Backup100BLK

Knifemakers often consider one of their knives used in a movie or television show as great exposure. While he was alive, Bob didn't have that honor. Hollywood finally came calling. Well, not quite. In the Series Premiere of Gotham on Fox Network, one of Bob's design was used. I said design, because the knife used is a Knock-off of Bob's Folding Stalker II. While the clip and the blade profile is not a direct copy, the handle certainly is. This design was originally made by SOG Knives, but they have discontinued that model. But it doesn't stop them from being made. Some screen snaps: Welcome to the big times Bob.

A reader sent me some Lum style knives to identify, and they turned out to be based on the Seki-Cut Encounter that Bob designed. The company involved is Explorer and the model indicated on the box is labeled "Rogue V Razor". As always, the best way to stop theft of intellectual property is to not buy them.

Update: After speaking to the customer and the maker, both have agreed to acknowledge Bob as the influence, and will not make any further examples of the folders. I applaud their taking responsibility, even though it was strictly unintentional. I encourage any maker to continue with the Chinese Folder design, as long as the design is significantly unique. The Chinese Folder has a strong following among knife collectors, and has proven to be a popular design because of it's versatility as a folding knife.

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...

The Lum in question in my previous post has sold on Ebay. If the buyer is a reader of his blog, I would appreciate it if they could send me a picture of the engraved initials "B.L.", and a clean picture of the tip if possible. I'm still not sure it's one of Bob's work, but it does have many traits that would make it one.

There is a knife being sold on a well known auction website currently, and I've gotten a few emails asking about it's authenticity. Based on the pictures posted in the auction, I can't for certain say it is a Lum custom. Which begs the question: how can you tell? For starters, Bob always signed his work. Prior to the famous "Chop" logo, he would stamp the letters LUM on the ricasso of the blade. See the picture of the two ivory tantos by Jim Cooper for an example. There are exceptions. I have one knife he has authenticated to be his where he signed the knife with his Chinese Lum character on the brass pin, but this was one of his earliest work. Then there is his hand-rubbed satin finish. One of his signatures. It's very easy to spot the Lum finish once you've seen it before. His grind lines. As mentioned before, Bob is considered by many knifemakers to be one of the best grinders in the business. His grind lines are always clean and symmetrical. The best w...