What knife in your collection have/are you contemplating using?

I wonder how many makers have offered to touch up a knife if used at no charge? If so, who?
Bob
 
Starkman1 said:
I wonder how many makers have offered to touch up a knife if used at no charge? If so, who?
Bob
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i hada knife that was VERY used.....asked teh maker andsaid allit would take is enough for a few beers.....i mean this thing was trashed!......AND i went on to sell it at a profit....who woulda thunk?.....ryan
 
Lorien said:
I'm often amazed by how fragile some people seem to think knives are.
A good knife ought to be pretty damn durable.

If a knife is made as an Art piece, (which is VERY rare, imo) then it sort of transcends the mundane use a knife is known for. There is a certain implied responsibility to maintain it as it was created, (even though the owner COULD do whatever he/she wanted with/to it;))

The disconnect happens, I think, when a knife is construed as a piece of Art when in fact, it is not. I see this all the time in here. A knife, (albeit expensive and handmade) is clearly designed and made as a tool, but all too often, it is seen by some people as Art. It's like people sometimes misconstrue something that is expensive as being Art, simply because of its cost or collectibility- holding the object is a misplaced rarefied air. I guess this is ok, I just personally find it ridiculous to hear how this or that knife is 'ART', when it clearly isn't.

The idea of collectibles retaining value or appreciating in value is something else, and obviously there is often value in maintaining the knife or other item as a mint condition object. This helps preserve the value of the item, which is what it is.
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I don't think a knife has to be delicate or be made from fancy materials to be considered art. The term may be considered subjective but the fact that an object is functional does not exclude it from consideration. The cost of said "art" is clearly a factor in determining whether it will see use, and it's collectability, but it shouldn't effect it's artistic merit. Especially when you consider most of the knives we see here are handcrafted one of a kind pieces I tend to think of them as art, even if they don't catch my fancy.
 
betzner said:
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I must admit that this is one knife in my collection that I would just LOVE to try out and use as a chopper, and then maybe as a club. All three edges are sharp, he never did anything half-way. Note: over 3/8" bladestock, antique elephant ivory.

EDIT: But this isn't something you can take back for a refurb.
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Love the look of this one, how long is the blade? A little bit of thread drift but why don't you think this one is a blade that can be refurbished? PM me if you like, don't want to hijack this thread. :)
 
RogerP said:
Although, I do recall a great WIP thread by Burt Foster on an ivory / damascus camp knife that the customer DID in fact use:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=616035

Kudos to that dude. :thumbup: But I'd likely keep that one in mint condition and have Burt make me a kickass Blue Collar chopper for hard work.

Roger
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Thanks for the link, don't remember seeing that one. I'd worry about the ivory but to me that knife would be a great user. I wonder if the owner is a big collector or just wanted a good using knife that would be the equivalent of buying an exotic sports car?
 
betzner said:
I think, clearly, as they say, art is in the eye of the beholder. If you do not "see" or behold it as art, it doesn't mean it's not art. It's just not art to you.

EDIT: A cave wall is a cave wall, but when ancient man applies color to it, is that not art? The canvas, the posterboard, the KNIFE, they are but artist's palates. ART IS ART.
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Well said... :thumbup:
 
Starkman1 said:
I wonder how many makers have offered to touch up a knife if used at no charge? If so, who?
Bob
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Ed Fowler and Ed Schempp. I modified the handle on an Ed Schempp camp knife I bought. When I used it the bottom of the handle snapped off. I contacted him and he offered to replace the handle and refurbish it at no charge. I still sent him some money, since it was my fault, but it speaks to his character. He's also offered to sharpen and touch up any of his knives I own when I bought them from him. Here's a few pics.

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Edited to add that I definitely don't think it's reasonable to expect free refurb work, even though some makers are willing and even pay shipping charges without asking for compensation. Pay for the shipping both ways and a reasonable hourly rate for the work. Knifemaking is a hard enough business as it is...
 
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Jose Reyes said:
Love the look of this one, how long is the blade? A little bit of thread drift but why don't you think this one is a blade that can be refurbished? PM me if you like, don't want to hijack this thread. :)
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The only comments I made in this thread were about this knife being the only one in my collection that I have ever thought would be cool to use. I never suggested it could not be refurbished.

I suppose anyone could refurbish any knife. But I don't quite think I would ever decide to use it. And as to refurbishing it, only the original maker could do it justice, in my opinion. Anyway, I am not big on refurbishing knives. Use 'em, abuse 'em, excuse 'em.

EDIT: To answer your question, the blade is 10" long
 
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RogerP said:
Hans - you win! :eek:

Roger
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that (:eek:) was also my look when i laid out all these knives on the table :D, but i have to say that most of the knives still look unused. most tasks do not permanently damage the blade as long as you immediately clean it after use (when camping i always have an oil-drenched piece of rag with me). btw. damascus is much more resistant to all kind of staining and visible scratches than plain carbon steel.

oh, and in my opinion the gold medal for custom-knife-using goes to john young. during a demo this summer in MT harvey dean asked john to show his slip joint folder. john produced a marvellous t. bose trapper out from his back pocket. about a fifth of the width of the blade was gone from sharpening. that's :eek:, isn't it?

best regards,
hans
 
Lorien said:
all of mine get used, and I'll even go so far as to modify them after using them to make them work better for me.
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Exactly. That's what I do. It is hard to get a true custom knife these days. When many "custom" makers send off to have all their parts water jet cut and the maker only offers set patterns/models, what is a user/collector to do?
 
betzner said:
The only comments I made in this thread were about this knife being the only one in my collection that I have ever thought would be cool to use. I never suggested it could not be refurbished.

I suppose anyone could refurbish any knife. But I don't quite think I would ever decide to use it. And as to refurbishing it, only the original maker could do it justice, in my opinion. Anyway, I am not big on refurbishing knives. Use 'em, abuse 'em, excuse 'em.

EDIT: To answer your question, the blade is 10" long
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Was going to PM you but you have it disabled. It caught my eye because of a different thread but I was inquiring about your edit. Not really worth discussing in this thread though. No matter if we disagree< or maybe agree in this case :) >, I must say you have an enviable collection. You've posted some stunners... :thumbup:


-EDIT: But this isn't something you can take back for a refurb.-
 
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just to go back to the Art thing-

A knife can be Artfully designed, does that then make a copy of that particular knife Art? Or is the Art in the design tied to the original one-off piece only?

For example, I've seen comments made about a knife that is made in production runs by the maker, all identical, alleging that that knife is Art. Is Art not lost when the original piece is mass produced? Or is Art intrinsic with the design only, and held within each mass produced object through its design?

I understand that we all bring our perceptions to bear on everything we see and that our perception will lead us to believing that this or that is Art. I'm not qualified to pass judgment on other people's personal parameters for what Art is to them, nor do I generally care to, so please don't take my posts as arrogant or as harshing out against anyone's tastes. But I think there is a small danger when general parameters are diluted so much that the term which applies to them no longer has much meaning.

Can a mass produced object be called Art, in and of itself? Andy Warhol worked from that direction, and his creations although based on mass produced items were still creations of his own even though his work was 'likeness' based. An original Andy Warhol print is generally accepted as Art, but prints of his prints are just another mass consumable item. Or are they?
 
I don't spend money on something I won't carry or use. I ground off the non waving horn on a DDR HD Maxx. He made 12 of them IIRC. I did this because I could not quickly draw it from my pocket without the other horn snagging and countering my wave. It is now at Reese Weiland's shop having new (non low ride) clip holes drilled on either side to give me additional purchase for a secure draw. I don't buy art. I buy tools/weapons.

Some of these tools are custom.
 
Jose, the reason for Bob's edit about not being able to take the knife back for a refurb is the fact that it was made by Buster Warenski. Since Buster is no longer in this world, it would be awfully hard to have him work on the knife.
 
NickWheeler said:
Jose, the reason for Bob's edit about not being able to take the knife back for a refurb is the fact that it was made by Buster Warenski. Since Buster is no longer in this world, it would be awfully hard to have him work on the knife.
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Nick, first of all, where's my knife? I've been waiting 6 years... :mad:

Just kidding, was worth a shot at getting to the top of the list... :D

I know, I was referencing another thread. He knows what I was talking about.
 
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