Long story short, I’ve owned dozens of knives over the years but they’ve all been used (many abused). Pretty much all in the $50-$100 price range or so…just various average EDC pockets knives.

Few months back I was bumming on the couch and somehow started reading about Winkler knives and on a total whim decided to order one. It finally showed up last week and holy cow is it awesome!

What other makes of knives that are custom made like that would you recommend? I’m talking real heirloom quality knives that will be passed down to my kids someday.

Mostly interested in fixed blade, not folders.

Randall

Randall's, Busse, and Carothers knives hold and typically increase in value but Carothers are fairly difficult to obtain whether new or on the secondary market.

I could go on forever with a list of custom/ and semi-custom production makers  that make awesome knives both present and past.

“Heirloom quality” probably means different things to different people. Randall is always good bet, but there are many makers/brands that I would consider as heirloom quality. The blades don’t have to be custom or even handmade in my estimation, just high quality materials and craftsmanship. I think Fällkniven is pretty high quality. There are a few SOG or Blackjack blades I would care to own. It’s the craftsmanship that seems to be diminishing from our world.

I have an older (Richmond era) EK model 4, numerous vintage US military blades, quite a few custom Livesay knives (several I bought directly from Newt himself) and some very nice Benchmade folders that I will be very proud to pass down some day.

A lot is based on the price range you want to spend and if you want only new or are ok with secondhand. Loveless knives are up there for me personally. Also Terzuola.

Randall for me. The classic American knife, and will ALWAYS appreciate in value.

Murray Carter



Can't really see it but the core is perfectly centered down the tapered spine.

Randall 28 by FredMan, on Flickr

Randall 28 by FredMan, on Flickr

Randall definitely seems like a winner. 6 year wait for orders directly from them?! That’s pretty wild.

I’m REALLY digging the Model 8 (trout/bird knife).

Randall's  new stock and old can be easily found on the secondary market without the wait, maybe not in your desired exact model or configuration
but plenty to choose from nonetheless.

Got a ag Russel 4 1/2" hand forged Damascus fixed blade my kids gave me, it's a nice knife, used it a lot cleaning game, course i use all my knives cleaning game,

Theyll take what I got when I'm gone, it's all theirs anyway at that point

I had read Jack Carr after seeing some Terminal list and Winkler’s stories with special forces and being just down the road in NC got me interested.

Carr’s writing also talk heavily about Andrew and Half Face Blades. If you’re quick on a Saturday, you could have heirloom quality blades with bone, horn, antler, coral, etc.

Http://Www.halffaceblades.com

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These, and my favorite one that I had made especially for me.

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Courtesy of Flat Rock Forge owned by an arfcommer, and veteran.

I ordered one 2 or 3 years ago.  Just gotta wait 2 or 3 more years.

I really need to get a Randall one of these days.

Not having a Randall though, this is what grandpa gave me when I started hunting deer, so I guess by definition it's the only heirloom knife I own.  This thing has gutted lord knows how many deer and is still wicked sharp.  (Pic stolen from the web to save me digging it out tonight)

I always think of the Buck 110 when it comes to knives that have been passed down. They always seem to come up randomly in people's garages, tool boxes, etc. Often time being passed on to whoever came across it if they were interested. It is a knife I like to always gift someone. I am only 33 and have a collection of different and fancy folders or automatics and the knife I have in my pocket is more times than not my 110. Maybe not heirloom in price, but certainly an example of American heritage.

I have a small collection of Puma Stag fixed blade knives. They are all vintage, unused with proper factory green and yellow boxes or wooden presentation boxes. These are true heirloom knives (not knocking others mentioned)

I have a collection of Ek Commando Knives of different configurations and several of the commemorative knives that were put out when that company was based in Richmond, VA.
Gary

Gary, any pics?

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There are many small custom knife builders out there that make great knives and I've bought several over the years that are in excess of $200.00 or more (might be a bit on the low end compared to Winkler but still a fair amount of money).

Problem for me is I am hesitant to use them for their intended purpose of cutting, chopping, battoning, etc..due to their price.  Hell, some I am even hesitant (if not afraid) to sharpen for fear of ruining the blade in some fashion.

I'll probably end up keeping 2 or 3 and selling the rest at some point.

While being a custom does give it a little more value, it’s more about the family value that makes it a heirloom. I have several knives I carried into combat and when I was an advisor, I’ll gift them to my son someday or one of my niece-in-law’s young boys (they have a fire team of four!).

I personally like the stories associated to the heirloom. Just getting a Randall that was kept in the safe for a few decades is nice but lacks character and an intrinsic value. Something made from @doubleplusgood, or a number of other good knife makers and actually carried in uniform or used in the field with some adventure associated to it gives it far more “heirloom value”.

The problem with heirlooms is that if there’s no connection, there’s no purpose to really hang on to it, especially if there’s some monetary value associated to it. If your great grandson is gifted that Winkler knife, just saying it belonged to his great-grandfather who he never met, so what? It’s just a knife with some monetary value. However, if than a knife had a story behind it, some character associated, it would create a better connection and have far more value for your decedents.

My grandfather on my father’s side gifted me a simple bottle opener with wooden handle he carved. Something he made and used in the Creamery where he worked, and the one he used to pop “Cream Sodas” when working in his orchards on hot summer vacation trips. It really has zero monetary value but is extremely valuable to me given the memories and that he always had that bottle opener handy.

My grandfather on my mother’s side gifted me his J.C. Higgins (H&R made) Ranger model .22LR revolver; nothing expensive, just a little "working .22". I was a young teen when he let me shoot it and when he was showing me how to clean it, he executed a flawless negligent discharge in the house, shooting right into the windowsill frame; classic example that has stuck with me for decades. Grandma chewed his ass, and that memory is now in my gun safe where both the story and handgun will get handed down.

Memories make the heirloom, not so much the invested value.  

However, if you want to be an asshole about, like me, get your name engraved in them (like I did a couple of my Randall knives) so your grandkids and great grandkids will feel a little guilt if they try and sell it at a pawnshop

ROCK6

Heirloom quality...

Michael Walker
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David Broadwell
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CAS Brothers
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Javier Vogt
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Larry Fuegen
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So Many others...  Proud to call some my friends too.

'Heirloom quality' is entirely subjective.
I'm sentimental and appreciate utilitarian tools paired with great materials and craftsmanship, made by somebody I identify with and can call up. My sentimentality comes from using the thing with my own two hands to do memorable things, and I hope my kids get that trait from me.

All that said, the two knives I've got from Arfcom guys (Praesidium Fabrica and Doubleplusgood) are the things I have now that I most look forward to handing down to my kids.

I think its a great point.  A PAL 36 or something like that is a rather mundane old knife of modest interest but if your grandfather carried it from Normandy to VE day its priceless.  

I got to finish one from a kwaiken blade blank from Doubleplusgood and some old handle material I got from my dad.

Nice.  What is the handle material?

Thanks - it is ivory he acquired in the 60's from an elephant shot in the 30's.

So you looking for WORKING knives, or limited-production fancy-pants art knives?

Because while they CAN be one-and-the-same, most of the time they aren't.

To me, the feature that makes it an "heirloom" is a function of what it was USED FOR.

I mean, is anybody really impressed that someone's rich great-uncle paid $1000 for a knife that is functionally identical to a $150 knife, but left that knife stored in a locker somewhere for some relative to scoop up while the corps is still warm, and then sell at a pawn shop for pennies on the dollar?

Sky's the limit when you start paying for artistry.
Any knife art is going to be pearls before swine for anyone in my family tree.

They're gonna all get a bunch of cheap knives when I croak.
And some of those cheap knives have some kick-ass stories to go with them. Not that any of my kin are gonna remember the stories. Or that most of them could tell the difference between a $150 knife and a $1500 knife if they were sitting next to each other on the table.

Don't assume that your kin cares about your hobby, or will appreciate the value of things you have stored in a locker.

If true, he better have those things listed as assets in a TRUST, and with a trust-WORTHY trustee to ensure the distribution of them upon his demise.

No way I would leave those to the buzzards at a wake.

Yep

Wow! Great work there

Thanks!

I have a Carter somewhere, he was still a kid basically, just back from Japan.

Something really great about that knife in the hand.

Has anyone mentioned Flat Rock Forge yet?  Made by our own @Doubleplusgood.

Here is one he made for me last year:

My heirloom quality knives have included:

2 Randall
1 RMJ
Approximately 100 Busse Combat (which also includes Scrap Yard and Swamp Rat "brands")

I've sold the RMJ, both Randalls and only have 4 Busse, 2 Swamp Rat and 1 Scrap Yard remaining.

In my opinion, Randalls are more for collectors while RMJ and Busse are more for users.  All are massively overpriced, too hard to obtain, and definitely heirloom quality.

As much as I love INFI steel I've found myself slumming it with ESEE products in the field recently.

I had this image on my phone. These are NOT "pretty" Busse Combats, but they definitely exhibit "serious use" vibes ...



I have a "satin finish" SARGE 7 with two-tone G10 that is much "prettier" for the "heirloom feels" and I EDC a Active Duty.

Scrap Yard knives are 100% users, but "heirloom" in the capacity of being virtually indestructible.
Swamp Rat are positioned between Busse and Scrap Yard.  If I had to own one knife it would be my Scrap Yard RMD (Ratmandu).

I've owned some Custom Shop Busses that were well over $1,000.  They offer all sorts of exotic hand scales (e.g. mammoth tooth), etc.  I've had a few that were so "fine" I wouldn't handle them without wearing nitrile gloves.  As is demonstrated by the two above, I'm no longer interested in "collector" as much as "user".

This is an example of a "higher end" Busse ...



This one is on their site for sale right now.

The advantage to Busse over their competition is the durability of INFI steel.  It is some sort of blended witchcraft, pixie dust and recovered alien technology.  I have tried to break it, and could not.  I wasn't half-hearted in my attempt.  I brutalized it.

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This will be getting handed down. It's nothing that special but it has two rescue rappels on it.

Agree. Hope this 105 that i carried for years doing ranch work is considered an heirloom by my kids the way the vintage Gibson guitar from my dad is by me. This one has seen it all. The spine may have have opened a few beers as well when i was in college.

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I have 5 of his knives. I carry the shrike or kwaiken daily,  the only one I havent used is his commando dagger, but damn its nice. I own it, but don't do commando stuff often.