Bob Lum is probably the most famous tactical knifemaker you've never heard of. A quiet man of Asian descent, Bob's knives reflect his heritage in their clean, simple design. Such simplicity, however, shouldn't be taken lightly--especially if you're staring down the tip of one of his creations. Bob builds some of the tightest, well-crafted tactical fixed blade and folding knives in the industry.

As for the famous part, consider this: Bob Lum is credited by those in the know, of single-handedly bringing the Japanese tanto-style blade to the American market. To understand the gravity of this, simply look at virtually any custom knifemaker's or manufacturer's tactical line and you'll be hard-pressed to find one that doesn't offer a tanto. That's gravity. That's strong. Let's give the man his due.

Bob Lum was born and raised in Astoria, Oregon, and as a youth, enjoyed ample hours of hunting and fishing in some of the country's best terrain. He's always had a fascination for both firearms and knives, but got hooked on the latter at the age of five or so when his uncle gave him his first pocket knife. In the late 1960s, he began reading articles about custom knives and became even more enthused. Unaffordable to him at the time, he decided to make his own. A friend helped him build a homemade grinding machine and he was on his way. In his kitchen apartment he made his first knife in 1976--and never looked back.

Divergence By Design

Bob incorporates his Asian roots in both blade and handle designs, but is by no means limited to Oriental styles. His fixed blade daggers have the strong symmetrical characteristics of the Roman Gladius, and he makes a two-blade liner-lock folder smacking of the traditional Canoe-style found on European pocket knives.

Back on the Asian front, one of Bob's most popular models is his Chinese Folder, an ultra-sanitary design using a graceful, leaf-shaped blade. And then there are his tantos. Lum created the genre known as the "American-style tanto," a smoother, less rigid version of the Samurai-era knives that graced the hip of many a warrior. Bob has taken the basic form of the knife and enhanced the flow of the design to include a more sumptuously sculpted handle with a built-in guard.

True to the original, however, Bob double-grinds all of his blades rather than using the simple chisel grind found on a lot of the tanto-style tacticals made today. The chisel grind was traditionally for culinary purposes only. This makes for a well-balanced knife, not to mention the fact it just looks a hell of a lot better.

The knifemaker makes a folding version of his trademark tanto having all the style and grace of his fixed blade design. If you need any coaxing to figure out what separates Bob's knives from many of his counterparts, simple look at the blade grinds. Bob's are pure poetry, and he finishes off the back-side of the blade with every bit as much care as the cutting edge. Indeed, it's this knifemaker's vision of the sum total of the knife, from stem to stern, that make his knives not just craft worthy, but art worthy.

Master of Materials

Bob has come a long way since making that first "kitchen" knife. He's a full-time artisan with all the demand he can handle but, unlike many successful makers who find themselves in the same boat, he is adamant about doing all the work himself. Over the years he has worked with just about every blade steel fit to mention, carbon and stainless alike. His favorite is 154CM American-made stainless steel and AATS-34, its Japanese-made counterpart. He also offers Crucible Industries' S30V--one of the hottest stainless steels on the market today--as well as exquisite, time honored Damascus steel.

His frame and handle material offerings run the gamut from Titanium to Giraffe bone and everything in between. Bob sells to both serious users and collectors alike and, aside from base models, it's rare he makes the same knife twice. Typically, his basic folders will either have full Titanium frames or linen Micarta handles (with Titanium liners).

For upscale knives, he enjoys working with organic materials like stag, bone and burled wood. These can be further modified with bolsters of Titanium or Damascus steel. Bob adds further dimension to his line by offering many of his knives in large and small sizes, and he's one of the few custom knifemakers who incorporates the Lake/Walker safety (an optional feature) into his folder models.

Bob's prices are very much in line with other custom knifemakers; his fixed blades and folders start around $450 and go up when special materials and other extras such as bolsters are specified by the customer.

Factory Versions, Too

Those who lust for a Bob Lum knife on a budget are in luck. Spyderco, known for their creative collaborations with custom knifemakers, offers three of the knifemaker's popular models: the Chinese Folder, Tanto and Folding Tanto. To the company's credit, all of these are done-up with nothing spared. The average person would be hard pressed to tell Spyderco's Chinese Folder (Model C65) from a Lum original. (Of course, the hole in the blade is a dead giveaway.) By swapping out exotic steel with a more affordable variety and dropping Titanium handles for anodized aluminum Spyderco has produced a superb version of the knife for much less swag.

Spyderco's version of the Lum Tanto (Model FB04) is every bit as impressive. True to Bob's form, the blade is double-ground and features linen Micarta scales. The fit and finish on this knife would scare the pants off the average knife show Joe. Likewise, the Folding Tanto (Model C46) impresses with G-10 scales and an optional blackout coating on the blade.

Bob has also collaborated recently with Seki-Cut of Japan on two fixed blade models, the Hunter and Encounter. For more information on them, contact the company at the address listed.

With a Bob Lum knife you can dare to be different without sacrificing utility. All of Bob Lum's knives feature solid design with the kind of craftsmanship you expect from the very best. The hard part will be choosing a model as they're all equally tempting. Whether you choose a Lum original or one of his factory collaborations, you simply can't go wrong.

For more info, contact Bob Lum Knives, 901 Travis Ave., Eugene, OR 97404, (541) 688-2737, www.boblumknives.com, e-mail bjelum@sprintmail.com; Spyderco, Inc., 20011 Golden Gate Canyon Rd., Golden, CO 80403, (800) 525-7770, www.spyderco.com; Seki-Cut, 4110 Amoroso St., San Diego, CA 92111, (858) 569-5179, www.seki-cut.com.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

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