Tore Fogarizzu 7 ENGRAVER PROJECT

Beautiful knives Tore!!! I'm sure the customers are very happy with them ...and I'm sure you are happy with the result too!!
Both engraving are first class to my eyes!!!

Emmanuel
 
Kohai999 said:
The Hands engraving is nice enough, but I think the knives AND bulino SUCKS!!

There is a small group of collectors worldwide that extoll the virtues of Fogarizzu or Esposito and others of the ilk, and in a few cases, I see it....but in many...no!

Have handled a few, and was unimpressed.
ery
Steve Weiss showed me a piece last year with obvious glee....that this folding piece was heavy, not sharp and had horrible blade-to- handle ratio did not seem to faze him. I told him his taste was in his mouth and that there was a sucker born every minute, and seriously doubt that he'll be showing me any more of those.

These double edged pieces are nice, but compared to a Wolfgang Loerchner or Ken Steigerwalt, I'd prefer one of those...heck, comparatively speaking, the work of Hoel, Kious, Osborne or even Pease is vastly superior.

Dave Ellis, Dan Favano and Ken and I will never agree on this.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

It is difficult for me to respond to this because even though I have some very firm opinions about the knives made by some of these makers, unlike STeven I am not inclined to publicly bash their work, especially when they - like Tore here - did not post their knives here to open them for negative comments. And were I to specifically comment on them publicly, I would not say that their knives "SUCKS!!" I will just say that I personally own knives by some of these makers and have personally handled literally dozens of knives by all of the named makers, and probably between 12 and 20 knives by Tore, and - excepting Wolfgang Loerchner - there is not a single knife which I have ever seen by any of these makers which I would even think about taking over either of these two knives if they were all laid out on a table before me and I was told I could have whichever one I want. It is not a close call to me.

But I guess, as someone says, there is an ass for every seat!
 
Last edited:
The Virginian said:
......- there is not a single knife which I have ever seen by any of these makers which I would even think about taking over either of these two knives if they were all laid out on a table before me and I was told I could have whichever one I want. It is not a close call to me.

But I guess, as someone says, there is an ass for every seat!
Click to expand...

Justify the position, Ken.

While I would not say you are a follower, I would still be interested in WHY you like the Italian makers over those that I have listed. And it makes for interesting discussion.

By the way, to give credit where it is due, the first time I ever read "that there is an ass for every seat" was when Mick Strider wrote it, here on BFC, about 15 years ago, in an online discussion with Jerry Busse.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
Justify the position, Ken.

While I would not say you are a follower, I would still be interested in WHY you like the Italian makers over those that I have listed. And it makes for interesting discussion.

By the way, to give credit where it is due, the first time I ever read "that there is an ass for every seat" was when Mick Strider wrote it, here on BFC, about 15 years ago, in an online discussion with Jerry Busse.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

I am going to specifically exclude Loerchner's knives from the following comments because they do not apply to his knives (which also typically sell at a substantial price premium compared to prices of the Italian makers we have been discussing). I am huge fan of his knives - I hope to own a fine example someday. I have dropped on them at shows . . . no luck so far. Not willing to be secondary market mark-up for them. Heck, to be clear I am also a fan of the knives of some of the makers you mentioned - in fact I own some of their knives. So this whole discussion is odd for me. But, here goes . . .

Foremost, a greater aesthetic appeal than the others you mentioned. Obviously that is a matter of individual taste. The development of new patterns - not always producing the same old knife models for years and even decades. More innovative mechanisms than the knives by many/most of those you mentioned. Smoother operation than some of the makers you mentioned (MUCH smoother in some cases). Generally a higher degree of refinement. For example, absence of ugly, clunky, pins that plague many of the knives of some of those you named. To say more I would have to resort to specifically calling out problems and things I do not like in the knives by each of those makers you identified, and as I explained above, I will not do that. I am already a little uncomfortable with a comparison among knives by different makers NONE of which asked for their knives to be evaluated publicly like that here. So this is the best I am going to give you here. And I am pretty much done with it.

Finally . . . you strike me as a free market capitalist sort of fellow. I would say that just looking at the prices that these knives command and get speaks volumes in that regard. I have dropped on knives by Antonio, Tore, Esposito, Puddu at several shows at prices that well exceeded those of knives by some of the others that you mentioned. Never got drawn for one yet. So obviously there are a fair number of others who thought they offered a good value at elevated prices. Again, I think that says something in a let-the-market-dictate-value sort of way. And I do not believe that it is a market bubble phenomenon - this has been the case for several years now.
 
Thanks for that, it was well written and reasoned.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
My 2 cents.
I agree with what Ken says and in addition to the free spirited designs and materials used, most of the Makers mentioned do not rest on their laurels.
Continually upping the bar with complex locking and unlocking mechanisms, tastefully adorning their own works of art with engraving by some of the best and still remaining humble.

Only time will tell whose work holds up but since I buy what I like first and worry about garnering a profit secondarily, I will continue to collect and support each maker based on their merits and my wants.

Dave
 
Last edited:
When discussing ART KNIVES, we are discussing ART - where everybody has their own
likes and hates.... One should remember this when criticizing the other's opinion.

In the MOMA in New York they display a framed canvas with a painting that is
just the color of RED... It is a classic worth hundreds of time more than any knife...

It is originality and personal taste so there is really no need to go at it
with disrespect for someone else's liking or not liking....

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
ddd said:
When discussing ART KNIVES, we are discussing ART - where everybody has their own
likes and hates.... One should remember this when criticizing the other's opinion.

In the MOMA in New York they display a framed canvas with a painting that is
just the color of RED... It is a classic worth hundreds of time more than any knife...

(ddd)
Click to expand...

There CAN BE bad art, although many are fond of saying otherwise.

Jeff Koons would be a wonderful example of awful art, and the folks who pay the crazy stupid prices for his awful art will hopefully watch the values disintegrate as happened a long, long time ago in the tulip market of Amsterdam, almost overnight.

A counterpoint to that awful art would the be classic "Night Watch" by Rembrandt, which I doubt will lose value during the next few hundred years, as long as society can survive.

To the rest, I have made my point and see no need to continue hammering it in this case.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
i am a bit puzzled by the excessive use of the term "art" in this discussion. "art" involves imagination and creativity, and i cannot see any of it in the mere reproduction of a photograph of a tiger (why always tigers, eagles and breasts?). it is a technique, although masterfully executed, but, in this case, not art. it's a pity about the canvas. although the blade is too short...

best regards,
hans
 
Nice knives.
I find it funny (odd) when someone says blade is too short, as if there is some implied rule one must follow about handle to blade ratios. Especially in the realm of art knives, there is no rule. This knife is just as much jewelry as a knife, an accoutrement to a decadent lifestyle like the most expensive watch you can find to wear. Who cares if the blade is (looking) too short? Or is the idea you must make the blade fit the entirety of the open space (length) you are folding it into? Now I can go with that idea.. But if it's just hey, short 1/8" so what! No one is going to miss that when they are cleaning their manicured fingernails. The Tigers look very nicely done. Very traditional motif for classy machismo. Janes Bond, Donald Trump, etc..
David
 
2knife said:
Nice knives.
I find it funny (odd) when someone says blade is too short, as if there is some implied rule one must follow about handle to blade ratios. David
Click to expand...

It's very simple David.....in MOST cases(an exception might be a Kerambit, where the longer blade would likely cut off the user's finger) the PURPOSE of a folder is to maximize blade in the handle, otherwise, what is the point of making it?

A maker could easily do away with the mechanical complication and make a fixed blade, which is stronger and less likely to fail in deployment or use in a critical situation.

It's like making a car without an engine....it looks like a car, could look like a beautiful car....but unless you are going downhill all the time, it isn't a good car.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Steven,
Good observations. Remember this little guy, I looked at it at a table you were working, at Blade 2014. I like the size of it a lot.. Nice little package, really longish handle by most standards. "Half breed" by protech.

This may be a side bar conversation, don't let derail the purpose of this thread. I find nothing implicitly wrong and find the handle length to be most often a matter a thing of preference, not a indicator of the makers lack of skill or intuition on knife design. It's just aesthetics, not "car w/ no engine" analogy- that would mean a frame w/ no blade.. I don't buy folders so will differ to those of you that do have a better sense of it. I do applaud Steven the way I would applaud Donald Trump, for his steadfast doggedness and always being true to his well thought convictions. It takes courage. If this was strictly a collectors forum comments would be more well received. But this crowd has reputations to defend, including the makers. Unless you feel someone is getting robbed, why slam them for creative choices, just let them be what they are.. Incredible level of skill is obvious in the work. Applaud or pass on the display and variety of things we are lucky enough to get to see here. Comedian Bill Maher once said "how many times does someone have to poop in the pool before no one wants to swim in it?"
David
 
2knife said:
...as if there is some implied rule one must follow about handle to blade ratios. Especially in the realm of art knives, there is no rule.
Click to expand...

i think there are in fact rules one should follow. whittlers, wood carving tools, some kitchen knives, pen knives, scalpels, and the kerambit steven mentions, etc. must have short blades. their function dictates the blade length. but a blade that is significantly shorter than the handle just does not make sense in a folding dagger. it is a waste of space. even if this just an art knife: it looks unbalanced, the proportions seem wrong (to me). a racehorse with short legs...

regards,
hans
 
FYI David, that "HalfBreed" by ProTech was created solely due to California automatic knife laws which dictate a blade nlt 2".

David Wattenberg got very creative with this model, and it is the first of it's type that I have seen in a quality American made knife that used a "normal" sized handle and the necessary short blade.

That said, I don't own one, and don't care for the aesthetic, even while I can truly appreciate the functionality.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Steven, the sole issue of the "short blade" does not really apply here...
The angle of the photography causes a misleading illusion as you can
clearly see when comparing the open and the half open blades in
this picture.... The other picture has the same optical issue but the knife
was reversed and it therefore looks strange....

See here...

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

Tore.Francesca%2520Fracassi.jpg
 
David, I can't tell from that photograph either, it still looks short....do you have the measurements?

Inches please, I don't want to have to do the calculations for metric.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
What noise ........ wowwwww !!! I listening and accept all points of view guys, I take the positive side of things. The thing that is important to me is that who commissioned me these two knives was very pleased when they received it, thanks to them I have been able to achieve by expressing my taste. Ciao Tore
 
Please consider that any point you give to that blade/handle ratio you will loose in strenght.
Obviously you need to reduce the tang around the pivot to move it forward. It is a balance act, and for ANY maker is just up to his considerations on the intended purpose of its tool, not a "challenge" in any way from a technical point of view.
What's the choice to have a longer blade?
You can have a slippie that won't see abuse and make a short tang
You can have a tacticool and use stock so thick that make the cutting tool insensate
Or you can make the little blade you actually need, with the handle that comfortably fit the hand and just buy a noiser muffle for the bike to compensate.... ;) LOL
I'm kidding, and also like to max the ratio, but only when i know i can sacrifice a bit of strenght.
For a folding dagger i'd want the full handle for grip and the maximum permitted strength at the pivot for thrusting
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top