Looking for info/opinions on Dennis Riley's knives

[Jon Brand]

I keep seeing these hunters popping up on KnifeArt, and wanted to get your opinions on this maker. I am pretty unfamiliar with him but kind of like the look of the peices. I believe he is a journeyman smith and forges all his stuff. Anyone familiar with this makers work? Prices seem reasonable also. I seem to see a fisk influence on his knives. Here are some examples..

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/knifeart_2085_184306259

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/knifeart_2085_182632268

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/knifeart_2085_184817399

[Kevin Jones]

Jon, I have seen/handled a few of Dennis Riley's knives and they look/feel good.
He's made and sold a lot of knives through Knife Art over the years.
His hunters seem to be on the weighty side, but I like that.

[Jon Brand]

Kevin, thanks. I like weighty aswell. It may be because I don't hunt or really put knives like this to much use so I don't have a hands on opinion. I just like the look of some of these knives, and to me weight means alot of material and possibly quality. I might even grab one some time, but the shape of the guard is just a little bulky looking to me.

[Lorien Arnold]

What exactly is it that you like about this fellow's work?

[Jon Brand]

I like the damascus blades. I don't really have any straight up stag handled hunters. My fisk is more presentation for me and I am sort of attracted to these standard type hunters with full stag handles (not mortised). I think the price is also affordable. I am trying to get info about quality though because I have heard mixed opinions and hardly am familiar with the maker.

[Bob Starkey]

For about the same price or little bit more you can get a MS damascus hunter.
Bob

[Lorien Arnold]

have you made contact with this dude? If you like his stuff, you should get him to make something specific for you. He'd be stoked.

And no offense to anyone, but I'd order direct from a maker before I'd fork over and extra 30% to a dealer for a knife that wasn't made for me. If he's just getting going I bet the wait would be reasonable.

[Kevin Jones]

Though Dennis makes a good solid hunter, I prefer the look of his Bowies.
He's been around a while.

[Jon Brand]

In response to Lorien, the dealer most likely was given the 30% off and is setting the price at retail. I doubt I would do any better if I ordered direct.. I agree that custom ordering is better, however i'm not interested enough to order directly. At this point I feel that if I purchased something it would be to check out his work with a random purchase. I don't think I explained why I like the knives very well. Maybe I can't explain it well, I just like the look and I think they make decent composition. I am just not crazy about the guard shape and I am not sure what the butt looks like. I like the profile of the whole knife though and I am pretty picky with that usually.

[Bob Starkey]

He's been around a while.
I believe he received his JS stamp in June of 04. More importantly if you like his work, and the knife appeals to you...go for it. Always beware when buying from photos only, unless you know the makers work well. If you have a trusted friend attending the Little Rock show, have them look over his work.
Bob