And, for a mere £400...

[Dave Farrant]

And back to the Topic...

I would not even consider spending £100 on a knife at present. I think the seller has the collector in mind considering it is brand new and unused. Many times I have been told that for most basic uses you can get a perfectly servicable knife for a tenth of that price.

I will enjoy watching what happens to the bidding though.

 

[Gary]

The truth of the matter IMO (having used them all now) is that the Micarta handled W/S WOODLORE is the best.

Using the Micarta one I was unable to notice any difference in it to the Alan Wood one I had when I worked for woodlore (WELL EXCEPT PRICE) Of course there is the aesthetics of the wooden scales but is that worth £100 or more?
QUOTE]

Did you really notice no differance ? I've had the AW for a couple of years and found it fitted my hand nicely, but my micarta WS feels really skinny in the hand. Side by side i'm sure the handle is narrower. Hate to say it, but when delivered the WS was as blunt as a pigs blunt end, compared to the AW. Not now though of course!

Apart from the weight! But thats by the by, personally I prefer the Micarta so I guess I would be bias towards it.

 

[innocent bystander]

And on topic, it is a shame to see something that is so obviously designed as a working tool, to be priced so that you wouldn't dream of using it. Just ain't right....

 

[Dave Farrant]

The bidding seems to have stopped just short of the normal retail price???

:?: (sarcasm intended)

 

[innocent bystander]

Apart from the weight! But thats by the by, personally I prefer the Micarta so I guess I would be bias towards it.

I must admit i use the micarta more, probably because i know it is easier to replace. And it does look kinda good as well (butchcraft ?).

 

[Chopper]

I have just checked it and its up to £231.00 :yikes:

Some people have more money than sence....which one of you is it then??

 

[Andy]

I only bid up to a bit less then RRP

 

[JonathanD]

I've bid up to £250 out of curiosity, I've got a feeling that this is the fella that wants his £350 back. An extra £55 doesn't seem a bad price to skip the 18 month wait... saying that though, do I really need another? .......especially since I don't use the one I've got since I bought my WS maple..... man I'm messed up.

 

[brucemacdonald]

The truth of the matter IMO (having used them all now) is that the Micarta handled W/S WOODLORE is the best.


If you want a Woodlore get the Micarta one! As my kids would say some people need to get real -- still if there is a market for it people will buy I guess.

Now wheres my credit card??????? :rolmao:

A fascinating post as always from Gary, this really does crystallise the whole debate between mass-produced and custom blades.

To me the question boils down to this: how far does the tool make up for the person using it?

This is not confined to knives: in my experience there are parallels across other spheres of activity. For example, consider music. Charlie Parker, the master of the bebop saxophone, frequently had to play gigs with any old horn he could get his hands on as he often had pawned his instrument to pay for his crippling drug habit. Yet he was able to make the instrument sing. To me the inference is clear: as Ray Mears himself says, an expert with a knife can make any knife do his talking. It becomes irrelevant if the knife is a ten-quid Mora, a kitchen knife or a thousand-pound artwork in exquisite Damascus steel. The metal can only do so much; it is the person controlling it who is the key.

So really, it makes no difference whether you use a £200 Alan Wood Woodlore or the Wilkinson Sword model for most of us.

Smallprint: Other knives are available.... :Crazy_071

Best wishes

Bruce

 

[Squidders]

The real point is that the knife is a benchmark of high end bushcraft knives and they're uncommon now.

Owning a custom knife is special as you know someone spent time making it, ensuring it was good enough to carry their name. I bet there was a saxomophone that Charlie Parker really wanted for years.

Aside from its usefulness as a tool, items such this are very personal... I personally would buy one if I only got the chance to!

 

[Graham_S]

i recently got a ws micarta, it's a lovely knife. it fits my hand well but it's finish is not perfect, and is only to be expected in a mass produced item. however it's not something i can't fix myself.
now i've handled the hand made knife and it was nicer to look at (although i love the "grain" effect of the micarta scales) but for me, i want to use the knife. not just look at it. i prefer the cheaper knife as i could easily replace it if the worst happened.

 

[arctic hobo]

In my opinion a personal knife is one made for you, or if you have the skills, made yourself. To me, a knife that lots of people have and is well known isn't very personal. That said, the price you pay, for something that is only a knife for god's sake would make it something very personal indeed! (I'm thinking perhaps a last reminder of your divorced wife or ex-girlfriend).

 

[beachlover]

For £400 notes just think of the small bits of kit that would really make a difference. Not only that, think of the money you could spend going to places where you could really bushcraft with a penknife.
This sucker has bought a knife at well over the odds and wants to rip someone else off. Where are we going guys???

 

[sargey]

value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

if i was a rich man, i'd collect knives, i'm not, i don't. i do have a fair few none the less ): i'd agree that too much is made of must have kit, even knives :yikes:

i particularly resent the inference, that a guy's knife, like a martial artists coloured belt, somehow indicates his level of skill. if you choose to use something different from the accepted fashion, you must be somewhat defective, or you simply don't know enough to know better. this applies wether you're a prybaby, or you use a flimsy mora knife judge not a man by his knife, but by what he can do with it

boys will be boys, and lust after shiney toys. the problem comes when they're taken for more than that, a magic talisman to ward off evil and bestow magic powers upon the holder.

a knife is, after all, still just a knife.

well, except for these ones here, which really do have magic powers....

by the power of greyskull!!!!!!!!!!

:Crazy_071

cheers, and.

 

[tenbears10]

Guys, only the Buy it Now is £400 the reserve could be £150. The seller is just chancing his arm maybe some muppet will give him £400 but I bet the reserve is much more reasonable.

If there was a smilie taking a bow I would be using it now.

The reserve is met now at £250. Like I said above he was just trying his luck with the £399 buy it now price.

I have contacted the seller on ebay and he seems genuine (in my opinion) so some people have been a bit rough really he has bought an alan wood from woodlore and he is selling it to make a profit. Who is to say he didn't buy 2 and he's selling this one (possibly for £100 profit) to help finance the one he is keeping?????

What is he doing wrong? If people are willing to pay more so they don't have the wait then fair enough. If you think £250 is too expensive for a knife then you have not spent a lot of time on British Blades where people (many of whom are members here also) regularly spend more on knives they plan to keep in a draw. It is up to you, whatever floats your boat.

 

[Tack]

Hi,
I have to agree with Arctic Hobo. I think it was R.W. Loveless who said that a custom knife is one that a maker had made for a customer according to that customer's exact specifications. A series of knives made to a standard design, albeit one exclusive to the maker, is a benchmade knife.
As such the Woodlore knife is a very high quality benchmade knife but it is not a custom knife.
Regards
Tack

 

[Chopper]

£250 each or 3 for a GRAND...Bargin. :shock:

 

[brucemacdonald]

The Buy It Now option has disappeared now it has reached its reserve price.

£250 seems fair given the waiting list for these knives.

Best wishes

Bruce

 

[Gary]

Hi,
I have to agree with Arctic Hobo. I think it was R.W. Loveless who said that a custom knife is one that a maker had made for a customer according to that customer's exact specifications. A series of knives made to a standard design, albeit one exclusive to the maker, is a benchmade knife.
As such the Woodlore knife is a very high quality benchmade knife but it is not a custom knife.
Regards
Tack

Very good point - a good definition of custom/benchmade and mass production knives.

Also I tend agree with Bruce here.

An expensive knife doesnt make up for a lack of skills, plenty of people own a WL and it never goes out the house, but a good bushcrafter can make use of any knife - something to consider when reading reviews of knives too me thinks!!

 

[Squidders]

My knife is custom, I specified various bits and bobs...

If I sell it, it then becomes benchmade?