Bill Moran and Bob Loveless are the most influential knifemakers in the modern era. They were two key figures in the rise of custom knifemaking, which began in 1970 with the formation of the Knifemakers Guild. Both predated the Guild and had fully formed philosophies on knifemaking before its formation. There are an impressive number of dichotomies between Loveless and Moran. For two men who were influential in a similar time period for making the same product – knives – they had surprisingly different philosophies. Both men served as president of the Knifemakers Guild in the early years: Moran from 1972-1973, and Loveless from 1971-1972 and again from 1973-1974. B.R. Hughes wrote about the two knifemakers in 1986 [1]:
Future knife historians should be aware that Loveless and Moran had little in common. Loveless was an advocate of the stock removal method of making knives using stain-resistant steels, while Moran was a champion of the traditional forged blade. There were other, deeper differences. Loveless felt that quality should not be a condition of membership and that requirements should be as loose as possible to encourage new members. Moran was of the opinion that the Guild should have moderately strict guidelines and that members should be responsible to the Guild for unethical behavior… Be that as it may, the two, not friends by any means, ‘buried the hatchet,’ at least publicly, for the welfare of the Guild.
But looking at Moran and Loveless and how they viewed knifemaking is not only of historical interest. The arguments they were making decades ago are similar to those you can still find between some forging bladesmiths and stock removal knifemakers. And while they weren’t the only knifemakers making those arguments back then, they were two of the most influential voices. So it is valuable to examine the origins of these arguments to understand why some knifemakers still can’t agree.
This is a longer than average preview, but it is a really long article. I enjoyed it though. Dr. Larrin, as always, makes things understandable.
Read the whole thing at KnifeSteelNerds.com
Moran vs Loveless – Knife Steel Edition
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