As a stock removal guy I am inclined to agree that on average forged blades seem to have a bit more soul than straight stock removal. I think it has to do with the more free form process. In forging you shape from, for lack of a better term, raw clay. In stock removal I find it easy to catch myself trying to fit a design into the available material rather than just saving it for when I've got a larger piece of steel to use. I think certain habits forging makers get into are tells but those design elements are so popular and traditional because they WORK. It's not that one process is superior to the other, but that each process lends itself to different ways of working and thinking about the design aspects of a knife.
When it comes to jigs and guides and such, I don't think those are a stock removal thing, just a people thing. Let's face it, even die hard forging guys use various mechanical helpers to get things the way they want. Whether it's stops for a press to get a specific thickness or grinding related helpers, there's no corner on the market for mechanical assists. Why should there be? Why should anyone care? Is the careful, methodical and process oriented maker somehow inferior to the completely freeform figure it out as they go and just see what happens maker? The later might come up with more new designs or outside the box concepts, but the former is more likely to be able to repeat their creations accurately and quickly. The first one might take much longer but once done repeats are much easier. I think the ideal is when you have someone who combines both styles of working. Luckily I think a lot of knife makers do combine both elements to some degree or another.
When it comes to jigs and guides and such, I don't think those are a stock removal thing, just a people thing. Let's face it, even die hard forging guys use various mechanical helpers to get things the way they want. Whether it's stops for a press to get a specific thickness or grinding related helpers, there's no corner on the market for mechanical assists. Why should there be? Why should anyone care? Is the careful, methodical and process oriented maker somehow inferior to the completely freeform figure it out as they go and just see what happens maker? The later might come up with more new designs or outside the box concepts, but the former is more likely to be able to repeat their creations accurately and quickly. The first one might take much longer but once done repeats are much easier. I think the ideal is when you have someone who combines both styles of working. Luckily I think a lot of knife makers do combine both elements to some degree or another.
