Bear MGC Bowie report, but NOT from a knife snob.

[Josh O Mason]

The constant disappointment, disgust, and insult by the types of soulless piece of #### knives you posted is precisely why I sought out custom knifemaking. It seems to be the opposite for you, and thats sad.

I don't get it.....

[Big Ugly Gringo]

What seems a bit disturbing is that someone might think a piece of steel is capable of having a soul. The knives I am buying now fit a niche. Do you really have enough money to stick a $500 knife in a window box and hang it on a wall?

And I seriously disagree about there being no knife snobs around here. When you think anyone who does not share your opinion on knives is not worthy of having an opinion, that is the definition of a snob.

And, exactly how does expressing an honest opinion make me a troll?

[Josh O Mason]

I'll tell you where you can fit the knives you're buying now...

get lost

[TexasJack]

OK, this is kinda getting out of hand.

B.U.G., I doubt that you posted here in order to get flamed. You're entitled to your opinion and to your right to express that opinion. That doesn't make you a 'troll'.

You are also, pretty obviously, not listening to what any of us are saying to you. That's too bad. You might actually be surprised at what you might learn.

It's one thing to say, "For my purposes, I'm going to buy cheap knives." It's quite another to say - as you have! - that people who make, sell or buy custom knives are wrong and "snobs".

Quite the opposite: YOU are the snob. You closed your mind, decided you were right and everyone else on TKN was wrong, and then proceeded to expound upon that opinion. By doing so - and, again, by not listening - you've invited the flaming that you've been getting.

The saddest part - to me - is when you say that a piece of steel is not capable of having soul. In all your years you've never watched an artisan put his heart and soul into making something? Sad. Truely sad. I can remember, back in my youth, seeing a guy lovingly restore a '55 Chevy and when it was done it had as much soul as if he had given birth to it. I've talked to knifemakers that have said it took two years to make a particular knife because it took that long to match a piece of wood to the shape of the blade. We've all seen custom makers throw away blades that didn't meet their highest standards. Soul. It's there. If you can't see it, then I truely feel sorry for you.

Now, having said all that to B.U.G, I want to say one last thing to the TNK regulars: Please don't flame B.U.G.! We've tried to point out the flaws in his logic. We've tried to point out how he could find quality knives and help out someone in need. He's not listening. Getting angry, calling names - these things diminish the Network and do nothing good or honorable. Maybe one day he'll understand. I really hope so. Meanwhile, let it go and move on.

My best to all!

[TikTock]

Not gonna flame, just saying you can travel the road in two directions. One type of snob looks down on those who dont collect the high end pieces they do. Another type of snob looks up and lashes out at those that do the opposite. Neither is a good attitude to have. Fortunately, your questions didnt have much to do with snob vs. non snob and had a lot more to do with percieved value to YOU and how you have painted your value on everyone else.

Like knives, I could have a plastic musket hanging from a plastic set of antlers over my faux brick propane fireplace with fake logs, but I choose not to do that.

I see you've posted elsewhere about how to display and how many pieces to put in a bowie display, their types, etc. I think you are starting on the wrong foot, and I think people here would be more than willing to help if you were willing to listen.

Thats the last I'll say about this...theres only so much talking one can do before talking is all you are doing.

[Big Ugly Gringo]

Ya'll let me have it as you wish. I used to weigh 378 pounds and developed a pretty thick hide. I think I have been misunderstood. I'm not saying there isn't a place for custom made knives... I would like to buy one...ONE. But it won't be a Bowie. It will be something practical that I can use every day. That would be the only way I could get my conscience to live with the expense of replacing the old Buck knife that is on my gunbelt right now.

But I AM saying that if my purpose is to create a set of wall decorations, there is nothing in the world wrong with buying a bunch of Chinese or Pakistani made Bowies, as long as they look like the real deal. It doesn't matter if they would bend while sharpening a pencil since I won't ever be using them to sharpen a pencil. The things could be made out of molded plastic as long as they looked like the real deal.

When you say the ONLY knives to own are custom knives, then, in my view, you are being a snob. But I have had many similar conversations with fellow gun nuts who demanded a Colt SAA instead of a Cimarron Arms knockoff or even a Ruger Vaquero.

As for knives having souls, I guess it is poetic to talk or think that way, but I'm not a poet, or at least I haven't been one in several decades. Inanimate objects don't have souls, no matter how much of our time and concern we put into them, or even how much of our DNA we leave on their surfaces.

And, by the way, I plan to leave a small corner of this room for a knife making bench. Nothing fancy, just buying some preshaped and pre tempered blades and then putting them together. I also plan to learn how to do some scrimshaw.

It may have become fairly obvious I am here as a visitor only. I have no interest in becoming part of the "community". But I don't want to fight with you guys, either.

[Sam Wereb]

Guys,
I've been looking in on this thread for two days because there are few things in life that I enjoy more than sucker-punching a bully.

But I don't see anything that he said that is so bad. If I re-read his first two posts, I can't find an instance where he said any of the things you have acccused him of saying. He just wants to find some wall-hangers on the cheap and to tell people about it. He wants to redecorate his spare room in a Bowie knife theme - kind of like if Bruce Voyles got his own show on HGTV. What's wrong with that?

Maybe some of this bleeds over from another forum but he hasn't actually said anything that bad, here, and think you ought to give him a pass.

[Sam Wereb]

Well, I see he's posted again since I started and he still doesn't seem that bad to me. Just a lonely guy who wants someone to talk to. Don't we have room for him?

[Big Ugly Gringo]

Originally Posted by Sam Wereb

Well, I see he's posted again since I started and he still doesn't seem that bad to me. Just a lonely guy who wants someone to talk to. Don't we have room for him?

Thanks, Sam... I think. Not really a loney guy... just someone who never backed out of a fight in his life.

I went back and read ALL of every post and seems to me like you guys are reading other posts and not mine and then responding. My original post on this thread was about the Bear MGC Bowie. I wasn't knocking customs knives. I was simply saying that MY Bear MGC seemed like a well made knife that was worth the money I paid for it... $77 through ebay. I NEVER said it was as good as a custom knife. I said it was good enough for my purposes.

Then I posrted about those two wallhangers. I consider the Bear MGC good enough to use and not simply a display knife.

A beat up old Ford pickup with a rusted bed isn't equal to a new Hummer or a Lexus... but it's good enough to haul hay to feed your cattle. And for that purpose may be even better than those high end vehicles.

I still say, when you say there is no use on the planet for production knives, or even those dirt cheap Pakistani steel POS replicas, you are being a knife snob. You guys probably making outstanding products which are worth every time to someone who is in the market for that kind of knife. But there are other markets and other knives to serve those markets.

Oh, and there is NO WAY a piece of steel can have a soul!!!

[TikTock]

Perhaps its the knee jerk reaction a maker gets when someone appears out the blue, posts a 20$ bowie, and states that he doesnt get why he should spend more, yet seems unwilling to listen to why people spend more since he doesnt "need" a quality knife. There is a line drawn in this converstaion. one one hand, no one disagrees that if he wants to spend a couple hundred bucks amassing a collection of bowie-shaped pieces of metal and displaying them, its 100% within his right. On the other hand, its going to be hard to give advice as to which sytles of bowies to "collect" if your pool of choices were never intended to be representitive of authentic bowie styles. Its just a difference in views, thats all.

Perhaps a disclaimer should be made on all our responses.

Some people here make knives as their sole income, and most have a real passion for quality workmanship and handcrafting as a skill and art. Its tough to offer heartfelt advice when what you are pusuing is the exact type of situation that makers must confront every day. People ask "why spend 200$ on a hunter when i can get one at walmart for 20$"....its often a total waste of breath to try to instill an appreciation for handmade, quality items to a person.

And as far as steel having soul....prove to me that a human has a soul and we can begin that argument. Soul is what is put into something. Some think god puts souls into people, some think peple put part of their soul intrinsically into something that have crafted from their bare hands. Would you throw all your family pictures in the fire and not feel bad? No, because within each, there is a part of you. If you use a straight-line view on worth and soul, you may as well argue against keeping family heirlooms.

[Andries Olivier]

BUG, I apologize if I offended you in any way by my comment to TickTock's remark about 5 foot fins and hood scoops on civics. It wasn't aimed at your mentality or anything. I just found it funny because I see those kind of modifications every day (and the guys that drive them). I guess you are entitled to your own opinion and it makes perfect sense not to pay big $$$ for wall hangers. It would also be a shame to hang a really good knife on the wall instead of using it.

Oh, and I agree, steel doesn't have a soul, but man, it can have a lot of CHARACTER !

[Big Ugly Gringo]

I never said custom knives aren't worth the money. I just said it doesn't make sense to me to stick a good knife in a display case and hang it on the wall. I realize the Pakistani stuff I am buying is POS. But it looks good and that is all I require.

It makes perfect sense to look for the best knife for the buck if you are going to use it. Truthfully, I don't know enough about the subject to have an opinion on whether or not the best knife will always be a custom knife. I figure that is a personal decision. That Buck knife I mentioned has been a good knife to me.

And by the way, if you feel the need to take a whack at me, go ahead. I cannot be insulted and cannot have my feelings hurt by anyone besides my kids. I am pretty set in my opinions and wouldn't post them if I wasn't.

[TikTock]

Dont worry, the web is a crazy place. You just happened upon a forum that is largely made up of very well informed knife collectors and custom makers. Like you, we tend to be pretty set in our opinions, as you have seen. I think its mainly a matter of tone and wording. I dont think you;d have much trouble posting and asking about example of varying, established styles of what is considered a bowie knife, and I apoligize for any thread de-railing that I did. Its sometimes hard to answer a question when the question is loaded with assumptions that many of the answerers might have a different view on altogether. it doesnt make them snobs and it doesnt make you anything either, its just communication. You wouldnt go into a high end performance custom car shop and ask them what to put on your car to make it look faster but not necessarily perform any better without expecting some sort of turbulence because in many ways, it undermines what they do under the hood and what they are passionate about. I think you've run into the same situation here.

[Big Ugly Gringo]

And I'm still breathing, Bubba. No harm, no foul. Let's just move on from here. But I still like my Bear MGC. I bought it, almost as a display knife, but not quite. I plan to use it as an acessory for a CASS rig. But I don't know their rules and may have to cut something. That's why I didn't go with the Atlanta Cutlery version of the Musso Bowie. The Bear MGC is sharp enough now that you cannot handle it casually without the risk of getting cut. How much use it would take to dull it... beyond the brisket cutting I did as a test... I don't know. As the photos show fit and finish is good and I think it was worth what I paid for it.

[Sandy Morrissey]

As far as I am concerned and from what I have read here, I find nothing wrong in what our fledgling member has stated. He wanted inexpensive knives as window dressing and that is what he purchased. Where is the wrong in being frugal? The man is obviously interested in knives, for gawd's sake give him some encouragement with the extended hand of friendship. He is obviously an educated man with a #### fine sense of humour as he had ample ample reason to tell us to BUG off! Pun intended!! I for one thought that he has handled himself rather well under less than favorable circumstances! ---Sandy---