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I really like The Northman Blade and thinking about ordering one. Just curious but where are they made? USA or overseas?Originally Posted by voodoo_man
Thanks
Last edited by theJanitor; 07-17-2019 at 04:08 PM.
I don't have any clue if this has been discussed, but I ran across this fascinating video about Mr. Robert Loveless last night. It was extremely interesting.
I'd be curious what yall knive guys think about this. Paging @blues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v-DuWRfm7s
Rich, I don't have an hour to invest in the video...can you post the relevant info or the question you are asking? (No disrespect intended, as I'm sure you know.)
There's nothing civil about this war.
Just thought it would be of interest.
Cliffs: Mr. Lovelace is a maker of fine fixed blade knives. Typical selling prices are on the order of thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of thousands. He has a 10 year waiting list.
Okay, well, I'm sorry to tell you that the wait is going to be longer than 10 years since he died about 9 years ago.
He became extremely popular, (rightly or wrongly...it's a huge megillah), in the arena of custom straight knives and many people went on to jump on the bandwagon and copy the "Loveless style" with their offerings.
He was known to be somewhat curmudgeonly and an acquired taste and he seemed to enjoy adulation.
There are several makers out there whose work is coveted and command prices in the several thousands and up. It's like art. The market, (and scarcity), determine the value. Sometimes even the quality.
Not much more to say. He did play a principal roll in the rise of the popularity of custom knives.
There's nothing civil about this war.
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Rich
Director of R&D and product acquisitions at Empire Outfitters
I will say this. The few, made by Bob Loveless, knives I've held were amazing. With a balance and finish that can only be equaled with careful work. So far, in the intervening 15 years or so since I first held a R.W. Loveless, I've only seen two makers get close. One was Mike Lovett, who was trained by Loveless and Co years ago. The other is John April, who owns several original Loveless models and has spent considerable time studying and making blades to find the balance. John's finishes are great, will need to improve slightly to be on par with Loveless, but overall I believe he offers the best bang for the buck in a true Loveless-style knife. Something that is built for decades of use, that doesn't cost two arms and a leg to purchase. The last April I bought was 500 bucks total.
Most people miss the mark when making a Loveless-style knife. They focus on copying the aesthetic, not the balance and function. I've seen Dozier, for instance, not bothering tapering tangs to move the balance point forward. Tapering the tang takes much extra work in making the scales, etc. But it's a critical piece of moving balance forward. Instead, most folks will try to compensate, by drilling weight out of the tang under the scales. It may be functionally similar, but it isn't the same.
I think there are definitely makers right now whose work is running will into 4 and 5 figure prices that just aren't worth it. Like Loveless did, they seem to enjoy the adulation of fans, but unlike Loveless a number of them do not have the fit, finish, and execution he did. Frustrating overall, because execution should be first and everything else second when it comes to making bespoke products. It is what it is.
Completely agree, RevolverRob. Tapered tangs are crucial to fixed blade design, but nobody does it anymore aside from a couple people I know of. Sadly, the world of custom fixed blade knives is pretty much driven entirely by aesthetics and overbuilt these days.
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