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Good Robert Erickson is a fantastic maker

Discussion in 'FEEDBACK: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly!' started by neffarious, Sep 12, 2020.

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  1. Sep 12, 2020 #1
    neffarious

    neffarious

    2,389
    Jun 23, 2012
    I have never had a custom anything made for me. I've had stuff tailored and modified to suit my tasted but nothing from the ground up. I followed the custom kitchen knife for sale forum for quite a while always eyeing the custom pieces made there and sold. I have nice kitchen knives but I wanted something that felt magical to use.
    I cook almost every single meal for my family. That's saying A LOT during this pandemic. My current set is a combination of Henkel and Tojiro. My Gyuto is a Tojiro and my most often used knife. It's 3 layer clad VG-10 It's super thin and slicey but fragile. I'm sharpening out chips all the time. I asked my wife not to use the VG-10 knives as she tends to be rough on them, enter the Henkels. They are TOUGH knives. The edge retention is meh, but they are stupid easy to sharpen and get really sharp.
    I have come to a point in time in my life where I wanted a better chef knife. All the ones I have or had had issues I didn't like. It could be edge geometry, shape or edge retention, I discussed it with my wife and made it clear to the family (very politely) this was not to be used by anyone else. There is a full set of everything else for them to use.

    After many knives passed through I reached out to @Robert Erickson as his style really caught my eye. He was awesome in helping me decide what style of chef knife i wanted based on how I like to cut and Made me think about what other knives I have and how they are used. I picked a steel I love and think is suited to my gear in the kitchen. I chose 20CV, as it and it's family, seems to be a perfect stainless for my kitchen. I can't do carbon, there is just too strong of a risk that it gets wet and not treated properly and eventually gets ruined.

    After seeing some of Robert's hybrid handles and his craftsmanship I decided I wanted to reach out to him and see what he had to say. He, as I said, walked me through the different types he made. I read up on each style and though about what I have in the block. I decided on french chef in 20CV with a hybrid burl handle. It's exactly what I hoped for. Literally, I have been cutting onions and other veggies better because of the style change and shape benefits. He was awesome to work with, he sought out the materials for my piece, and didn't collect ANY MONEY until after I gave the final sign off. I have read enough custom horror stories to know that bad things can happen if you are asked to pay up from. There was a projected 6 week wait, but it was done quicker than that. I can't recall exactly but it went quick. Now the p0rn:
    C1DDD48E-D454-43A9-A8A3-A96992276814_1_201_a.jpeg E60C8698-5F70-40FD-858B-A1C25AF2EC0D_1_201_a.jpeg 115BB37A-2869-4714-A971-6E54EDC8B278_1_201_a.jpeg A03234AA-6B14-4DDC-9E1E-0BB93F32A0AF_1_201_a.jpeg D6096666-E4B8-4E5D-8299-8B7204E0DA84_1_201_a.jpeg 6F8E7532-CF6F-440F-927F-069E192D65F4_1_201_a.jpeg 5F803A48-1975-48BA-A2AC-7159895A9E3A_1_201_a.jpeg Hi BF,
     
    SLOsmokin, MayHemAndHaw, Hard Knocks and 12 others like this.
  2. Sep 12, 2020 #2
    woodysone

    woodysone Gold Member Gold Member

    5,494
    Nov 21, 2005
    Not quite as nice as yours but an efficient member of our kitchen, scratches are from my Edge pro but easy to maintain and one of my wife's favorites.[​IMG]
     
    SLOsmokin, MayHemAndHaw, Hard Knocks and 6 others like this.
  3. Sep 12, 2020 #3
    JJ_Colt45

    JJ_Colt45 Gold Member Gold Member

    4,481
    Sep 11, 2014
    Congrats on your new knife. I have followed Robert's work for awhile and purchased a kitchen knife with a hybrid handle much like yours and really liked it.
    20200912_111349.jpg

    So I recently contacted him for a small fixed blade and Robert was great to work with to get every detail just right and I received that knife just a few days ago. It's exactly what I wanted. I can highly recommend Robert.
    4D9D89EE-B81A-42EE-A6C8-C7A3307E3EBD_1_201_a_resized_1.jpeg
     
    SLOsmokin, MayHemAndHaw, Hard Knocks and 7 others like this.
  4. Sep 12, 2020 #4
    neffarious

    neffarious

    2,389
    Jun 23, 2012
    Wow that is nice. Eventually I'm going to have him make me a boning/filet knife in aeb-l. I keep handling it for no reason in the kitchen.
     
    JJ_Colt45 likes this.
  5. Sep 12, 2020 #5
    Robert Erickson

    Robert Erickson KnifeMaker / Craftsman / Service Provider Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider

    2,364
    Feb 2, 2014
    Thanks for the feedback Joe, I really appreciate it!
    I'm glad it's just what you wanted!

    Good to see yours is still in action!
     
    MolokaiRider, woodysone and Byron Bowling like this.
  6. Sep 14, 2020 #6
    Phil Indablanc

    Phil Indablanc Gold Member Gold Member

    456
    Oct 4, 2017
    I agree! Robert Erickson makes an awesome knife. I just received my custom hunter. I also have a few kitchen knives and a monster Bowie that are really nice.
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    SLOsmokin, Pàdruig, JJ_Colt45 and 2 others like this.
  7. Sep 15, 2020 #7
    tyyreaun

    tyyreaun Gold Member Gold Member

    2,737
    Feb 26, 2017
    +1. Also worth noting is that Robert's not afraid of working with the latest and greatest steels. I have a bit of an addiction to supersteels, and anytime I see anything new hit AKS, he's always up for giving it a try :)

    He's actually working on a piece in M398 for me, right now...
     
    woodysone likes this.
  8. Sep 15, 2020 #8
    woodysone

    woodysone Gold Member Gold Member

    5,494
    Nov 21, 2005
    How much coaxing did it take to get him to try M398?:eek:
     
  9. Sep 15, 2020 #9
    tyyreaun

    tyyreaun Gold Member Gold Member

    2,737
    Feb 26, 2017
    LOL literally none at all :). I think Robert's a steel nerd at heart, too, and wants to work with the crazy high-60s HRC supersteels.

    Just don't ask him for a hand satin finish on them! I think he quoted me a $1M+ surcharge for a hand satin finish on a K390 piece ;)
     
    Robert Erickson and woodysone like this.
  10. Sep 15, 2020 #10
    woodysone

    woodysone Gold Member Gold Member

    5,494
    Nov 21, 2005
    :thumbsup::)
     
  11. Sep 15, 2020 #11
    neffarious

    neffarious

    2,389
    Jun 23, 2012
    m
    Eh, it's a kitchen knife, it's gonna lose the finish anyway LOL. Just bust out a non poisonous polish and get to it!
     
  12. Sep 15, 2020 #12
    neffarious

    neffarious

    2,389
    Jun 23, 2012
    I love that cutting board. The purple heartwood really sets off the other colors well!
     
  13. Sep 16, 2020 #13
    Pàdruig

    Pàdruig Live and Let Die Platinum Member

    6,810
    Dec 1, 2016
    I am a big fan of Robert's work. I only have two blades of his with another in the works. He is amazing to work with - communicative, thorough, and immeasurably pleasant.

    He makes a fine knife and I particularly love how thin he gets his blades behind the edge - a trait that gets missed frequently in a lot of fixed blades.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Robert Erickson, Jsega51, bikerector and 2 others like this.
  14. Oct 28, 2020 #14
    RokJok

    RokJok

    3,241
    Oct 6, 2000
    My experience ordering & getting a custom kitchen knife from Robert was also seamless and very pleasant. Exemplary craftsmanship & textbook customer service. A great transaction all the way!

    I ordered a slightly longer version of a knife he had posted to the BF kitchen forum, albeit dressed down for more purely utilitarian aesthetics. Emails from Robert were always quick & concise. We settled on the specs for the knife and seems like only a few weeks later I got the email pictures of the finished knife for final sign off. Shipping was timely & knife was extremely well packaged.

    As others noted, his blades are thin behind the edge. So this thing is a laser for kitchen chores and I'm a super happy camper.
     
    Robert Erickson and JJ_Colt45 like this.
  15. Oct 28, 2020 #15
    scherf68

    scherf68 Basic Member Basic Member

    70
    Feb 12, 2020
    That is one fine looking knife, just amazing. I use similar scales from an etsy scale maker.
     
  16. Nov 6, 2020 #16
    Robert Erickson

    Robert Erickson KnifeMaker / Craftsman / Service Provider Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider

    2,364
    Feb 2, 2014
    Thank you all for your kind words and your support, I really appreciate it!
     
    tyyreaun and ajvail18 like this.
  17. Jan 2, 2021 #17
    SLOsmokin

    SLOsmokin Gold Member Gold Member

    261
    Feb 20, 2018
    I’m a huge fan of Robert as well. Very professional to work with, his craftsmanship is top notch, and like others mentioned he will work with all the fun super steels. I just received my fourth Erickson, and I’m already considering another lol.
    Here’s the run down.
    10” K tip gyuto, redwood Burl, AEB-L steel
    4” paring knife, buckeye Burl, m390 steel
    4.25” sheep’s foot, wild almond Burl, Vanadis 4e steel.
    2.5” oyster shucking knife, Honduran rose wood, AEB-L steel.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    woodysone likes this.
  18. Jan 3, 2021 #18
    madcap_magician

    madcap_magician Gold Member Gold Member

    4,556
    Feb 27, 2005
    Robert is a fine gentleman and a fantastic knife maker!
     
    woodysone likes this.

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