Jerry Hossom Large Retribution Fighter

Jerry Hossom large Retribution fighter, DLC coat and burl handle (Photo: darcuss - BladeForums)

The Large Retribution Fighter from custom knife maker Jerry Hossom is a knife that resembles the Roman kopis, or fighting sword. The blade, 11.125″ in length, is made from CPM-3V steel that has a DLC coating. The handle is made from dyed stabilized burl and sports mosaic pins, which nicely complements the wooden handle. With an overall length of 18″ and weighing a hefty 15 ounces, the Large Retribution Fighter feels substantial in hand yet is light enough for some serious zombie close combat fighting. This knife was acquired from Blade 2015. (Photo: darcuss – BladeForums)

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Dave Ferry ‘Ranchero’: Mammoth Tooth Handle

Dave Ferry 'Ranchero', mammoth tooth handle and nickel bolsters custom knife (Photo: Horsewright - BladeForums)

Mammoth tooth handles, damascus steel blade, engraved nickel bolsters … this combination is a personal favourite. Handmade by knifemaker Dave Ferry, the ‘Ranchero model is a small, lightweight knife with a blade length of 3 inches and an overall length of 7. Accentuating the fine design is the Western Brite Cut engraving by Mike “Tapadero” Vatalero, of Tap’s Bit and Spur Shop. (Photo: Horsewright – BladeForums)

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Collecting Knives: By Manufacturer/Maker

Busse satin limited editions (Photo mamun1024 - bladeforums)

Perhaps the most popular knife collecting style – collecting knives by the knife manufacturer/maker.

For those getting started with knife collecting, this is the easiest way to get started. Many knife collectors are drawn to certain knife brands because of a unique knife design, features, blade steel, or simply because of the brand itself. Starting from one knife from that company, a knife collector may like other models and look into expanding the knife collection within the same brand.

 

Uniformity and Collectability

Strider folder knife collection (Photo: OilMan - bladeforums)

Strider folder knife collection (Photo: OilMan – bladeforums)

Collecting this way also ensures uniformity in your knife collection. At a first glance, a knife’s logo or common features stand out distinctively and even non-knife collectors can recognize that a group of knives come from the same knife manufacturer. This is also true for knives that are different in size, blade design, and form.

Another benefit of collecting knives this way is that you gain expertise/knowledge in a specific area – a single knife manufacturer. Rather than having a collection comprising of various knife manufacturers, you would gain specialised knowledge in one manufacturer and soon become an expert. Quite an impressive thing if you can name at least five knife models from a single knife manufacturer and their specifications!

Some popular knife manufacturers:

Within this collecting style, there is another specialised way of collecting knives – collecting by model, i.e. collecting variants of a single knife model from a knife manufacturer.