phill hartsfield ??

[grobe]

what can you guys tell me about hartsfield blades. a friend has a kozuka, tanto, wakizashi, and a katana. they seem extremely high quality, and i've heard some pretty amazing claims of toughness.

what do you guys say??

 

[Chiro75]

You must have rich friends!

 

[high]

hi grobe, many years ago i owned a neck knife and 9 inch japanese style blade from phil. on his chisel grinds the edge goes from spine to edge no secondary bevel which makes for a very scary sharp blade. the edge is then what looks like a good stropping job.he uses tool steel but i forget if its a-2 or l-6 .the knives phil makes are toted to be work knives but at the prices they sell for to me they fall into investment , collection category. i have seen others copy his lace wrapped knives and even his unique style of finishing his blades but not to his quality. phil and his wife are both very lovely people and their honesty is above reproach.if your looking for a work knife these might be a wee pricey.if onthe other hand you do purchase one just to have ,put it in the safe look at it from time to time and rest easy knowing you could sell it for what you paid in a nano second due to the waiting time for these little beauties. sorry about the length of this thread , hi

 

[stratocaster]

I have a couple of Phill's knives, including a 1/16" A-2 Kozuka that I use nearly every day. And for me and my money, nothing cuts like a Hartsfield. Even his 1/4" stock knives cut incredibly well. There is a fair amount of controversy about the cost of his blades but I think it is important that the consumer determine the cost vs. value of a particular knife. If your friend will let you use one of his, cut some rope/cardboard/leather etc. with it and see how you like it, then make your own decision. There are alot of great knives by alot of great artists out there with price point for just about everyone. Hartsfield's aren't for everybody, but I sure like them.

 

[grobe]

strat-
i'd love to try out one of my friends', but he's never cut anything with them. he did let me work out with the katana in the back yard though.
as for phil and his wife- i called for a catalog and his wife insisted that i talk to phil, next thing you know i had a 45 minute conversation with him. one heck a good guy.
this would be a working blade. and put to some fairly hard use as i work on a farm and use my blades daily. most people think that i'm a bit too hard on my blades. not sure if i would abuse this one like the others though.
personally, i haven't seen aything tha comes close to phil's knives in beauty (for japanese style) but was wondering about how tough they are.

 

[stratocaster]

strat-
i'd love to try out one of my friends', but he's never cut anything with them. he did let me work out with the katana in the back yard though.
as for phil and his wife- i called for a catalog and his wife insisted that i talk to phil, next thing you know i had a 45 minute conversation with him. one heck a good guy.
this would be a working blade. and put to some fairly hard use as i work on a farm and use my blades daily. most people think that i'm a bit too hard on my blades. not sure if i would abuse this one like the others though.
personally, i haven't seen aything tha comes close to phil's knives in beauty (for japanese style) but was wondering about how tough they are.

Grobe,
Yes Phill, Pat and Phill Jr. are great people, I've spent many hours talking with them and they are very generious with there time.
Honestly I don't think you could hurt one of Phill's 1/4" stock knives (...sure if you really want to you could break any knife). They are tough as nails and I'm sure they could stand up to any hard use, even venturing into the rhelm of abuse. If you ever did have a problem with it, the man stands really behind his product. Tell him what your going to use it for and he'll probably have a great recomendation. He's got a new knife with 1/4" stock 6" blade Japanese wrap and double V-ground and Traditional tanto (soft curve rather than hard angles) that might be just perfect for you kind of work. Unfortunatly he has a two year wait for his customs. But www.nordicknives.com usually has a few in stock if you can't wait.

-Scott