The Ugly Knifemaker

As a knife-maker I am of course a knife enthusiast, and to both ends I follow the knife community closely (although I do not participate much). I subscribe to Blade magazine to enjoy the variety of knives pictured, to learn from the knifemaker’s who write instructional articles and to follow industry trends. I will pick up other knife magazines, such as Knives Illustrated, from time to time for specific articles.

It seems that in the custom knife community, particularly the community as written by the editors and commentators of said community, I am one of the undesirables of the knife world, “the ugly knife-maker”.
No, I don’t make ugly knives, nor am I any uglier physically than a whole host of my chin whiskered, soot stained, burnt fingered black-booger blowing brethren. But, my attitude isn’t at home with the ideal of the community as established by the editors and writers.
I am not an “artist”, I am a tool maker – and while that is quite at home with the ideals of the community I am not a maker of hunting knives, utility knives, or kitchen knives. I make, primarily, tactical knives for personal carry for self defense. Without trying to provide justification for it, or make it sound nice, I make tools designed to damage people. Not only do I make them, I practice the skillsets behind them (hypocritical otherwise, in my opinion) and advocate the carrying of a knife along with the carrying of a gun (at least “a gun”, one is none and two is one after all) as a positive solution to the everyday problems and threats of miscreancy, misanthropy and murder.
So I make knives designed and crafted to one shining (but only to me it seems) goal, accessibility in the fight to end the fight. The very design and craftsmanship of the knives directly influenced by training for (and a wee bit of experience with) the fight.
I am also willing to pursue even “darker” angles of this realm of knife-making, such as using non-metallic materials and happily selling them to any paying customer.
I believe every man, woman and child (yes, child – I was carrying knives for the purpose of self protection many years before I reached “adulthood”.) has the right to own whatever means of self protection they deem necessary for them so long as they are willing to uphold the responsibility there-of, and I am not one to judge responsibility, nor is anyone else until an irresponsible act has been committed. This is my belief, and I am more than happy to provide products for my customers based on that belief.

I like beautiful knives, I will probably make some fancy Damascus and ivory and silver knives someday when I have the time, the patience and the resources to afford the materials I want to work with. But my focus, my skill as a knife-maker, is not at all inline with the community ideal of “Knife as art, or utilitarian tool – Separated from knife as weapon”.
Even the tactical knife collectors in one way or another separate the reality of the knives they collect from their collecting. Tactical knives have become just another type, another styling, of art knife, judged and collected on the merits there-of. Find a tactical knife collector, and you can talk about the merits of Micarta and S30V and Ernie Emerson all day long – Start talking about actually using that knife “tactically” and he will balk and find someplace else to be in a great hurry. It is one of the many dishonest features of the knife community, one more thing about which a great many have their heads in the sand.

So be it. I am The Ugly Knifemaker.

William F. Moran Jr

When I was a boy knives fascinated me, as they fascinate many boys, and it occasionally occurred to me to make one but I never made much attempt in my preteen youth. I didnt know the depth and breadth of the custom knife field until my mid-teen years, but what I did know was a handful of names I had learned from my father. These men, in my young estimation, were something akin to gods and legends of another world, and they had the gift of steel and the forge.
The names were Moran, Randall, Loveless, Morseth, Ruana.

Robert Loveless continues on. Bo Randall, Harry Morseth and Rudy Ruana have all already passed from us. It is with sadness that I've noted around the forums in recent days, and now here, the passing of William F. (Bill) Moran Jr. at age 80.
Bill Moran did more in his life to promote bladesmithing and custom knifemaking and breathe life into the field than probably any other single man. Even for those of us who never met or corresponded with him (and I must say I am, to my regret, a one) he provided inspiration in artistry and in character as we took steel to the forge and to the grinder. The knifemakers knifemaker may be an understatement, but Mr. Moran's talent, innovation and good spirit has touched almost all of us who makes knives in one way or another.

There is a different kind of spirit that flows in the veins of the artisan, as different in the blood as streams of nickel in damascus, and it is a touch of those who have gone before, a breath of creativity and will to continue, to carry on, and to make them proud.
They say a man is not gone until all his work, and his spirit, are forgotten. Hopefully Bill Moran will live forever in our minds, our hearts and in the fire of our forges.

Some links for photos of Bill and his work and shop, as well as reading about him and his life:
http://whnorth.home.att.net/bladeshow2005/pages/16.jpg.html

http://www.rehobothcustomknives.com/KWFM001C-sp%20fighter-combo.jpg

http://www.frederickcountylandmarksfoundation.org/moranforge.htm

http://members.tripod.com/~wwcollectibles/bowie1.jpg

http://www.primoknives.com/moran.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bal-md.ob.moran15feb15,0,924624.story

http://www.knifeart.com/inwitbilmorb.html

For those who want a Moran classic, but cant afford the $10,000 + that the originals go for, CAS Iberia offers a very nice Moran design Persian dagger:
http://russellsformen.com/christmas01items/cas-2056gt.html
Spyderco also offers two excellent fixed blades designed by Moran, of a more utilitarian design that would be a pleasure to own and use.

Cutting Commentary

Not sure what I am going to do with this yet, but most likely it will be about knives, knife-making and issues and affairs in the knife world.
Only time will tell.