Whoa Darrel, this is a tough one. Here's the rub I encounter on all my knives, hunters, bird & trout, fighters, and just ordinary utility knives. Everyone who buys one has his own idea of what it should be and do.
As you know there are always tradeoffs between various attributes, especially in edges. For example, scary sharp versus wear resistance and durability. What cuts rope and wood real well doesn't necessarily do as well on other materials. I've never found anything that is quite as good as putting the knife in the hands of someone who knows how to use a knife for its intended putposes, and see how it does over time, like a year or more. It's certainly not a fast process, but it's an honest process. Artificial testing just doesn't compare to this, in my opinion.
I don't make any knives for the purpose of cutting wood. Most everything I make is for use on flesh or bone or hide. Fighters are also expected to deal with incidental contact with steel (as in blades), brass (as in zippers), leather or denim (as in jackets), and a good bit of general abuse as is a normal part of conflict. If they cut hanging paper or empty coke cans, that's cool but not really a measure of their utility. In truth, it is more a measure of the person wielding the blade. I still can't cut one of those damn coke cans in two, but some of my customers have done it with the same knives with which I failed. So I have my fighers tested by people who know fighters and are highly trained in their use. What they do with them is their choice, and most do different things. If they listed up everything they did and we posted it here, most everyone who tried to duplicate what they did would fail, because it is only partly the knife. Still, what they do is the real measure of the knife, since it excludes questions of competence. So they do all these marvelous things and I tell my customers they should not expect to be able to do the same. Besides that, I tailor each and every fighter to the specific preferences of each buyer. More point, more belly, more sharp, more durable, more balance forward, more balance neutral, more guard, more concealable, more, more, more... Sometimes less. Which of those do you test, and what does that mean with respect to the others. That's really what "custom" is about.
On hunters, I resharpen about 30 blades every year for customers. They send them back, and the only thing I charge is feedback on performance. It did 5 deer, it got through an elk, it was not as sharp as I would like it after only 2 deer, the blade tended to accumulate fat, I want a little more sharpness at the point, I broke the point playing Mumblypeg, I broke the handle cracking walnuts on a rock, whatever. I've given about 5 hunters to professional hunters, who give me constant feedback. I have no clue what they do with the knives; I only know what they tell me about their impressions. In 2 instances I took the knives back and gave them something different, more in tune with how they like to skin an animal or how they like to pop the hip bone out of a socket or split a brisket or skin or...
It seems to me this is what custom knives are about. If I built knives to satisfy a series of artificial tests, it is certain they will not satisfy many of these customers, and they are my principle (read, ONLY) concern.
The real test, in my mind, is in the integrity of the maker. The guarantee should be dead simple. You get the knife, you use the knife, if you don't like the knife, I'll fix it to better suit your requirements or buy it back, if I can't fix it to your complete satisfaction, I'll buy it back. No risk. No hype. No Nonsense.
Sorry that I didn't answer your question, but that is my view of how this should work.
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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
[This message has been edited by GaKnife (edited 06-28-2000).]
