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Once again, as reported from Amsterdam, Spyderco's 2017 Lum is a Sprint Run of Blue Nishijin Lil'Lum. Same details as the standard Lil'Lum model, except for the blue Nishijin handle scale.

Announced at the 2016 Amsterdam Meet is the release of the Lil' Lum Chinese Folder. This model will be based on Bob's Small Chinese Folder. First model will have black G-10 handles with VG-10 Blade. Which now is missing only the XL Chinese Folder with a 5" blade, to completes the Chinese Folder series.

A Large Field Grade Ti Chinese Folder sold very quickly today on Nordic Knives. A couple of points to answer some of the question in my Inbox about this folder: - Congrats to the buyer. That was a very fair price. Considering what the seller gets after consignment fees. - Condition is excellent. Signs of being carried, but well cared for. - A couple of you spotted the flat back spacer, instead of the rounded/raised back spacer. While it may point this to be an early model, it's not a guarantee. Bob made them with flat back spacers per request, as not everyone liked the raised version.

As announced in a previous post, Spyderco will be releasing a new Small Chinese Folder in 2016. Model #C205GP, called the Lil' Lum. Naming scheme is from how Bob would name a size Small Folder. It should be the same size as the previously released Chinese Folders, but will come with VG-10 steel for the blade, and the same Black textured G10 found in the Large Chinese Folder. More info can be found in Spyderco's 2016 Catalog, available on their website.

Item #CTF-1141: A Large Field Grade Chinese Folder available. Shows signs of use, but in excellent shape overall. Liner lock is still in first half of engagement. Price is very reasonable at $1495, and would be a excellent buy if someone is looking for a user. Item #CF-3491: A Presentation Grade Clipped Point Fighter. 8.5" blade with Cocobolo scales. Priced at $2195. Item #CF-3494: A Field Grade Mini Stalker with Bob made Kydex sheath. This Mini-Stalker has a double bevel treatment. Priced at $1395. Good hunting.

Spyderco will be releasing a new Chinese Folder, based on the Small Chinese Folder by Bob. It will be called the Lil' Lum. Dimensions are: OAL: 5.71" Closed length: 3.15" Blade length" 2.56" Reposted with permission from Spyderco. Image taken by Wouter at the 2015 Amsterdam Meet.

A Cranberry One of a Kind Spyderco Chinese Folder Prototype , was recently sold on Ebay for $1036.99. Good to see that the market for rare Lum related products is still strong.

Received a couple of emails this morning about the Chinese Folder listed yesterday on Ebay. On to the answers: 1) It's a Medium Field Grade. 2) The rub marks should not affect the value. Reason below. 3) The clip makes this early production piece. 4) Blade steel most likely ATS-34. 5) Yes, the Spyderco Hole is not that rare. I would guess it's pretty even between Spyderco Hole and Nail Nick for Chinese Folders. 6) Handle is more likely Linen Micarta than G10. 7) That cutout in the handle is Bob's signature Pinky Rest. Surprisingly effective for adding grip. Especially to a small folder like this one. Since this is an early folder for Bob, he was still working out the kinks for making folders. And some of them will develop liner rub. Hence the rub marks. I treat it as proof it's handmade. It's a wonderful carry piece (pre-broken in). Good luck to the seller and the bidders.

Just found a gem of a video about the Shi-Lin Dao that Bob based his Chinese Folder design on. The video is in a mixture of Taiwanese and Mandarin Chinese with Japanese subtitles, but it shows the store where the Shi-Lin Dao is made, in the small cutlery shop based in Taipei Taiwan. The design is over 100 years old, and can be found in many sizes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb6UKOAxVOU And a second video on the history of the store: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O8czHujZLc Unfortunately, the store is currently closed, pending reorganization: http://shilin-cutter.com.tw

I've gotten a few emails asking about the "Linton Cutlery Patszland" folder that shows up on Ebay. Item #160839541445, as of 7/07/12. The common question is did Bob design the knife? The answer is NO!!! A brief history: Linton is a Taiwanese knife making company that one year, in the early 2000's, decided to show up at the NYCKS with several of their new models, asking show attendees to vote for their favorite design. Unfortunately, many of their models were too similar to popular designs being offered by custom knife makers, that their offerings were not well received. This specific model generated accusations of "design copy" of Bob's Chinese Folder. Bob was in attendance at the show, and was able to look at the design first hand. He said the design was not infringing on his Chinese Folder design, as it was closer to the original Chinese Shi-Lin folder design. But he did express a little concerned that the handle was very similar to the way he does the...

A little belated, but just so it's included. Spyderco released a Sprint Run of the Large Chinese Folder with Pink scales. :)

Came across this little beauty in one of the knife forums (photos copyright to the original photographer): It's a custom "Pimped" Large Chinese Folder with 400 year old oak scales, buffalo horn bolsters, and a anodized blue titanium liner. The work was done by a firm called CustomSpyderco.com . Which, from a glance at the their website, does very nice work. A very creative alternative to own an unique Lum.

I generally do not like Ebay, as it's not a very knife friendly place. However, once in a while, you find a diamond among the thousands of offerings. In this case, Item #261008813736, a Bob Lum Catalog dated from 1980, when he was still living in Santa Barbara CA., before he moved to Eugene OR. And even more valuable, a price list. This is the period where Bob's lack of record keeping had left a big gap in his knowledge base. The information contained within the catalog has really helped in filling in some of those gaps. A couple of interesting notes to share: 1) The knife featured on the cover of the catalog was the Chinese Non-Folder, a  Small Utility fixed blade that can be seen here (top picture, second from bottom):   http://100lums.blogspot.com/2009/09/utility-blades.html Mine is not the one on the cover of the catalog in that mine has a small choil to mark the end of the edge, and for easier resharpening. But it would have cost me a mere $135 if...

A belated Happy New Year, and Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone. Going into 2012, I'm happy to see Spyderco continuing to offer two versions of the Chinese Folders as part of their Ethnic Series. The C65CF, Medium Chinese Folder in Glass Fiber, and the C143G, the Large Chinese Folder in Black G10. Benchmade is also continuing to offer the two Dejavoo models. 741 and 746. And missing from the reporting front was the special run of the Spyderco Medium Chinese Folder with Pink Amalite handles. Perfect for the ladies.

Trying something new with sharing Bob work: a photo study of one of Bob's creations per post. First up today, is the Large Chinese Folder that I have in my EDC rotation for those times I feel like dressing up. What makes it unique is that this one has some details that Bob doesn't usually do: full contour thick Ti scales (which he calls the Rounded Treatment) and frame lock.   Here you can see the deep relief cut into the lock bar.   Along with his usual details that often gets overlooked. Like his trademark Chinaman's Hat pivot. Which is normally missed because it looks just like a normal pivot in pictures.   And his raised backspacer. Which really makes the folder feel much more rounded in hand, and has the added benefit of increasing grip. The effect is much more pronounced in a folder with the Rounded Treatment than one with squared edges.   And his custom clip, which he makes individually to fit the profile of each folder. The one is installed so that I cou...

A Small Field Grade Chinese Folder, with black micarta scales and a custom clip sold on Nordic Knive for $1495. A very nice sample with Bob's Finger Groove in the handle.

Pictures of the new Spyderco Chinese Folders: Reposted with permission from Spyderco. These were taken by Wouter at the Amsterdam Meet.

Spyderco will be releasing two new Chinese Folders. A version with Carbon Fiber Handles. And more exciting for me, a new Large Chinese Folder. When Sal Glasser first decided to make a production version of the Chinese Folder, he chose the Medium model to produce. I've always felt the Medium was a little small for a good general purpose cutter, and suggested the Large Chinese Folder. It's been a long wait, but now it's finally here. I'll have pictures once I have permission from Spyderco.

Recently, on one of the popular knife forums, there was an instance of someone asking another knifemaker to make his rendition of Bob's Chinese Folder. When the pictures were posted, the end results were too similar to Bob's design that a debate arouse about what is original, and what would constitute a copy. The age old argument that Bob did not invent the design surfaced again. As was the case when Bob introduced the tanto design, he never claimed to have invented the Chinese Folder design, so that accusation is invalid. What he did was based his design on the original, and came up with his own version. The original design, called the Shi Lin in Chinese, is an ancient design. It was a slip joint with narrow neck and rounded handles. What Bob did was to update the design to modern lines, and added his own design elements. These included a liner lock, a different pivot geometry, and a new curved handle treatment. An additional design element was the use of the licensed Spyderco...

Spyderco released a new version of the Lum Chinese Folder in June of 2009. Here are the latest versions in Foliage Green. They came in two configurations with VG-10 blade steel; Plain blade, model C65FGP; Black blade, C65FGPBK. Total run is 600 units each.