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I doubt that Samg and I are the only ones who dislike the practice.



I first of all don't pretend to have a stake or think that what this guy does is any of my business, but we do have opinions about what is right and wrong, and that is the discussion here, only our opinions.
On the one hand, immitation is the greatest form of flattery, but Calvin Reese is attempting to use Randall's hard earned reputation, that took decades to develop, and make a buck off of it.
He seems to be a pretty good knife maker, but to openly use Randall models, and try to duplicate it, IMO is wrong from an artistic point of view.
An example, I am a flute maker, we all have our own designs, though they are close to one another, they are still different in ways. There was a flute maker who passed on a few years ago that was well respected in our community, He made a particular embellishment that I liked, so I contacted his Widow to see if she would mind if I used it,she was flattered, and approved it. Its common courtesy to ask permission of an artist to use an aspect of their design.
Call me old fashioned or old school, but I just don't think it is right to go to the extreme that Calvin is going to, to associate himself with Randall.
We don't criticize Bo because he didn't make knives and name them after Scagel models, or use Scagel bags, if they existed to try to sell them.
I guess you either get it or you don't on this issue. If you aren't offended by this guys deliberate plagiarism, and have that gut feeling that it is wrong, then you won't understand our point. You are entitled to your own opinion. If you feel that this is ok, that it is Marketing, and by todays standards, you are probably right. Maybe that is part of the reason that I enjoy these knives, its old school, Bo was an original, pioneer and with other designers, came up with original designs.
Just my 2c worth.
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Sam Granade
RKS Member #5700