And, for a mere £400...
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I've got a AW Woodlore, a WS Maple Woodlore , and a Mora No1 Classic, all are used' none are collectors or drawer queens' my favorite to use is the £15 red handled Mora.
Along the way I've also owned and used other knives from well known makers and whilst they are nice pocessions and you can appriciate quality and workmanship, for use in the field I think I will stick with the Mora. That is untill the AB arrives.
Along the way I've also owned and used other knives from well known makers and whilst they are nice pocessions and you can appriciate quality and workmanship, for use in the field I think I will stick with the Mora. That is untill the AB arrives.
My knife was originally a wooden handled Mora I bought in Sweden in 1998. I say was because I rehandled it and it is now a antler handled Mora.
A excellent knife which has served me well all these years.
I have handled a WOODLORE knife thanks to a kind crafter at the WG and to be honest I can not see what all the fuss is about. The woodlore, while well made, is a bulk beast and imo far to big to be practicle. My trusty Mora has served me through thick and thin and I could have bought 50 or more for the price of one Woodlore knife.
A excellent knife which has served me well all these years.
I have handled a WOODLORE knife thanks to a kind crafter at the WG and to be honest I can not see what all the fuss is about. The woodlore, while well made, is a bulk beast and imo far to big to be practicle. My trusty Mora has served me through thick and thin and I could have bought 50 or more for the price of one Woodlore knife.
To me the value of a knife is made up of so many factors...
a. How well the knife can cut things from peeling spuds to hammering through trees.
b. How comfy the knife is for long periods and how likely it is to slip when in use.
c. How well the blade material gets and holds an edge in the field.
d. How robust the knife is through hard use over a long time.
e. The quality of the sheath that holds the knife.
f. How the knife looks to me, for some reason I need a knife to look a certain way.
g. How much I want to have the knife with me over the other knives I own.
a+b+c+d+e+f+g
______________ = Value
price
a. How well the knife can cut things from peeling spuds to hammering through trees.
b. How comfy the knife is for long periods and how likely it is to slip when in use.
c. How well the blade material gets and holds an edge in the field.
d. How robust the knife is through hard use over a long time.
e. The quality of the sheath that holds the knife.
f. How the knife looks to me, for some reason I need a knife to look a certain way.
g. How much I want to have the knife with me over the other knives I own.
a+b+c+d+e+f+g
______________ = Value
price
Squidders,
You make an excellent argument for the use of an equation in valuing a knife. If you have a knife from a maker who buys in his blades, then heat treats, polishes and fits the handle this is not a true custom knife either. Neither is a knife into which the customer has a limited input a custom knife. If there should be a halfway house between benchmade and custom knives then maybe it should be described as a hybrid. For example, if one had a Woodlore blade fitted with desert ironwood scales by a cutler then this would be a hybrid.
Thoughts anyone?
Tack
You make an excellent argument for the use of an equation in valuing a knife. If you have a knife from a maker who buys in his blades, then heat treats, polishes and fits the handle this is not a true custom knife either. Neither is a knife into which the customer has a limited input a custom knife. If there should be a halfway house between benchmade and custom knives then maybe it should be described as a hybrid. For example, if one had a Woodlore blade fitted with desert ironwood scales by a cutler then this would be a hybrid.
Thoughts anyone?
Tack
Andy,
Maybe you are right. This brings up another side of the argument. Just how many design and manufacturing variables are there which have not been used already?
Assuming that there are a finite number of blade shapes when will we get to the stage where everything has been tried and, therefore, there is no such thing as the true custom knife?
Regards
Tack
Maybe you are right. This brings up another side of the argument. Just how many design and manufacturing variables are there which have not been used already?
Assuming that there are a finite number of blade shapes when will we get to the stage where everything has been tried and, therefore, there is no such thing as the true custom knife?
Regards
Tack
I think the word you're looking for is bespoke... if I specify EVERYTHING that comprises the knife down to the finest detail, it's a bespoke knife.
Custom, in my opinion (for what it's worth
) is a knife based on a design that has been modified for a specific person OR task yet is still made with the greatest care and attention.
Benchmade, I think of knives still built by craftsmen but to standard designs not based on specific input from the end user.
I have never thought that the quantity of knives made would effect these descriptions personally... My Gene Ingram is a custom knife, not a bespoke and not a bench made, it's a blank that has been customised by Gene... If I commission a hundred or a thousand I think it's still a custom knife.
Feel free to shoot me down in flames
Custom, in my opinion (for what it's worth
) is a knife based on a design that has been modified for a specific person OR task yet is still made with the greatest care and attention.Benchmade, I think of knives still built by craftsmen but to standard designs not based on specific input from the end user.
I have never thought that the quantity of knives made would effect these descriptions personally... My Gene Ingram is a custom knife, not a bespoke and not a bench made, it's a blank that has been customised by Gene... If I commission a hundred or a thousand I think it's still a custom knife.
Feel free to shoot me down in flames
You have to look at things from other peoples POV's, £400 to some people is pocket change, and not a lot of change at that, I can easily spend £1500 on a suit that is bespoke, no problem at all, alot of people in the same job as me sneer at that, and even Next suits, even though they can afford bespoke themselves easily.
However, the AW Woodlore is not bespoke, but then again neither is it Next :?: What is bumping up the price is not the workmanship or the ruthless eBayer, but the demand, there are simply not enough of these to go round, and maybe production will soon be ceased, the future availability is very hazy.
I lost mine last year, had it for nearly ten years and loved it, I had to pay £275 on eBay for a quick replacement, and regret it not a bit, if it happened again I would be happy with my custom WS Woodlore, but I didn't know about them then and probably would have used the "Buy It Now" option if this guy had been around then, the amount of money would not have been an issue, the availability would.
Perhaps after a load of investigating I could have found a knife at a lot less cost that would have suited me just as well, but a) I couldn't be arsed, and b) How much would I have to spend on knives not freely available to handle before buying, before I settled on one. Loads knowing me
However, the AW Woodlore is not bespoke, but then again neither is it Next :?: What is bumping up the price is not the workmanship or the ruthless eBayer, but the demand, there are simply not enough of these to go round, and maybe production will soon be ceased, the future availability is very hazy.
I lost mine last year, had it for nearly ten years and loved it, I had to pay £275 on eBay for a quick replacement, and regret it not a bit, if it happened again I would be happy with my custom WS Woodlore, but I didn't know about them then and probably would have used the "Buy It Now" option if this guy had been around then, the amount of money would not have been an issue, the availability would.
Perhaps after a load of investigating I could have found a knife at a lot less cost that would have suited me just as well, but a) I couldn't be arsed, and b) How much would I have to spend on knives not freely available to handle before buying, before I settled on one. Loads knowing me
My old knife (before 
Ryanair stole my luggage 
) was handmade for me, to my specification in reindeer horn and birch, in return for a week's farm work (and board and lodging). To me, that's a bespoke knife, and it's what I'd consider a fair exchange. Nothing on earth would make me part with 200 quid for a knife, certainly not for what is essentially a mass produced item.
My thoughts :wave:
Ryanair stole my luggage ) was handmade for me, to my specification in reindeer horn and birch, in return for a week's farm work (and board and lodging). To me, that's a bespoke knife, and it's what I'd consider a fair exchange. Nothing on earth would make me part with 200 quid for a knife, certainly not for what is essentially a mass produced item.My thoughts :wave:
It is all relative.
I have seen people spend £2000 on a mountain bike, £10,000 on a horse, £100,000 on a sailing boat so when you look at it like that £200 on the most important bit of kit you need for this 'hobby' is nothing.
But there is no point falling out over it, each to their own. Some of the most knowledgeable people on this forum have spent minimal amounts on their kit and others who know just as much have spent thousands neither one is wrong IMO.
I have seen people spend £2000 on a mountain bike, £10,000 on a horse, £100,000 on a sailing boat so when you look at it like that £200 on the most important bit of kit you need for this 'hobby' is nothing.
But there is no point falling out over it, each to their own. Some of the most knowledgeable people on this forum have spent minimal amounts on their kit and others who know just as much have spent thousands neither one is wrong IMO.
Tenbears,
This isn't falling out, paradoxically it isn't arguing over semantics either. I think this is a facinating debate.
A great many cutlery collectors spend hours arguing over the relative merits of this steel or that steel, over this sharpening system or that. To my way of thinking this debate is far more fundamental. As bushcrafters we realise how imprtant a good knife can be. To some spending £400 on a knife is ridiculous when they have found that a £50 knife serves their needs. To others the Woodlore is the knife they need and £400 is therefore justifiable.
I am playing devil's advocate but then I have upwards of 20 knives in my collection, everything from a £10.00 japanese lock knife to a £400 Randall. The knife I choose when out in the bush cost me £75.00 which I consider a bargain, but then I've never even seen a Woodlore in the flesh, so I stand to be enlightened.
Regards
Tack
This isn't falling out, paradoxically it isn't arguing over semantics either. I think this is a facinating debate.
A great many cutlery collectors spend hours arguing over the relative merits of this steel or that steel, over this sharpening system or that. To my way of thinking this debate is far more fundamental. As bushcrafters we realise how imprtant a good knife can be. To some spending £400 on a knife is ridiculous when they have found that a £50 knife serves their needs. To others the Woodlore is the knife they need and £400 is therefore justifiable.
I am playing devil's advocate but then I have upwards of 20 knives in my collection, everything from a £10.00 japanese lock knife to a £400 Randall. The knife I choose when out in the bush cost me £75.00 which I consider a bargain, but then I've never even seen a Woodlore in the flesh, so I stand to be enlightened.
Regards
Tack
Tack that is a good point. Maybe we should all declare our knife collection so we know where we are coming from. As long as my wife never gets to read the thread
Bill
Bill
Well I'm in the process of having a knife made totaly to my spec's - it is a combination of all the best design features of knives I've used other the last 20 years and it is my hope this will be the knife for me - incidentially this will be totally hand made, using materials I want and will actually cost me less than a standard Alen Wood or a maple W/S - and will only take about 4/5 weeks (not years) - so I would say that highlights the price margin.
Incidentially did anybody notice ray was using a Mora knife instead of his Woody last night! Wonder why?
Incidentially did anybody notice ray was using a Mora knife instead of his Woody last night! Wonder why?
GOD IT'S BEEN SOOOOOOOOOOOOO LONG!!!!!!
Who bought it, how much did it sell for, WHO CARES.... We are back online
Who bought it, how much did it sell for, WHO CARES.... We are back online
