Opinions needed Not that any of you are shy! Investment grade blades?

Blinker said:
RogerP
Would be interesting to see what other woods you consider worthy of investment grade knives
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The wood choice has to work overall with the rest of the knife, but there are MANY woods that would not be out of place on an investment or presentation grade knife.

1) African Blackwood - if I wanted the dark look I would take this any day over ebony, given it's higher density and superior stability. You can get this stuff near-black, but I've also seen it with faint brown and greyish streaks that give it the look of water buffalo horn. Sweet. Here is an example of Blackwood and damascus that flat out works, IMHO: (knife by Bradshaw)

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2) Ironwood - again, eye-catching and very stable.

3) Walnut - an all-time classic choice.

4) Assorted burls - amboyna, thuya, maple, california buckeye etc. can all add a lot of visual pop to a handle and obviate the need for any further decoration. For example - I have a Filicietti bowie with a real nice piece of box elder burl that really complements the large swirls in the random pattern damascus blade.

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I'm also surprised that stag didn't make the list of premium handle materials.

Cheers,

Roger
 
Cocobolo is underrated because widely available and reasonably priced, but it is absolutely gorgeous.
 
Speaking of snakewood... ;) (knife and pic by Bradshaw)

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Joss is also right about cocobolo.

Roger
 
Blinker said:
Describe a blade you would envision with Walnut Burl
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Dan Farr is also a specialist of walnut (most walnut isn't truelly burled - it's more a "flame grain" wood.)
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(You can't NOT think of Robbin Hudson, when the word presentation and walnut are in the same sentence. Thanks, Joss!)

Jamie (knifeman) alluded to this...

When I talked to David about this knife's design and materials, I too, wanted the 'look' of walnut. Les Robertson advised that down the road ivory might be a best choice for handle material, but also agreed wholeheartedly that this would make a delicious looking fighter ("Buy what you like!").

In spite of whether it would be an investment grade knife, or simply a presentation grade knife, I went along with the wood and NOT a damascus blade. I wanted to keep those elements simpler. I had the options, and it wasn't all that much extra, relatively.

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In the end, lesser materials made the grade, and I suspect this would still be a considerable value 'down the road'. So, as others said so well: it's all in the artist, the design, and the nebulous 'Factor X', which is the intangible. :)

Coop
 
Outstanding, Coop, thanks for sharing!

SharpByCoop said:
(You can't NOT think of Robbin Hudson, when the word presentation and walnut are in the same sentence. Thanks, Joss!)
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You're the one to thanks for this amazing pic.
 
apologize for temporary hijacking of thread but this was too good to let go by without a mention of appreciation

"Nope, and I don't make comments here any heavier than I did earlier
Some things you just learn over time."
__________________
http://www.kitcarsonknives.com/album/
My 30 years of knifemaking

That's some investment grade advice if I ever read any
 
I don't think I am adding anything new, but for me its as follows:

"Investment Grade" describes the quality/rarity of materials used and the level of embellishment such as engraving and carved fittings, also the uniqueness or sophistication of design.

"Investment Knife" - well this could be a real plain Jane by a famous maker, the "grade" probably does not matter as much as the maker - but ceteris paribus an investment grade piece would be worth more than a presentation grade, which in turn would exceed a field grade for similar pieces by the same sought after maker - I would also hope that in the long term the investment grade of the three pieces by the same maker would offer a better ROI, but I would welcome others opinion on this.

Examples of investment grade materials:

Handle: African Blackwood, any of the Ivories, walnut, ebony, some of the burls if accompanied by other fine fittings.

Blades: Damascus, Carved or engraved carbon or stainless steel.

Finish and Embellishment: Damascus, Stainless, or precious metal fittings. Engraved with gold inlays/colouring, carving of wood and metal.

But just so it is clear - I could make a knife with all the above investment grade materials and it would be worth scrap value only - its only when it gets into the hands of a sort after craftsman and artist, with a flair for design and execution that it becomes an "Investment".

Cheers,

Stephen
 
I know I'm not adding to the original subject here (and I apologize), but thanks to all that have added some serious eye-candy.
 
Rather than "investment grade", I prefer the term "museum quality" to sum up the really fine knive that are out there. That usually fits the same definition as pornography, "I know it when I see it." I'm a folder guy, specifically gen'ts folders so I have more than a few "investment grade" or "museum quality" pieces in my collection. If they HAD to be forged, there would be VERY few "investment grade" folder makers. As for materials, I have brass and cocobolo engraved Lake interframe, most people would consider an "investment grade" knife. Besides the qualities of design and execution, which have already been mentioned, I think the maker's reputation plays a big part. My .02.
 
If by investment grade you mean knives in which you would "invest" money in order to make a profit later when you sell the knife, I don't think the materials or technique used to make the knife have any bearing at all.

If you can buy almost any Loveless knife for under $1000, you aren't likely to loose any money on it, no matter if it's a plain Jane dropped hunter with Micatra scales.

Bill Moran's work isn't likely to loose much value either in the next 10 years.

William Scagel is another.

If you want to invest in Custom knives, then you will need to do a lot of homework and be willing to take big chances buying the work of lesser known makers. If you buy from blue chip guys like Loveless you will need a good sized stake to even step up to the table... or you better have the best garage sale luck in the world!
 
I think that regarding which woods might be suitable on an "IG" knife, it really depends on the maker and the knife, for example, on a classic Crowell bowie, a nice curly maple handle is very suitable, also on a Fitch, but maybe not on a Bradshaw, because he generally doesn't use it. Bailey likes and uses primarily walnut, Thuya and Ambonia burls, and snakewood and darker woods occasionally, so, for him, a maple handle might not be suitable on an IG knife. Among the woods, I think the ones which lend themselves to the IG look and feel are Ironwood, Ebony/Blackwood and walnut. Of course nice ivory, pearl and stag can definitely be at home on an IG knife.

I have a few Bradshaws with walnut, and, since it was requested Roger describe additional knives with walnut, here's my chance to blatantly show off a few Bradshaws. :) (Like I bneed a reason...) :)

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Ambonia burl can be nice too. :)

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I personally think that claro walnut burl is one of the most beautiful woods available. It has such vibrant colours. Add a little silver wire inlay and you definitely have an investment grade handle.
 
I never used very much wood for handles until my wife convinced me of the desire for NICE wood handles. So for me a piece of wood needs to be outstanding for me to consider it investment grade.

From a collectors POV, a wise investment can mean something different than to a maker. A collectors investment is just that. The knife should appreciate over time, and that involves several factors rangeing from the makers ability to improve his desireablity to collectors, to the materials used. Since the discusion is focusing on woods for now, my thought are as follows. An IG piece from me means it is unique, but keeping in my own "look". The wood for the handle needs to be one that is truly unique and exceptional in figure and color. We in the knife industry are spoiled, and many don't realize just how many trees a timber man has to go through to get the quality of wood that we consider exceptional. I buy wood from a supplier that has a website where I can view the pieces I want to buy. I skip over A LOT of wood to get what I like. Most of the stuff I want to buy is usually sold before I see it too. So no matter what the wood, as long as it is stable, and again is exceptional in it's characteristics, it will work for me. If it is black ebony, it needs to be BLACK, same with Blackwood. Burls need to be all burl grain. Curly needs to be tight curly grain over the whole piece. Walnut should have lots of activity with black streaking if it is of the variety to have it. ect.

From my POV, the materials I use in a high end knife that I would consider an investment peice need to exemplify my workmanship and ability to obtain, work and finish them into a piece that harmonizes all the qualities of the materials and my design to make something unique. It has to all work together to create a knife that will stand as an example of what I want my work to be remembered for years after I am with my maker.

Thanks to Megalobyte and Roger P.
 
Seems to lean more towards the makers skill level than just materials alone...Thanks for the great pics!
 
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