The "trend" of rougher finished blades

W

Will Leavitt

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Jul 28, 2006
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Just curious as to what you guys think is bringing the appreciation for the rougher looking blades (meaning not 494499999x polish). Is it a desire for work that shows a rough and ready appearance or perhaps a desire to get away from the finely polished pieces to something that is unmistakably (geezzz not even sure if I'm close to spelling that right) hand crafted?

I'm not complaining because I love to make brute de forge blades but it just seems that there a growing desire for these blade finishes.
 
I'm not convinced there is much of a growing appreciation and/or desire for rougher looking less finished blades. Sure we have seen some recently however I'm not sure it's not more a result of makers trying to offer a less costly knife in bad times.

Let's not write off the finely finished blade just yet. ;) :)
 
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When I was a teen starting my collection of "user" knives
I sought out rough looking choppers. Shiney blades have
never had an appeal to me (as a user).
I have "bought" knives that I display and show off because
of "what" they are, not for what they're capable of.
They'd probably handle heavy chores just fine but I'll
never know. I choose the tool best suited for the job.
"Rough knives are for rough use".
If they appeal to others, this is the likely reason.
Mike
 
I think Kevin is spot on with the rough finished blades being cheaper/more affordable. A high polish means more work and more work means more time and money. By doing rougher finished blades or leaving forge work on it shortens the finishing time and makes them cheaper. I certainly agree Kevin that highly polished and finished blades arent going anywhere.

I also believe many people like the rough look. I am one of them. I use my customs for the most part especially my fixed blades. The rough forged look appeals to me visually and it makes me less afraid to scuff the blade up and use it at whatever task I need it for. After using several highly polished choppers with Hamons and seeing how scuffed up they look as a result I tend to opt for rough finished blades now as I am just going to scuff them up anyway.
 
I think it is a combo effect.
In my trade, the rough used look costs more.
I provide the real deal, reclaimed woods and metals with history and a story into a finished product that leaves nail holes and original saw marks mostly intact.
People will still pay more for "the look" using new materials and fake "age marks".

my clients want the handcrafted look and feel and honest materials.
other people like uber clean lines.
in recent years I've noticed the rough look becoming very mainstream.
mainstream=sheeple alert=more popular
go figure...another hollow clunk of society
 
I don't know whether there is an increasing "trend" or not, but I disagree that either the desire for the knives by the collector or the motivation to produce such knives by the maker is primarily driven by any 'cheap knives in hard times' concept.

The look has been around for some time - and it is one appreciated by some collectors as desirable in its own right, regardless of cost. I owned such a piece by Don Fogg some years ago. It wasn't cheap when I bought it, it was sold at a nice profit, and if sold again would definitely fetch yet more.

I don't see the look rising to any sort of ascendancy over more finely finished blades, but I think its popularity will continue as a welcome change of pace that provides some diversity within a collection. And of course, those buying them to use can do so generally at less cost.

Roger
 
I have to respectfully disagree that rough finished blades with antique finishes and forge marks means a lesser degree of finish, which makes them cheaper. A fine example of this is Daniel Winkler's work, which is not "cheap" by no means, neither in cost or craftsmanship:DJust beacause your not spending hours hand sanding up to 2000 grit does'nt mean that fit and finish were sacrificed for the sake of building a cheaper, less expensive knife. It's just a different approach to knifemaking, or at least knife finishing:D
 
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^^^ Well said John. It also points to the problem of lumping all such knives under the "rougher finish" umbrella.

Roger
 
As far as “hammer finished” blades (apart from the American frontier style) go, there does seem to be a growing appreciation, trend and market for them. When I started doing the "tribal look", or "neo-tribal" about 15 years ago, there wasn't much market or appreciation for them to speak of at all. I started doing them, because my concept was to show "process markings" on the work. In other words, leaving clues as to how the blades were made through the hand forging process, and also I was just looking for a new aesthetic to work with, or “forged look“.

My rougher finished blades do tend to be "less expensive" than hand polished ones, but not considered "cheap". Hand polishing is very time consuming.
 
RogerP said:
I don't know whether there is an increasing "trend" or not, but I disagree that either the desire for the knives by the collector or the motivation to produce such knives by the maker is primarily driven by any 'cheap knives in hard times' concept.

The look has been around for some time - and it is one appreciated by some collectors as desirable in its own right, regardless of cost. I owned such a piece by Don Fogg some years ago. It wasn't cheap when I bought it, it was sold at a nice profit, and if sold again would definitely fetch yet more.
I don't see the look rising to any sort of ascendancy over more finely finished blades, but I think its popularity will continue as a welcome change of pace that provides some diversity within a collection. And of course, those buying them to use can do so generally at less cost.

Roger
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I agree the rough forged or probably better referred to as a primitive look has been around quite a while with work by Winkler, Barrows, Mann and more recently Choea being fine examples. These makers and a few others have basically created an entire market for their historic and artistically inspired period and primitive pieces and demonstrate great skill in making these pieces look new yet a hundred years old. And I agree there's more effort/expertise involved in making these knives look like museum pieces then laying down a nice 600 grip satin finish on a typical custom knife.

Though I may be wrong, I believe Will's opening post is more addressing the recent "brute de forge" style knives which makers such as Burt Foster and Karl Andersen among others are offering than the ones I address in the paragraph above.
Don't get me wrong as I have nothing against this style knife, in fact I recently purchased one from Karl as it's a very versatile, practically indestructible knife at a very attractive price. However, they are what they are imo, and I don't believe there's this great excitement or trend where everyone has to have one.

CopyofDANIELWINKLERIvoryDamascusBow.jpg


cw3-1.jpg
 
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I appreciate knives which are highly finished because I understand what it took to get them there.

However, personally, my sense of aesthetic is appealed to much more strongly by "rougher", more primitive looking knives. I can't say why that is, it just is.

If there is a trend, that's OK by me. More options is always better!

Andy
 
As a maker I see them as a testament to a quality blade that screams "Use me, thats what I'm made for". Most pristine blades never see day light but when a maker is so confident in his abilities that he sells a few of his work in the rough finish its like advertising. He knows his stuff will stand up to real duty and word gets out to others which generates business. It also pays quick money when the cell phone bill comes in.
 
The rougher finished ones do seem to get used more... at least that's been my experience.

… several reasons,... they tend to be less expensive, you don’t have to worry about scratching or staining them, (easy to maintain), and they look like they were made to be used. :)
 
mcswood said:
"Rough knives are for rough use".
If they appeal to others, this is the likely reason.
Mike
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X2, I also like the idea that I can purchase a beautiful piece of art and if my son gets his hands on it, you wont see the scratch marks on the blade from his carving a bow staff. Functional Art.
 
Will, I think that there is definitely a trend toward rougher finished blades.

I think that there is a growing interest in the steel forging process, in a world cluttered with plastic.

When I saw the new Rambo movie, I couldn't help but think of the impact it would have, again, on the cutlery industry. Hibben's D2 handmade version I understand starts as a stock removal and then gets a treatment to look as though it's been hammered.

Likewise, Lord of the Rings. Lots of blade forging in pop culture these days, and an increasing number of products on the market which are capitalizing on this elemental steel shaping procedure.

Steel is real, man.

I like this type of 'unfinished' finish because it costs less. I do like the look of a knife which has been hand hammered to very near its final shape. It shows a different kind of skill than a fine finish, and that skill to me is more fascinating. The thought of someone pounding on near molten steel to bring it to its final shape to me is more fascinating than the thought of someone sitting there laboring over the knife with sandpaper. I know that's overly simplistic, I'm just trying to make a point.

However, I do prefer polished steel personally. Hands down. I just can't usually afford it:p:D
 
here is a new Raymond Richard knife. He used his grinder to profile it, and that's it. Completely hand hammered;

richard.jpg
 
Lorien said:
Will, I think that there is definitely a trend toward rougher finished blades.

I think that there is a growing interest in the steel forging process, in a world cluttered with plastic.

When I saw the new Rambo movie, I couldn't help but think of the impact it would have, again, on the cutlery industry. Hibben's D2 handmade version I understand starts as a stock removal and then gets a treatment to look as though it's been hammered.

Likewise, Lord of the Rings. Lots of blade forging in pop culture these days, and an increasing number of products on the market which are capitalizing on this elemental steel shaping procedure.

Steel is real, man.

I like this type of 'unfinished' finish because it costs less. I do like the look of a knife which has been hand hammered to very near its final shape. It shows a different kind of skill than a fine finish, and that skill to me is more fascinating. The thought of someone pounding on near molten steel to bring it to its final shape to me is more fascinating than the thought of someone sitting there laboring over the knife with sandpaper. I know that's overly simplistic, I'm just trying to make a point.

However, I do prefer polished steel personally. Hands down. I just can't usually afford it:p:D
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A knife that has been hammered to very near it's final shape and then has an expertly applied fine finish shows more skill on part of the maker and adds to the fascinating in my opinion. ;)
 
Kevin Jones said:
A knife that has been hammered to very near it's final shape and then has an expertly applied fine finish shows more skill on part of the maker and adds to the fascinating in my opinion. ;)
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it only shows more skill to one who knows, or has otherwise seen, that the blade was hand hammered close to shape;)
 
If the execution is there, I like a rough blade, but not too rough. I sold a rough blade recently because the workmanship was REALLY bad. This knife never would have left my shop.
 
I like many different finishes on knives, but personally, I am not a fan whatsoever of coarse 400 grit horizontal scratch marks on a handmade knife. To me, it's an eyesore.

There are people out there like me who like a good old belt finish (like Hartsfield uses) or a scotch brite finish. It looks especially good to me on a hollow grind.

It's not that I like it because the knife is cheaper or easier to make (well...maybe the easier to make part) but I genuinely dig those fine vertical machine finish scratches.
 
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