The perfect custom Bowie - 12 inches - a Graill quest

HA!!!!

With the number of bladesmiths in the world today, your search is virtually unlimited!!!!
 
i've never held a slab handle full tang large knife that didn't feel like a boat anchor in comparison to one of the forged masterpieces that have been posted in this thread.

I started out with the full tang blades thinking that was what i wanted until i got my hands on a custom. I have never looked back since but ymmv.
 
I was so impressed with the look of this knife I could not stop coming back for a drool at it and subsequently contacted Lin who I have to say got back to me immediatly and said he had a blade forged and would have a knife ready for me in about two months, what a result and thanks Lorien for jogging my memory about this knife:D:D
Lorien said:
I do believe that this may be the grail you seek;

rhea.jpg


Lin Rhea is a true master in the art, who produces a peerless tool. Form must follow function from Lin's point of view. You can count on the fact that that which you cannot see in the construction of the knife is done to the utmost in terms of attention to detail and careful design.

You might pay slightly upwards of $1500 for a knife like this, and wait for a year or so, but I feel extremely confident that it is money well spent. Your progeny will see this beautiful tool as a wonderful investment, and will hopefully pass this on as a family heirloom.

Lin has been a competitive cutter and has achieved success. Therefore his knowledge of what a knife IS REALLY CAPABLE OF is in the top few percentile of knifemakers who actually test the crap out of their large knives.

Last but not least, Lin is a truly wonderful human being. An ethical, thoughtful and considerate man who loves to build knives for the long haul.

www.rheaknives.com
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Big Rick said:
I was so impressed with the look of this knife I could not stop coming back for a drool at it and subsequently contacted Lin who I have to say got back to me immediatly and said he had a blade forged and would have a knife ready for me in about two months, what a result and thanks Lorien for jogging my memory about this knife:D:D
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Congrats man! Its one of my serious contenders too! Will make a fine blade :)! Nice catch!
 
2knife said:
The Purely destructive tests you make reference to on INFI are impressive. In the tests i witnessed on youtube show that the edge holds up to extreme mediums without much deformation and/or chipping. That goes beyond a simple "sharpened pry-bar" description, if the edge proves to have superior strength and resilience.

On the other side of the coin you have cutting contests, usually blades are ground with a thin edge to maximize efficiency. These blades routinely fail by chipping out. It is not an apples-to-apples comparison.

I would bet that very few people, custom makers included have any idea how their forged knives compare to INFI, in durability and edge holding.

With that said, i have no experience with it either.. :). But dont discount the ideas you started with. No one has proved custom = better. Quite the contrary, in some respects.
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I can't speak for everyone, but the handfull of the bladesmiths I know well and for myself. Many of us are VERY SERIOUS about our knives ability to perform. We do torture testing on a regular basis, and most custom makers test EACH AND EVERY knife we make. That is something that no factory can boast. I am the first to admit that not all custom makers are even trying to make a high performance knife. Some are simply making something of extreme beauty that can only be lovingly made by hand, but most will tell you that right up front. I personally only began to make knives after I could not find a factory knife that would impress me for any ammount of $. As for torture testing, I'll have to see if I can dig up the video of Myself and Jason knight chopping a titanium, and D-2 Chris Reves folder in half with a forged L-6 knife that had a thinner edge than the sebenza. The Infi vs. cutting contest knife, as stated, is a very poor argument. Comp knives are like ferari race cars. they were never intended as grocery-getters. They are pushing the geometry and heat treatment well past practical safety margins. Not to mention that it is only a recent development in cutting contests that a chip or ding of any kind wasn't an immediate disqualification. In the old ABS contests, edge damage was a rare occurence.
I don't want to start the whole Factory vs. Forged argument here, Just that as a consumer, it is important to know the maker, and know the product. That goes for factory and custom knives alike.

Adam-
 
Rick,
I have to say the timing was right on this one, otherwise the wait is somewhat longer:). I keep some blades forged and ready, because I am trying to develope the model and would complete the knife in that time anyway. I cant say that about them all. Thanks. Lin
 
Good for you Rick - I feel certain you'll love it. I'm very impressed with my RSH.

Adam - well said.

Roger
 
Big Rick said:
I was so impressed with the look of this knife I could not stop coming back for a drool at it and subsequently contacted Lin who I have to say got back to me immediatly and said he had a blade forged and would have a knife ready for me in about two months, what a result and thanks Lorien for jogging my memory about this knife:D:D
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Stellar:):thumbup:
My work here is done:D
 
This might be a topic for another thread but what is with the performance predisposition that is held by so many?

I know when I first started looked into custom knives I wanted a Busse and a CPM3V FAT dagger... I grew out of that after I bought a few custom choppers and wasn't able to beat them to destruction. I tried Infi and found that in MY application, they held as well as (if not less than) my cheap choppers (coating wear and look cheap to me after use). I bought a few Cegga axes and tomahawks and beat on those as well.

(I should note I can sharpen a ball-peen hammer to a razor in 5 seconds flat. So, sharpen ability of steel is MOOT to me. and I don't weight it when considering a blade steel. )

What I found was: Busse has what I call he Rolex effect. If you want it you will never be happy with something else. AND it's marketing of something that you will NEVER use to it's potential. Ever see those old business farts and old men wearing a rolex Sub, many of whom can't even swim let along walk with out a cane or stray too far for their power chair!

I've since downsized my collection. A hand full of fighters, custom Axes that I keep buying and sellin, and my crowbar. Finally One Amazing Bowie from Matt that is my SD weapon of choice when my hunting rifle and my Saturday night special take a shit when I'm out in Sasquatch territory and the helicopter aint coming for another 2 days. :)

My search for my Grail/Starter bowie Started and ended with Matt. The only 3 other people I would consider: Adam(who has been in this thread a fwe times), Bagwell ( I didn't want to spend the $$ because i'm cheap and don't like LONG wait lists) and Jason Knight (I'm impatient didn't want to wait)

I have held all (except bagwell) and You will not find anyone who complains about performance from these men (they are my short list. there are many other fine makers out there but I like these blade styles these men produce)

I really hope this thread helps out people getting in to custom knives. Not just the OP and his quest.
 
I think if the OP is looking for a knife like the ones posted thus far, or that meets every one of his requirements, he's going to either spend a fair amount more than $500 or be disappointed. Even the production Busses are close to that range, much less the Custom Shop or a full-on custom bowie in that size range.
 
when I started getting into custom knives, it was shortly after using stuff like Beckers and Nepalese khukuris. I knew about Busse, but the 'combat' part kind of put me off, (but there's the Battle Mistress- mmmm.... ) and I felt that buying one was kind of like paying a membership fee, in addition of course, to getting a cool knife. Not one to pay a premium for brand, on its own, I cast my gaze elsewhere.

After awhile, I came to realize that I would much rather spend $300-$600 on a handmade knife, instead of a short run production unit. When I bought my first Lamey, it was about 600 bucks, and I definitely had input into how the knife was made. There is no other knife exactly like it, and I've used it enough now to be amazed by its performance- edge holding, and resharpenability.

Custom Made knives costing about the same as a comparable production knife? Sign me up! Besides, there is also value in developing relationships with people, and for me, developing a relationship with an individual maker trumps developing relationships with 'like minded collectors'- not that I personally have any problem with that. It's just how I roll. I like knife makers, I have a lot in common with many of them whom I've talked with when it comes to outlook.

I've never been one to spend much time worrying about materials- if I can get a look at elemental composition, that's enough for me. Never seen anything like that for Infi, so I was never sold on that material being better or worse than anything else. I've used some amazing steel, and it is very hard for me to imagine anything which works better with higher performance than a handmade knife built by a master.
 
madcap_magician said:
I think if the OP is looking for a knife like the ones posted thus far, or that meets every one of his requirements, he's going to either spend a fair amount more than $500 or be disappointed. Even the production Busses are close to that range, much less the Custom Shop or a full-on custom bowie in that size range.
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Agreed, that 500 limit is long gone! I'm tinkering with the idea of a custom from Jason Knight. A mix between his Fantasmagoria blade and his esquire fighter Iron wood material for the handle (still keeping the amazing handle form of the fantasmagoria).

Fantasmagoria :

Knight_04B-ww.jpg

Love the blade dynamics

Esquire Fighter :

Knight_B08_02-ww.jpg

Love the handle color and material (Desert Ironwood)

Still waiting on pricing approximation and wait times, but I'm really think the love child of these two blades will be my personal Grail quest Bowie.
 
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Darkomaledictus (boy thats a mouth full)

I am a huge fan of Bagwell

I am also a huge fan of others mentioned here.

Jason Knight is one of the very best in the game and IMHO if you choose to go with a piece from him you can't go wrong

Here is my Knight

Knight.jpg
 
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