Murray Carter, blades/knives

alongoria

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
157
Hello.
Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with Mr. Carter or Carter Cutlery and have no financial interest in his business or products. ***Moderators, if this post is viewed as some type of business advertisement or in violation of the General Knife Discussion rules, please remove the post.

I rarely see posts regarding Mr. Carter's blades/knives. Occasionally, I'll see a knife of his listed for sale here, or a reference to his use of steels for forging, forging techniques, sharpness of his knives as delivered, blade's ability to take a keen edge, his preferred sharpening techniques/methods, etc..

I have 3 of Mr. Carter's knives (2 neck, 1 Whitecrane). My knives were made by him rather than by his "Muteki" smiths. My knives from him are not elaborate or decorative, but fit/finish are good. I consider his knives to be a combination of form and function. I am not in a position to claim his knives are objectively or measurably better than xxxxxxxx knife. However, I find his blades to be what I would consider "fine cutlery" and very well suited to the general functions of a knife: cutting. Of course, there are other qualities of his knives that I think are good too.

I believe Mr. Carter has a very interesting history regarding his knife making beginnings and his work/career over the years. If you are not familiar with Mr. Carter as a bladesmith, I suggest doing some research on him, his knife making, forging, blades, etc.. In addition to his Japanese background in bladesmithing, I believe Mr. Carter is an ABS Mastersmith.

From what I've read online, there are a fair amount of people that have differing views of Mr. Carter, positive and negative. Enough so, that people have taken the time to express their veiwpoints in knife forums, reviews, etc.. I'm not going to argue any of that. Also, I've seen some criticism of the cost of his knives.

My purpose for this post is to bring some attention of him to knife enthusiasts, especially those who might not have any previous knowledge of him or his knives. I find him and his knives to be a somewhat unique part of the "knife making community".
Regards, Adam
 
I live only a mile or so from Murray Carters shop and have had a few of his knives . Absolutely beautiful well crafted!
He even has a open house once a month and answers questions and goes through the whole process of making his knives .
Great guy and great knife !
One time I dropped my neck knife and chipped the tip and even though normally there’s a charge for repairs he fixed and resharped mine for free and was ready the next day for pickup .
Can’t say enough about Murray Carter and his Beautiful knives :thumbsup:
 
From what I've read online, there are a fair amount of people that have differing views of Mr. Carter, positive and negative.
I do a fair amount of that; both :thumbsup::thumbsdown::thumbsup:

Being a metal rat I have a great deal of respect, admiration and jealousy for what he does.
I'm posting his videos here all the time especially his right-on short vid on edge geometry which compares Western knives with Eastern (Japanese) knives / edge tools. If one wants to find out why their knife sucks to use or find out just how heavenly life can be watch that vid.
Your knife is what you make it. ;)

That said with dusty knees I must confess to playing around and poking a little fun at his sharpening technique and deburing on the gritty old knife bridge. I suppose when one reaches the high echelons that he has matter and space behave differently than for you and I :).

PS : I was all about getting one of his knives for a while there but have come to a few conclusions about EDC knives for me :
  • After carrying fixed blades for a year or so (many of them) I find I prefer folders because the blade stays sharper.
  • I find sheaths for fixed blades to be less sanitary and folders more sanitary ( the blade is suspended and doesn't contact and so contaminate or be contaminated by the handle).
  • I don't care for neck knives though arguably they are superior for many uses.
  • If I'm getting a custom it will be M4 (though for many uses I am in love with White Paper Steel; I just touched up one of mine this morning).
PPS : oooooooohhhhhh . . . I could get one of his nice kitchen knives though.
Maybe if all goes well this Summer next Christmas I could order one. :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
Hello Factor, I've read quite a bit of people describing how nice, respectful, friendly, etc.. Mr. Carter is. I've spoken with him on the phone and with his associates at his shop several times. Mr. Carter was very nice to me and answered a couple of questions I had about his knives; very informative. Likewise, his employees have been very nice and helpful. I would love to visit his shop. I've even thought about attending knife forging/making classes/courses/training. However, I don't have the time to devote to the travel, lodging, classes, etc.. Nor do I have the money, at least I wouldn't want to spend that amount of money right now. Regardless, if I had the time and extra money, I'd definitely love to that some time in the future.

Hello Wowbagger, I really like Hitachi White Steel Mr. Carter uses and the overall end result of his forging, grinds, tempering, sharpening, etc.. I haven't experienced any other knife or steel with similar characteristics. However, I have a relatively limited experience with the numerous steels, heat treatments, etc.. that would allow me to speak with any authority about how distinctive Mr. Carter's knives are relative to the vast amount of knives being produced in these times.
I also have a few folders, as well as fixed blades of various design, blade lengths, etc.. I prefer fixed blades for most uses, but carry folders quite a bit due to the convenience and relatively low profile.

I don't have any experience with any of his kitchen knives, but for the most part, what I've read from various owners and reviews is that they are considered a premium level of cutlery (for most of what I've read).

Hello Ken Hash, I know very little about traditional Japanese bladesmithing. I have read pretty extensively about traditional Japanese sword making (source/type of iron and steel composition, forging techniques, sword styles, different eras, etc...). I find it a very fascinating subject.

Thank you all for your responses. I hope more will reply with their experiences with his knives, any other opinions, etc..
 
I do like his designs and the cutting performance is pretty well documented. I have never used or handled any of his work but I would love to. Now here is where I piss people off. I don't like the way he comes across, I feel like he and I would not get along well in person. I can't exactly say what it is and I do apologise for this. I just get a sneaking suspicion that he might be a dick. A talented knifemaker he absolutely is, the rest just might be me.
 
Hello Factor, I've read quite a bit of people describing how nice, respectful, friendly, etc.. Mr. Carter is. I've spoken with him on the phone and with his associates at his shop several times. Mr. Carter was very nice to me and answered a couple of questions I had about his knives; very informative. Likewise, his employees have been very nice and helpful. I would love to visit his shop. I've even thought about attending knife forging/making classes/courses/training. However, I don't have the time to devote to the travel, lodging, classes, etc.. Nor do I have the money, at least I wouldn't want to spend that amount of money right now. Regardless, if I had the time and extra money, I'd definitely love to that some time in the future.

Hello Wowbagger, I really like Hitachi White Steel Mr. Carter uses and the overall end result of his forging, grinds, tempering, sharpening, etc.. I haven't experienced any other knife or steel with similar characteristics. However, I have a relatively limited experience with the numerous steels, heat treatments, etc.. that would allow me to speak with any authority about how distinctive Mr. Carter's knives are relative to the vast amount of knives being produced in these times.
I also have a few folders, as well as fixed blades of various design, blade lengths, etc.. I prefer fixed blades for most uses, but carry folders quite a bit due to the convenience and relatively low profile.

I don't have any experience with any of his kitchen knives, but for the most part, what I've read from various owners and reviews is that they are considered a premium level of cutlery (for most of what I've read).

Hello Ken Hash, I know very little about traditional Japanese bladesmithing. I have read pretty extensively about traditional Japanese sword making (source/type of iron and steel composition, forging techniques, sword styles, different eras, etc...). I find it a very fascinating subject.

Thank you all for your responses. I hope more will reply with their experiences with his knives, any other opinions, etc..
I went to one of his open house events and what a treat it was and Murray is a great guy and his passion and love for knives stays with you and has with me to this day.
 
I have always held a reverence for Murray Carter's work. I have an affinity for traditional Japanese forged knives in general as well. His designs are very functional. The craftsmanship is exceptional. I can't say enough good things about his blades but I have never had the pleasure of speaking with him. Something I think needs to be rectified. I would love for his level of craftsmanship to gain more exposure but I see a lot of interested parties shy quickly with price shock. His knives are on my short list of truly exceptional. Others are Bob Dozier, Matt Lamey, Bill Buxton, Ed Caffrey, Burt Foster. All recognizable names with well deserved merit. I would rather carry my neck knife (Original w/black&green canvas) than my sebbie. It's that perfect to me. Considering what other start up makers charge(Jim Skelton and others in his like), I think his prices are less than they should be. If anyone wants to try a Carter blade and can't afford the full price the Muteki line is there. For even less he has designs at BRKT.
 
I had mine almost a decade, bought directly from him at Blade show. I don’t let anyone else use it either. An absolute joy to use!
RbIU2at.jpg
 
I've been using Carter knives since Ken Warner told me about young Canadian guy living in Japan many years ago he had discovered. They have all been first class cutting tools. I did a quick count, there are currently 6 Carters in my kitchen knife blocks and a sheath knife in my hunting gear. I'm afraid I really don't understand people passing judgment on knives or makers they have had no experience with.
 
Hello Brain, I don't know Mr. Carter personally. An impression I get from his videos, interviews, info on his web site, etc.. is that he is very confident in his knowledge, skills, and experience. I respect that when his history, work, products, amount of knives made/sold, respect from among his peers, etc.. validate that confidence. But, like I commented, I don't know him personally so I can't make a judgement.

Hello 007 Agent, personally I think a person gets a "lot of knife" with exceptional qualities for the cost of his knives. Especially considering his materials, forging techniques, and the finished blade's qualities and performance. I think some people may mistake his relatively non-elaborate designs being inconsistent with his knife prices. In comparison to other ABS Mastersmiths' knives and/or highly regarded Japanese smith's knives, I believe his prices are more than reasonable (my opinion is they are a very good value).

My MC knives are really great cutters, are "easy" to sharpen (I typically just strop on leather with a firm backing and a little diamond paste to realign and polish the edge), take a very keen edge, and retains a high-level of sharpness relatively well.

Hello Gouger. I agree.

Thank you for your responses and comments.
 
Back
Top