Mastersmiths is like a gallery and/or an intimate gathering
place, with carpeted floors, places to sit and chat, a
coffee machine and coffee table, etc.

Looking for a wide selection of custom knives that you can actually put in your hand instead of looking at them in pictures in magazines or on computer screens? Other than knife shows, the best place to do that is a brick-and-mortar retail store that actually sells custom knives.

There are storefront locations that offer custom knives other than the retailers outlined here, of course, such as BladeGallery Inc., in Kirkland, Washington, Davi’s in Raleigh, North Carolina, G. Lorenzi in Milan, Italy, Paragon Sports in New York City, and Portland Cutlery in Portland, Oregon, to name but five. In alphabetical order, some of today’s top custom knife stores (all of which also sell factory knives, knife accessories and much more) are as follows:

Bonds House of Cutlery and Knives & More
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Store hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Website custom knife sales: No
   
While some businesses may be struggling in today’s economy, Lynn Bonds recently bought an additional store space—the new shop’s name is Knives & More—to go with her original Bonds House of Cutlery store two doors down in the Spanish Oaks Shopping Center. Offering a range of custom folders and fixed blades, both stores feature the work of a number of makers, many with a Western flavor, including Tom Barminski, Bill Cheatham, Stan Fujisaka, Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer© Gil Hibben, Bob Lay, Ty Montell, Wayne Watanabe, Larry Westberg and others.

“We can get custom orders directly through our makers,” Lynn said. “That was out big hang-up at first—people wanted custom handles and other custom features on their knives but we couldn’t get them. Now we can.”
A valuable source of custom knives for Lynn is the annual Las Vegas Antique Arms, International Sporting Arms & Invitational Knifemakers Show (Jan. 16-18, 2009, Riviera Hotel & Casino). “I hit the show on Friday morning and buy what I want. The [knifemaker exhibitors] look for me and come after me. They have a fight over me,” she laughed.

A 27-year knife-retail veteran, Lynn said she will buy knife collections from individuals but is very selective.

Mastersmiths
Location: New York, New York
Store hours: Noon-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday; mornings and Sundays by appointment only
Website custom knife sales: Yes
   
In only its second year of operation, Mastersmiths specializes in custom fixed blades, including swords, by such national and international makers as Magnus Axelson, Roger Bergh, Barry Dawson, David Goldberg, Anders Hogstrom, Don Lozier, Don Polzien, J.D. Smith and many others. “A majority of knife websites and stores are folder oriented,” owner Bill Malloy observed. “I think there is a resurgence in fixed blades. As a merchant, I wanted to fill a niche not filled by other stores. Fixed blades is it.”

Mastersmiths is like a gallery and/or an intimate gathering place, with carpeted floors, places to sit and chat, a coffee machine and coffee table, etc. “It’s like a living room that happens to have knives in it,” Bill explained. “It’s a very warm atmosphere.”

One of the store’s special features is that it has hosted individual gatherings of members of such internet knife discussion forums as Bladeforums and USN. “They come in and greet and meet, swap knives, that sort of thing,” Bill said. “I leave it up to them to tell me when they want to come in.”

Mastersmiths offers a 100 percent buy-back guarantee on all its customs knives as long as they are not damaged. It also makes custom Kydex sheaths in the back of the store.

Meadow’s Edge
Location: Meadows of Dan, Virginia
Store hours: Seasonal; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, sometimes on Sunday; call for appointment
Website custom knife sales: No
   
Looking more like a quaint 19th-century country store than anything, Rhett and Janie Stidham’s Meadow’s Edge Knife Shop & Antiques carries a wide range of folding and fixed-blade custom knives both past and present, including those by Harvey Draper, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer George Herron, Walt Kneubuhler and other 1970s makers among the former, and Phil Boguszewski, Bob Dozier, Wayne Hendrix, Randy Lee, Warren Osborne, Bob Terzuola, Daniel Winkler, and Cutlery Hall-Of-Famers Frank Centofante and Bob Loveless among the latter. (Rhett has 45 Loveless knives alone and added that you should make an appointment if you’re interested in his ’70s knives.)

Founder of the 2,600-member Randall Knife Society, Rhett has an entire room full of 300 Randall knives in the store, two display cases of custom folders and three display cases of custom fixed blades. He also edits and publishes the Randall newsletter.

On the Blue Ridge Parkway in the heart of the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains, Meadow’s Edge offers a laid-back sales atmosphere combined with a knife-museum feel enhanced by Rhett’s extensive collection of antique pocketknife memorabilia. The store’s peak periods are summer and fall tourist season. Fall to spring is the store’s slow time and when Rhett recommends that you call for an appointment.

Rhett buys both individual knives and collections from collectors. He also accepts trades.

Nordic Knives
Location: Solvang, California
Store hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily
Website custom knife sales: Yes
   
If you’re looking for a knife store with literally hundreds of custom knives in an art gallery setting, then Dave and Grace Harvey’s Nordic Knives is it. Dave said Nordic just recently renovated one side of the store for what he calls a “knife gallery” effect. “Wood and glass display cases and beautiful lighting really show the knives in a manner that’s appropriate,” he opined. “I’ve yet to hear anybody say they’ve seen more custom knives anywhere in one store setting.”

Nordic offers a wide variety of styles, including folders, hunters, fighters, tactical, Scandinavian and art knives by many of the world’s top makers. “We sell 2,000 custom knives a year, so you can imagine that we offer the work of a lot of different makers,” Dave noted. Nordic is also an authorized Randall dealer.

The Harveys run the biennial Solvang Custom Knife Show, which includes some of the world’s pre-eminent makers, just a few blocks away at the Royal Scandinavian Inn. As for follow-up help on the warranties of the custom makers whose knives Nordic sells, Dave said, “If a customer has a problem with a knife in a reasonable amount of time, we’ll help them out.” Nordic also buys and consigns aftermarket knives, from one knife to collections of “two, three or 50 knives,” he added.

Northern Knives
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Store hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday
Website custom knife sales: Yes
   
For a laid-back atmosphere reminiscent of an old mom-and-pop knife store operation, check out Ray and Ryan Thibault’s Northern Knives.

At Northern, don’t be surprised to see lots of folks gathering and talking their favorite subject—knives. The store offers “meet-the-maker” opportunities on an impromptu basis. “The makers come and go depending on their schedule, once or twice a week or once a month,” Ray noted. Or, if the customer wants, Ray can call a selection of local makers to see if one or more of them will come to the store to show and talk knives.

The Thibaults offer a mix of custom knives and swords of both nationally and internationally known and local makers, featuring gent’s knives, “dressy tacticals,” functional skinning blades, utility carry knives and much more. The well-known makers include Allen Elishewitz, Stan Fujisaka, Joe Kious, R.J. Martin, Darrel Ralph, Brian Tighe and more, while the local makers consist of Bob Flint, Bob Ball, Jim Whitman and others. Custom swords include those by Rob Criswell and Wally Hayes. Plus, the Thibaults may have a “blast from the past,” such as some Merle Seguine kitchen knives they had in stock at press time.

Northern will help you follow up on the warranties of the custom makers whose knives they sell. The store also buys knives from individual collectors and will provide appraisals and/or value estimates of custom knives.

Plaza Cutlery
Location: Costa Mesa, California
Store hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Website custom knife sales: Yes
   
Located in South Coast Plaza mall, Plaza Cutlery is operated by Dan and Pam Delavan. In custom knives, Plaza deals exclusively in new models in assorted styles, including multi-blades, folders, fixed-blade hunters and Loveless-style knives and others by Joel Chamblin, Dusty Moulton, Gray Taylor, Richard Rogers, Eugene Shadley, Strider, John Young and more. An authorized Randall dealer, Plaza looks for the work of up-and-coming or lesser-known makers, such as Brett Dowell, Kevin Lesswing, Dan Stranahan and others.

The store hosts “meet-the-knifemaker” days during which makers meet with customers to talk and sell knives, sign autographs, etc. Some of those makers have included Allen Elishewitz, Ernest Emerson, Mick Strider and Duane Dwyer, Steve Ryan and others.

Plaza will host the Plaza Cutlery Custom Knife Show, a biennial show of 40 or so of the world’s top makers, Oct. 4 in the Costa Mesa Hilton, across the interstate from Plaza Cutlery, so show attendees will be able to visit the store as well.

If not satisfied with your custom knife (within a reasonable amount of time, of course), the store will accept a return if you pay the shipping fee, and it will help expedite any maker warranty coverage where applicable. Also, if you are traveling, Plaza will ship the knife to your home address so you don’t have to take it through airport security.