Phil Hartsfield

grobe said:
bladeandbarrel or kohai, have you guys ever handled a hartsfield blade?? just curious
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I have handled about a dozen Hartsfield knives, including a Strongboy. a) I don't like chisel grinds, and b) I hate paying big prices for knives when I can't "see it". This means the cost doesn't make sense to me. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
that makes sense. i won't pay mucho dinero for something that doesn't strike my fancy either. hartsfield has done traditional v grinds as well, but there's still the cost.
 
I have been observing people buy Hartsfield knives since the early 90's and have known many dealers who carried them from time to time. I "grew up" in the knife business going to the NY and East Coast Knife shows and watched overpaid, know-nothing stockbrokers buy lots of Phill's knives based on his very scripted pitch and his write ups in various magazines. Also, unlike sane and rational makers, Phill has been known to put his soul directly into the knife. I am not sure I want to see that "quenching" process if you kow what I mean..

His knives are simple, A-2 knives with a coarse belt finish, shoelace handle and mediocre (at best) sheath. Phill excells at sharpening and selling. Good for him. If you like throwing money down the toilet "in style", they are perfect!

They have no secret heat treatment, design or edge geometry. There are no secrets in the knife world despite many makers best efforts.
 
Bladeandbarrel said:
His knives are simple, A-2 knives with a coarse belt finish, shoelace handle and mediocre (at best) sheath. Phill excells at sharpening and selling. Good for him. If you like throwing money down the toilet "in style", they are perfect!

They have no secret heat treatment, design or edge geometry. There are no secrets in the knife world despite many makers best efforts.
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Pretty much sums it up right there, IMO.
 
Bladeandbarrel said:
His knives are simple, A-2 knives with a coarse belt finish, shoelace handle and mediocre (at best) sheath. Phill excells at sharpening and selling. Good for him. If you like throwing money down the toilet "in style", they are perfect!

They have no secret heat treatment, design or edge geometry. There are no secrets in the knife world despite many makers best efforts.
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Blunt and to the point. Your observations match mine.

Personal preference means that each of us will decide which knives they purchase based on what is important to them. There really is nothing about a Hartsfield knife that would bring me to pay even half of what he asks. Others must find value in his pieces, but I fail to see it myself.
 
Bladeandbarrel said:
I have been observing people buy Hartsfield knives since the early 90's and have known many dealers who carried them from time to time. I "grew up" in the knife business going to the NY and East Coast Knife shows and watched overpaid, know-nothing stockbrokers buy lots of Phill's knives based on his very scripted pitch and his write ups in various magazines. Also, unlike sane and rational makers, Phill has been known to put his soul directly into the knife. I am not sure I want to see that "quenching" process if you kow what I mean..

His knives are simple, A-2 knives with a coarse belt finish, shoelace handle and mediocre (at best) sheath. Phill excells at sharpening and selling. Good for him. If you like throwing money down the toilet "in style", they are perfect!

They have no secret heat treatment, design or edge geometry. There are no secrets in the knife world despite many makers best efforts.
Click to expand...



I came close to buying a Hartsfield aikuchi blade some years ago but did not care too much for the chisel grind that he had available at the show. I had been interested in his work since the early 90's but after some exposure to the custom knife world I do find some of his work to be somewhat "simple". Seemingly his products are effective despite the unrefined finish, and while it's easy to criticize, to what use have you put your "better" pieces from more reknowned makers?

I don't know his business practices, whether Phil is "selling hype" or has proprietary procedures, but coming from "bladeandbarrel", self proclaimed scourge of knifemakers, I cannot put any weight to your claims. At least he signs his name to his blades...
 
Jose Reyes said:
I don't know his business practices, whether Phil is "selling hype" or has proprietary procedures, but coming from "bladeandbarrel", self proclaimed scourge of knifemakers, I cannot put any weight to your claims. At least he signs his name to his blades...
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He is Anthony Lombardo, Jose....for some reason, he changed his handle....and you KNOW he knows his stuff.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I do Steven, as I know you and Keith and others have a lot of knowledge and experience. And I agree with you guys from a refinement point of view. Phil's work may not compare to a traditional Japanese smith or to the best Americans, but if you're going to poopoo on his work at least sign your name at the end of your post if you want to change your "tag" to something anonymous....
 
Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinions, so would like to voice mine.
Yes Ive owned Hartsfields for a long time, but am not a "cult follower" nor believe in magic. For fit and finish, I collect other makers. I have cut with them and they do their job very well, although I dont have nearly half the skills of the iado practioners who use his blades.
Have bought his blades from Rhett Stidham, Dave Harvey, Dave Ellis, and Gary Shaw for more than 15 years, guess they dont know their knives?
Talked to Bud Lang at Solvang years ago, he said it took him a long time to even try out one of Phills knives, but once he did, he acknowledged their cutting ability.
The one thing I agree with is that his prices are high.
 
I don't think it's the actual cutting ability that impresses me! Cos if any maker has half a brain they are gonna know that chisel ground A2 even heat treated by a noob like myself and sharpened with no secondary bevel is gonna cut hemp like butter. What amazes me is how many times his blades can cut in the same spot where MOST makers blades would dull or roll over. You want something that cuts like CRAZY, buy a Hartsfield. You want something that looks appealing to they eye that has a nice finish, buy someone else. It's that simple. His knives are tools meant to be "USED"...and not really looked at.

I agree that if he made his prices 1/2 of what they currently are, he'd sell more than 3 or 4 times as many blades if not more than what he is selling now. So that edge hardening procedure must take one hell of a long time to do (whatever he does that is).

Awesome blades, not for everyone finish wise. But then again it's up to the person paying. :D
 
I don't like to use quotes but this one applies to Phill Hartsfield:" Where there is much light- there are many shadows." I can't recall ONE of Phill's customers making a complaint about their blades by him. And if you know Phill, that's all he really cares about, his customers. He is one of the kindest people I've ever known. Have fun with your knives.
Lycosa
 
I don't own any Hartsfields myself, but a couple of people who's opinion I really respect do, and they feel his stuff is worth the dough.

They don't all cost an absolute fortune either. I've just seen a couple going over at Nordic Knives for around $500.

I think Phil is doing something rather unique. His knives look like they will outlast their owner, even if used every day.

If people are paying those prices, there must be something to the work.
 
bring up this type of disagreement. That's just how it is. I think the bottom line is that they're different enough, so that people will either really like them or really dislike them, especially for the price. I also believe that many of those who like the knives had some kind of Hartsfield exposure in their knife collecting past. For me, it was the fact that my respected contacts in the knife world, Gary Shaw, Dave Harvey, Dave Ellis, were Hartsfield fans. I can't say that I like all Hartsfield knives. I like some Hartsfields. When you find a style that works for you, fits your hand and has the type sheath you need, you have a fantastic tool that will last your entire life. He makes plenty of double ground knives, plenty of metal lined belt sheaths (which are beyond excellent in terms of function) and you can custom order to your exact specs. The knife will be delivered exactly on time, will be sharp as hell and ready to go. Phill will tell you that you should use it, that you can't really screw it up and if you do, he will fix it immediately. If you unintentionally do severe damage, he'll build you a new one. I nicked a tip on a Yoroi Toshi once, sent it to him, had it back in a week, perfect. No questions asked. As far as soul in the blade, all I can say is that Phill puts his heart into each of his blades and believes in them. His line is not "marketing B.S.". He believes in his blades and backs them 100%. All this is part of the price.

I like Hartsfields for these reasons and will pay the price for these reasons. My interest in custom knives started with my search for ultimate performance and utility when I was flying cargo in small planes and was always needing to cut something and thought the day would probably come that I'd need to cut my way out of an aluminum wreck. Or maybe cut someone else out of one. Of course, my collecting interests grew and evolved, but have now come full circle. High polished blades that offer nothing special in terms of performance, mastodon ivory, primadonna knifemakers who've doubled or tripled their prices in the last couple years, etc.....it's all okay, but growing old. A nice organic Winkler or a nice Hartsfield turns me on more these days. Maybe that'll shed a little light.

Pete
 
For me, it was the fact that my respected contacts in the knife world, Gary Shaw, Dave Harvey, Dave Ellis, were Hartsfield fans
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All dealers of Hartsfield knives. I am starting to see a trend!

I don't know his business practices, whether Phil is "selling hype" or has proprietary procedures, but coming from "bladeandbarrel", self proclaimed scourge of knifemakers, I cannot put any weight to your claims. At least he signs his name to his blades...
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Thanks for reading, Jose. As usual you are wrong, but hey, at least you are consistent.

Your friend,

APL
 
As far as the contacts I mentioned being people who deal in Phill's knives, they are. As far as the trend that you're imagining, that's just it. Imaginary. I used the word "respected" when describing these contacts, which means that they're worthy of my respect and would not pump up certain makers just because there's an easy buck involved. They like them because they like the knives and don't mind having the knives in stock, even though there's not a lot of money to be made. If there's any trend at all, it's that you've got some very established and respectable dealers out there that think very highly of Phill's knives and will carry them despite the fact that they don't appeal to a broad range of people. Anyway, the reason for my original post was to give my opinion of why Phill's knives appeal to certain people and why the prices are what they are.

Pete
 
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