Up and Coming Knife Makers - Who are you impressed by?

Thanks Mark et al. I am very honored to be included in this line up. We had a great show at Blade and saw some amazing work by Tad Lynch and Haley. I've only seen S. Branson's work in photos, but I'm always very impressed.

I look forward to seeing more folks work in the future.
 
I think Andrew Demko could just go out on his own and make as many knives as he wanted too. The one who you are going to see get more and more knife orders is Alan Davis who is here on the forums. He is making some AWESOME knives and his prices are DIRT CHEAP! If you have not looked and some of his knives you need to! Kevin :thumbup::D
 
My votes would go to Shawn Knowles, Sean Kendrick, Jared Price and David Mosier. Not in terms of skills but in terms of name recognition.
 
I feel very honored to be mentioned here. The encouragement and affirmation from everyone makes me strive even more to fulfill the expectations...and it validates my forging habit! Thankyou all for being so kind to us at the show. We will never forget these last few days!
-Haley
 
I had the pleasure of meeting Sam Lurquen this weekend and let me tell you, his work is just amazing! Even with a pretty heavy language barrier between us, he is an absolute pleasure to spend time with. I'm definitely going to have to brush up on my french before next year so I can pick his brain a bit:) Haley and Adam were our neighbors at the table so I got the opportunity to look over the knives they brought for testing and the first thing that came to mind was WOW! It's no surprise at all that Haley and Adam not only passed their JS and MS tests without a hitch, but also scooped up the George Peck and B.R. Hughes awards for best knives submitted by JS and MS applicants. Had my collecting budget been just a little bigger this year, there certainly would have been a Haley DeRosiers piece in my bag on it's way back to Texas! All of the names I've seen mentioned on this list so far are turning out incredible work and I can't wait to get a look at where they go from here...exciting times! Many thanks for the shout out Jon, you're the man!
 
For me, up and coming an also mean new faces in the US from overseas - as is the case for Robert Kaufmann of Germany. He's been making knives for a living for 17 years, but only came here for shows last year.

I spent a pretty decent amount of time with a group, that included Robert, throughout the Blade Show and came to have something of a connection with both him and his work. I suppose that's not surprising, given that Mike Talanian bought his most expensive piece (a 26" takedown), Kevin Jones commented that he could easily see him being on invitational rosters - and Jerry Fisk marveling at his takedown skills.

Then there's Mike Ruth, Jr. What can I say about Mike? He and I had too much fun interrupting each other, LOL. Cool guy, great knives!

Best,

Bob
 
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Mike, your welcome. You know I love your work and your a cool as hell guy as well. And sometime we'll actually get to this awesome fighter we talk about. Your family does awesome ladder pattern and thats something I really appreciate.
 
Bob, I have to tell you, one of the main highlights of this show for me was getting to meet and spend some time hanging out with you. (For those who don't know either of us, Bob and I could each talk the ears off a billy goat on our own, so together...our conversations are bordering on chaotic!) To have my work complimented by someone who collects the pieces that you do was unexpected to say the least! I can't thank you enough my friend.

Jon, I was truly hoping to see you there this year, but no worries. We'll catch up soon and you'll have that fighter in your hand LONG before the show next year! I've got a few ideas rattling around in my head that I think you'll really dig. Thanks again for the kind words guys, it means the world to me!
 
Grapevine said:
Stuart Branson makes my list as well.

I'm also very impressed by the unique style of Serge Panchenko. I have two of his knives and the finish on his blade is very nice as well. There's a softness and subtlety to the antiquing/patina that he puts on.

I've been impressed with photos of the work of Nick Allen too. Hopefully he'll get back to making knives soon.
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Thanks David!! I'm also very honored to be mentioned here, I think it will be a while yet untill I can match the level of perfection of the above mentioned makers though.
 
Demko. I was lucky to get a one-off from him before he stopped taking orders, He is currently rebuilding my infamous waved D/E BM630 with larger screws and a full Ti spacer.

I hope to be on this list soon.
 
If you want to talk up and coming makers, Stuart Branson hands down. This guy is on knife #30, #30 and putting out some amazing stuff. He sent me a picture of a blade he's working on and it blew me away. I think I even Pee'd a little.:eek::thumbup:
 
That’s a great question; I’m just having a difficult time only singling out a few.

I’m often amazed by the excellent designs and execution of such we are seeing from newer knifemakers these days.

These are great times to be custom knife collectors and knifemakers as well with the outstanding knives being created on regular basics and all the help and education available to up and coming knifemakers.

Not too many years ago a collector had to hunt deligently for fine knives from newer knifemakers at good price points, not so true today. They almost fine you.
 
I'm on the Branson bandwagon too. Just wanna say that proud and out loud.
Keep up the good work, Stu! (hope to see you this weekend...?)
 
1. Haley DesRosier is a great up and coming maker. Can't wait to see more of her and Adam's work. I hope to get a hunter from them soon.

2. Chris Amos is another great new maker that is studying under Ed Fowler. His work is really good and continues Ed's philosophy of always improving the high performance knife.

3. Almost forgot Anderson Forge.............He is a JS maker that is really thinking outside the box. I "NEED" one of his take down hunters. (and a big camp knife) I was to late this year but will get there earlier next year.
 
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