Who do you think the best blade grinders are?

I am biased toward makers I like the total knife they make, but:
flat ground blades A.T. Barr....exceptionally clean and defined grinds.
Anything Tony or Reese Bose grinds is drop dead gorgeous even if you could avoid looking at the rest of the knife
Eugene Shadley does excellent extremely clean grinds on his slipjoints.
Joel Chamblin does also.
Dee Holder does exceptional work so much...always...his polished blades after a perfect grind is expected to be perfect.
S.R. Johnson is exceptional
Oh Heck, I am gonna leave out too many just plain fantastic grinders, I give up and apologize to alot of fine fine makers who are just superior at the grinder....and finishing blades as well as knives.....
 
To me, the guys with the most talent are those that can do a flat grind on a 12" and up blade, or a perfectly symmetrical long dagger or sword. These makers would also have to be doing this freehand, without the aid of jigs. To tell you the truth, I don't know who these makers are.
 
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I really enjoy a challenging grind. Here is a Pic That is blown up so that the grind can be easily judged, and inspected. Mike
 
And a really close up one. The very first Lovett-Loveless Connection Proto-type. I've learned a few things since this one. Mike
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The current Big Bears are ground much deeper. Mike
 
Keith Montgomery said:
To me, the guys with the most talent are those that can do a flat grind on a 12" and up blade, or a perfectly symmetrical long dagger or sword. These makers would also have to be doing this freehand, without the aid of jigs. To tell you the truth, I don't know who these makers are.
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This is a very difficult grind. How about Tim Hancock and Harvey Dean, John Fitch is pretty damn good also.
 
As Don Hanson III is too modest to mention himself, I'll add his name to the mix. ;)
 
sunfishman said:
This is a very difficult grind. How about Tim Hancock and Harvey Dean, John Fitch is pretty damn good also.
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I'm sure these makers are great, but I just don't know which ones do their grinding freehand and which ones use jigs. Jigs make things a lot easier. I'm not saying that any of these guys use jigs, just that I personally don't know who does and who doesn't.
 
I've seen both Harvey Dean and John Fitch grind. Both were very, very good. Neither used a jig or rest etc. Another very skilled grinder is Jim Crowell. Fitch is the only one i've watched grind a bowie. It took him about 10 mins. Fast!
 
Keith Montgomery said:
I'm sure these makers are great, but I just don't know which ones do their grinding freehand and which ones use jigs. Jigs make things a lot easier. I'm not saying that any of these guys use jigs, just that I personally don't know who does and who doesn't.
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The makers I listed, flat grind freehand. I know some use a jig or rest but I personally don't know any who do.
 
Ed Schempp said:
Bob Crowder of Thompson Falls MT produces a very nice grind and finish...Ed
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YES he does. However, we were talking about the best.

Do you think he is one of the best grinders, Ed?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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I put the pic's up for everyone to take a look at. I don't in any way consider myself as a top grinder. My personal pics for top grinders are,Bill Luckett, Rod Chappel, Schuler Lovestrand, Gil Hibben, Wolfgang Lorchner, Jim Merritt. Just to name a few. Old School, each and every one. But Still the best in my book. Flat, vs' Hollow? I find flat grinding to be relaxing. A sweeping true re-curve on a large blade, or a double hollow, especially one with contour in it can be a booger! But thats probably just me. We all have out nitch. And our own way of doing things. It's not important which is harder, Just that we do what we do well, to the best of our ability, and honestly. Mike oops! almost left out the Master himself. RW Loveless. The Loveless Big Bear is a real Bear to grind. He brought out this pattern when he didn't have too. As no one did anything like it at the time. This one is a real oldie, but Classic non the less. Mike
 
I second the vote for Gil Hibben. I have spent many hours watching him freehand grind perfectly straight and even grinds and he make it look so easy. It never ceases to amaze me to watch him work.
 
That's probably one of the hardest questions in the knife-making world to answer. I've seen some no-name guys out there that are awesome.
 
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Keith Montgomery said:
To me, the guys with the most talent are those that can do a flat grind on a 12" and up blade, or a perfectly symmetrical long dagger or sword. These makers would also have to be doing this freehand, without the aid of jigs. To tell you the truth, I don't know who these makers are.
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The one in the middle is a 10" blade flat ground. Just to support my vote in the beginning of this thread:
image.jpg
 
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