What is a hand made knife?
This is a very argued point among makers and collectors alike. Does this mean that a custom blade may never see a machine? If the blade may be touched by some machines and not others, what machine is too much machine. Some would say that a mill crosses the line, or that water or laser cutting are too much. Well, should we hand craftsmen put away our motors, for such a thing would be very expensive for the consumer.
I would say if the blade's final tolerance was achieved by hand then that blade is as good as handmade. Why pay a bladesmith to make round bar square, when such skilled labour could be better spent designing the blade. So, any tool can be kept in the realm of the knife maker; the knife maker improves on the mark left by the machine; the machine and man work together to provide the customer with the highest quality custom blade in the most efficient way.
