Lesniewski through his ML knives website to get his take on all of this. I received no answer through the website so I tried him on his Instagram where he instantly answered and kindly invited me to call him if I wished. I did call and he picked up the phone himself while working. I could literally hear him on the machines as we spoke. He apologized for not answering the email through his website but explained he has to sift through hundreds of junk emails in order to respond to valid emails and this is an imperfect process. I informed him of the details of this thread and he assured me that he makes every single knife that comes out of the ML Knife shop himself. He works with no one save his wife who handles assistant and secretarial type duties. He outsources to no one and has no apprentice or helpers. Every single blade with the ML touchmark, which is all he produces, is hand made by Matt. This includes all the knives he hand makes for the Boundry Waters catalog. There are no exceptions and there hasn't been for the twenty years he's been making knives. My impression of him is that he is an extremely friendly, humble, accomodating, and honest person. Personally, I feel Matt deserves better than to have his reputaiton and liveyhood called into question on a public forum and left out to hang with no answer. Now we have one. His name and business practices are above reproach. I hope this thread might now serve to draw more attention not only to the high qaulity of his knife and leatheworks but also to his strong character.

 

[scdub]

He apologized for not answering the email through his site but explained he has to sift through hundreds of junk mail emails in order to respond to valid emails and this is an imperfect process.

He should work on that - would have been nice if he had responded to my email initially.

Personally, I feel Matt deserves better than to have his reputaiton and liveyhood called into question on a public forum and left out to hang with no answer.

Again - I attempted to get an answer directly. Glad we finally got one and glad to hear he personally makes all of his knives.

Hopefully now that he’s heard the concern he’ll get the catalog to make that clear…

 

[Arathol]

He should work on that - would have been nice if he had responded to my email initially.

Probably a matter of priority. Some people can't live for more than 10 minutes without checking their email or messages. They let it control their lives and some will actually get seriously offended if someone doesn't answer the phone or respond to a message right away.
Others actually have work to do and would rather spend their time actually getting things done than wasting hours going through pages of silly questions and spam....

 

[Jason Moses]

He should work on that - would have been nice if he had responded to my email initially.


Again - I attempted to get an answer directly. Glad we finally got one and glad to hear he personally makes all of his knives.

Hopefully now that he’s heard the concern he’ll get the catalog to make that clear…

Probably a matter of priority. Some people can't live for more than 10 minutes without checking their email or messages. They let it control their lives and some will actually get seriously offended if someone doesn't answer the phone or respond to a message right away.
Others actually have work to do and would rather spend their time actually getting things done than wasting hours going through pages of silly questions and spam....

He should work on that

We all have things we can work on. I admit I do. Matt apologized that he cannot address every email through the website in a timely manner due to high junk emails. His apology infers he acknowledges he can work on that. An apology that came while his forge blackened hands were holding his phone, while in the middle of work, in order to field calls for his business. If you add Matt's output of goods compared to others in his class and view the clips of him working and sharing his work day and night nearly every day of the week it starts to paint the picture that anyone who looks to find fault in this man's approach to life or his business might want to concentrate on working on themselves.

 

[Sidehill Gouger]

I've been using several of Matt's knives for a couple of decades and have nothing but good things to say about his products. Prices and waiting periods can be long but, hey, these are handmade customs.

 

[scdub]

An apology that came while his forge blackened hands were holding his phone

Lol - awesome!

anyone who works to find fault in this man's approach to life or his business might want to concentrate on working on themselves

Woah there cowboy! I wasn’t “working to find fault” with anything.

I merely FOUND a fault in the text of the catalog… It leaves doubt as to who is actually making the knives, where imho it should state clearly that Matt makes them all himself.

Hopefully Matt is glad to have discovered this and will have the catalog text changed so that others in the future don’t have the same concerns.

 

[cbach8tw]

I mentioned from an earlier post,i contacted him through his email, he told me the same thing, he makes everything and has had a relationship with the catalog for awhile.

 

[Jason Moses]

Lol - awesome!


Woah there cowboy! I wasn’t “working to find fault” with anything.

I merely FOUND a fault in the text of the catalog… It leaves doubt as to who is actually making the knives, where imho it should state clearly that Matt makes them all himself.

Hopefully Matt is glad to have discovered this and will have the catalog text changed so that others in the future don’t have the same concerns.

I understand. We're good. Matt's just one of those good guys that will rightfully have people jumping to his defense. In fact, he's so solid it's hard for me to take anyone talking about what he could do better when he does so much right. But it seems like you had a genuine concern to help others in the original post and a genuine concern Matt should look to make sure this company is using the best language to represent him and his goods. I'll pass it along. I would encourage you to really look into this guy and what he does and how he does it. Also to give him a call sometime. You get a real sense of who he is when you talk to him. He's one of the rare ones. A real good man.