home made knife versus store bought

[Trigger Mike]

I like to watch mountain men on TV.  one of them sells homemade knives.  I went to his sight and they range from over $200 to over $600 once when I looked.  I have seen cowboys post similar prices on their homemade knives.  A store bought, mass produced knife like a K-bar goes for around 100.  While I know making them homemade takes more time and cost for materials, what makes them worth more than something like a K-bar or a Browning filet knife etc?

[Trigger Mike]

I'm not trying to be difficult or insulting , just curious.

[J-BAR #18287]

At that price range I would buy a Randall rather than one from an unknown bladesmith.

 

I spent $65 on a tool steel blade at a gun show. It was on a table with the bladesmith who made it and the others available for conversation.  I liked the way he answered my questions and I like the way it felt in my hand. It is a very tough versatile knife.  I would not spend much on a knife that I could not handle in person or verify that the maker knows what he is doing.

[Utah Bob #35998]

There are “homemade knives” and knifemaker made knives.

Properly designed and well crafted knives, made one at a time, are a joy to own and use. They are more than tools, just like a custom firearm.

Mas produced knives will do the job just as well in many cases. It’s a matter of personal preference like whiskey and art.

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

There are folks that make knives, then there's bladesmiths. 

 

One is more likely to be the shade tree mechanic of the custom cutlery world and his skills will vary just as widely as the hobby mechanic.  Some are highly skilled, some are stone stupid and downright dangerous.

 

The other is an artist that makes useful, functional art and works with fire and uses steel as a medium.

 

As to which one the feller on TV is, there's no way to tell without seeing the end product first hand.  His use of primitive equipment isn't a factor.  Some of the greatest blades ever made were created using the coal forges and we are still trying to match the results from some of the techniques used in ancient India and Japan.

 

Mass produced knives are tools.  Some tools are better made and cost more than others.

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

Come to the Badger Knife show in Janesville wis. the last weekend of march.

Ive even met a fella who makes custom Damascus steel.

Some very interesting knives where someone takes a popular design

and puts their own twist on it.

And smiths who will build to your spec.....

If you don't find any thing you like just buy parts and build your own...

or pick something out of one of the boxes of half rusted stuff....

Best

CR

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I have both, like both, and use both, but my favorite knife is a 8" bowie sort of knife with real stag and damascus made by Longline Charlie Glackman and given to me by him a few weeks before his death.  Fit my hand like it grew there and holds a marvelous edge.  One of these days I'll get a proper sheath for it, but the one he sent will do until then.  He said it was one he had around and fit the blade well enough to protect it, but he also said he was NOT a  sheath maker and suggested I get one made.

 

My second favorite is a Bud K dirk with a "damascus" double edged 6" blade that I got for under $25.00 including shipping.  Real stag of some sort and nicely balanced.  Holds a decent edge and is really spectacular looking.  It also needs a proper sheath.  It's a natural for boot or belt carry, but just a hair too long for a sleeve knife.

[Church Key, SASS # 33713]

As a trivia response, Randall knife sheaths are made by Sullivan's of Tampa. I had the sheath on my first "real" fixed-blade knife that I got in the late 1950's, a "Herter's Original Bowie" fall apart after about 40 years of use. I contacted Sullivan's, sent the knife to them and for $45 they custom made one that fits the $6 knife perfectly.  Don't even ask me about the $450 Bump-Buster stock on a $400 BT-99 shotgun.

 

Anyhow, Sullivan's is the place to have a sheath made.

 

Church Key