Mike Lovett: Mike Lovett has always been fascinated with knives, any kind of knives. And he drove his parents crazy from an early age with his passion for all things sharp and pointy! This obsession with knives could be blamed on his grandfather and a few uncles, especially uncle Dr. Burl Gilliland who was an accomplished wood carver who made his own tools and taught Mike how to make his very first knife at age 6 or 7. And from that point on Mike made his spending money making and sharpening knives for other Scouts.

And then in 1966 it happened, Mike saw his first Bob Loveless knife and he was hooked, and when he got out of the Air Force in 1975 he bought a square wheel grinder and the rest is history. Mike was fortunate to have many fine mentors along the way, including but not limited to, Bob Loveless, Jim Merritt, Buster Warenski, Harvey McBurnette, George Herron and Clay Gault. But he always likes to mention that most important of all is the core knife making philosophy he holds in common with Bob Loveless and Jim Merritt. And simply put that means a strong belief in the idea that since a knife is a tool designed to be used it must follow certain principles.

Of course it does have to be attractive enough for people to want to pick it up, but more importantly, it has to feel right in the hand, not only in one position but in all of the positions in which it is likely to be used. This is what Bob and Jim have spent countless hours working on with Mike. Going into great detail they have discussed and analyzed every curve, edge and contour on the Loveless knives, as well as the reasons for each and every one of them. They have also supplied Mike with steel, tools and even permission to use a version of the Loveless Logo – with the name changed to Lovett of course!

Through all of this contact and coaching Mike has learned how to make the Loveless knife correctly, learning in the process that it’s not enough to emulate them, you have to know and understand all of the ins and outs of the design. A copier or a counterfeiter simply cannot accomplish this to the proper degree, and this is what separates the Lovett-Loveless connection from all the rest.

We hope you will join us in welcoming Mike Lovett to the KnifeLegends family. If you have a passion for Loveless knives we can guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Comments on Mike Lovett from Bob Loveless:

“Finally someone got it right – someone finally understands why we do the things we do with our knives.” “Not just a copy for copying sake, but for a reason.” “Now maybe someone can afford to use a Loveless again.” “It was never my intention that they become “Collectors Items” never to be used.”

R.W. Loveless

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