Baltimore knife ..... anyone familiar with them?

H

Hawgsnawt

Joined
Aug 16, 2015
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OK so... I've been looking for a sword for years now, a specific style....given up on finding one in the wild and well, to be honest, I had been watching a lot of youtube videos from Man At Arms : Reforged which Is a series done by Baltimore knife and they remake some popular movie and video game knives....but having watched the videos, I've noticed they seem to have a very good handle on the basics of sword craft

I reached out to them to produce my blade, they have agreed to do the work in a reasonable amount of time and for what I consider a reasonable cost......what I'm wondering is has anyone else watched these guys videos? do we have any thoughts on the quality of workmanship?.... any problems with their actual products or production method?

I guess what I'm asking is ....some of you guys in the know..... if I pony up for a hand forged custom from them, do you think it will be serviceable? I'm not after a wall hanger...I want a full fledged zombie survival end of the world battle ready blade.

Watch a few of their sword making videos and tell me what you think?....am I setting myself up for disappointment or should I jump at the opportunity to own a custom 1 off by these guys?

help?
 
Ya, I watch the videos too, though I tend to pick scoot past some of the fluff--and how many times can you watch a water jug get executed anyways? I have seen pictures of their more traditional work and read the reviews of happy customers on different forums, and I can honestly say that I don't remember anyone saying anything bad about their quality. My memory is a chancy thing, though, and it worked a lot better before I had kids. The only complaints that come to mind were picayune "historical accuracy" details off some of their base models. You are going the custom route, so that's really a non-issue. If you are happy with what they are going to charge you, I am betting that they are going to hand over a quality item. It never hurts to tell a maker that you intend to use it for cutting practice though. In full disclosure, I have had to wrestle myself down from trying to get a casting from their head to Jacob's Walking Stick to top one of my own, and it's hard to be objective when you want something from the same maker. As always, I use a ton of words when a few will do: go for it.
 
I'm not sure that I'd buy from them again. When I got mine, it looked like they pretty much just had an apprentice do the grinding and stuff. Uneven bevel heights, REALLY sloppy guard, etc. The heat treat and overall liveliness in hand were quite good, and I've seen other pieces that looked really good. Mine may just have been a fluke. Here's a picture for reference:



You can see the grind lines, epoxy that wasn't cleaned off around the scales, sloppy guard, etc. I got virtually no in-process communication (or I would have been able to tell them that the handle design was terrible). If you get something that's on the lines of what they normally do, I think they'll do a good job. Otherwise, it's at least possible that it will be hit or miss. There's a thread floating around about it elsewhere. I'm not trying to bad mouth, just share an honest opinion from my experience buying a custom from them. If I did it again, I'd buy from Stuart Branson or Scott Roush. Or save up for a Dan Keffeler piece.
 
oh wow... yea, that just killed it for me... damn


oh well.... that's 3000.00 saved...I wouldn't have given 300 for that hot mess you got CF....sorry it went bad for ya like that =(
 
Well, that's a total bummer. The handle and guard quality in that pic is just...I dunno a word that fits. Pakistan-ish maybe? Sorry for tossing in my 2 cents based on other reviews, Hawgsnawt. I guess I had better get back to carving my own mold to cast.
 
Well, if you were dropping 3000, again, I'd be surprised if you didn't get a nice piece. I didn't pay nearly that much, although I still think what I got wasn't worth what I paid. But I'd still rather put that money towards a piece by Scott or Stuart or Dan.
 
aye, the fact that they let that leave their shop at all is my biggest issue... IMHO you are what you put your name on....regardless of cost.
 
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