I am going to pick on one of my friends who takes the time to post on my blog. He said that I am “in the privileged position of a collector.” I am indeed privileged to own some wonderful knives made by some of the best makers. But, that privilege has come at a fairly high price. If you consider money in the bank, or other assets, I am not a wealthy man. All of my wealth is in cold steel, kydex, leather, brass, etc. And for him I have included this photo of a nice Ron Gaston Tanto with elder burl handles.
Rather than a collector, I consider myself a Patron of the Arts. Part of my patronage extends to training and experimentation with many styles of fighting knives. Another aspect is writing this blog, and publishing my website on Fairbairn Sykes knives. It seems like my life is measured in lengths of steel. One of my first knives (age 12) was a Scottish sgian dubh. I still have that knife. When I went to Vietnam I carried a small German dagger. I sent three knives to my father during his deployments over there. One of them saved his life. I trained in Japanese kenjutsu and Iaido for 12 or more years. As many of you know I wrote one book on knife defense and have nearly finished a second one on knife fighting. For many years I taught karate, Iaido, and knife arts free of charge. Now I am 64 and my love of cold steel has not been quenched.
If you are celebrating Independence Day today (and well you should be) and you live in the freest nation in the world, please remember those men in uniform whom fought and died for your freedoms, and those still serving.
Posts
10 comments:
I freely concede you are far more than a "collector", Dave. Your book the Rhythm of One is one of the best martial arts books ever, IMHO. And man oh man that is one gorgeous knife.
I freely concede you are far more than a "collector", Dave. Your book the Rhythm of One is one of the best martial arts books ever, IMHO. And man oh man that is one gorgeous knife.
thanks Jeff, I edited the post some and all of the other comments must have been erased???
Weird! My comment was entered twice, and the post I originally made the "collector" comment on is gone! TPTB are on to you Dave!
Please tell me again the name of that knife maker, since I really like his fighting knife and I can't remembe his name, but I want to find out what the "damages" are to acquire that one.
Cheers!
if you mean the Bowie maker, the blog is still there and the comments too. I got confused. Anyway it was made by Brett Gatlin. Matt Lamey is also a maker of wonderful bowies and fighters.
Expect to spend about $450-650 for a bowie from any custom maker and twice that from some of them.
Thanks Dave!
If you don't mind, what is your opinion of the Grayman Suenami in 5" or 7" as a fighting knife, as opposed to an all purpose utility knife that is also can be used for fighting? These are single bevel knives, and I don't know if that is really a good thing in a knife. Obviously keeps the cost down, but at what cost to the user?
i think Grayman makes an excellent camp/field knife. I often carry one on my bug out bag. But for a pure fighting knife I recommend a single edged, double groun blade. The grind should be a flat grind to create the finest edge possible. Doble edged blades are OK for a fighting knife but not legal in many areas. I will post on some less-expensive fighting knives that demonstrate what I consider good design and function. I do not think it is a good idea to use a fighting knife as a utility knife or to expect a utility knife to serve well as a fighter. I realize the KaBar has filled this dual role for many people for generations. That does not mean it excelled at both. A skilled knife fighter can make almost anything work but the proper tools make his work easier.
Thanks, Dave, I consider your insight and experience in these matters invaluable
If I may ask,what is that next to tanto?!? :)
Post a Comment