Buck’s Raven Legacy
The late Rob Simonich’s reputation for designing rugged, innovative blades lives on in this new steel tribute from his better half.
Seldom does a writer get to pick which knife he will review for an article. That is a decision made by the editors. However, as soon as I heard about the Simonich Raven Legacy being produced by Buck Knives, I practically begged to be the writer to review it. Fortunately for me, our editor gave in and assigned me the article. I think he just got tired of hearing me whine. Over the years of being associated with the industry, I’ve seen and tried a myriad of knives. Some were notable and some were not. But even more than the knives, it has been the people involved with the industry that have left the greatest impact on me. Most would say that the knife industry is like any other business, but I would disagree. The people involved set this industry apart from others. Rarely in this age do we see an industry that spans from major corporations down to small one-man shops. A new model by a known custom maker can draw the same attention as one being produced by the giants of the industry. One such maker was Rob Simonich. I am forced to use the past tense because of Rob’s death just under five years ago in an auto accident.
I was fortunate to be able to photograph several knives for him and looked forward to our conversations on the phone and occasional meetings at the various knife shows. To say he was entertaining to speak with would be a great understatement. To say he was one of the makers that led the industry would not be. Rob was one of the fi rst custom makers to partake in collaborations with the larger factories. He was always one of the fi rst to try the newer materials such as Talonite and S30V. Lastly, Rob was one of the fi rst to bring about the concept of “Mid-Tech” production. Mid-Tech came about when custom makers incorporated the concept of having knives machine made to a point, with final assemble and finish being completed by the maker. This enabled custom makers to increase production and off er the buying public a well-made semi-custom knife at a reasonable price.
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