Who are the highest precision folder makers?

There is precision, and then there is precision with the best blade-to-handle ratio....both elements are exceedingly important to me. As much as I truly love the lines and action of a Jess Horn folder, his blades are too short for the handle.

People should consider this when discussing "best of" in the folder category, even though that was not one of the OP's questions.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Precision is an interesting obsession, one worthy of much discussion. In folders, the consistent and repeated function of a knife is entirely related to precision. In flippers, this relates to only a few features of the knife. That is, there are only a few features that need to be held to extremely tight tolerances. The rest of the knife can be imprecise and the function can still be perfect. Not that that is an excuse for being sloppy, just making a point here.

Interchangability and ability to be dis-assembled/re-assembled with no change in function are two of the hallmarks of true precision, IMO. Tim Wright has absolutely mastered the second part of that, as an example.

STeve: I was a designer at Sikorsky, not a machinist. But I did have a hand in helping establish some of the design guidelines for HSM parts and ended up learning a fair amount about CNC machining in the course of my journey there. Which leads to yet another spinoff of the precision discussion. It is amazing how a given design can be approached so that far greater precision is achieved, based on an understanding of the manufacturing processes/approaches that will be used to make the molds, tooling, assembly fixtures used to produce the final component. Done in an "all encompassing" approach, often great gains in precision can be realized while making the final part cost less and be easier to make. It has to do with focusing on the truly needed/valuable precision and letting the other stuff go. Hence my comment above......
 
SharpByCoop said:
Dudley, Jack Levin is an amazing guy and quite unique...

Coop
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Don’t know how to classify Jack Levin’s knives, to say amazing is not enough . Few days ago I saw the last one, the “Bionic”.
To open the knife it is enough to squeeze it in a hand. Never saw anything like this. I think it had 3 locks, 5 joints , few sliding parts and something else, but still very friendly in hand.
All his mechanisms wouldn’t work so fantastic without highest precision. It is my new dream now.

Though I personally don’t understand why it is called bionic.
 
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I love to carry Don Hanson folders. Im not as into the "hot" tactical knives. JWS makes great knives as well.
 
SharpByCoop said:
Dudley, Jack Levin is an amazing guy and quite unique, but his F&F isn't in this uber-league, however, his designs are killer!
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I wish to retract my original post with this incorrect statement. The thread started in my mind about fitments so fine you could not see a gap. OK, that's one aspect of F&F.

orig.jpg


Reviewing Jack's works and the multitude of components that make it all work, there is a level of precision which I can't comprehend. And I erroneously miscalled it.

How many of the precision makers listed above have won Best Art knife and Best Folder at Blade. Jack has won both, some more than once.

I humbly apologize.

Coop
 
SharpByCoop said:
I humbly apologize.

Coop
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I found your original post accurate, Jim.

Precision as we understand the OP's definition is a quality that the Levin folders lack....and that takes nothing away from them....they are superb. They have a "hand made" vs. "machined" quality that makes them organic and wonderful, but not necessarily "precise".

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Think I am narrowing personal choices down to all steel or interframes, with highly polished surfaces and, some sculpting, and maybe a little engraving. I keep visualizing smooth mirror surfaces that show no imperfections and non-existent seams between moving parts as things I will ultimately look for. I really wish I had purchased one of Bailey Bradshaw's self-lock bushi folders with the fluted frames when he was selling them here.

But I am enjoying searching out images from all of these makers. Some of these art pieces are completely mind-blowing in their patterns and proportions.
 
The top folders in my collection come from Allen Elishewitz and Alan Davis. Although I do not have the experience with high end folders that many do, the 5 knives I own from these two gentlemen stand head and shoulders above the others, and is immediately noticeable. It is hard to decide which maker is more precise in my examples, mostly as they are comparing natural vs synthetic materials. But love them all.
 
My latest ("Estrella"), with mind-blowing tolerances. Made by Michael Raymond. The "jigs" on the Ti surface are each done by hand.



hardheart said:
Think I am narrowing personal choices down to all steel or interframes, with highly polished surfaces and, some sculpting, and maybe a little engraving. I keep visualizing smooth mirror surfaces that show no imperfections and non-existent seams between moving parts as things I will ultimately look for. I really wish I had purchased one of Bailey Bradshaw's self-lock bushi folders with the fluted frames when he was selling them here.

But I am enjoying searching out images from all of these makers. Some of these art pieces are completely mind-blowing in their patterns and proportions.
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Dear STeven
High polished, gap-less, seamless knives are beautiful and all makers named here are masters. But concept of Jack Levin’s folders is different and it does not allow him to apply high cosmetic skills. To his regret he has to focus more on the mechanical part.
What makes him happy is when several mechanisms work precisely and are well synchronized in the same knife.
Regards
Erica
 
Erica said:
Dear STeven
High polished, gap-less, seamless knives are beautiful and all makers named here are masters. But concept of Jack Levin’s folders is different and it does not allow him to apply high cosmetic skills. To his regret he has to focus more on the mechanical part.
What makes him happy is when several mechanisms work precisely and are well synchronized in the same knife.
Regards
Erica
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Dear Erika,

I am quite familiar with Jack Levin's most excellent knives, and have even owned a few early models, with camel bone overlays....then as now, they have precision, but are not necessarily precise.....there is a difference.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
Dear Erika,

I am quite familiar with Jack Levin's most excellent knives, and have even owned a few early models, with camel bone overlays....then as now, they have precision, but are not necessarily precise.....there is a difference.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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More than 20 years ago, when knives you had were made, we all were puppies ))). So were those knives...
Since that time Jack got 11 awards from Blade show…

Wanted to post couple of pics but can't paste them.. Any advice ?
 
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Erica, you need to get an account like Photobucket, which is what I use. There are many such accounts out there., like Flickr, etc They are free but you have to register. SO register, then upload photos from your computer - even your desktop - to Photobucket or whatever. When you get that far, I can talk you through the rest. But there is one thing: as a registered member, you photos will appear as thumbnails in your post. When you become a paid forum member, your photos will be huge, like the ones above.

Erica said:
More than 20 years ago, when knives you had were made, we all were puppies ))). So were those knives...
Since that time Jack got 11 awards from Blade show…For e.g. “Best of the Show” for Blade-bow- combination on crossbow and blade.
Wanted to paste pics, but don't know how to do it)
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Erica said:
More than 20 years ago, when knives you had were made, we all were puppies ))). So were those knives...
Since that time Jack got 11 awards from Blade show…

Wanted to post couple of pics but can't paste them.. Any advice ?
Click to expand...

More like 17 years, but it seems like 20....these were the knives that could have the action locked out by turning the spline-drive screw....we had a couple of them. They had sort of a slip-joint, but stiffer, lock up.

Please do not misunderstand, I see the work that Jack does, it is like a Steampunk design on the inside and the outside is all baroque.....but we are talking about precision, which is cleanliness, fit, finish, flow.....Jack's knives are an artform that cannot be easily defined.....so why try to jam a square peg into a round hole?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thank you, dcoffe01. His knives have a 2 year waiting list, but I snagged it from a custom dealer. Michael Raymond is a cool guy; I sent him an email about my new knife and he promptly sent me a gracious response. He likes to become acquainted with owners of his knives.

dcoffe01 said:
Nice choice. Very classy looking.
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