As for obscure, so is a thought which will not go away.

If Vic had not come aboard for love of the craft in 1964....if Rudy had spooled down production and finally shut down NLT 1968.....if Vic had not gotten actual dealers and demand exploded, and widespread attention to the name developed.....

Would anybody remember this obscure knifemaking name today?

Some would. But it seems quite possible that today's demand for their knives, and especially the early ones, might not ever have been.

Point being, a "real Rudy" knife being desirable today owes much to Vic and his sons. And they have done nothing but truly improve the knives in every way, and without doing away with classics, but only making them better. They hunt elk, they use these knives, they know what makes a good cutter.

So, I do not feel I am getting a second class knife at all from these folk. Quite the opposite. I am getting a knife from the people who helped make the legend. A knife that cuts. A tool.

If there were two words I would use to describe them, they would be "solid, smooth". If it were three words, it would be "solid, smooth, symmetrical".







PS- if four words were allowed, I would add "sharp".