For some time, I have thought that a Protech Godfather with the combination of a mirror polished blade (they have been offered before), ivory micarta or horn scales (both have been offered before), and nickle silver bolsters (I'm not sure if these have been offered as of yet) would be a big hit with stiletto collectors. I would certainly buy one, and if a lot of us would do the same, perhaps we could make this model a reality by requesting it in numbers. What do you think?
Here is the e-mail of the head of Protech:
dave@protechknives.com
Jim
Godfather for stiletto collectors??
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Bill DeShivs
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Jim,
I think the type of knife you described would be sensational, I'd certainly want one.
Having recently machined a nickel silver knife, and then an aluminum one, though, I wonder if Pro Tech would be willing to do this on a limited basis. The two materials machine differently; the aluminum is much easier on tools and faster feeds can be used. They'd probably need to make quite a few adjustments in their tooling, procurement, and documentation procedures, as you most likely know.
They do also make titanium frames though, so maybe nickel silver wouldn't be too wild an idea for them.
I bet it would be a really popular item.
TomR
I think the type of knife you described would be sensational, I'd certainly want one.
Having recently machined a nickel silver knife, and then an aluminum one, though, I wonder if Pro Tech would be willing to do this on a limited basis. The two materials machine differently; the aluminum is much easier on tools and faster feeds can be used. They'd probably need to make quite a few adjustments in their tooling, procurement, and documentation procedures, as you most likely know.
They do also make titanium frames though, so maybe nickel silver wouldn't be too wild an idea for them.
I bet it would be a really popular item.
TomR
Is it...Tomorrow....Or just the end of time?
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The Falcon
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I'm embarrassed! Dave from Protech wrote to me and explained the obvious that a Godfather does not have bolsters, but that the bolster area is part of the frame. Of course it is, what was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't thinking.
According to Dave, they don't have plans to include nickle silver as a material, but could build a model with a polished blade. ivory micarta or horn inlays, and the usual aluminum or titanium frame. I have see photos of models that have a satin aluminim finish and it appears quite attractive. I told Dave that I would try to assess the level of interest in such a model. Your thoughts?
Jim
According to Dave, they don't have plans to include nickle silver as a material, but could build a model with a polished blade. ivory micarta or horn inlays, and the usual aluminum or titanium frame. I have see photos of models that have a satin aluminim finish and it appears quite attractive. I told Dave that I would try to assess the level of interest in such a model. Your thoughts?
Jim
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BladeLover
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Horny Godfather
Jim:
A horn Godfather with mirror polished blade would be as good as the Geico gecko doing the robot....the bomb!
Count me in.
Best Regards,
BladeLover
A horn Godfather with mirror polished blade would be as good as the Geico gecko doing the robot....the bomb!
Count me in.Best Regards,
BladeLover
"Knife collecting - it's not an addiction....it's an adventure!"
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Wally J. Corpse
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natcherly
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I got a response from him as well. I guess these guys work weekends! He sent me some stuff on custom knives, but I don't want to go there. Let's see if we can promote PT to do a run of GF's with polished blade and good looking scales. Could call it the Italian Inspiration (Spagetti Special, Cianti Cutter?)jim d, wrote: Dave from Protech wrote to me...
Jim
Whatever, I would be a buyer.
Jim,
I've been thinking about this, came to the realization that a business will do what it has to to satisfy a demand, if the price is right, and the damand is great enough. I have to believe that a nickel silver version of the Godfather is well within Pro Techs means. I just wonder what they'd consider a reasonable (for them) price. When a company says it has no plans to do thus-and-such, in my experience it means one of two things; they've given the matter some thought previously and rejected it, or the idea never occurred to them, and they're going to start talking about it to see if there's a profit to be made.
Personally, I like the Godfather, but feel Pro Tech has a tendancy to make it too "tactical" in nature. The shot blasted and black blades really don't turn me on, and a polished blade would be prefferable. But if you look at their website, it's pretty easy to tell what markets they're aiming their products at. Not collectors, per se.
By the way, I don't think you were wrong to call the bolsters "bolsters", in my opinion that's what they are, part of the frame or not.
Pro Tech seems to be trying out some new ideas lately; purple burled maple scales, "wildwood" scales, etc., maybe this would be a good time to suggest some different features. I think it's just a question of what they consider the demand to be.
If they'd just polish the damned aluminum frames and the blades, slap on some imitation ivory scales (which they already do), the effect would be close to what you've described. I'm sure they could handle that.
Going out on a limb, I'm guessing that the end result would hit the market at around $350.00-$450.00 MSRP. What do you think?
TomR
I've been thinking about this, came to the realization that a business will do what it has to to satisfy a demand, if the price is right, and the damand is great enough. I have to believe that a nickel silver version of the Godfather is well within Pro Techs means. I just wonder what they'd consider a reasonable (for them) price. When a company says it has no plans to do thus-and-such, in my experience it means one of two things; they've given the matter some thought previously and rejected it, or the idea never occurred to them, and they're going to start talking about it to see if there's a profit to be made.
Personally, I like the Godfather, but feel Pro Tech has a tendancy to make it too "tactical" in nature. The shot blasted and black blades really don't turn me on, and a polished blade would be prefferable. But if you look at their website, it's pretty easy to tell what markets they're aiming their products at. Not collectors, per se.
By the way, I don't think you were wrong to call the bolsters "bolsters", in my opinion that's what they are, part of the frame or not.
Pro Tech seems to be trying out some new ideas lately; purple burled maple scales, "wildwood" scales, etc., maybe this would be a good time to suggest some different features. I think it's just a question of what they consider the demand to be.
If they'd just polish the damned aluminum frames and the blades, slap on some imitation ivory scales (which they already do), the effect would be close to what you've described. I'm sure they could handle that.
Going out on a limb, I'm guessing that the end result would hit the market at around $350.00-$450.00 MSRP. What do you think?
TomR
Is it...Tomorrow....Or just the end of time?