James Noble Knives

[PIGEON]

I have searched, but have not seen anyone recommend James Noble Knives. I have been looking for a new knife and don't like anything I like.

After looking at James Noble knives, I think I will be buying one, has anyone used them, if so what do you think.

BTW, I love this site...

[Ben Casey]

Hi Have you got a link to them ?

[JEEP]

http://www.jamesnobleknives.com/

[PIGEON]

Thanks Jeep...

[Sar-ian]

Hi there, I was bought a similar knife off amazon for christmas. It is the american oak handled version which might not be as nice to look at but as I intend to use it as my everyday knife, this isn't a problem for me. Anyway the knife itself looks well made with a full tang 3mm blade, the overall length is 210mm, with a blade length of 91mm. The blade is engraved "William Rodgers I cut my way". It also came with a leather dangler sheath. On the whole I am pleased with it and for the priced paid represents excellent value, as I have seen sheaths that cost more. I have made a few mods which are personal preferences. First the blade had a slightly concave grind, which with a whetstone is now a scandi-grind and after stropping has taken a razor edge. Also, the recasso was hidden by the handle scales, so with a sharp blade I was able to cut back the scales (only by about 2mm) to expose it. The sheath had white stitching, which I removed and then restiched with dark brown waxed linen thread. On the whole the knife has performed well on all the tasks asked of it, although these have been limited up to now, hope this helps.....

[Ben Casey]

Cheers guys cool link :)

[dave budd]

:war:

Do NOT buy from james noble! he does not make the knives!

He is a well known con man in the knife world.Basically he buys a knife he likes the look of and has a group of guys in India make them for him. Then he sells them here and claims that they are all made by himself and his family. So far as I can tell he has never made a knife in his life! He also trades as various aliases such as tim noble, timbo, etc (also Timbo has appeared on a few forums at some stage or another).

As a way of warning, here are a few threads from British Blades dedicated to his underhand ways. :guns:

Jim Noble and aliases http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?101820-Tim-Noble-Aliases-amp-Forum-identities&highlight=james+noble
some of his websites http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?93881-James-Noble-James-Niven&highlight=james+noble
Some general experiences http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?93881-James-Noble-James-Niven&highlight=james+noble
and another example of stolen designs http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?87563-Tim-noble-copying-my-work...........&highlight=james+noble



You have been warned :mad2:

[PIGEON]

Thanks Dave, much appreciated..

[ktomes_340]

And I thought his handiwork was awesome. Fool me once......

[PIGEON]

YUP, I saw a knife on there that I thought was the business. Must eek out a uk knife maker. No disrespect to foreign makers I just want home grown... :)

[WoodTroll]

Cor blimey! Are you sure about this? I bought a Damascus bushcraft knife off of them with Salmon filework on the spine for £95 a week ago. I've got to say in fairness to them that it is the best, sharpest knife I have ever owned. Seems pretty much like ones for sale at £285-£350+ I have seen from other makers. I recommended them to a few mates it is so good. Does it matter where it is made if it is a great knife for a great price?

[dave budd]

i didn't say that the knives are no good, just that the man who sells them is a charlatan! If he openly sold the knives as being made by Indian smiths then there would be no issue, its the fact that he cons people at every end of the deal that I don't like.

Nobody in this country (or most of Europ, or the US, Autralia, etc) could make a damascus knife for the price that he charges. Hell, I couldn't earn minimum wage if I charged that for just the blade!

And yes I am very sure about this. He is well known in the knife community and has been known to rip people's designs off amongst other underhandedness.

[tadpole]

Cor blimey! Are you sure about this? I bought a Damascus bushcraft knife off of them with Salmon filework on the spine for £95 a week ago. I've got to say in fairness to them that it is the best, sharpest knife I have ever owned. Seems pretty much like ones for sale at £285-£350+ I have seen from other makers. I recommended them to a few mates it is so good. Does it matter where it is made if it is a great knife for a great price?
you better ask
Tim Noble
James Noble
James Niven
Jamie Nunez
Mark Noble
Thom or Thomas Williams
William Rogers
Barry Stone


Forum/Auction site names -

BigMark
Denim
Jimbo33
Timbo
Timbo!
timbo1
Sweet James
TheNiven
Hunter333020 (Gunbroker & Ebay)
Thor
Thor2
Thom
TWSmithfield
William Rogers
pitta-pitta
Just Woodward
Barry Stone

ask any one of them, you ask one you ask them all. (they're all one person)

[paulthefish2009]

I do tend to agree with Dave on this,if the guy said that he had them made abroad then no problem,but to make out that there a british crafted item is a bit out of order especially if he is ripping off other peoples designs. I would love to own one of Daves knifes a; because they are beautifully crafted items and b; dave seems to be to be a totaly honest craftsman( i'm not licking butt here dave just saying what i think). the reason i don't own one is i simply can't afford one and in saying that i'm also not saying that there overpriced it's just that i am poor:o

[Ben Casey]

The good thing with Dave is you can watch him make things :) I spent most of my time at the R.V. watching him hitting hot metal so you know for sure he makes the stuff :) Oh and I'm a creep and don't mind at all :D

[jus_young]

I do tend to agree with Dave on this,if the guy said that he had them made abroad then no problem,but to make out that there a british crafted item is a bit out of order especially if he is ripping off other peoples designs. I would love to own one of Daves knifes a; because they are beautifully crafted items and b; dave seems to be to be a totaly honest craftsman( i'm not licking butt here dave just saying what i think). the reason i don't own one is i simply can't afford one and in saying that i'm also not saying that there overpriced it's just that i am poor:o

I am fortunate enough to own a knife made at Daves place and it is a beautiful tool. He made the blank for my boys first 'proper knife' that I am finishing at the moment and watched that one being made.


The good thing with Dave is you can watch him make things :) I spent most of my time at the R.V. watching him hitting hot metal so you know for sure he makes the stuff :) Oh and I'm a creep and don't mind at all :D

Heres looking to the next time eh Ben!

Oh, and I am a creep :D

[Roadkillphil]

The good thing with Dave is you can watch him make things :) I spent most of my time at the R.V. watching him hitting hot metal so you know for sure he makes the stuff :) Oh and I'm a creep and don't mind at all :D

Haha, many an hour spent watchin ee beat metal :)
I also agree with Paul, if I could afford one of Daves knives I'd have one, and be happy to pay his prices too. Mainly because I know what Dave puts into making a blade and it isn't just beating metal thinkin of the dollar. For me, that really matters. I enjoy buying from craftsmen, not businessmen.

[wescobts]

Well did you ever get a good knife ?

[WoodTroll]

i didn't say that the knives are no good, just that the man who sells them is a charlatan! If he openly sold the knives as being made by Indian smiths then there would be no issue, its the fact that he cons people at every end of the deal that I don't like.

Nobody in this country (or most of Europ, or the US, Autralia, etc) could make a damascus knife for the price that he charges. Hell, I couldn't earn minimum wage if I charged that for just the blade!

And yes I am very sure about this. He is well known in the knife community and has been known to rip people's designs off amongst other underhandedness.

Some interesting points here. I can see why you and other knife makers would get annoyed by James Noble Knives copying knives and selling them for less than you can. Having looked at some othe threads though there does seem to have been a bit of a witch hunt of the guy though. In myhere are always two sides to every story. It's clear he has played things a bit fast and loose but I have to be honest you just can't knock the quality of his knives for the money. They are very, very good. I find it a bit hard to believe that they are made in India, Pakistan or China. They are just too sharp and too well made. All the ones for Pakistan I have ever seen are very badly made and pretty blunt. I have an Alan Wood my Mum bought me for my birsthday two years ago. It cost about £500. It is as good a knife as you will ever buy. Too good really. I never dare use it. So it sits in the sock drawer. The James Noble Bushcraft knife I bought is at least 85% as good and cost me under £100. It is razor sharp. So much so I can shave with it. The fit, finish and build is rock solid and it not only looks cracking but feels very nice in the hand. I realise that this isn't a popular view but many of us can't afford £185-£385 for a knife. So what's the harm if I can get a top quality knife for under £100. When Primark copies Parda clothes we don't all moan when we can buy them for £8! I realise that this price cutting and copying could affect Uk knife makers livlihoods and I wouldn't wish that on anyone but if nobody had started all these threads on so many forums we would have all been applauding James Noble Knives for making top quality knives affordable for all of us people who haven't got £300! But there seems to have been an endless stream of stories most of which I haven't seen any actual evidence of. They are just people's poitns of view. Most of it received wisdom in my view. The reason I say this is that about a year ago I went to the shooting show in Newark and James Noble knives were there. They had a massive crowd with lots of people buying knives and axes from them. I had heard some of the stories on various forums about them. So in the end I didn't buy a little rabbit knife for £45 even though I could see with my own eyes that it was very well made and very sharp. My mate did buy one of their Damascus hatchets with a Stag antler handle for £55. It is really beautiful, perfectly made and very, very sharp. You can gut and dress a whole rabbit without a knife with it. He sues it all the time. It has never let him down. When we went to a meet he showed it some people we know and they loved it, until they found out who my mate bouaght it off. They then hated it and took the micky out of my mate. He now never tells anyone who made it. I find this a bit odd. Either it is a really beautiful, sharp and nice hatchet or it isn't. James Noble knives are good for the money make no mistake. The ethics of the person who runs it sounds questionable although when I asked them who makes the William Rogers bushies they sell they told me they don't make them they buy them in. I have no vested interest in defending this company I am just telling it as I have found it. There is a real danger that we all just carry on with some witch hunt started by some Uk knife makers who got their nose put out of joint because they couldn't compete with their prices and we all just take what is said as gospel without really questioning. Personally I am not a sheep and like to make my own decisions. I don't wish the other makers any ill but lets get real. Why would I pay three times the amount for agood knife just becasue the maker of the more expensive one tells me that the cheaper one is rubbish? Just my opinion. In the USA you can buy a really good knife for £100. So why not here? The other thing is what UK knife maker hasn't copied the Woodlore - the one I bought. I have never seen the leaping Salmon filework before. Who did he copy that from? Anyway, I don't mean to be contentious but I think we need to be open minded. I bought a cheap axe from Argos a while back - it was cracking. I don't suppose they were made by Argos. And I dont suppose they were made in the UK. I did see several makers buy them, regrind the surface, rehandle them, and sell them as their own! No names mentioned. I love my new knife. It was great value. I got it within a day of ordering and I will be back at Newark this year to buy a Damascus rabbit knife and a Damascus hatchet from James Noble. Sorry if this doesn't suit everyone but I can't afford the daft prices many makers charge, certainly not in this recession. If prices are the same as last year. I should get both and lunch for under £100. The items normally would cost more like £400-500! Personally I don't care if they are made on the Moon!

[chris grace]

The thing that has annoyed me is the fact that he advertises his knives as handmade in the UK when clearly they are not.

[tadpole]

My grief with him is he lies, about everything, especially if he’s caught red handed with a new con, or forum name.
Back when he was timbo1 he got caught flogging shares in a bit of land worth £20,000, for 280,000, land on which there had been illegal paintball for three years, and land which Aylesbury Planning department put a protection order on it back in 2006. Meaning you could not do anything with the land not camp not sleep not walk about, yet he described it at as pristine ancient woodland. Then came on the forum as three other new people telling everyone what a great place it was and what a great guy Timbo1 was.
It seems every time James’s name pops up on a forum there is always some new person in place to defend him. Funny that. And that new person ends up being him…

[WoodTroll]

My grief with him is he lies, about everything, especially if he’s caught red handed with a new con, or forum name.
Back when he was timbo1 he got caught flogging shares in a bit of land worth £20,000, for 280,000, land on which there had been illegal paintball for three years, and land which Aylesbury Planning department put a protection order on it back in 2006. Meaning you could not do anything with the land not camp not sleep not walk about, yet he described it at as pristine ancient woodland. Then came on the forum as three other new people telling everyone what a great place it was and what a great guy Timbo1 was.
It seems every time James’s name pops up on a forum there is always some new person in place to defend him. Funny that. And that new person ends up being him…

Oh come on. Give me a break! You couldn't make it up. Wind yer neck in! Iam not sticking up for him I am just telling you what my knife I bought from them is like. Next you'll be telling me that you discovered a parallel universe - called Narnia - in the back of your wardrobe and he snuck in and fitted a turnstyle when everyone was asleep and started charging for people to go visit! Lol!

The point of this thread was are James Noble Knives any good. The answer is yes! I have got one! Are the made in UK, who in heaven knows! Has he told some lies and copied other people's knives, yes probably. If you think he tried to rip people off over woodland, not that it has got anything to do with knives, show us the evidence! Don't just spread malicious rumours! You are just making up anything that you think makes him look like a charlaten. Where is the evidence? And if it exists why isn't he in prison? Sorry but this is exactly why I haven't joined other forums and why I like/liked this forum. It just toodles along nicely without witch hunts, pretentious know it alls and trouble makers. At the end of the day if James Noble Knives are good people will buy them. He has fantastic feedback where he sells knives. No doubt you think that he wrote all that himeself - or perhaps the Elves from you wardrobe were coerced to write it? Or perhaps lots of ordinary skint people like me thought they got a bargain. I can see why other makers don't like him but that isn't an issue I am interested in, nor should anyone else that just wants to buy a good knife at a fair price, surely? I mean £500 for a knife!!!? You can buy a second hand car for that. A rubbish one but a car nonetheless! It's a sharpened piece of metal with two bits of wood and a leather sheath. My main interest is does it cut, is it robust, does it feel good, can it do the jobs I need? If it looks good too all the better. Think I'll go for a pint and have a lay down!

[JEEP]

We are monitoring this thread closely.

Keep it civil gentlemen!


- Ye friendly neighbourhood moderators

[CanadianMike]

Oooooh, the first NB bun fight!!!! BRB, grabbing popcorn and a beer.......... oh wait, I'm at work. ;)

[tadpole]

You seem a tad sensitive, :huh: to criticism of a person whom you’ve never met… I worry about that, so I’ll leave this thread to you. :confused2:
:)
The proof is out there

[Roadkillphil]

As Jakob said this thread has been watched from the minute it started going stale.
Suffice to say there are obviously varying opinions as to the quality of these knives and also varying opinions as to the legitimacy of the claims of the business.
Personally I feel that this thread has run its course and I'll be suggesting to the other Mods that it is locked. I do not feel any posts, or the thread, needs to be deleted, as it is informative if not a little heated.
My concerns lie in the keystone ethics of natural bushcraft. I do not feel this thread is conducive with the friendly manner of the forum and has become overly slanderous.

Regards

Phil

[tadpole]

I have said/posted nothing slanderous. My posts are my opinions.

[Martin]

To echo the sentiments of my fellow moderators, NaturalBushcraft is not the place for rants, bun-fights or any other kind of unpleasantness. It will not be tolerated under any circumstances and we will permanently ban anyone who thinks it may be. If you are that way inclined, get yourself over to another forum where they may tolerate such behaviour.

The bottom line is, if you wouldn't say it to someone's face around the camp fire then don't say it in here!!! If you would say it round the camp fire and it makes others feel uncomfortable then don't say it in here either!!!

There will be no further warnings.

Martin

[WoodTroll]

To echo the sentiments of my fellow moderators, NaturalBushcraft is not the place for rants, bun-fights or any other kind of unpleasantness. It will not be tolerated under any circumstances and we will permanently ban anyone who thinks it may be. If you are that way inclined, get yourself over to another forum where they may tolerate such behaviour.

The bottom line is, if you wouldn't say it to someone's face around the camp fire then don't say it in here!!! If you would say it round the camp fire and it makes others feel uncomfortable then don't say it in here either!!!

There will be no further warnings.

Martin

OK Martin. Sorry if anything I said was out of line. You guys do a great job and I wouldn't want to do anything that denigrates that.:)

[HillBill]

All said about JN is true unfortunately. He's been banned from pretty much every forum he has been on because of his dishonest nature. The woodland thing Tadpole mentions happened on BCUK and was witnessed by many members there. Myself included.

I can't comment on his knives as i've never seen one in the flesh.

[jbrown14]

Martin said "bun-fight." :D

(I know, I'm childish...)

Have a great day, lads!

Josh

[Martin]

Martin said "bun-fight." :D

(I know, I'm childish...)

Have a great day, lads!

Josh

Bloody colonials!!! :D

Martin

[Peaks]

So, accepting that Mr Noble has opened himself up to numerous accusations of dubious practice and that he enjoys a certain reputation as a result....

Has anyone actually used or purchased one of "his" knives or hatchets and are they any good, whats the quality like etc?
I fully acknowledge that they may be produced outside the UK, and imported and sold at very low prices.

[Opal]

I love hot cross buns, not a week goes by without me eating some....and my daughter loves them too...when she comes round......... :mad2:

[CanadianMike]

We are getting into Martin's 'ead! :D

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bun%20fight

[markal17]

my knifes were made for me so could say what i wanted it for. and to look like and the size

[Martin]

We are getting into Martin's 'ead! :D

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bun%20fight

Ha ha, leave it oot eh! ;)

Martin