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  #1  
Old 02-15-2006, 06:23 PM
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Blue Collar hunter by Burt Foster, MS

My affection for the big bowies is generally well known, but my knife needs (as distinct from my knife wants) are generally satisfied by a much more modest blade. One gent's folder and one hunter / utility are about all that I need to cut what needs to be cut.

Back in the early fall I picked up one of the true raging bargains in the forged knife field: a Burt Foster Blue Collar hunter. Burt builds these knives to make a high-performance forged Master Smith knife available to a much larger market. He generally builds them in batches of a half-dozen or so (to keep costs down) and the knives themselves are as simple as can be: 1 piece of forged-to-shape 1095; 2 pieces of wood or micarta; 3 pins; 1 quality custom leather sheath. My knife sported a stout little blade of 3 1/4" with an overall length of 8". Scales were of stabilized curly oak.

Unlike the vast majority of custom knives in my possession, I put this one to use right away. Not hacking my way through a dark dangerous jungle - or anything nearly so exotic - but slicing open a bag of potting soil; pruning a shrub or cutting up a big cardboard box for recycling. In other words, the mundane and decidedly un-glamorous chores that are made somewhat enjoyable by using a quality tool.

The knife performed exceptionally well - cutting like a little laser. The generous handle gives you the opportunity to really work the modest blade for all it's worth. And its worth to me vastly exceeded the asking price.

Which brings us to the problem. The dry furnace-blasted heat that is the environmental reality of a long Canadian winter can suck the last drop of moisture from a piece of wood better than a nuclear-powered Hoover. The scales shrunk, exposing the sharp edges of the tang. Dammit. Knife joy was substantially reduced by that tang making its presence known to my palm and fingers. Fortuitously, I got an e-mail from Burt letting me know that a knife that I had on order was almost ready. I told him I would send him the BC hunter and asked that he re-handle it, ship it back with the ordered knife and let me know the cost. [I'll pause here to state the obvious: shrinkage of natural materials is no fault of the maker.]

When Burt got the knife, he shot me a quick e-mail with a suggestion. Since the handle material had already shrunk as far as was likely, he could simply round the edges of the tang down to meet the scales. In the unlikely event of future shrinkage, the rounded tang would not present any functional problems in using the knife. This made a world of sense to me. Besides, I quite liked the look of that curly oak.

Both knives arrived a few days later. I was immensely pleased - and surprised - by the condition of the BC hunter:


*Burt had not only rounded the tang, but the spine as well, and he went further and applied a mirror polish to both. This contrasting finish is commonplace on Burt's upscale blades, but not generally to be found on this, his least-costly offering. Burt says it will also make the tang more corrision-resistant;
*When it left my possession, the brushed finish on the blade showed surprisingly few marks for a knife that had been used. But it came back showing NONE;
*The blade was sharpened to its original keen edge.
*Total time Burt had the knife: 2 days.
*Total cost to me for the above work: US$0.00

Can you say CUSTOMER SERVICE? Can you say CLASS ACT?

I would say that the knife is as good as new, but that's not true. It's better than new. The rounded spine adds a different and entirely welcome feel - as in, from comfortable to super-comfortable. And the two tone finish gives this yeoman blade a nice little touch of luxury.

My sincere thanks, Burt.

Knife with sheath:



Rounded, mirror-polished tang:



Knife resting in its quality oxblood sheath:



Cheers,

Roger Pinnock
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  #2  
Old 02-15-2006, 06:30 PM
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Don Cowles Don Cowles is offline
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Good score, and great experience, Roger- as you know, Burt is a good guy as well as a fine maker.


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Old 02-15-2006, 06:41 PM
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Beautiful! That curly oak is very, very nice. I am going to keep an eye out for some of that. Burt is a great guy.


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Old 02-15-2006, 06:52 PM
Tony Graves Tony Graves is offline
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Roger

That is a beauty, I can see why you wanted to keep the grip as is. That oak is so curly looks like it is crawling around.

Sometimes you can find oak like this in the better cabinet shops or woodworker supply houses. Either Quartersawn or Curly oak. What I have used was Quartersawn White oak from the hills of East Tennessee.

A wonderful knife, and Kudos to Bert Foster.

Tony
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  #5  
Old 02-15-2006, 11:53 PM
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And how does one find out when the fabled half dozen might be available? Is at easy as emailing Burt and requesting addition to a list?
Beautiful working piece

Mike


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Old 02-16-2006, 12:42 AM
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Buddy Thomason Buddy Thomason is offline
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I agree Burt is a 1st class guy. That knife is beautiful and timeless in design. If a man could only have one knife in a lifetime, that knife (and sheath) would be an excellent choice.
Roger - Your photographs are awesome. The top one is my favorite - stunning!


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Old 02-16-2006, 08:51 AM
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Thanks guys.

Mike, I would send Burt an e-mail and let him know you want to be notified of upcoming available knives. He generally gives people on his list a heads up, then posts them up on his site. After that it's first come, first served. And they go fast.

Roger
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Old 02-16-2006, 10:32 AM
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Andrew Garrett Andrew Garrett is offline
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Everything in my house is oak. I'm sick of oak! But, that stuff there is awesome! I had no idea oak could be that cool!

Very nice work brother!


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  #9  
Old 02-16-2006, 12:14 PM
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Great knife and great story!! Thanks for sharing both!


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