Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Custom Knives ?

I tried going the custom knife route for a few years. Finally concluded a Mora will do everything I need a hunting knife to do. Customs sure are prutty to look at and who am I to tell anyone how to spend their money.

I have three custom knives; all from the same maker (Bob Lay). Two of them, I use regularily; the other is just a showpiece. I have these just because Bob is a friend of mine and he makes pretty knives which work well. My favorite one is one of his first knives, made of carbon steel. Plain and beat up, it's just fits my hand and does what I want. Another knife I like is an old, leather handled, Kinfolk knife which my dad carried for sixty-plus years. GD

Agreed 100%, Hank. I am very happy with the knives I've bought from you for myself and others.

Keep up the great work, my friend.

I'm going to blood your custom this year.

Yup well that’s all the convincing I need....I was just thinking about this very thing...I’m going to pick out one or two and order them . A lot of good info,Thanks!

Just not true. No flies on anything made by Gene or Charlie, but Buck and Benchmade kinda know what they are doing.

Hell, a sharp rock will do everything a fellow needs to do! 😏

I have more custom knives than I'll ever find a use for in my lifetime. All from the same maker simply because I like the looks of them and the price. Most of them are there just to take out and look at once in a while and try to remember the specifics of the materials they are made of.
Only need a couple of them from time to time while the rest remain in the case.

And someone was right when he said that your favorite one will be the first one obtained.

Mine is a seven and a half inch drop point with bison horn scales. Too beautiful to want to use but I know it will hold up to anything I need to do with it.

Another thumbs for Hank and his knife making abilities. Plus, he’s a super guy to do business with! 😎

BS!

I’ve run the best Gerber blades they ever made..the older ones. And some high end-price wise blades from Kershaw and BenchMade.

Yes, they all will get the job done. But, I found a need with all of them to run a stone over each during field work and later skinning.

And, never was I able to do two or three animals without sharpening the blade.

Now, with most of my custom knives, I don’t need to run a sharpener, unless I’m caping or wringing a lot of legs and taking heads off.

😎

I find that if I spend more money on something that I keep better track of where it is. I just got into higher end knives and bought a few Bark Rivers. Then I had MRK build me one. Nothing wrong with the Bark Rivers, but if I had started with the Tim Olt, I wouldn't have bought them.

Speaking of Case....,
Their Canoe isn't a bad knife either. The single blade Canoe is getting tough to find!

same could be said about custom rifles, shops ike Echols,Ralf Martini , Holland & Holland**, etc use Hoenig stock duplicators,

while other smiths will brag about how they inlet and shape the whole stock by hand,
but that does not mean a superior end product..... one smith who 'proudly does it all by hand',

...will then use CNC to make a variety of custom metal components...LOL.

any custom product industry is loaded with self promoting hype or BS that customers will fall for.
and a person could be passing up some great knives if they have a bias view against modern PM steels.

Purdey will make you a fine piece from PM Damasteel.
https://www.pm-review.com/100000-shotgun-manufactured-from-powder-metallurgy-formed-damascus-steel/

(** I think some folk would be horrified to learn the amount of work done on prestigious 'old school craftsmanship'
H&H and Purdey that is actually done by modern machines)

Well, I guess since you've polled every butcher, taxidermist, and skinner on the planet, know what all of them universally use, and thus speak from authority on the topic, then you're more qualified to comment than me.

People of all walks of life use a lot of things for a lot of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with what is truly "best" in any specific single criteria. Perhaps a lot of butchers, taxidermists, skinners, et al have determined that a commercial knife is the perfect tool for them because they get performance they deem acceptable without the worry of beating up an expensive custom knife. As stated earlier, ultimate edge performance is but one of many reasons to buy a custom knife. The main reason for buying anything custom, regardless of what it is, is getting the exact design that you want rather than having those decisions made by someone else. To many, myself included, that reason, and the pride of ownership of having something nicely made and unique, is reason enough even if edge performance was equal to a commercial knife. You may think it's a waste of money, and that is valid as it pertains your wallet, but the OP asked for compelling reasons to buy a custom knife, and equally valid reasons were provided.

You are barking up the wrong tree......

Great reading all the opinions - learned a lot , thanks for the pics & links also .

Hope you enjoy it!

early this year i picked up 14 knives in Spain and Italy. some customs ,hand made , some factory.
some because o

f feel , they just fit my hand , felt good , balance beauty.
others beauty of design.
others history of local use and very unique designs.

I even found a near new Reminton folder in Rome 40-50 uears old, never been sharpened.

better than buying trinkets.

norm

That Buck Kaala is a limited production, essentially custom shop knife. My comparison was more along the lines of Ingram/May vs. a "production" knife in S30V from Buck or Benchmade. I'm no metallurgist, but, I can tell when a knife gets dull and when it stays sharp.

I see virtually 0 difference between Ingram or May's S30V. Howe's Elmax is another that stands out to me as very well done. Gets extremely sharp and stays that way. Few strokes on ceramic sticks and it's back to very sharp.