Three amazing Bill Morans....

ddd

ddd

Joined
Apr 6, 2003
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Here are three mouth-watering Bill Morans from the collection of Ed Wormser.
They are part of a display of highlights from his collection as shown in
my book "The Great Collections".

The knives are (from the left):
"Giant ST 23", late '70s
Damascus blade and curly maple handle with "kill 'em all and let God sort
'em out" in silver wire inlay. Overall length 17" (432 mm).
"St 24/ST 23 Combination Knife", 1974
ST 24 Damascus blade with an ST 23 curly maple handle. Overall length
14 1/2" (368 mm).
"ST 23", early '80s
Damascus blade and curly maple handle with silver wire inlay. Curly maple
sheath with silver wire inlay and ivory throat and tip. Overall length 12
1/2" (mm).

Bear in mind that the Giant ST 23 is displayed in a closer view relative to
the other two knives, to enable the inlaid writing to be seen clearly...

Enjoy!
David Darom (ddd)

picture.JPG
 
I agree with many in that Mr. Moran's ST-24 model could be the one of the best designed fighters (or any style for that matter) in knife history. Some of his other designs can leave us scratching our heads at times.

However to fully realize the great impact that Mr. Moran had on the custom knife industry, all one has to do is imagine the industry without his many contributions.
 
with all due respect, but these are hideous handles on ugly blades. they saying is just plain idiotic.

but i do like the camp knife at iq very much.

hans
 
brightred said:
with all due respect, but these are hideous handles on ugly blades. they saying is just plain idiotic.

but i do like the camp knife at iq very much.

hans
Click to expand...

I don't care for the ST-23 handle, but love the ST-24 blade profile.
 
Here are two Bill Moran ST-24s and two more knives as a "bonus", from the
Dave Ellis Collection.......

From the left:
"Large Newer Design Bowie", late '90s
A very large Bowie, forged from round-bar steel with an Integral bolster.
Fileworked guard with two pierced heart shapes. Coffin shaped curly maple
handle, inset with silver wire and a nickel-silver small butt cap. The blade
is 14" (356 mm), and overall length 19" (482 mm).

"Fighter", 1991
50 years, stamped St-24 (a special stamp Bill Moran used
on only 50 knives, to celebrate his 50th year of knifemaking). Bill's smaller
version of the St-24. Forged 5160 blade, fileworked nickel-silver hilt,
curly maple handle inset with silver wire and carved oak leaves on top of
handle. Overall length 12 1/2" (317 mm). "This knife was used in one of
the Bill Moran Videos".

"Gentleman's Fighter", late '90s
Blade is forged out of round-bar steel with a fileworked Integral bolster.
Fileworked nickel-silver guard and a different handle shape made of curly
maple with silver wire inlay and a rare ivory ferrule. Overall length 13" (330 mm).
"Bill's Gent's Fighter is truly light and quick in the hand".

"Damascus Fighter", 1994
50 years, stamped St-24 Ladder pattern Damascus Blade. Fileworked
with two pierced hearts in the nickel-silver guard. Curly maple grip with
silver wire inlay. Overall length 15 1/2" (394 mm). "This is an all-out
Bill Moran Damascus fighting knife, very light for its size and it also has
one of the sharpest edges ever"!

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

From my book "The Great Collections"
picture.JPG
 
The Moran integral hunter on IQ Knives is quite nice too, but i am still scratching my head over the Mad Dog:D
 
Keith Montgomery said:
The price of that Mad Dog has to be because of its rarity.
Click to expand...
still scratching head.....I was not aware that Mad Dogs were that desirable outside of the military/user market. The Emerson cuased an itch on the scalp too, but not as much because i know that his work is quite popular with a pretty large group of folks. It's just that both of them seemed a bit out of place on that page with Morans, Steinaus, etc.
 
Thanks for sharing David. I see a lot of Moran style knives in hanging around the shop of Mudbone Jones and I see why he is so inspired by them.
 
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