I am somewhat new here and although I have a few nice knives, I have never dealt with a knife maker to do a semi-custom build based on one of their particular model's.
Back in August TK Steingass posted a picture of a Loveless style Caper/EDC in birds eye maple that caught my eye. It had already sold by the time I saw the thread. I emailed TK and asked him if he could duplicate this knife for me. He said that he would be pleased to work with me but he did not have any more of the birds eye maple. We discussed a few options for the handle along with the type of sheath and different color liners - I went with black vs the red on the one I originally saw. Although we decided on spalted maple as the second choice he was kind enough to email me a week later and tell me he was able to find some birds eye maple that he thought I would be pleased with. I was excited with this choice, as it was the material I had seen on the first knife.
Well.... the knife and sheath arrived yesterday and I can honestly say it not only looked as good if not better than his pictures ( and his pics are outstanding) but it felt balanced and perfect for my hand. Its a great knife and the craftsmanship is flawless. I can also say that TK was patient during this process with my questions, would not let me pay until the knife was complete and the turnaround on all communications was always within 24 hours if not less. I can tell you that he was interested from the outset with making sure this was a great experience for me and I could tell he cared about making sure I was going to get what I wanted.
I am sure TK doe not need any additional PR here on BF as his knives don't seem to last long on the exchange. I felt it important for you to know that it makes it all the better an experience when you are not only dealing with a good craftsman and a good businessman but a good man who cares about his product and your satisfaction. Simply stated fact!
Thanks TK for the education, "coaching" and the great knife. This won't be my last knife with your makers mark on it.:thumbup:
Back in August TK Steingass posted a picture of a Loveless style Caper/EDC in birds eye maple that caught my eye. It had already sold by the time I saw the thread. I emailed TK and asked him if he could duplicate this knife for me. He said that he would be pleased to work with me but he did not have any more of the birds eye maple. We discussed a few options for the handle along with the type of sheath and different color liners - I went with black vs the red on the one I originally saw. Although we decided on spalted maple as the second choice he was kind enough to email me a week later and tell me he was able to find some birds eye maple that he thought I would be pleased with. I was excited with this choice, as it was the material I had seen on the first knife.
Well.... the knife and sheath arrived yesterday and I can honestly say it not only looked as good if not better than his pictures ( and his pics are outstanding) but it felt balanced and perfect for my hand. Its a great knife and the craftsmanship is flawless. I can also say that TK was patient during this process with my questions, would not let me pay until the knife was complete and the turnaround on all communications was always within 24 hours if not less. I can tell you that he was interested from the outset with making sure this was a great experience for me and I could tell he cared about making sure I was going to get what I wanted.
I am sure TK doe not need any additional PR here on BF as his knives don't seem to last long on the exchange. I felt it important for you to know that it makes it all the better an experience when you are not only dealing with a good craftsman and a good businessman but a good man who cares about his product and your satisfaction. Simply stated fact!
Thanks TK for the education, "coaching" and the great knife. This won't be my last knife with your makers mark on it.:thumbup: