5947
Custom Knife Collaborations: Favorites and Wish Lists
Knife makers all have their own styles, and not all mashups make sense. Sometimes two people get together and the results are fantastic - to me, that means their individual styles and design elements are both easily perceived, and blended seamlessly together. So, two questions for you:
A) What are your favorite collaborations between knife makers?
B) What collaborations would you like to see that haven't happened yet?
A) What are your favorite collaborations between knife makers?
B) What collaborations would you like to see that haven't happened yet?
thumb_up207
291
remove_red_eye26.4K
bookmark_borderSave
5947
Jonas Heineman
5947
CollaborationsStickied
A) The photo above is one of my favorites, "The Legacy" from Tashi Bharucha x Bob Terzuola. I'm also a big fan of the GM2 from Giant Mouse, one of a new series of collaborations from Jens Anso and Jesper Voxnaes.
https://www.giantmouse.com/collections/knives/products/giantmouse-gm2
B) I like both Jesse Jarosz and Brad Larkin, it would be cool to see them do an EDC fixed blade and/or folder...or maybe a set of both. http://jaroszknives.com/ https://www.bradfordknives.com/index.php
B) I like both Jesse Jarosz and Brad Larkin, it would be cool to see them do an EDC fixed blade and/or folder...or maybe a set of both. http://jaroszknives.com/ https://www.bradfordknives.com/index.php
1192
I know...I saw that. I want it done here, so I can buy it for $200? 🤓👍
1192
I did end up buying the Fortis 2.0! Really nice knife!
The Drop needs some #WTKMAOWT
I'm still learning but these steel addiction knives have caught my eye. I hope they have reversible clip so us lefties can enjoy. We are not small in numbers anymore. Cost isn't much to make them available to all, please open your minds. Thx.
5947
CollaborationsSHAR1
Welcome to the hobby! FYI, Steel Addiction is a knife dealer (not a brand) but I think you may be referring to the "Rowdy" model designed by Tashi Bharucha and manufactured by McGinnis knives. We don't make those - but we do produce a number of knives that have reversible clips (Ferrum Forge Falcon, Crux, Gent, Buc, Dao) and a number of models that are fully reversed for lefties (Gavko Thresher, Zinker Dogtooth) and plan to release more whenever it's possible, which is sometimes but not always. For more on this, read...well, pretty much any discussion associated with any knife that we have every produced. You're not alone (about 15% US), but many collectors choose to adapt so their choices are not so limited. And some people just prefer right-hand carry (like some right-handed people wear watches on their right hand). Anyways, hope that helps to get you started!
I would love to see more of your great knives for lefties, seems market still caters to right handed folks.Sharon
So I guess the true question would be.
What's the right question to put out there to get makers to be more open minded. Any suggestions to an edc under 65 dollars.I got the cold steel Khan and when I changed it over the screw wouldnt lock down , I dont think it was fully threaded right but Finally found screw to tighten down. Sometimes it does say reversible and Its not, very frustrating at times. I bought Benchmades mostly because there knives are reversible, smooth transition also....
657
SHAR1
"when I changed it over the screw wouldnt lock down , I dont think it was fully threaded right"
happens to me too. Kershaw's notorious for it.
As far as getting left handed stuff, the devil's advocate line goes like this: 'look, when you can have two configurations for something, and about 90% of your consumers want the one and about 10% of your consumers want the other, what you're really saying is you have two items and only one of them is going to move faster. The other will move about 10 times as slow, which is to say it will move 10 times as slow as some other item those 90% of the customers might want instead. The realities of business mean that you're much better off selling that other item instead, whatever it is." Which is what inevitably happens, which is why lefties struggle to find left handed items in any proportion to their frequency in the population of people who buy things.
If you figure out an answer, sheesh. Come tell me!
In the meantime, you're probably a couple hundred times better off just buying the right handed knife that you really want but you can't find in left hand, and paying a knifesmith to convert it, than you are buying the best left handed knife you can find, unless you got really lucky with finding a lefty that's a great fit for you. That's probably going to get you further than trying to change the market on this one. The math is stark for left handers but it's not just them, it's also true for people who are in some way atypical for their consumer base in a consumer driven society. People who are very tall or short are good examples when it comes to things like shopping for clothes - outside a certain range of sizes, the people who require that size are literally more common than the shirts one can find in a store that will readily fit them. They have to special order clothing or drive hours for specialty stores, and be happy those stores exist.
If I wanted to get knifemakers to make more knives lefties would use, I'd try to find examples of clips that are easy to reverse, get them using them, and THEN say 'now that you're using these clips how about taking the extra thirty seconds for us and making your design reversible'. And I'd grab a Snickers bar, because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.
Can we get a mass drop version of the knife above?
This Steel Addiction knife is beautiful looking yet different at the same time from the latest flippers. I like it. AF
Victorinox and Justin Lundquist—a Feist with tools, a memory stick, and a little cell phone backup battery
Gille of Fontenille Pataud and Gareth Bull—front flipping Laguiole
Onion and Voxnes—curves meet squares
Mah and Glesser—Mah plus L200CN plus Sal’s compression lock = delivery of Mah from the wilderness
Ferrum Forge and Yann Nomine—American robustness plus French beauty = the French New Wave of knives
657
Moletta and Voxnaes. Something with a fat choil and the H.WAYL clip that looks like an Egyptian scarab.
Osborne and Isham. Something that looks like a Sardaukar slip tip drawn with the off hand.
Wes Crawford and Greg Thompson. A close quarters knife with a retaining ring on the pommel and a chisel edge blade with the stance of the Kasper.
Sal Glesser and Andre De Villiers, a compression locking karambit with a fat fuller in the leaf ground blade. Glesser gets to pick the steel, De Villiers has veto power on design.
There's four to go with :)
There are also things that I don’t like about the pilar even in hand — but I have two and they’re only 21 on amazon. I like the knife but have to struggle with closing it and there’s a sharp edge that has ripped my callouses off when sliding my finger down the lockbar. I want an ace biblio next but I have to say that his designs are gorgeous and stunning but not always the best in function and I still love his stuff. Quality control for CRKT isn’t anything stunning but they do make some of the highest bang for the buck and I can’t stop buying their designs from designers (avant is one of my favorite edc’s and came with a few QC items that were fixable).
657
Jonduncan316
I like CRKT too. Wish they made more stuff stateside but I still buy their knives. And I think that's why I was so upset about the Pilar -- I don't think I've ever got a knife from CRKT that I felt had so many things wrong with it. Part of it was I trusted the brand enough to order the knife at the same time I ordered the One Asterisk aftermarket parts for it; if I'd gotten the knife first I would just moved onto another project instead.
I know spyderco and knife center already did their pakka wood and hap 40 thing, but I’d love to see more of that tbh. My personal pick would be a premium line of the bug series.
Acqua Di Gio PROFUMO
@JonasHeineman the one collab with MD I'd love to see is with borka blades for a collaboration stitch. A super unique and usable design unlike anything else available (aside from the microtech stitch, but that is an automatic). Tons different routes for finishing options too.
A more affordable production stitch in rwl34 or 20cv would have my money as soon as it dropped.
Here's the favourite collaboration that i own:)
Made by Steve R. Johnson and Michael J. Smith, and engraved by Julie Warenski.
Nice knife. But I would prefer to use the money for a down payment on a Porsche.
10
I think a Kevin Wilkins Leaf Storm design would be ideal for this group. The Spyderco version was good and even better if you got s custom scale from Kevin. 
Seen some Russian knives. For some reason are usually very expensive.
Would be nice to see some of there ideas/efforts directed into a quality production facility that could mass produce a more affordable product.
Gavko Thresher is Awesome, So Awesome I picked up 3 of them in different styles,The Value for what your getting is outstanding.I would love to see more from Massdrop/Gavko... Also have my eye on the Keen collaboration,but seems to be sold out at the moment.
65
Laconico Keen is the best Massdrop collabo knife I've gotten in on.
Ray Laconico involved with any future drops is solid gold!
I'd also like to see a Massdrop collaboration with Dmitry Sinkevich.
(Edited)
26
akapabs
You took the words right out of my mouth! I love Laconico’s stuff. Completely agree with the Keen comment too. I’ve bought 7-8 of the Drop collabs and while I haven’t really been let down by any, with one exception(here’s lookin at you Dao), the Keen has been far and away my favorite. I do have an Orca on my way so that may change, but I kinda doubt it. I also have a Gemini and a Yorkie(both of which are Laconico designs and made by Kizer) and I absolutely love them as well. I’m actually carrying them both today oddly enough. But would LOVE to see some kind of variant of the Min-Pin, Baby Bear, Intrepid, or Ursa Minor on Drop at a reasonable price. And as for Sinkevich, amazingly, I still haven’t actually owned any of his designs, but I’ve had my eye on quite a few for some time(ZT 0470, 0450, 0460) that I will own at some point because I just love the designs and how pocket friendly they are, I just haven’t pulled the trigger yet. So, like I said initially before I went on this long ramble, I second you with Laconico and Sinkevich. MAKE IT HAPPEN DROP!!!
large sebenza
I'm not 100% sure if this is a collab but I'm in love with my Ferrum Forge Buc I even got it anodized
Tashi and Bob would be more than dream come true!
Some of my favorite collaboration knives have been sinkevich zt's and reate collabs with tashi and Kirby Lambert.
I'd love love love to see Peter rassenti get with reate to do a small satori, they'd make it affordable and available to most unlike the ckf satori that is somewhat over priced and very hard to come by. I'd also like to see Jason Stout do some zt collabs like a possum or blood and thunder, or maybe just some midtech runs with millit or maybe even with Koenig
440
Kellen187
Oh man I'm with you all the way on the small Satori getting done by a company that can get it down to $300 or so. They definitely need to make enough that you can score one even if your not one of the first few hundred people to do so. ✌
(Edited)
647
I'm really tempted by an MKM Clap designed by Bob Terzuola.
125
Thank you Jonas, for all of your hard work this year. It's been a great year, and you have been a big part of it.
2019 will soon be upon us, and another exciting year will follow, I'm sure!
5947
CollaborationsNo, the Archbishop 2.0 will be part of the FFKW Pro Series. We're focused mostly on original designs, whereas their Pro Series will focus on production versions of past FFKW models. The Mordax is an exception because of the mutton-lock flipper made in partnership with Pro-Tech.
125
JonasHeineman
Thank you much, for clearing that up for me Jonas.
I thought I had heard them say, that some of the variations, would be available directly through them (FFKW), and two of the variations would be split out. One being an exclusive to BHQ, and one exclusive to Massdrop.
I must have heard them incorrectly.
Either way, I'm sure that 2019 will be an exciting year! I'm excited for the upcoming Mordax, and whatever else you may have up your sleeve.
I would love to see a Jim Burke Rebel produced by WE Knives or Reate here on Massdrop.
Im really enjoying the collabs you managed to create with Bob Terzuola , Tashi Bharucha and Ray Laconico.
Great work gentlemen 👍
Would be neat to see what Mel Pardue and Chris Conaway (Sheepdog Knives) could come up with, since Pardue made the excellent Benchmade sheepsfoot blade with Spydie hole and Conaway makes excellent sheepsfoot cleaver blades
Name a better duo than Jesper Voxneas and Yens Anso. I'll wait. 
Damn it..
5947
CollaborationsTerrificknifeguy
Agreed, but I think Giant Mouse has that one pretty much sewn up.
The sleek lines of a Jens Anso and Tuff Knives, I believe would be awesome.
