Ohhh Chute!!!

The Loveless Chute knife is the knife I wanted as a teen.  Unfortunately, in my teens I had no idea who Bob Loveless was or what a Chute knife was.  During the '80s everybody was familiar with the Rambo knives,  Predator knives, and the Buckmaster (Buck Knives model 184); all supposedly the ultimate survival/fighting knife.  I always thought of these knives as absurd.

I always thought a Craftsman knife my Dad owned (pictured below) was the perfect size and I loved the double guard and swedge. 

Like most people fascinated with knives I would get the Smoky Mountain Knife Works catalog.  I remember saving my money and buying all the little survival gadgets (wire saw, harpoon tips, wallet survival tools, etc...).  Even with the many pages of "survival' type knives in the SMKWs catalog it took me forever to find a knife I thought of as perfect.  For some reason I had it in my head that a knife in the 9-10" range would be the perfect size, I also though that the bowie style blade and double guard would be the ultimate (probably the knife above and the afore mentioned movies).  Embarrassingly I ended up purchasing Frost Cutlery survival bowie that measured in at just over 9" complete with saw teeth, hollow handle, and in handle survival kit.  I thought it was the greatest even though the blade would not hold an edge and the saw didn't work. 

Then came the day I saw a black/white photo or scan of an original Loveless brochure; (similar to below) I was in love.

Thus far I have not been able to afford a Loveless Chute knife, until then I satisfy myself with buying Chute knives from makers that make similar

                                        

                                           Martin Knives of Texas

And the madness continues...