Born in Warren, Ohio, in 1929, Robert Waldorf “Bob” Loveless went on to become one of the greatest American knifemakers of all time. When he was just 14, Loveless altered his birth certificate to allow him to join the Merchant Marine during World War II. During his time at sea, he witnessed more than a few knife fights in foreign ports, which he attributed as a major influence in getting him into knifemaking. Later, Loveless acted as an Army Air Corps control tower operator on Iwo Jima. In 1950 he attended Chicago’s Armour Institute of Technology and later attended Kent State University. In 1953, Loveless again joined the Merchant Marine based in New York, where he visited Abercrombie & Fitch and tried to order a Randall knife. Learning that the current wait time was nine months for the knife he wanted, Loveless decided to simply make his own, grinding his first knife blade from a 1937 Packard leaf spring, forging it on the oil-fired galley stove of the ship. He returned to Abercrombie & Fitch with his knife, showing it to the head of their cutlery department, eventually selling his knives to the retailer for $14 each. From 1954 to 1960, Loveless produced knives called “Delaware Maids” for the retailer, essentially copies of Randall’s designs that even outsold the Randalls. By 1960, Loveless had begun making his own designs and innovations, and in 1970 he was one of the founding members of the Knifemaker’s Guild, serving as the organizations first secretary and then two terms as its president from 1973 to 1976. Through studying 19th century knifemaking techniques, Loveless reinvented the “fully-tapered-tang” method of knife construction, which placed the balance of the knife near its center and making it incredibly strong. In 1972, Loveless introduced ATS-34 stainless steel knives to the market and also began pioneering the use of Micarta for grips. He went on to design knives for multiple major manufacturers, including Gerber, Beretta, and Schrade Cutlery, as well as being a participating maker in the Art Knife Invitational Show from 1993 to 2006. Though primarily known as a knife maker, Loveless also dabbled in firearms and their innovation, as clearly evidenced by this pistol. In 1985, he was inducted into the “Blade” magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame. In 2010 Loveless died, having forged a legacy as one of the America’s, and the world’s greatest knifemakers.
Manufactured c. 1980 to 1981, this particular Colt Lightweight Commander was subsequently configured by the master knifemaker Bob Loveless. An article in the included copy of “The Gun Digest Book of the .45” by Dean A. Grennell includes an article about the alterations Loveless preferred to make to these pistols and features pictures of a Colt Commander that looks very similar to this one. The first page of the article is also signed by Loveless. In the article, Loveless mentions that the overarching idea with his modifications was to remove all the parts that “dig and gouge”, making for a very comfortably shooting pistol. The article notes that the result is a “de-fanged” Commander pistol that Loveless called “Old Smoothie”.
You can read the rest of this description at https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4099/168/bob-loveless-colt-old-smoothie-lightweight-commander-pistol
There is also another example, without a case and knife…
You can find that listing here…
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4099/169/bob-loveless-colt-old-smoothie-combat-commander-pistol
Read the full article here