With most endeavors in life there are always those whose abilities and skills move them into what we consider to be the elite category.  Such is the case with Schuyler Lovestrand’s knives.  He is best known for his stock removal method fixed blades which in my opinion are among the best in the world.  Upon seeing his work the two words that come to mind are clean and flawless.

This fixed blade master builds everything from hunters to stylized Bowies.  His favorite hunter style is the Loveless drop point hunter.  The main difference is that on his best day, Bob Loveless never made a drop point hunter as well as Schuyler Lovestrand.   Two other Loveless patterns that Schuyler makes on a regular basis are the Chute Knife and the Wilderness Fighters.

Schuyler Lovestrand Custom Stag Chute Knife

What he is best known is knives of his own design that accentuate his considerable skills.  His fighters are exactly what they should be; well balanced, quick and light in the hand.  His F-2 Sub-Hilt Fighter with its Persian style up-swept blade with regards to custom knives is the epitome of the term “flow.”

Lovestrand F-2 SubHilt Fighter Custom Made with Mastodon Ivory

Currently his steel of choice is CPM 154CM.  This is the powered steel version of 154CM.  He enjoys the characteristics of the powered steels including the fine grain structure and cleanliness which lends itself to a good mirror finish.  When he uses the word good, he is being unnecessarily modest.  He does not make a good mirror finish.  His blades featuring a mirror finish are literally just that, a mirror.  He also does a hand rubbed satin finish and perhaps my favorite finish is his two-tone finish.  A satin finish is done on the flats and a mirror finish on the hollow grinds.  All of the guards and butt caps are made from stainless steel.

Like most professional knife makers he will work the gamut of handle materials.  For his utility and tactical knives he prefers linen or canvas Micarta, G-10 or stag.  Presentation grade knives will feature quality stag, Elephant Ivory, Fossil Ivories (both Mammoth and Walrus) this will include Wolly Mammoth tooth in narrow tang applications.  Premium stabilized wood burls such as Desert Ironwood have found favored status with his collectors. The quality and uniqueness of some of these handle materials; regardless of the cost always compliment this maker’s skill.

Lovestrand H2 Drop Point Hunter with Desert Ironwood

Robertson’s Custom Cutlery is your source for custom knives from today’s leading custom knife makers. We only feature the highest quality knives at value prices. Our custom fixed and folding knife selection includes tactical fixed and folding knives, presentation fixed and folding knives, bowies, hunters and skinners, and a large selection of forged blades. Les Robertson, author and owner of Robertson’s Custom Cutlery, is also a Field Editor for Blade Magazine and an instructor at Blade University. If you have questions about the content in this article or about any knife or maker on our website, you can contact Les directly at les@robertsonscustomcutlery.com or (706) 650-0252.