Important Info! Custom Knife History

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Custom Knife History

From the beginning of man there have been some type of cutting tools that they made and used. These tools were made with all kinds of material such as bone, wood, stone, flint, brass and eventually steel. All these were very crude looking, and all made by hand to help with survival at that time. As time passed by they learned how to make them better and better. So now here we are thousands of years later were a person can have a knife custom made. They are made from some of the finest steels ever developed. And from some of the best materials available to make the very best knives possible by some of the best skilled craftsmen in the world.

I've started this thread hopefully (with your help) to pass along some of the history of the custom knives made and being made. There is a ton of history in knives them selves. Such as the bowie knife history, knife designs & types made over the years. But I would like this to be about Custom Knives and their history over the years. What designs, materials, and trends that have brought us to this point. Who were the knife makers that pushed the market in certain directions with their designs. Were did they come from? Why & how did they start making knives? Why did some do better then others? What are some of the old stories that happened around these knife shops that folks collecting custom knives now and in the future may like to know?

Anyone who has been around custom knives for a while will know the big names in the game. These for sure will be talked about here for good reason. But there are others that are not that well known that should be included here also. So with all of us adding a bit of what we know here? Maybe we can pass a long to future knife collectors some of the knowledge before its lost? So please if you have photos & stories or any knowledge you would like to pass a long? Please do so, this is your thread.


Thanks for your help - I hope all knife enthusiasts will enjoy this thread for years to come.

So were should we begin?

original thread....... http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/custom-knife-history.1118349/
 
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Prior to the late 19th century, outdoorsmen and military personnel did not use knives that were notably different from the knives used by butchers. Blades were relatively thin and the handles were often no more than two wooden slabs riveted to the tang. Serrations appeared on knives in the 19th century for use as a wood saw or fish scaler. Around the turn of the century, Webster L. Marble introduced the modern concept of the "hunting knife." These knives incorporated heavier blades, crossguards, and pommels. They very much resembled miniaturized Bowie knives.

Marble Safety Axe Company, Gladstone Manufacturing Company,
rifles, gun sights, axes, hunting knives, and other outdoor accessories\

Founder - Webster L. Marble
Gladstone, Michigan, United States
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Birth: Mar. 23, 1854
Milwaukee
Milwaukee County
Wisconsin, USA
Death: Sep. 22, 1930
Delta County
Michigan, USA

son of Lansing Marble and a grandson of Jason Marble, the latter from Vermont and of English descent.


Marble loved the outdoors and the vast Upper Peninsula offered innumerable opportunities to hunt, fish, camp and explore the environment. An inventor by nature, he was continually seeking to create useful tools and equipment that would be both practical and durable in the outdoors.

Marble Arms created the Ideal hunting knife in 1898.
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Webster L. Marble was the third born of six children, and his life's history is a story of wonderful success. Born in Milwaukee. Wisconsin, while yet a small boy his parents moved to Vassar, Michigan, and there his youth was spent. His father was a woodsman, hunter and trapper, and the son became a "chip of the old block," for nothing pleased him better than a tramp in the woods for game or fish, and he soon became an expert trapper, hunter and fisherman. His natural love of the woods and all field sports led him to take up the occupation of surveyor and timber cruiser, and he followed that work for twenty five years, first around his home at Frankfort, Michigan, where his parents had moved when he was fifteen years of age. and later in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with headquarters at Gladstone.



During these years in the woods he came more and more to feel the need of an axe light enough to be carried in his pocket while cruising, yet of practical utility. Moreover he realized the necessity of a waterproof match box, and setting himself to the task of supplying these articles the Safety Pocket Axe and the Water-proof Match Box were the result. Circumstances and a natural inventive mind have combined to lead up to the twenty or more patents which were secured and which are now the foundation of this large enterprise. Mr. Marble built a little shop back of his home where he set up a small engine and some light machinery. At odd hours, between his trips in the woods, he thought and planned, developing his patents and working out his ideas, for he did not give up his regular employment. Thus he continued on for several years, and in August of 1898 enlarged his shop to six hundred and forty square feet of floor space and began the manufacture of one style of safety axe. In the next year Mr. F. H. Van Cleve of Escanaba, Michigan, became a partner in the business and a new factory covering nine thousand square feet was built. It has since been enlarged to thirteen thousand square feet. The amount of the business of the Marble Safety Axe Company has nearly doubled each year since its organization, and the word "Marble" has become a synonym for extra quality in sporting equipment.

Kenosha Evening News Wed Sept 24, 1913.
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His favorite tie pin was a miniature Safety Ax, not only bacause he was proud of his invention, but because an ax symbolized a woodsman.

Webster L. Marble - shown in photo below at age 55.

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In 1890 Webster L. Marble also became connected with the banking business, being made in that year the president of the Exchange Bank at Gladstone, one of the strongest banking houses of this section of the state. He has ever since filled that important position. He married in 1878 Rosa M. Derry, a resident at that time of Frankfort, Michigan, but born in Fulton, New York, a daughter of William T. and Harriet Derry. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Marble, William L. and Floyd W., the elder the manager of the Marble Safety Axe Company, and the younger assistant cashier in the Exchange Bank. Mr. Marble is a member of the Republican party, of the Gladstone school board and of the Masonic order. He is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is one of the trustees and the present treasurer of his church. The place he was won in business circles is accorded him in recognition of his skill and ability and as a tribute to true and genuine worth.

Frank H. Van Cleve of Escanaba, Michigan shared patent rights on some of the early patents applied for by Webster L. Marble

Marble's Woodcraft is one of the most instantly recognized knives that was ever made in the entire world. Patent applied for in 1915, W L Marble was quoted: Be it be known that I, Webster L Marble...have invented a new & original Design for a Blade of a new Hunting Knife...that patent was granted to Marble on February 22, 1916...the Woodcrafts success not only in the USA but also around the world became legendary! After the patent ran out in 1930, the Woodcraft became the most copied knife blade pattern by almost every other knife company in the world. (see photo below)

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Marble's Ideal was the 1st knife in the Marble's lineup.
Some famous people to carry Marble's Ideal knives were Teddy Roosevelt, Peary & Byrd who were the explorers to reach the north & south poles. Charles Lindbergh carried a Marble's Ideal, in the cockpit of the 1st solo Trans-Atlantic flight, now it's on display in the Smithsonian Institution.

Another knife made was the Marbles Sport. This knife pattern came out about 1930,, Marble's made one version of this identical knife with a collaboration with the late Bob LoveLess, it had a drop point blade pattern. In the 1930's, this knife was the Official knife of the Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts of America.

The Marble's Expert knife is the Marbles Corp. longest running pattern than any other of Marbles original designs. This knife started in the Marble's line in 1906. W.L. Marble's intent was to offer a a knife suited to the professional hunter, guides, trapper, that needed a light blade for skinning & dressing, yet with enough strength to handle all the rest of regular outdoor chores.

The Marble's Trailmaker knife is the biggest knife Marble's ever made at 15" OAL. It was the heaviest at over 1 LB, and it was the most expensive knife ever offered in Marble's Corp.

And Marble Knives made the stacked leather handles famous......



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Timeline

1887 Webster Marble moves family to Gladstone, Michigan.

1890 Marble founds Gladstone Exchange Bank and is President.

1892 Manufactures Universal Rifle Sight and incorporates as Gladstone Manufacturing Company.

1893 Makes first Pocket Axes; recession causes Panic of 1893.

1894 Marble returns to surveying and timber cruising.

1898 Patents Safety Pocket Axe and incorporates as Marble Safety Axe Company.

1899 Exhibits first products at Sports Expo in Madison Square Garden.

1902 Introduces Improved Front Sight; British Army adopts Marbles No. 3 Safety Pocket Axes.

1903 Patents Automatic Flexible Joint Rear Sight.

1909 New 24,000 square foot factory completed and lauded as “Finest of its kind in the world.”

1910 First Game Getter Guns shipped from the factory.

1912 Magazine advertising reaches 20,000,000 readers world wide.

1913 Theodore Roosevelt carries Marble’s compasses during Expandicao Scientifica exploration of Brazilian wilderness.

1914 WWI U.S. Army trucks equipped with Marble’s compasses.

1916 British government buys Marble’s hunting knives for Army issue.

1927 Charles Lindbergh carries Marble’s knife, compass, and matchbox on first solo transatlantic flight.

1930 Founder, Webster Marble dies. Son William becomes President; son Floyd is President of subsidiary Marble Card.

1957 Marble Arms is purchased by Bell and Gossett Inc.

1958 Marble Arms Corporation sells 500 Pilot Survival knives to U.S. Navy and releases proprietary manufacturing specifications.

1966 New plant built at present location


Something I thought was pretty interesting putting this post together, was they said he was very sought after for his ability to look at an area of forest and tell you approximately how many board feet of lumber you get out of it?
And I guess he was right most of the time?

And out of the thousands of adds and magazine articles over the early years, with millions of viewers. The ONLY real person they ever used in an add in a catalog... was a guy named Captain Jack.
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Captain Jack




Marble - DeWeese........ knife maker designer in photo below.

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Cutting tools made from stone were known to be used by early men, the closest resemblance to today's knives made its first appearance only in 2,000 B.C. Blades of these knife sets were made from copper and bronze and with crude wooden handles to protect the user's hand.

Spoons came in during 5000 B.C while forks are believed to be used only in the 9th century. Initial days' forks looked like a spear and were used to hold the meat in place while it was carved. Shortly after this discovery, forks with one and two prongs were made, which resemble the modern day forks.
At the end of Bronze Age, bronze blades were replaced by more versatile iron blades. Romans were the first to use these refined forms of kitchen cutlery including spoons and knives. Until 1600, the concept of Kitchen Cutlery never existed. Pen knives and pocket knives were used, which were usually shared among family members while dining. (I think some still practice this?)


Around 3000 BC, iron was a scarce and precious metal in the Near East. The earliest known iron artifacts are nine small beads, dated to 3200 BC, from burials in Gerzeh, northern Egypt, that were made from meteoritic iron, and shaped by careful hammering. Iron's qualities, in contrast to those of bronze, were not understood. Between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, diffusion in the understanding of iron metallurgy and use of iron objects was fast and far-flung. In the history of ferrous metallurgy, iron smelting — the extraction of usable metal from oxidized iron ores — is more difficult than tin and copper smelting. These other metals and their alloys can be cold-worked, or melted in simple pottery kilns and cast in molds; but smelted iron requires hot-working and can be melted only in specially designed furnaces. It is therefore not surprising that humans only mastered iron smelting after several millennia of bronze metallurgy.

1742 - Sheffield clockmaker Benjamin Huntsman invented crucible cast steel, the first modern cutlery blade steel.

Prior to 1903 factory knives were hand made by single craftsman called "cutlers"

After 1903 the "Hemming grinder" (first automatic grinder) was introduced and knives started being mass-produced.

1907 the "Heroult" electric furnace came into play.

1914 - Around this time stainless steel was in vented.

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Some very good stuff you may like to look at and read....... thanks Jack - :thumbup:

The-Dairy-Maids-of-Porter-Brook-(Part-1)

The-Dairy-Maids-of-Porter-Brook-(Part-2)

The-Dairy-Maids-of-Porter-Brook-(Part-3)

All links are threads here on Bladeforums, so they are safe.
 
William Wales Scagel or Bill Scagel

(February 12, 1873 - March 26, 1963)



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Born near Alpena, Michigan and raised in Canada, -- < This is wrong, he was born in Canada.
(Dr. James R. Lucie says Scagel was born in Canada, but on several documents, put down that he was born in the USA.)
Scagel began making knives in 1910 while working at lumber camps throughout Michigan and Canada. Prior to this he worked as a bridgebuilder and an artist in wrought iron. In 1920, after his shop in Muskegon, Michigan burned down he settled in nearby Fruitport and built a new shop on a piece of land he named "Dogwood Nub" which began his long full-time career of making knives, axes, cookware, and boats.

From 1920 through 1929 Scagel sold his knives through Abercrombie & Fitch of New York and their subsidiaries such as Von Lengerke & Antoine. Scagel made hunting knives, machetes, and axes for the expeditions of the Smithsonian Institution. Scagel made a variety of knives throughout his career including Bowie knives, fighting knives, and pocketknives. One of the rarest of Scagel's knives is his personal hunting knife pattern, a fixed blade drop-point hunter with a secondary folding spey-blade in the handle. Valued at over $15,000, seven of the twelve made are accounted for in private collections.

Scagel used a half stag and half leather stacked washer assembly in his knife handles that became his trademark style. One such Scagel knife provided the influence for Bo Randall to start making his own knives. In 1937, Randall witnessed someone using a Scagel knife to scrape paint off of a boat near Walloon Lake, without damaging the edge of the blade.Randall bought the knife and in the years that followed Scagel became a mentor to Randall, influencing many of his designs. In addition to leather and stag handles, Scagel had several friends who worked at the Brunswick Pool Table and Bowling Ball Company who kept him supplied with scrap pieces of ivory, rosewood, bakelite, vulcanized fiber, and maple spacers which he used in his knife handles over the years.

Every knife Scagel made was completely by hand and without modern tools such as a grinder or buffer, his Fruitport shop was powered off a gasoline engine from a Cadillac automobile and as a result, the quantity of knives he produced over his 50 years of knifemaking is very low. Scagel was known for not trusting "mass produced items" and even made his own rifle for hunting. Scagel never visited doctors, resetting his own broken wrist at one time and successfully extracting his own teeth and making his own dentures. During a polio epidemic in 1939, he made leg braces for children at his shop. He made his last knife in 1962, the year before he died. Twenty-three years later he was inducted into the Blade magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1990 Blade Show. In 1996, Scagel was inducted into the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame as an inauguree. The Randall Knife Museum in Orlando, Florida is home to the world's largest collection of Scagel's knives.



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Scagel - Originaly posted by HTMD

I don't think it's accurate to conclude that Marbles 'influenced' Scagel beyond the fact that Scagel is known to have essentially reproduced by hand one or two Marbles designs. Outside of that, if you look at Scagel's overall body of known work it is difficult to detect any human influence other than his own.

He was very influenced by nature, self-studied botany and other natural sciences and was somewhat of a horticulturist. Scagel's knives clearly evidenced two major themes from nature; 1) there are no straight lines in nature, and 2) no two things are exactly alike in nature (snowflakes and humans, for example). Thus, when you find straight lines in his work, it is likely something to do with a commissioned piece or related, and he never made two knives (or handles) alike.

Scagel was also obviously influenced by the maritime world he grew up in. He worked on boats, in and out of his father's boat-building business - for many years including all of his formative years. Then, as a merchant marine, he took on some Indonesian influence - that is the origin of his maker's mark - the kriss.

And finally, I believe, Scagel was influenced in his knife designs by the tasks people of his day performed with knives. So we have kitchen knives, carving sets, fishing and hunting knives, knives for soldiers, string cutters as well as a wide array of copper-ware from pots to mugs - not to mention decorative iron work, braces for crippled children etc.

So, for these reasons I think it's probably more accurate to note that Scagel and Marbles were contemporaries and not much more. Here's one of my photos of a Marbles design made by Scagel that should not be interpreted as proof of influence. The history of this knife and why Scagel made it is not known.



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All the photos in this post are mine even though I have not (yet) put a frame around all of them with my name and date. I made these and many more for Dr. Jim Lucie's definitive book about Scagel featuring his own extensive collection and those of other top Scagel collectors so you will also find these images in the book along with Dr. Lucie's text which contains virtually all that is know with any certainty about W.W. Scagel.

Without Bo Randall's chance encounter with a Scagel knife I think Scagel would be known, appreciated and his work collected. But he would not likely have become the icon and mythological figure he is today. Consistently, modern writers have referred to Scagel as the father (or grandfather) of modern custom knife-making primarily because he influenced Randall and Randall's influence became very great indeed. IMHO, through the two of them grew one of the most significant parts of the trunk of the contemporary knife-history tree (I see Loveless and Moran as two other large and distinct parts of the foundation from which so much has come).

There is much that is unknown about Scagel - and yet a lot has been written. So it can't all be true. This is what I know - Jim Lucie would not repeat or write anything about Scagel that could not be verified by either his own research, a Scagel family member or one of the few folks around who actually knew the man. Jim, a physician by training and experience, sticks to what is known and is reluctant to guess or speculate. So, if it's not in his book then it's either untrue or unsubstantiated.

Here is some of my favorite Scagel stuff, photographed over about a 5 year period prior to publication of Dr. Lucie's book a couple of years ago.


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Muskrat trapper rig - knife and forged chain

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The arrow under his name appears exclusively on Scagel's personal stuff

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Scagel

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Robert Dark said: ↑
Where did Jim Lucie come into the picture? I have heard many stories that Dr. Lucie was Scagel's personal physician.



Jim came into Scagel's life late. Scagel was already a local legend, and an old man when Dr. Lucie moved to Muskegon. Eventually a woman wrangled Scagel into Dr. Lucie's office for something and Jim told me Scagel had the appearance of a frightened wolf. It didn't go well. But Jim was curious and started to visit Scagel at his home and shop to the extent that Scagel could tolerate him. Jim wanted to learn about forging steel and making knives. They had many visits and while it was clear that Jim wanted to be friends with Scagel, old Bill didn't really have friendships with people. He did have a few superficial relationships with others, but he was a very guarded man. It was quite a while after that first office visit, when Scagel was near death, that Dr. Lucie again became medically involved in getting Scagel out of his shop where he'd been 'found down' in very cold weather - his little tin of drinking water totally frozen. He was in bad shape. It's all in Lucie's book.

Yes, Scagel did die. But that's not the whole story, which I think is best viewed through Jim Lucie's thoughts and feelings about 'old Bill' as related in the book. Lucie clearly saw much of his own dear father in Scagel as there were strong similarities. And so there were some strong feelings stirred up when crisis time came and Jim initiated a full-court press in the hospital to save the old man... where, after lots of needles, tubes and some long days, Scagel died. I know that if I were in his shoes at that time, being also a physician, I would've done the same. And in the end I would've felt as Jim did - guilty over needlessly torturing the one man alive on the planet whose attention and approval he craved, only to lose him to a death which was imminent anyway.

Dr. Lucie, already a noted big-time collector of Kentucky rifles, began to tirelessly collect information about Scagel, his knives and other creations, personal effects (letters, receipts and such), stuff from his shop etc. Some other highly interested and motivated collectors were successful in also acquiring the same but Jim wasn't just collecting - he was obsessed with putting the pieces of a puzzle together in his head. He did an awesome job of it and those of us who own Scagel knives or are interested in the man can thank Dr. Jim Lucie, as I have done many times, for doing so much and sharing everything so freely.

Now, here is one of my very favorite Scagel knives and I've had the pleasure of handling and photographing it several times. It's large and that blade grind would challenge all but the best of today's makers. Both edges are wicked sharp. This is a very rare knife - I know of no other - but it is known that Scagel did some of these, that they were probably smaller than this one - but where are they?


By way of comparison, here is Scagel's final completed knife - around age 90 when his Parkinson's disease was pretty bad.
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Walter Doane "Bo" Randall also known as Bo Randall or WD Randall

(1909 - December 25, 1989)



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Randall was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1909. His family moved to Orlando, Florida in 1916. As a youth Randall enjoyed hunting and fishing and went on to become a successful citrus rancher. He first became interested in making knives after he purchased in 1936 a William Scagel knife that was being used to scrape paint off of a boat without showing any signs of wear or damage.

Impressed with his Scagel knife, Randall located Scagel and asked him how to make knives. Over the years he visited Scagel and corresponded with him, becoming his "pupil" with regard to knifemaking. Randall forged his first knife out of a leaf spring from an automobile in his garage in Lake Ivanhoe, Florida with a handle of stag and made his first hunting knife. On his first hunting trip with that knife he sold it to a companion and made another, repeating the pattern of making knives and selling them to friends one at a time.

In 1938 Randall opened a shop in Orlando, Florida. Although Randall's initial efforts were inspired by Scagel's designs and were predominantly "sporting knives" for hunters and fisherman, a visit by a soldier bound for WW2 changed that. Randall began production of the "All Purpose Fighting Knife" giving it the designation of "Number 1" in his catalog. Between 1942 and 1945, Randall Made Knives produced 4,000 of these knives for US Troops in the war, with approximately 1,058 subcontracted out to Northampton Cutlery Company in Springfield, Massachusetts to meet the demand. In the 1950s Randall would return to the pattern of the Bowie knife for several of his combat knife designs.

Randall designed the Model 17 Astro Model and built 7 of these knives for NASA. In addition to the knife that made 21 orbits around the earth, several of Randall's knives are displayed in the Smithsonian Institution and in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. One Model 8 "Trout and Bird Knife" was displayed in the Monino Airbase museum near Moscow as part of the equipment carried by U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers who was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960.

Randall died in 1989 in Orlando, Florida, at 80 years of age.

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Randall was inducted into the Blade magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1983 Blade Show as an inauguree. In 1997, Randall was inducted into the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame. In 2001, Randall's knives were listed as "Best Sheath Knife" as part of Forbes "50 Best List".

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Robert Waldorf Loveless

Also known as Bob Loveless or R.W. Loveless,

Born January 2, 1929 in Warren, Ohio.


Bob was and still is probably the most well known custom knife maker who ever lived. His knives are some of the most sought after designs ever made, and some of the most copied designs by other knife makers in the world. He died September 2, 2010 at his home in Riverside, California at the age of 81. Bob was one of the founding members of the Knife Makers Guild in 1970, he was the guilds first Secretary and later served two terms as the Guilds president from 1973 to 1976.



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Bob grew up with his grandfather in Warren, Ohio. Working with him on the farm and hunting at times Bob got his first taste for knives. When he was 14, he altered his birth certificate and joined the Merchant Marine and later served as an Air Corps control tower operator on Iwo Jima. He witnessed a number of knife fights in the bars of foreign ports, which he attributed to giving him an even more interest in knives.

In 1950 Loveless attended Chicago's Armour Institute of Technology (later renamed Illinois Institute of Technology - IIT) and took a course taught by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In 1951 he returned to Ohio and studied literature and sociology at Kent State.

In December 1953, Loveless returned to the Merchant Marine on a tanker based in New York. He went to Madison and 45th Street to the great store, Abercrombie and Fitch. Were he saw a knife made by Bo Randall, ask about the knife, and was told it would be at least 9 months wait time. He did not want to wait this long for a knife. So he went and ground his first blade from a 1937 Packard Automobile spring found in a Newark, New Jersey junkyard and forged it on the oil-fired galley stove of the ship on which he was serving. After showing this homemade knife to the head of the Abercrombie & Fitch cutlery department he formed a relationship with the retailer to sell his knives. Bob would sell these at a good price of $20.70 each; the store would sell them for $34.50.

From 1954 to 1960 Loveless made over one thousand knives called "Delaware Maids" and they became Abercrombie & Fitch's best-selling handmade items, outselling the Randall blades. Loveless admitted that these knives were copies of Randall's designs, but by 1960 he began making his own innovations which set them apart.

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Bob was shown an old knife with a taper tang that came from a knife collector (DuPont) and he started making his knives with that design added.
Like many of Bob's knife designs it caught on quickly with other makers.

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Bob Loveless was close friends with David Crosby ( Crosby, Stills & Nash) John Lennon & Yoko Ono had visited his shop at one time. ( I wonder what knife John liked?)

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William F. Moran Jr. or Bill Moran (May 1, 1925 - February 12, 2006)


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He was a knife maker who founded the American Bladesmith Society and reintroduced the process of making pattern welded steel to modern knife making. Moran's knives were sought after by celebrities and heads-of-state. The "William F. Moran School of Bladesmithing" bears his name and in addition to founding the ABS, he was a Blade Magazine Hall of Fame Member and a President of the Knife makers' Guild


Moran was born on a dairy farm near Lime Kiln, Maryland in 1925. There he learned the craft of blacksmithing by trial and error using an old coal forge that he found on the farm and made his first forged knife at the age of 12, (Actually made his first knives a year or two before this by the stock removal method.) by the age of 14 he was making knives to sell. As a teenager he taught himself how to forge a blade, obtaining advice from local blacksmiths (although in a 2003 interview with The Washington Post, Moran said he was "getting all the wrong answers" from them) and by the 1950's he was publishing a catalog and selling his forged blades. In 1960 he sold the family farm to become a full-time knife maker.

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Moran forged his knives using a coal forge in the manner of a blacksmith using a hammer and anvil to shape the steel. In the 1950s he was one of the last few bladesmiths in the United States, forging his metal as opposed to grinding blades out of stock. Moran began trying to revive the ancient process of forging Damascus steel in the late 1960s. However, no living bladesmith knew the exact techniques and without a recipe for the process, it was in danger of being lost; through trial and error he taught himself pattern welding and referred to it as "Damascus steel".


Post by - A.G. Russell
Pattern Welded or Damascus steel has NEVER been out of production, The German Navy issued damascus swords to their high ranking officers in WW I and presentation daggers of damascus in WWII The German cutlery companies made sporting knives all during the early 20th century. Sword makers in Northern Europe were making pattern welded swords in the 8th Century. The sword makers in India were making Wootz blades 1,000 -1,200 years ago and these blades were being sold through the trade paths including the major trade center Damascus. In the middle ages pattern welded steel was also made in Toledo Spain.

I saw damascus sword blades in Germany in the 1960s and sold damascus folders made in the 1930s by German cutlers and I bought pattern welded blades from Daryl Meier at the Bagnal Dam Gun show in MO in 1970.

If anyone should be called the father of Damascus in America it should be Daryl Meier of Carbondale IL, many makers have used his pioneer work and continued it.


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In 1972, Moran was elected president of the Knifemakers' Guild. The following year he unveiled his "Damascus knives" at the Guild Show and created a revival of interest in the forged blade, and along with the knives he gave away free booklets detailing how he made them. In 1976 he founded the American Bladesmith Society (ABS), a group of knife makers dedicated to preserving the forged blade and educating the public about traditional bladesmithing techniques. Moran had a 20-year long waiting list and sold knives to such celebrities as Sylvester Stallone and members of royalty including Queen Elizabeth II and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. According to the Washington Post, Sylvester Stallone's knife cost the actor $7,000 and included over 30 feet of silver wire in the handle.

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Bill grew up hunting and fishing around the family farm. When he was about ten years old trapping was a big part of his life. He said that he wanted to be "king of the polecat trappers!" This was around the mid-1930's, and America's financial depression was going on. At the time, a prime skunk pelt would bring $1.00 to $1.25, which was more than many men made in a full day of work. However, skunks trapped during hot weather did not possess prime fur, so he would keep them alive in an old chicken house until the weather turned cold. That way the pelts would be in their prime and he could skin and sale them at that time.

Young Bill had a strong dislike for school. Although he confesses that he enjoyed history and reading, he didn't much care for the other subjects. He discovered that his teacher had no stomach what soever for the odor generally associated with polecats. So to get out of going to school he would pay a visit to his chicken house and kick a skunk! The animal would spray Bill with a generous supply of the dreaded liquid. Suitably drenched, young Moran would go off to school, where the teacher would immediately send him home!



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Bill made his first knife when he was ten or eleven, and he smiles as he remembers that he made it by "the stock removal procedure." Essentially, he took his father's prized crosscut saw, placed it in a vise, and using a hammer, he proceeded to break off those portions of the saw that didn't look like a knife! He then "finished" it with a grindstone. For a handle, he took some scrap wood and wrapped it with green cowhide, which worked out quite nice securing it.

Moran and a friend who was a year or two younger didn't like this bully who lived about quarter mile away. So while his parents were away, he went and got two old rubber tractor inner tubes. Bill and his playmate fashioned a giant slingshot, attaching the tubes to two trees stationed approximately three feet apart and situated in exactly the correct manner so that a projectile could be aimed at their tormentor's house. The "pouch" was an old gunny sack, and the missile was to be a more-or-less a round rock about the size of a bowling ball! No halfway measures for William F. Moran, Jr.! The two youngsters knew that they could not possibly draw back the giant sling by hand, so they tied a rope onto the inner tubes and attached the other end of the rope to a horse owned by Bill's father. At this point, Bill's companion urged the horse slowly away from the trees, drawing the inner tubes back in a satisfying manner. The plan was for Bill to take his trusty knife the one made from the crosscut saw and, at what seemed to be an appropriate time, cut the rope, thereby sending the large rock crashing through the older boy's roof.

Perhaps Dame Fortune stepped in at this point, but whatever the motivation, the rope broke, resulting in the rock's traveling no more than a hundred feet or so, and the other end of the line recoiled and smacked the horse on the rear, sending it scurrying over hill, and tumbling the other lad head over heels. Bill remembers that it took several hours to run the horse down. Nothing more came of that grand scheme.




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Moran died of cancer on February 12, 2006, at Frederick Memorial Hospital. After his death, one of his Bowie knives sold for $30,000 at auction. According to his obituary in the Washington Post, Moran willed his forge and tools to the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation.


Apart from his influence regarding the forged blade, pattern welding, and damascus steel, Moran's influence has spread to other realms of the cutlery industry beyond "Art Knives". Copies of Moran's knives have been made by production knife companies. Spyderco has long made a Drop point hunting knife, inspired by a Moran designs. Blackjack Knives made several tactical versions of Moran's fighting knives. Paul Chen's Hanwei Forge of China made a damascus steel version of the Moran Kenshar, complete with silver wire inlay. Custom Knifemaker Ernest Emerson has long stated that the Moran ST-23 was one of the inspirations for his CQC-8 folding knife.


In 1986, Moran was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame. Two years later in 1988, Moran and the ABS founded a Bladesmithing School in cooperation with Texarkana College. The campus was located in Washington, Arkansas near the place where James Black, made the first Bowie knife. In 1996, Moran was inducted into the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame as an inauguree. From 1988 to 2001, Moran taught at least one class a year at the school. Upon his retirement from teaching in 2001, the school was renamed the "William F. Moran School of Bladesmithing".

As of 2008, the American Bladesmith Society is in the process of creating a Moran Museum as a wing of a new Frederick County Library in Middletown, Maryland, less than a mile from where Moran's shop stood.
 
The influence in custom knives and the knife makers guild.......

The Knife makers' Guild is an organization made up of knife makers to promote custom knives, encourage ethical business practices, assist with technical aspects of knife making, and to sponsor knife shows. The Guild is composed of 300 knife maker members and several thousand collectors, writers, and other investors as honorary members.


The idea for Knife makers' Guild came about at a Las Vegas, Nevada gun show held at the Sahara Casino in February 1970. The actual founding occurred in November 1970 by A.G. Russell in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Charter members included Blackie Collins, Bob Loveless, John Nelson Cooper, and Dan Dennehy. Russell was made the first president with Loveless as the Secretary.

Presidents have included Jimmy Lile, Frank Centofante, D'Alton Holder, George Herron, Buster Warenski, and William F. Moran. The Knife makers' Guild is composed of over 300 members worldwide.

The Knife makers' Guild hosts an annual show where members meet once a year to conduct business, elect officers, and display their work. The show is attended by thousands of collectors.

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NOTE: -- See the quote in the photo above -- It's WRONG -- AG Russell was first President of the Guild in 1970.






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The ABS


The American Bladesmith Society or ABS is a non-profit organization composed of knifemakers whose primary function is to promote the techniques of forging steel blades. The ABS was founded by knifemaker William F. Moran, who came up with the concept in 1972 when Moran was chairman of the Knifemakers' Guild and he introduced Damascus steel blades at an annual show; in 1976 he incorporated the organization and received non-profit status in 1985.

ABS knifemakers forge blades as opposed to making them via the stock-removal method. ABS has developed a system of ratings designating whether a member is an Apprentice, a Journeyman or a Master smith. ABS has partnered with several colleges to offer courses in bladesmithing and has launched its own museum.

Bill Moran had been elected chairman of the Knifemakers' Guild in 1972. At that time, there were less than a dozen practicing bladesmiths in America, and this number was decreasing, whereas the number of stock removal knifemakers was increasing. To remedy this, Moran unveiled 8 pattern welded blades at the 1973 show, dubbing them "Damascus Steel" and handed out a booklet on how to forge the steel to the knifemakers in attendance.

Within months, a handful of knifemakers began making Damascus blades: Bill Bagwell, Don Hastings, Michael Connor, and Sid Birt. By 1976 more than a dozen bladesmiths were making Damascus steel and on December 4, 1976, Moran wrote the by-laws.

In 1985, the ABS held its first hammer-in at Dubois, Wyoming in conjunction with the University of Wyoming. The following year it was moved to Washington, Arkansas in conjunction with Texarkana College. This campus had a replica of James Black’s blacksmith shop where during the winter of 1830-1831 James Bowie purchased a knife from Black. This hammer-in, named the Piney Woods Hammer-In, still occurs semi annually.

In 1988, the ABS established the criteria for Mastersmith and Journeyman. In 1991, Moran stepped down as president but the Society unanimously elected him “Chairman Emeritus”, meaning that he would serve on the board for the balance of his life.

In 1988 on the grounds of Historic Washington State Park in Hempstead County, Arkansas, The ABS and Texarkana College founded a Bladesmithing School in collaboration with the Pioneer Washington Foundation and the Arkansas State Parks. The campus was located near where historians believe that James Black, created the Bowie knife. From 1988 to 2001, Bill Moran taught at least one class a year at the school from basic knife making to the forging of Damascus steel. Upon his retirement from teaching in 2001, the school was renamed the William F. Moran School of Bladesmithing. The American Bladesmith Society is now associated with Texarkana College in Arkansas, Haywood Community College in North Carolina, and the New England School of Metalwork in Maine which offer Bladesmithing courses taught by experienced ABS Master Smiths and Journeyman Smiths.

The ABS launched its own museum and Hall of Fame in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 in conjunction with the Historic Arkansas Museum. The first year inductions were held in 1996: James Black, Jim Bowie, Don Hastings, B. R. Hughes, William F. Moran, and William Scagel.

Journeyman Smith

An applicant is eligible to apply for Journeyman Smith judging and rating at the Annual ABS meeting, after they have been a member of the ABS for 3 years. Following the "Introduction to Bladesmithing Course", the applicant may take the test under the supervision of a Master Smith. The applicant must have personally forged and performed all work on the test blade, with no other person physically assisting in its construction or heat-treating. The test knife must be a carbon steel forged blade with a maximum overall length of 15 inches, maximum width of 2 inches and blade length of 10 inches. Damascus or laminated blades are not allowed as test blades. Once the test begins, no work, not even light stropping, may be done to the test blade. The test blade is used to cut a free hanging rope, chop through 2 2X4" pieces of lumber and retain an edge capable of shaving hair from the judge's arm. Lastly the knife is placed into a vise and flexed. The knife must spring back without breaking and remain functional. If successful, the applicant must submit 5 forged carbon steel knives for judging on symmetry, balance, and aesthetics. Knifemakers who have attained this title frequently use the suffix "JS" when informing the public about their knives.

Master Smith

At the New York Knife Show in 1981, the first Master bladesmith ratings were awarded to: Bill Bagwell, Jimmy Fikes, Don Fogg, Don Hastings, Bill Moran, and James Schmidt. Years later tests were established for a maker to attain a rating of "Master smith". The tests for Master smith include using a forged Damascus steel blade with a minimum of 300 layers and fashioned as a "stick tang knife" (as opposed to a full-tang) to cut a free hanging rope, chop through 2 2X4" pieces of lumber and retain an edge capable of shaving hair. Lastly the knife is placed into a vise and flexed for 90 degrees. The knife must spring back without breaking and remain functional and not slip from the handle. Once the performance test is passed, the applicant must submit 5 knives to a panel of judges, all knives are judged on balance, beauty, and symmetry, but one must be an "Art Knife" or a "European style" dagger.

The first smith to receive the Master title under these requirements was Wayne Goddard.

Wyoming knifemaker Audra Draper became the first woman to hold a Master smith title in 1999.


Knifemakers who have attained this title frequently use the suffix "MS" when informing the public about their knives.


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.


This is a little history of Bladeforums.com



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From the HPIC him self...... SPARK

It's a long story.

In the beginning there was USENET, which had a knife discussion group called rec.knives that flourished for a number of years. Then the WWW revolution started, and Josh Burbank of PVK started a site called recdotknives.com which used one of the earliest forms of bulletin board software out there - wwwthreads.

Josh used RDK to troll people. At the time I was doing freelance webdev work and one of my customers was Earl Stewart of Central Florida Knife & Tool. He asked me to step up and help him defend Kevin "MadDog" McClung against various attackers both on rec.knives and recdotknives.com. I quickly realized that it'd be easier to control the territory the battle was being fought on than letting others dictate the terms, and knifeforums was born. Knifeforums quickly expanded beyond the capabilities of wwwthreads and was transitioned to Ultimate Bulletin Board software (UBB), which was much better (at the time). Mike Turber, owner of World of Weapons (WOW) was a moderator for the General discussion area of KFC and all of us were fighting the battles against the haters all over USENET & the web. Eventually Josh outed himself as using multiple profiles to fight back (IIRC he posted under the ID of Staples5 on USENET and like a dumbass signed his actual name to a post) and that pretty much sunk recdotknives.com - he got caught red handed doing the things he claimed not to do. After that, KnifeForums started to flourish.

Earl Stewart and I had a falling out because, quite frankly, he didn't want to pay me for my work. Rather than actually pay me, he decided to try to destroy my reputation, hoping I'd go quietly. McClung decided this was an opportune time for him to repay my efforts defending his sorry ass by stabbing me in the back repeatedly. Unfortunately, for them, I had friends who were also pretty pissed at both of these guys over other misc things, and they helped me out. Phone calls were made, and a battle plan was drawn... and, using the lessons learned from the RDK -> KFC battle, BladeForums.com was born. vB had just come out, so we purchased a lisc, set up BladeForums.com, and away we went. The original silent partner didn't like the way the KFC vs BFC fight was going and backed out of supporting, so Mike Turber stepped up and took over the financial ownership of BFC. I don't remember the exact details of the first battles, but the end game was that BFC won and grew, and KFC was left behind and stagnated.

I went to work for Turber and moved down to Jacksonville, Florida, doing web stuff for him and running BFC. Sometime after that, Stewart sold KFC to Nowka, yadda yadda yadda.

For whatever reason, WOW didn't do so hot for a bit, and Turber started 1SKS. Things continued not going so well and my paychecks started to bounce, so I grabbed my nuts and made Turber an offer he couldn't refuse - sell me 1SKS and BFC, or I'd quit, start my own sites, and he wouldn't be left with a business to sell. He took the paycheck. There were some other behind the scenes things, but they weren't important. Around 2002-3 I cleared out the last of my hurdles, had 1SKS / BFC owned outright, and moved shop back up here to Kentucky.

Anyhow, as soon as I had control over this site and didn't have to answer to anyone, I changed how it operated. I don't like using BFC as a sales tool for 1SKS - I believe that it should be a resource for the knife community, and if the community is happy with it, the community as a whole will support it. I think it does ok, you guys are the ultimate judge in that regard.

We now return you to your regular scheduled program.......
 
John Nelson Cooper (1906–1987)

Was a custom knife maker who was a founding member of the Knife makers' Guild. He was a mentor to Jody Samson and made knives for over 60 years.

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Cooper began making utility knives and butcher knives in Tremont, Pennsylvania in 1924 while working as a welder. Eventually he moved on to welding in the Virginia shipyards and began making hunting knives, fishing knives and combat knives as a second business. Cooper's knives were made by the stock removal method and he attached his handles using traditional methods such as rivets and pins until 1965 when he retired from welding and relocated to Burbank, California as a full-time knifemaker with his nephew, Greorge Cooper as Cooper Knives.

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Cooper noticed that his traditional methods of knife making could leave gaps between blade, guard, and handle material where water or blood could collect and eventually corrode the knife. He developed a new method of construction which made the knife and handle into a solid, bonded unit by welding, brazing, and using epoxy. He patented these ideas in 1967 (3481038) and 1971 (3595104).


Cooper was a prolific maker who made over 100 knives in a month. He taught his trade to knife makers, Jody Samson and Vic Anselmo in 1969. He was a charter member of the Knife makers' Guild. Cooper made push daggers for police officers and FBI agents.

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Cooper made knives used in film and television such as the Arkansas toothpick in The Sacketts and a Bowie knife for Jeremiah Johnson. His knives were collected by celebrities such as John Wayne, Sammy Davis Jr. and Lee Marvin.

In 1978, Cooper opened a new knife shop in Lufkin, Texas where he made 1,000 knives per year until his retirement from knifemaking in 1981. In retirement he made a few knives every year until his death in 1987.
 
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History of the Cooper Knife

The Cooper Knife is one of the oldest continually manufactured custom knives known. Beginning in 1924 when John Nelson Cooper, as a hobby, began making knives for the local townspeople of Tremont, Pennsylvania. Since that first knife, the Cooper Knife has evolved into a totally new patented process of manufacturing the sporting blade.

The first knives were for the working farmer and housewives but as the popularity of a good serviceable knife grew so did his designs. Soon He was making a complete line of knives for hunters, police, military, fisherman, campers and the all around sportsman. Primarily using conventional methods of attaching the handle, it was noted that the acids and dirt would be built up around the tang and hilt area causing the knife to loosen and literally fall apart. Studying the problem, He developed a totally new method of assemblying the knife into a solid, bonded unit. This involved welding, brazing and epoxy that left no joint open or that could be opened, in a lifetime or more of use. The process was so unique that it was granted two United States patents #3,481,038 and #3,595,104.

Upon retiring from the Virginia shipyards in the mid 1960s John N. Cooper moved to Burbank, California, where he set up shop full time with his nephew George Cooper. Here he made more knives than ever and developed his patented process into the knives we see today in various books, magazines and catalogs.

The Cooper knife is a strong interpretation of what John Nelson Cooper envisioned a sporting knife should be. It is made from the finest steels, high carbon tool steel is used exclusively. It has proven to be the best all-around metal that will hold a good edge and temper. All handle material is Micarta*, its hardness and long wearing qualities make it withstand the pressures applied in the patented bonding process. Using the stock removal method, the Cooper knife is handcrafted into a bonded unit of steel, brass and Micarta* that is guaranteed for life.


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The patented process used by Cooper makes the finest and strongest sporting knife, it's virtually indestructible under normal use that it was designed to do. Each blade is individual and has its own characteristics, this is due to the continuous research, developement and the handcrafted processes used.

Cooper Knives have specialized in making knives for collectors and special knives for motion pictures and TV stars such as Clint Walker, Buddy Hackett, Robert Stack, Lee Marvin, Audie Murphy, James Drury, John Wayne, Sammie Davis, Jr., Chill Wills, Brian Keith, Paul Harper, Sammy Kahn, and sports writers and collectors like William Williamson, Robert Ables, Col. H.O. Beavers, and Tommy Bish.

In 1976 Clifton E. (Clif) Lenderman, Sr., bought Cooper Knives from John Nelson Cooper. Mr Lenderman purchased the Cooper name, Cooper patents, all tools, equipment, all rights to manufacture Cooper Knives, and accessories using the Cooper process. Mr. Lenderman started training under the expertise and supervision of John N. Cooper in 1976(see letter).

Mr. Lenderman was born in Kennard, Texas, and lived 18 years in Burbank and Glendale, California. In early 1978 Mr. Lenderman asked Mr. Cooper if he would like to move to Texas and make knives. He agreed and was eager to move. He reported he, "would like to leave California for a different lifestyle." In October 1978 Mr. Lenderman moved his own family and Mr. Cooper to Texas, arriving on October 18th, 1978.

On October 28th, 1978, Mr. Cooper opened his new knife shop in Lufkin, Texas. The shop was located one mile west of Lufkin on Highway 103 West at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clifton E. (Jake) Lenderman.

Mr. Cooper made approximately 3000 (three thousand) knives from October 28th, 1978 until November 4, 1981. Contrary to some published reports, Mr. Cooper made 99.9% of these knives himself without anyone helping him grind the blade or handle. At times Mr. Lenderman would cut out a blade and file some part of the knife Mr. Cooper was working on, never grinding of blade, handle or finishing. Mr. Cooper did all the grinding of the blade, handle and the finishing himself.




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Mr. Cooper made Mr. Lenderman a large bowie knife weighing 19 (nineteen) pounds and over 39 (thirty-nine) inches long. Mr.Cooper made this large knife all by himself, grinding and holding up the heavy knife for 29 days straight not taking off any days for rest or relaxation. Everyday he worked from approximately 7:00am til 8:00pm, 13 (thirteen) hours per day some days longer. At this time of his life he was 74 years old. That's as tough as a Cooper Knife.

Mr. Cooper was one tough gentlemen and you could depend on him. His word meant everything to him, it was good. The best. He loved to make knives, he loved good food and he enjoyed people. He liked to talk about knives to people that appreciated a beautifully designed and crafted quality knife. He made some of the best, no one made a stronger or tougher knife than his. All his knives have a life time guarantee...STILL DO.

After retiring in 1981, Mr. Cooper would go to the shop and make a few knives for his own use or to trade for something he needed. Sometimes he just wanted to be busy crafting a knife to give away to a friend or Mr. Lenderman. He made Mr. Lenderman knives until he couldn't walk or stand up for long periods. He made Mr. Lenderman's Daddy, (Jake) over a dozen knives after he retired in 1981. These knives were not logged in his book. He just considered these knives as recreation and relaxation tools.

Mr. Cooper passed away in 1987 at the age of 81. He is missed very much by all who knew him. Cooper Knives still gets calls daily wanting to know about Mr. Cooper and his knives. There probably never will be another knife maker, make as many handmade knives as Mr. Cooper made in his lifetime. He is surely missed and revered.

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In 1995 Mr. Lenderman introduced a new line of full tang stainless steel knives. These knives feature a new logo. The logo is made up using the word Texas with a star taking the place of the "X" in Texas and an Eagle in the middle of the star.

An Artisit was commissioned in 1992 to make a bust of Mr. John Nelson Cooper in bronze. The artist Lee Holmes of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area never met Mr. Cooper in person, he had to work from still pictures videos and the directions of Mr. Lenderman to attain a most awesome likeness of Mr. Cooper. Holmes completed the first bust in 1993, only five have been made to date, each is numbered, with Mr. Coopers signature, year of birth, year of death and the Cooper logo.


The sculpture was created as a commemorative set, featuring an Iron Mistress knife that is larger than the original Iron Mistress. The logo on the commemorative knife features Mr. Cooper grinding a knife, with the year of his birth and death. His signature and the Cooper logo. this logo is etched on the right side of the Mistress. The knife is enclosed in a coffin shaped case made by Jerry Bennett of Lufkin, Texas. The case is made of walnut, with a velvet liner, featuring a glass top so you can view the Iron Mistress and logo without opening the lid. This set sells for $5,000.00

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Cooper knives are all made of 3 materials - Carbon Steel, Brass and Micarta. He was probabally one of the first professional knifemakers to use Micarta.

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Time Line of Custom Knives History

1854 - W.L. Marble is born.

1873 - Scagel is born.

1898 - Webster L. Marble makes Ideal knife.

1906 - John Nelson Cooper born.

1909 - Bo Randall is born.

1910 - William Scagel starts making knives.

1923 - Dan Dannehy is born.

1924 - John Nelson Cooper starts making knives.

1925 - William Moran is born.

1929 - Bob Loveless is born.

1930 - W.L.Marble dies.

1932 - George Herron is born.

1933 - A.G. Russell & Jimmy Lile are born.

1936 - Randall gets first Scagel. - Starts making knives.

1937 - William Moran makes first forged knife at age 12. Actually he made his first knife a year or two before this by stock removal method at age 10 or 11?

1939 - Walter Wells "Blackie" Collins, Jr is born

1942 - A.G. Russell makes first knife at age 9. -- Buster Warenski is born.

1954 - Bob Loveless starts making knives by forging them and then goes on to make them by stock removal method.

1962 - Scagel makes last knife.

1963 - William Scagel dies. - George Herron starts making knives.

1970 - Knife Makers Guild is formed. A.G. Russell President.

1972 - William Moran is elected Guild President.

1976 - ABS is formed

1983 - Bo Randall, Uncle Henry D. Baer, Dewey Ferguson are inducted into Blade Hall of Fame.

1984 - James B. Lile, M.H.Cole, A.D. Buck, William R. Willamson are inducted into the Blade Hall of Fame.

1985 - ABS first hammer-in. -- Pete Gerber, Bob Loveless are inducted into the Blade Hall of Fame.

1986 - William Moran, James F. Parker are inducted into Blade Hall of Fame. -- Don Hasting & Rudy Ruana dies.

1987 - John Nelson Cooper dies. -- George Herron, Frank Buster, Dr. Frank Forsyth are inducted into the Blade Hall of Fame.

1988 - AG Russell, Ken Warner are inducted into Blade Hall of Fame.

1989 - Bo Randall dies. -- Jim Bowie, Maury Shavin, Hubert Lawell are inducted into the Blade Hall of Fame.

1990 - William Scagel, Gil Hibben are inducted into Blade Hall of Fame.

1991 - Harry McEvoy is inducted into the Blade Hall of Fame. - Jimmy Lile dies.

1992 - Buster Warenski, Albert M. Baer are inducted into the Blade Hall of Fame. -- USENET (BLADEFORUMS.COM) is started.

1995 - The ABS starts museum and Hall of Fame in Little Rock, Arkansas

1996 - William Scagel,James Black, Jim Bowie, Don Hastings, B. R. Hughes and William Moran are inducted into ABS Hall of Fame.

1997 - Bo Randall & Rudy Ruana are inducted into the ABS Hall of Fame.

2002 - Rudy Ruana inducted into Cutlery Hall of Fame.

2005 - Buster Warenski dies.

2006 - William Moran dies.

2007 - George Herron dies.

2010 - Bob Loveless dies.

2011 - Daniel John Dannehy, Walter Wells "Blackie" Collins, Jr - dies.

2014 - John White & Joe Kious dies.

2016 - Warren Osborne

2018 - A G Russell


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Original Guild Members

John Applebaugh

Walter "Blackie" Collins

John Nelson Cooper

Dan Dennehy

T.M. Dowell

Chubby Hueske

John Kirk

R.W. Loveless

John Owens

Jim Pugh

G.W. Stone

A. G. Russell
 
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James Buel Lile, known as Jimmy Lile or The Arkansas Knifesmith

Born - August 22, 1933
Died - May 5, 1991


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He was an American knifemaker from Russellville in Pope County, Arkansas, who made the Rambo Knife for the films First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II. As a knifemaker Lile served as a President of the Knifemakers' Guild and on the Board of Directors of the American Bladesmith Society.

A Russellville native, Lile was the son of a coal miner. He made his first knife at the age of eleven by grinding an old file into a blade. He spent his young adult life working as a high school teacher, serving in the United States Army, and as a construction contractor.

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In 1971, Lile became a full-time knifemaker and was known as "Gentleman Lile" or "The Arkansas Knifemaker". He was particularly known for his Survival knife designs known as "The Mission" series, created by request for Sylvester Stallone to use in his first two Rambo movies. These designs would go on to influence other knife makers in the 1980's. In addition to creating the Rambo knives, Lile designed and made several Bowie knives that he presented to Governor Bill Clinton and U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Gerald R. Ford, Jr. Other owners of his work included John Wayne, Peter Fonda, Fess Parker, Bo Derek, and Johnny Cash.

When Lile was approached with the specifications for the "Rambo" knife, he was told to design it not as a mere "prop" but as a basic tool to perform a variety of tasks. Lile adapted a basic clip point Bowie knife which could be used to chop wood and slice food while retaining an edge. He employed a waterproof hollow handle design to store matches, needles, thread, and a compass; the hollow-handle allows the knife to be fitted to a pole to make a spear or gig. The handle was wrapped with nylon line that could be used for fishing or making snares. The tips on the guards were made into a standard and Phillips screwdriver and the spine was serrated. Lile chose to forge the blade of 440C high-carbon steel, which he claimed could cut through the fuselage of an aircraft.

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Lile was elected president of the Knife makers Guild in 1978 and was an early member of the American Bladesmith Society. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the ABS in 1977 and acted as a liaison between the two groups. His "Lile Lock" folding knife is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 1984 he was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame.




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Buster Warenski

Born - 1942
Died - July 31st, 2005


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In 1966, after seeing a brief mention of custom knives in a gun magazine, Buster decided to try his hand at making a knife for himself. Having acquired some metal and wood working skills building fishing lures guns for friends, Buster had enough basic knowledge to begin crafting a knife. It went slowly but finally he did complete the knife, enjoying it much more than any of his many other hobbies. It soon consumed all of his spare time. For the next 6 years it was an obsession taking up every spare moment. Then in 1972, Buster was asked by Harvey Draper to come and work for him making knives. This lasted until December of 1972 when Draper Knives went into bankruptcy. Buster moved back to Richfield and began putting together his own knife shop. By early spring 1973, Buster had completed his first batch of knives and headed off to a small gun show in Carson City, Nevada. There he sold a couple of his knives and received an award for best art knife. The following July, he made the trip to Kansas City, Missouri and joined the Knifemakers Guild. Buster's first guild show was a sell out and his career as a knifemaker was launched.


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Buster feels lucky that he started making knives when he did. Born in 1942 in Kimberly Nevada, he was only 30 years old and the Knifemakers Guild had only 47 members, including the 17 makers that joined with him. The time was right and Buster was soon voted onto the board of directors of the Knifemakers Guild. The next 10 years were quite productive in both his knifemaking and his involvement with the Knifemakers Guild. He served 2 terms as vice president and was a director for the remaining time.

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In 1984 his personal life began to suffer with the loss of his father to cancer and a marriage was not going well. In 1986 after a rather messy divorce, he met and married Julie. This was a marriage made in heaven. Julie had taken an engraving class Buster taught in the local adult education program. Julie excelled in the art of engraving and Buster had found his soul mate. Julie and Buster have enjoyed a beautiful marriage and have taken numerous awards for their combined skills. Julie and Buster are one of the most successful team in the knifemaking business.


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Buster Warenski passed away on July 31, 2005. He was one of the greatest knife makers of the last century. Among his papers, his wife Julie found this hand written note on what he felt his legacy might be. In his own words:

The Warenski Legacy
This year (1998) we are celebrating our 25th anniversary of knife making. Throughout this time, quality and integrity have been the tempering agents for the hard work it has taken. We know as we complete each knife, that it's the best we can produce. Using only the highest quality materials and workmanship, we know our knives will stand the test of time. However, our desire is to build our legacy in solid gold. Knives that incorporate the techniques and skills those 25 years of learning have made possible.

First of our "Legacy Series" was the "King Tut Dagger." This knife was a faithful reproduction of the solid gold knife that was unearthed with the mummy of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. This knife required several skills that had been all but lost. Many hours of research and experimentation made reproduction of this knife possible. The skills developed in making the "King Tut" knife and other skills learned later were employed in the construction of the second knife in the "Legacy Series," "The Gem of the Orient." It was designed for a Japanese customer. This knife incorporated emeralds and diamonds to accent the gold filigree overlaid jade handle. Using 28 ounces of 18K gold, 153 emeralds totaling 10 karats and 9 diamonds totaling 5 karats, along with the forest green jade handle, "The Gem of the Orient" was the second step in our legacy.

The third knife in our "Legacy Series" was designed with the use of rubies and diamonds, thus the title" Fire and Ice," a phrase used to describe this combination of rubies and diamonds. To take this one step farther we chose rutilated quartz for the handle. It was believed by early Romans (who used quartz crystals) that quartz was simply ice, frozen so cold that it became permanently frozen into crystals. The knife contains 28 ounces of 18K gold, 22 rubies totaling 4.25 karats and 75 diamonds totaling 7 karats. The knife design incorporates red, guilloche' enamel on the pommel and sheath adding yet another technique to the "Legacy Series."

The fourth knife in the "Legacy Series" has been designed and will be incorporating platinum and gold as well as diamonds.

Each of the Legacy knives is a unique design and will never be duplicated. By combining techniques, materials and workmanship that go beyond the norm for contemporary knife making,
we are truly creating a "Solid Gold Legacy."


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Buster Warenski


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Thanks betzner for this great post...... much appreciated.

Some of Buster Warenski's Knives........ Enjoy!

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Daniel John Dennehy

Born - Jan. 15, 1923 in New York City

Died - Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, in Del Norte. Colorado. Age 88


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The youngest son of Irish immigrants Daniel Francis Dennehy and Nora K. Hally. He attended Catholic schools in New York City. In 1940, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving during World War II in several Pacific campaigns, including Saipan, the Philippines and others. He also served in the Korean War and during Vietnam. He retired from active duty in 1970 as a chief petty officer. Dennehy made his first knife during World War II, selling them to Marines before their invasion landings. One of his achievements in the late 1960's was donating, to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the first Bowie knife on display at the Alamo in San Antonio, where it still is located in the gift shop museum.

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In 1970, he was one of the 11 founders of the Knife maker's Guild, along with prominent knifemakers and friends, Bob Loveless and A.G. Russell. Dennehy championed the use of Micarta, a prefabricated material that most custom knife makers use today for their handles. He helped to spread the popularity of the material by telling his friend and foremost knife maker of the time, Bo Randall, about it -- and it caught on quickly throughout the industry. For that and other achievements, he was inducted into the Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2007.

Dan & AG Russell

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Dennehy also was an expert knife and tomahawk thrower, gaining entry into the Knife throwers Hall of Fame, and demonstrating his skills at knife shows nationwide. He taught hundreds of people how to throw knives, including his sons, John and Kevin, who joined him at many of the demonstrations.

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His Dan-D knives were featured in many national publications such as Sports Illustrated, Field & Stream, Gun World, Sports Afield and many others.

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Dennehy had many friends in the San Luis Valley, who would spend hours at his home listening to his recitation of long poetry and stories. His friends knew he loved his dogs Sheila and Jody. He was also very fond of his 15-year employee, Deb Lindsay, who worked tirelessly as a caregiver. Lindsay's son, Neil, also worked for Dennehy for many years as an apprentice in his knife shop.

He also was a volunteer deputy sheriff for the Rio Grande County Sheriff's Office in the 1970's. Dennehy was a graduate of several shooting courses, ranging from shotgun to pistol, operated by friend Col. Jeff Cooper, who was an expert on pistol craft and an editor of Guns & Ammo magazine. He frequently was a guest on G. Gordon Liddy's national radio program.


Dan Dennehy & Son (John)

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Throwing Knives he made....

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Dan Dennehy began making knives while serving in the Navy in WWII.


Dennehy knives are characterized by original, simple, and practical designs tailored for specific functions. He produced a number of models specially for use by members of the armed forces, including the Pilot/Crewman, a 6&#8221; rugged modern bowie designed to be capable of chopping an exit through a downed aircraft&#8217;s plexiglass canopy or aluminum skin; the 8&#8221; Model 11 Green Beret, a large, double-hilted fighting knife; and the remarkable 6 1/2&#8221;, 1/4&#8221; thick Model 13 Hoss, designed by a Navy SEAL as an indestructible knife-shaped pry bar and hammer made of surgical stainless steel which actually simultaneously manages to have a usable knife edge.

Dan Dennehy&#8217;s most popular productions, though, were simple and elegant hunting and fishing knives of slender and light easy-to-carry design, representative of the philosophy of the late 19th century outdoor writer George Washington Sears, better known as &#8220;Nessmuk,&#8221; who popularized the concept of ultra-light, minimal-sized sporting and camping equipment.



Dennehy forged all his larger knives, and a Dennehy forged knife exhibits a peculiar and unique glassy surface unlike any other knife.

Dan Dennehy was, along with Bob Loveless and Bill Moran, one of the founders of the Knife maker&#8217;s Guild, and one of the most respected custom knife makers. Dennehy knives were favored by such celebrities as John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Carlos Hathcock, Barry Goldwater, as well as by the controversial Watergate burglar and talk show host G. Gordon Liddy. Liddy&#8217;s own preferred model, a more ornate, stag-handled version of the 4 1/4&#8221; Model 4 Pro Scout became a standard cataloged option, known as the &#8220;G. Gordon Liddy Special.&#8221;

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Dan Dennehy stamped &#8220;Dan-D&#8221; and a shamrock on every knife as his personal trademark. He mentions in his catalog that he was only able to produce roughly 100 knives per year. He was in business for a little more than 60 years, so his total production must have amounted to only something on the order of 6000 examples.

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Dan Dennehy and knife-throwing champion Joe "Brokenfeather" Darrah at the Mountain Man Throw in Creede, Colorado. On the table in front of Dan are throwing knives he made.

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His shop ...... said he had enough equipment for five guys and they would not bump elbows?

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This is a video of his son (I think?) but it shows Dan's old shop.....


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And another one showing a bit more of the shop.....

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