Been sit'n to the side on this one .. & enjoying the ramble & banter, all in perfectly good fun. Saw a new GT40 at the Home Depot last weekend & it had a small crowd, inclusive of many of the store's staff, near orgasim, standing around it. Thot to wait & see what the owner needed so badly that he parked it in a lot where an encounter with a grocery cart or steel platform dolly was not out of the question, but had erands of my own to tend to. It was mighty pretty what with its red calipers & all. Guess that's the up scale version of 'rims' these days, heh? .. red calipers.

Going back to the original question and not arguing nor taking away anyone elses honest commentary & opinions, several names come to mind, none well known ...

* Toschi [Italian]

* Vendrix [Belgian]

* Cordy [Belgian, in an O/U config, 20ga., even]

and, of course there is Tony Galazan [American] ... a maker whose S/L product is right in there with any of the 'others' mentioned by others and also quite easily yet another 'best' ... and in the scheme of things, rather insufficiently appreciated for the value provided in today's market.

Thankfully, there are patrons who can and do support the better craftsmen in a number of places, and we all benefit from their efforts and their products. 'Bests' have a way of standing on their own. Design is but one component, execution is another. Taste is another matter altogether, but we shan't visit that just now. I have seen 'names' that were, sadly, less than perfectly executed and and others that were most certianlny nothing but 'best' and I have seen some less than well known names that were as perfect as one might reasonably ever ask. Please see above.

I'll give ya that star, ML. Good of you to stir the pot w/your question.

Leaf springs, old saw blades and even files make pretty good fixed blade working knives too, but a lot depends on who was doing the work and how they got tempered or forged into their new form. Post a pic or two of your work or a link when you can, sounds most interesting. I might even get to where I 'need' one ;-), ya know? I got good friends that are Okies, and they are solid. 'Nuff said.