Sterile knives (especially customs)

Quiet Storm

Quiet Storm

Joined
May 17, 2002
Messages
5,757
I got my first custom sterile, because I didn't want the maker's mark to distract from the looks. But I'm wondering whether a sterile knife might get one weird looks by people who ain't knife afficionados. I'm not a mall ninja wannabe, so don't care about this pseudo-tactical crap. IMO the only practical purpose of sterile blades is for soldiers.
But I really like the looks of a sterile blade, kinda like pure art.

Do you think that the desire for a sterile knife could be mistaken as "mall ninjaesque"?
Do you like sterile knives?
 
I'm not paticularly concerned what uneducated wannabes think about what I collect, I have a sterile EK Combat Bowie, the only reason I bought it was the good price, I noticed afterwards that it had no markings.
 
I don't really care what the blade has/hasn't on it. If it's a good knife, it doesn't matter to me about it's markings.
 
My Battle Rat is sterile, but I have one of the INFIcoots that is marked Swamp Rat. I kind of like the logo, but sterile is good too.

It doesn't matter much to me.
 
IMO sterile knives really only serve a cosmetic purpose. If I buy a really nice Japanese style blade, for example, I would not want a company name or the name of the country of manufacture on the blade. All my Kris Cutlery blades are "sterile." For user knives I don't really care about markings. My Busse Steelheart is also "sterile" but I'm sure anyone who knows knives that sees it will know what it is. I don't think anyone who is not into knives will even notice or care.


BTW, you've got a cool avatar. The priests at my highschool hated the button I wore with a similar design. :D
 
Sterile or not, you are buying the knife. Don't worry about what some one else thinks.

All my Busse's and a TOPS are sterile, that is what was in stock at the time. For a user I don't think it makes a damn bit of difference.

Just my opinion.
 
Originally posted by Quiet Storm
I got my first custom sterile, because I didn't want the maker's mark to distract from the looks... Do you like sterile knives?
Click to expand...

Yes, I like Sterile knives and agree with you, but it depends on the knife. ;)
 
Yeah, of course, I buy what I want as long as it is legal. It's just a question of whether I ask the maker to leave his mark away or not...but who knows, sheeplish politicians might come up with laws regarding unmarked blades.

Benjamin,
thanks :D
I think I'll get a T-shirt with my avatar in an enlarged version on it.
 
I'm a newbie here, but the way I see it, why not put the markings on the tang, Japanese-style? That way, many many years from now when you die, and someone inherits this knife they won't be left wondering wtf it came from... or perhaps a little known smith becomes famous later. Personally if I got a spiffy custom pattern-welded blade, I wouldn't want some fruity logo on it either.
 
There is a company making swords that broke their punch and have been shipping regardless. It's not a huge deal, their stuff is pretty recognizable.

I bought a knife from a maker here that was simply marked in the phosphate (or whatever the heck it was) coating. It seems like he coated the blade to cover a kinda ragged hamon and I simply polished it all off, it wasn't hiding the early efforts anyway. So, I guess that's sterile except for those that know.

There are certain makers marks I love to see in my pattern welded blades and would mean nothing to those that aren't familiar. Something like this <× (connected) is neat to see ;)


Some production stuff does get through unmarked or mis-marked.

The whole concept of sterile arms for tactical purposes kind of eludes me though. If you've been captured, there's lots more to worry about. If you dropped it, shame on you ;) Any investigative body can probably identify any of what is being advertised as sterile and are going to have a list of suspects/foes anyway.

Whatever

An extra wink to anyone that can figure out the makers mark ( but let others wonder ).

Cheers

GC

edited for a 'postrophe and a few letter swaps
 
I had a Bill Burke that he hadn't signed -- but that was an "oops". Probably should have kept it.

Also a really nice TOPS Sea Wolf with blue Micarta scales. Another I wish I hadn't traded away.

I think the only sterile knife I have right now is this TnT.

DT-TnT.jpg
 
I think that knives should be marked so that they can be identified by future generations. There are many knives that will be easily recognizable, but there will be many more that without a mark will never be able to be identified. This will make things hard on the knife historians of the future. Look at the debate that still goes on about whether James Black actually made any of the knives that are credited to him by many. If his knives were marked this would not be a problem.
 
Hey, what's wrong with Mall Ninjas :)

I have two "sterile" knives but I didn't order them that way...they don't look Mall Ninja at all, do they ;)

standard


standard


I prefer to have a logo though, particularly if it is simple and engraved...a la Strider

standard


RL
 
tired, so technically didn't read last few posts.

But I would say sterile is fine for collector, but stupid for user. and doens' tmatter what anyone else thinks.

As I don't collect anything yet, don't care if it's sterile.
 
I don't know that it makes much difference to me.
I have never had an elk sit up and say, "Hey, is that a swamprat your working with there? Nice choice."

Of course, that could change this year with my new Hankins bowie.

:D :D :D


I will let you all know if it does.
 
Originally posted by Benjamin Liu
BTW, you've got a cool avatar. The priests at my highschool hated the button I wore with a similar design. :D
Click to expand...

??
Is there a commercially available button like that?
I also like Tim's avatar, if you haven't guessed.
 
I bought a small button with the sicckle and hammer with a line through it at a surplus store in 1999. In highschool I had a button I bought at a gun show that said "Up Against the Wall, Commies!" There were a few others. If you can find them they'd be at the gun show tables that sell bumper stickers and things like that.
 
It seems to me that sterile knives have value only with the original owner, and those who are close to or whom trust the original owner. After that, unless the knife has identifiable features and comes with verifiable documentation from the maker, the origin and use of said knife is pretty much up to the imagination.

I have a sterile knife from a small custom knife shop in brooklyn NYC about a decade back. Not much is known about the shop except for the name Omega knives (well, it's not perfectly sterile, it's got a light stamping that's been beadblasted over by the shop) it went out of business shortly after inception and such a sterile knife will go down in history as a "dead end".

My opinion is as such... and disagree with me if you will...
A sterile Randall will require the "once over" by someone with Randall experience.
The Mad Hungarian's Ek... well it's well known that John Ek was a CIA "asset" and that he regularly made sterile knives. Also, you don't see many Ek counterfeits so if you encounter one, chances are, it's the real deal.

Generally, sterile knives are subject to greater scrutiny but may command better prices if they can be documented as genuine.
 
As you get older you care less and less what the 'greeat unwashed' really think. In retrospect, it was the really 'cool' guys in my past that did what they felt like and never checked the public pulse.

Despite my own postulate, I'll tell you what I think. I think the actual knives of the real 'black bag' guys are implements people will never see. I believe that most knives that are painted black, devoid of markings and sold as 'SEAL tested' are actually bubba-bait for guys with too much cash.

The whole tactical phase turned out to be a marketing idea. Oh, to be sure, it sold tons of knives and introduced space age metals into the hands of us common folk, but the best Terzuola does not make you Schwarzenegger's spawn.

In fact, the real knuts ought to be pushing for an end to 'tactical' references and highlight the true 'practical' aspects. And we should have done it from the start.
 
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