Moki, Mcusta, Al Mar and other Seki Made Knives

[kootenay joe]

Mark could i see a picture of the last knife with blade closed ? Is there a name for that knife ?
kj

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Mark could i see a picture of the last knife with blade closed ? Is there a name for that knife ?
kj

Roland, Here you go. Master Hara called it Scotch 255. He has other variants of this knife w/ hand painted gold, see pictures attached.
I love his knives, but they get pricey very fast. Worth every penny I’m sure. These are the kind that I get for Christmas and that’s all I get or want. I wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday when they offer the 20% off site wide. I hope they do that again this year too.
SSk

[kootenay joe]

Thanks ssk. I like that knife, has a lot going on but it all comes together. "Pricey" for that one = ~ $300 ?

Here are some "Aristocrat" and "Pacific Cutlery Co." knives. I believe they are closely related. there are 2 separate 'generations of Aristocrat. The earlier ones are of high quality and msarked with "Seki-Japan. It is only these Aristocrat knives that i am referring to. There are other, later Aristocrat knives that are marked "Japan". These are INFERIOR knives and are to be ignored or discarded.
The larger 2 knives here are 5" closed and the smaller 2 are 3 3/4". The lone knife (for which i used to have it's mate) is 3".
I believe these knives were designed by Jodi Sampson. The blade grind resembles the famous Jodi Sampson "Boot Knife", which i have but cannot find to take pictures. Aristocrat becames "Pacific Cutlery Co. aka "Balisong" which then became "Benchmade Knives". Thje connection of Jodi Sampson to Pacific Cutlery and the morphing into Benchmade is already known. The Aristocrat connection is my idea. Look at the knives: identical design except for markings and design on shield (not "of" shield). Blade grinds have slightly differing proportions and nail nick shape but are otherwise the same.
kj

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Thanks ssk. I like that knife, has a lot going on but it all comes together. "Pricey" for that one = ~ $300 ?

Here are some "Aristocrat" and "Pacific Cutlery Co." knives. I believe they are closely related. there are 2 separate 'generations of Aristocrat. The earlier ones are of high quality and msarked with "Seki-Japan. It is only these Aristocrat knives that i am referring to. There are other, later Aristocrat knives that are marked "Japan". These are INFERIOR knives and are to be ignored or discarded.
The larger 2 knives here are 5" closed and the smaller 2 are 3 3/4". The lone knife (for which i used to have it's mate) is 3".
I believe these knives were designed by Jodi Sampson. The blade grind resembles the famous Jodi Sampson "Boot Knife", which i have but cannot find to take pictures. Aristocrat becames "Pacific Cutlery Co. aka "Balisong" which then became "Benchmade Knives". Thje connection of Jodi Sampson to Pacific Cutlery and the morphing into Benchmade is already known. The Aristocrat connection is my idea. Look at the knives: identical design except for markings and design on shield (not "of" shield). Blade grinds have slightly differing proportions and nail nick shape but are otherwise the same.
kj

KJ, That one is actually 1200, the ones w/ the gold leaf painting are almost 6000. The Scotch is sold out. I am always amazed at the number of people who will pay big bucks to buy these knives. There are a lot of chef knives that come out from these great masters on JCK, JapaneseChefKnives, and they sell out w/ in minutes. And it doesn’t matter that one knife is 1000 dollars or more, there gone in no time.
I was bidding on one of those you have above some time ago but was unsuccessful in bidding. I was unfamiliar w/ the line of knives and wasn’t willing to go high enough. Lesson learned. I did a little research and found that connection to Benchmade. I really like those, very sleek and nice lines on those. You are right those have to be related. I am not familiar w/ Jodi Sampson but whoever designed these, did an incredible job.
SSk

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Here is another Seizo Imai fixed blade, hope you all like it.
The stag is over the top. The deep tapering on the full tang is again, exquisite. Damascus stainless w/ high polish. The brass and nickle pins set the stag off, as does the red liner.
This is another Bob Loveless design. Enjoy.
SSk

[Quick Steel]

Mark, I am just in awe of your knives. You are blessed sir.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Mark, I am just in awe of your knives. You are blessed sir.

Thank you QS, I am blessed in many ways. Ever since my first Moki I have been trying to collect higher quality knives. It means collect fewer because they are more expensive, but I think they are worth it. I am amazed at the talent of these Japanese masters.
I had a long talk w/ Tony Bose once at a Case event in Ossian Indiana a few years ago. I mentioned how much I loved Japanese knives and he perked right up and he too thinks they do an incredible job. He knows many of them personally and has a lot of respect for the Japanese master knife makers. I think that’s a good endorsement for them.
SSk

[kootenay joe]

"Robert Lovelace" ?
it was Linda Lovelace who starred in the great flick "Deep Throat", (and possibly "Debbie Does Dallas").
Bob Loveless, now deceased, is the most famous American maker of fixed blades of all time.
kj

[kootenay joe]

Here is an ANT. There are big Ants and small Ants. This one is a Ruffian, small at 3"", but tough, like an ant. Carry a couple and you will have ants in your pants.
kj

[Sharpnshinyknives]

"Robert Lovelace" ?
it was Linda Lovelace who starred in the great flick "Deep Throat", (and possibly "Debbie Does Dallas").
Bob Loveless, now deceased, is the most famous American maker of fixed blades of all time.
kj

KJ, Did he only go by Bob? Wasn’t sure. I guess I did misspell his last name. My wife keeps telling me to get my eyes examed. She proofs my eBay listings and finds that I make a lot errors like this. I have been battling either an eye infection or allergies for about a month now, and my A1C has been on the rise, not a good combination for precise work by any means.
I won’t ask how you know about Linda Lovelace and why came up w/ that so quickly, I don’t want to know.
SSk

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Here is an ANT. There are big Ants and small Ants. This one is a Ruffian, small at 3"", but tough, like an ant. Carry a couple and you will have ants in your pants.
kj

I’ve seen that description before on eBay, I wondered about those. I haven’t taken the time to look those up and do any research on them. They look as high of a quality as the other Japanese knives in this thread.
That does look like it’s designed for some heavy duty work.
Very nice indeed.
SSk

[kootenay joe]

"Did he only go by Bob?"
No, but "Bob" was used by those who knew him .
kj

[kootenay joe]

Here is very nice very sharp set by Hiro, steel is G2 which i don't know, new to me. FB is 7 1/4" and folding LB is 3 7/8" closed. Look at picture showing knife spines and try to find spine/spring junction. The quality of workmanship here exceeds that of many well known custom knife makers.
Seki at it's best; 1990's i think.
kj

[kootenay joe]

Here is another incredibily sharp Seki-Cut fixed blade: 7 1/4" OAL, gold lip pearl & abalone over blue titanium handle. (i think it is Ti.) Great perfectly ground pointy tip, great for field dressing.
kj

[kootenay joe]

And one more, a little different, a Kanetsune KB237, a boning knife. Would work well when speed is important like de-boning to pack out. OAL 10", convex chisel grind, very sharp.
kj

[Sharpnshinyknives]

And one more, a little different, a Kanetsune KB237, a boning knife. Would work well when speed is important like de-boning to pack out. OAL 10", convex chisel grind, very sharp.
kj

Shock and Awe! You are right about those Hiro’s that fit is tight, tight, tight. Incredible tolerances. That Seki Cut is one I have admired before. Wonderful. That last one looks so traditional Japanese, I love the lines on that one. That would be one heck of a good working knife.
Keep em coming kJ. Loving these.
SSk

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Here is another Seki knife. Designed by Tommy Lee from Paragon. This one is a dagger. Both sides are razor sharp. Has black Micarta handles. The bolsters are tappered and so is the blade. Fit and finish are spectacular.
This was sold on Knives Live, that was the show that SMKW had on Dish TV. They said the top blade was unsharpened, well if it was, someone sharpened it before they delivered it to me.
This is the only double edged knife that I own. Not practical, unless you are in a knife fight, which I hope to never be in. I can tell you that it’s a lot fun stabbing paper and working that blade either up or down, it cuts like a scalpel both ways.
I have another Tommy Lee Paragon for tomorrow.
Anyone else have these to post, or other Moki, Mcusta, Al Mar or other Seki knives?
Love see them all.
SSk

[kootenay joe]

Very precise knife but as you say not a practical user. Still a pleasure to see and hold i'm sure. The blade grinds are so crisp and perfect.
Here are 2 more Paragon knives. The 7 1/2" fixed blade is a "Semi-Skinner" pattern designed i think by Tommy Lee. The 4 3/4" lock back folder is a Blackie Collins design with amazing in hand feel. This knife would also work very well for field dressing.
Both are fine knives, very pleasing and very useable.
kj

[Quick Steel]

In this Al Mar the "false edge" is a real and very sharp edge. The blade length is 7 in., the handle is 5 in.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Very precise knife but as you say not a practical user. Still a pleasure to see and hold i'm sure. The blade grinds are so crisp and perfect.
Here are 2 more Paragon knives. The 7 1/2" fixed blade is a "Semi-Skinner" pattern designed i think by Tommy Lee. The 4 3/4" lock back folder is a Blackie Collins design with amazing in hand feel. This knife would also work very well for field dressing.
Both are fine knives, very pleasing and very useable.
kj

KJ, That semi skinner was the one I was going to post for tomorrow. But glad you posted it. I have just a few more to put up.
Can you tell me any history on these Paragons? The company, the designers? I have heard of both but honestly don’t know much about either of them. Is Paragon still around? Do you know if they had trouble selling these? The reason I am asking that last question is that I bought my semiskinner at SMKW on sale for 1/2 price a few years back. Surprised to see it on sale. Plus I have a blank from Paragon that is just the knife, sheath, pins and bolsters, no handle. I have seen a few of these come up on eBay from time to time. Wonder why there are so many out there like that? These are incredible knives for the money.
Very nice knives kj.
SSk

[Sharpnshinyknives]

In this Al Mar the "false edge" is a real and very sharp edge. The blade length is 7 in., the handle is 5 in.
P1020765.JPG

QS. That Al Mar is one that is on my list someday. I love the looks of that knife. That one has it all.
SSk

[Quick Steel]

Glad you appreciate it Mark. I consider it one of the gems of my knife collection.

[Montanaman]

That is a beauty Quick Steel, great thread.

[Quick Steel]

Thank you Kris. Coming from you, I consider that praise indeed.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Very precise knife but as you say not a practical user. Still a pleasure to see and hold i'm sure. The blade grinds are so crisp and perfect.
Here are 2 more Paragon knives. The 7 1/2" fixed blade is a "Semi-Skinner" pattern designed i think by Tommy Lee. The 4 3/4" lock back folder is a Blackie Collins design with amazing in hand feel. This knife would also work very well for field dressing.
Both are fine knives, very pleasing and very useable.
kj

Roland, I hadn’t seen a folding Paragon knife, ever. That looks like a beauty. I bet it locks up tight. Very nice indeed.
SSk