20 Facts About Bob Loveless

Bob Loveless or RW Loveless, was an American knife maker who designed and popularized the hollowground drop point blade and the use of full tapered tangs and screw-type handle scale fasteners within the art of knifemaking.

Bob Loveless is cited by other knifemakers and collectors as one of the most innovative custom knife makers in the world.

Bob Loveless was born on January 2,1929, in Warren, Ohio.

Bob Loveless witnessed a number of knife fights in the bars of foreign ports, which he attributed to giving him an interest in knives.

In 1950 Bob Loveless attended Chicago's Armour Institute of Technology and took a course taught by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

In December 1953, Bob Loveless returned to the Merchant Marine on a tanker based in New York.

Bob Loveless admitted that these knives were copies of Randall's designs, but by 1960 he began making his own innovations which set them apart.

Bob Loveless was a founding member of the Knifemakers' Guild in 1970 and served as the club's first Secretary.

Bob Loveless went on to serve two terms as the Guild's president from 1973 to 1976.

Bob Loveless introduced ATS-34 stainless steel to the knife making world in 1972 and pioneered the use of Micarta as a handle material.

Bob Loveless always considered himself a "Bench Maker" as opposed to a "Custom Maker" in that he only made knives from patterns that he designed instead of ideas that came from his customers.

The only input Bob Loveless would receive from a customer would be regarding the type of handle material used in the knife's construction.

Bob Loveless believed this stamping could compromise the strength of the knife by causing stress fractures in the steel.

The primary style of knife made by Bob Loveless was the Dropped Point hunting knife and he is considered to be the first maker to produce what is known as a tactical knife.

However, Bob Loveless refused to sell a customer one of his fighting knives unless the buyer could provide either police or military identification and could require a knife as a weapon.

Bob Loveless made knives for use by US Army Special Forces and the CIA.

Bob Loveless designed the Gerber Guardian knife model for Gerber Knives and for a time was Gerber's Lead designer.

Bob Loveless went on to design knives for other factories such as Lone Wolf Knives, Beretta, Schrade Cutlery and others.

Bob Loveless had been a participating maker from 1993 through 2006 in the Art Knife Invitational Show which is a closed association of the 25 most collectible knifemakers.

Bob Loveless died September 2,2010, aged 81, of lung cancer at his longtime home in Riverside, California.