Custom Purveyors: Who are your favorites?

marcangel

marcangel

Joined
Dec 20, 2001
Messages
1,217
I've bought a fair number of knives from various purveyors and some stick out as really great folks. Pleasant to talk to, helpful, fair prices. My favorites are:

Mike Donato (Knifepurveyor.com)
The Conelly's (Knifart.com) Love the chocolate chip cookies

I'm specifically NOT including collectors that also sell, and maintain websites, since this is not their livlihood. (sorry, Don ;) )

Who are your favorites?
 
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I have never purchased anything from Knifeart.com, but I have had several dealings with Michael Donato at Knifepurveyor.com and he is a great guy to work with.
There are many others out there who are more at the show level who I enjoy dealing with as well as a few more online. The fact of the matter is that 99% of the knife deals and dealers I have worked with have been wonderful. It is a shame that the 1% can muddy the waters so bad, but lets not go there.

Thanks Ron, Michael, Walt, Dave, Phillip and the others (Too many to name) who have always been straight forward. :thumbup:
Jay
 
The only dealers I have dealt with are Les Robertson ,Bob Neal and Nordic and they have all been great:)
 
Larry Brahms - bladeart.com
Dave Starks - steeladdictionknives.com
Phillip Doss - theknifecellar.com
Les Robertson - robertsoncustomcutlery.com
Duane Weikum - edcknives.com
John Ukman - ebosshoss.com
Julie Hyman - arizonacustomknives.com
Neil Ostroff - truenorthknives.com
Michael Mclaurin - ncblades.com
 
Dave Stark - steeladdictionknives.com
Phillip Doss - theknifecellar.com
Les Robertson - robertsoncustomcutlery.com
Duane Weikum - edcknives.com
Neil Ostroff - truenorthknives.com
Michael Mclaurin - ncblades.com
TAD Gear

These are all dealers that I have dealt with and feel are most excellent. Of late, it has been mostly TNK.
 
I have had some super dealings with many of them, and one or two that I won't be calling on anymore.

Some of the good guys are:

Dave Ellis has worked patiently with me while I was allocating funds. Thanks Dave!

Paul Shindler at knifelegends provided me with some nice service after the sale regarding some documentation that I needed.

Bobby Blanton sold me a great knife in spite of his postman's best efforts to lose my cashiers check.

Dave Stark...another nice transaction

One person has consistently gone way out of his way to help me in my collection time and time again....Michael Donato.

I have a thread about him that I have updated many times over 3 years now:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=414076
 
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So far (and off the top of my head) I have had transactions with Gary Levine, Paul Shindler, Hank Rummel, Bob Neil and Julie Hyman, Bob Glassman and Dan Omalley. A few of these cases involved them buying something from me. I have purchased from Paul Shindler four times and he always helped out. Michael Donatos been mentioned here a bunch and although I haven't purchased from him yet I would easily. VERY friendly guy.
 
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John Hanlon-KnifeLegends.com
A.T. Barr-CustomKnives.com
(They are Family to me)
 
I've had good buying experiences with:

Custom Knife Gallery of Colorado - Bob Glassman
Bob Neal Custom Knives - Bob Neal
Knifeart - Connelleys
True North Knives - Neil Ostroff
Nordic Knives -
Plaza Cutlery -
Arizona Custom Knives - Julie Hyman
Robertson Custom Cutlery - Les Robertson
 
I can't recall ever having a bad experience with a lot of the above mentioned :thumbup:
I'd like to add Bill Morris ,Michigan Knives,always a pleasure to deal with.
-Vince

PS,two more that come to mind,Gary Moore,Moore Knives & Treeman Knives,as well,Jim Behring
 
Just from a maker's perspective I've had great dealings with Nordic when they acted as an intermediary for an overseas customer. :thumbup:
 
Yep, Im that overseas customer that Will is talking about.
Paul Basch has helped me a great deal in my early days of collecting.
Also Bob Gaddis when he was still with Nordic in the 80s..
My current favorites are Nordic, Rhett Stidham and JW Denton.
I value my relationship with them.
 
I've dealt with quite a few purveyors, buying early on in my collecting and more selling over the last 4-5 years. I have found them to be very honest, knowledgeable and a pleasure to deal with.

I have learned a lot about customs from them. Dave Harvey, Daniel O'Malley, Larry and Rodney Connelley, Dave Ellis and Bob Neal come to mind as being instrumental in my building my collection.
 
Micheal Donato has been GREAT. Prior to my first purchase from him he helped me land a knife I really wanted badly as a gift for my wife and he didn't make a dime on the transaction. Again, he didn't know me and I wasn't even a customer yet! I owe him several drinks at Blade and he has my business whenever I can send it his way.

Didn't see Mike Gianlorenzo from RCK mentioned and my experience with him has been enjoyable; pleasant, professional, and efficient.

The folks at BladeGallery have been quite accomodating in my dealings with them. Always willing to go the extra mile, prompt, and knowledgable.

Haven't had any terrible experiences with purveyors. Had a couple I'd call suboptimal concerning promptness. The worst was a "see if he notices the issue, oops...we noticed that and are happy to take it back". I will not interact with them again although others report good experiences.
 
Bob Neal, Lynn Olsen, and Michael Donato come to mind as very good people to deal with.

Paul Farina is always worth talking with.

Paul Shindler and John Hanlon are still my go-to guys.:thumbup:
 
Dave Starks - steeladdictionknives.com
Les Robertson - robertsoncustomcutlery.com
Duane Weikum - edcknives.com
Julie Hyman - arizonacustomknives.com
 
Forgot to mention in my previous post...pay attention to the terms stipulated in a transaction, especially concerning inspection and returns.

I haven't had a bad experience in this area. Several friends who either didn't pay attention to terms or expected some level of consideration based on an ongoing relationship have walked away from transactions feeling unsatisfied. Sometimes ya get consideration, sometimes ya don't.

Stated terms should always be considered the agreement unless an alternative approach is mutually agreed. Even though this is a fun and passionate hobby for me I keep it front of mind that things go much smoother when there is clarity in the terms of an interaction. This goes for working with purveyors, makers, and with other collectors. Saves everyone @$$ ache and helps avoid misunderstandings.
 
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