Cor blimey! Are you sure about this? I bought a Damascus bushcraft knife off of them with Salmon filework on the spine for £95 a week ago. I've got to say in fairness to them that it is the best, sharpest knife I have ever owned. Seems pretty much like ones for sale at £285-£350+ I have seen from other makers. I recommended them to a few mates it is so good. Does it matter where it is made if it is a great knife for a great price?
i didn't say that the knives are no good, just that the man who sells them is a charlatan! If he openly sold the knives as being made by Indian smiths then there would be no issue, its the fact that he cons people at every end of the deal that I don't like.
Nobody in this country (or most of Europ, or the US, Autralia, etc) could make a damascus knife for the price that he charges. Hell, I couldn't earn minimum wage if I charged that for just the blade!
And yes I am very sure about this. He is well known in the knife community and has been known to rip people's designs off amongst other underhandedness.
Dave Budd Handmade Tools knives, tools, wood, leather and courses making stuff! 2015 Course List NOW ONLINE!
you better askOriginally Posted by WoodTroll
Tim Noble
James Noble
James Niven
Jamie Nunez
Mark Noble
Thom or Thomas Williams
William Rogers
Barry Stone
Forum/Auction site names -
BigMark
Denim
Jimbo33
Timbo
Timbo!
timbo1
Sweet James
TheNiven
Hunter333020 (Gunbroker & Ebay)
Thor
Thor2
Thom
TWSmithfield
William Rogers
pitta-pitta
Just Woodward
Barry Stone
ask any one of them, you ask one you ask them all. (they're all one person)
I do tend to agree with Dave on this,if the guy said that he had them made abroad then no problem,but to make out that there a british crafted item is a bit out of order especially if he is ripping off other peoples designs. I would love to own one of Daves knifes a; because they are beautifully crafted items and b; dave seems to be to be a totaly honest craftsman( i'm not licking butt here dave just saying what i think). the reason i don't own one is i simply can't afford one and in saying that i'm also not saying that there overpriced it's just that i am poor
The good thing with Dave is you can watch him make thingsI spent most of my time at the R.V. watching him hitting hot metal so you know for sure he makes the stuff
CLAP clearly loudly, as an order, with pauses
I am fortunate enough to own a knife made at Daves place and it is a beautiful tool. He made the blank for my boys first 'proper knife' that I am finishing at the moment and watched that one being made.I do tend to agree with Dave on this,if the guy said that he had them made abroad then no problem,but to make out that there a british crafted item is a bit out of order especially if he is ripping off other peoples designs. I would love to own one of Daves knifes a; because they are beautifully crafted items and b; dave seems to be to be a totaly honest craftsman( i'm not licking butt here dave just saying what i think). the reason i don't own one is i simply can't afford one and in saying that i'm also not saying that there overpriced it's just that i am poor
Heres looking to the next time eh Ben!The good thing with Dave is you can watch him make things
Oh, and I am a creep
Haha, many an hour spent watchin ee beat metalThe good thing with Dave is you can watch him make things
I also agree with Paul, if I could afford one of Daves knives I'd have one, and be happy to pay his prices too. Mainly because I know what Dave puts into making a blade and it isn't just beating metal thinkin of the dollar. For me, that really matters. I enjoy buying from craftsmen, not businessmen.
Storms have a way of teaching what nothing else can.
ALWAYS Leave a Trace
Well did you ever get a good knife ?
mind over matter...if you don't mind...it doesn't matter
Some interesting points here. I can see why you and other knife makers would get annoyed by James Noble Knives copying knives and selling them for less than you can. Having looked at some othe threads though there does seem to have been a bit of a witch hunt of the guy though. In myhere are always two sides to every story. It's clear he has played things a bit fast and loose but I have to be honest you just can't knock the quality of his knives for the money. They are very, very good. I find it a bit hard to believe that they are made in India, Pakistan or China. They are just too sharp and too well made. All the ones for Pakistan I have ever seen are very badly made and pretty blunt. I have an Alan Wood my Mum bought me for my birsthday two years ago. It cost about £500. It is as good a knife as you will ever buy. Too good really. I never dare use it. So it sits in the sock drawer. The James Noble Bushcraft knife I bought is at least 85% as good and cost me under £100. It is razor sharp. So much so I can shave with it. The fit, finish and build is rock solid and it not only looks cracking but feels very nice in the hand. I realise that this isn't a popular view but many of us can't afford £185-£385 for a knife. So what's the harm if I can get a top quality knife for under £100. When Primark copies Parda clothes we don't all moan when we can buy them for £8! I realise that this price cutting and copying could affect Uk knife makers livlihoods and I wouldn't wish that on anyone but if nobody had started all these threads on so many forums we would have all been applauding James Noble Knives for making top quality knives affordable for all of us people who haven't got £300! But there seems to have been an endless stream of stories most of which I haven't seen any actual evidence of. They are just people's poitns of view. Most of it received wisdom in my view. The reason I say this is that about a year ago I went to the shooting show in Newark and James Noble knives were there. They had a massive crowd with lots of people buying knives and axes from them. I had heard some of the stories on various forums about them. So in the end I didn't buy a little rabbit knife for £45 even though I could see with my own eyes that it was very well made and very sharp. My mate did buy one of their Damascus hatchets with a Stag antler handle for £55. It is really beautiful, perfectly made and very, very sharp. You can gut and dress a whole rabbit without a knife with it. He sues it all the time. It has never let him down. When we went to a meet he showed it some people we know and they loved it, until they found out who my mate bouaght it off. They then hated it and took the micky out of my mate. He now never tells anyone who made it. I find this a bit odd. Either it is a really beautiful, sharp and nice hatchet or it isn't. James Noble knives are good for the money make no mistake. The ethics of the person who runs it sounds questionable although when I asked them who makes the William Rogers bushies they sell they told me they don't make them they buy them in. I have no vested interest in defending this company I am just telling it as I have found it. There is a real danger that we all just carry on with some witch hunt started by some Uk knife makers who got their nose put out of joint because they couldn't compete with their prices and we all just take what is said as gospel without really questioning. Personally I am not a sheep and like to make my own decisions. I don't wish the other makers any ill but lets get real. Why would I pay three times the amount for agood knife just becasue the maker of the more expensive one tells me that the cheaper one is rubbish? Just my opinion. In the USA you can buy a really good knife for £100. So why not here? The other thing is what UK knife maker hasn't copied the Woodlore - the one I bought. I have never seen the leaping Salmon filework before. Who did he copy that from? Anyway, I don't mean to be contentious but I think we need to be open minded. I bought a cheap axe from Argos a while back - it was cracking. I don't suppose they were made by Argos. And I dont suppose they were made in the UK. I did see several makers buy them, regrind the surface, rehandle them, and sell them as their own! No names mentioned. I love my new knife. It was great value. I got it within a day of ordering and I will be back at Newark this year to buy a Damascus rabbit knife and a Damascus hatchet from James Noble. Sorry if this doesn't suit everyone but I can't afford the daft prices many makers charge, certainly not in this recession. If prices are the same as last year. I should get both and lunch for under £100. The items normally would cost more like £400-500! Personally I don't care if they are made on the Moon!
The thing that has annoyed me is the fact that he advertises his knives as handmade in the UK when clearly they are not.
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