So...I found my grail. Bob Lum Tanto Folder

[Liquid Cobra]

Last weekend I was sitting on my couch watching tv while my wife and daughter were having a nap. Maybe it was the lack of noise but I had an epiphany! Here in BC there is a chain of knife stores that specialize in kitchen knives, but they carry a small collection of folding knives. I thought maybe, just maybe they at some point carried the Lum Tanto Folder and never sold it. I've seen the odd sprint run in their stores before and they like to sell their knives at MSRP so they don't move very quickly off the shelf.

I went to their site (which is terrible and isn't an accurate representation of what they carry) and gave the first store on the list a call. I told them what I was looking for and she said they didn't have it. I made sure to mention it would have a grey handle. The woman on the phone said she would give the other stores a call and get back to me. A couple hours later I get a call that she found 3! I knew she was mistaken and asked for some clarification. I made sure she wasn't talking about the Lum Chinese folder and she wasn't really sure so she said she would call me back.

She calls back a couple hours later and says that they are in fact the Bob Lum Tanto folder with grey handles (scales). But....one stores computer says they have it in stock but they are unable to physically find it. They never do find it. The other store lists 2 as being in stock, but one is on consignment to someone and the other may be lost as well :rolleyes: . So I call that store up and I get an assistant manager on the phone who doesn't really know what is going on. He says that the knife that is on consignment may be up for grabs because they think the guy who reserved may have died :eek: . He tells me to call again on Monday when the manager is in so that they can figure out what is going on. A couple days go by and I find out that the knife is being sent from their store to mine :) .

I'm not sure if they found the lost knife, or if I got the one that was on hold for that guy (I hope not) but it arrived last night and now it is mine. I paid $237 for a brand new in the box, never used, carried or cut Bob Lum Tanto Folder in grey G10. Oh man am I psyched. It's a little strange to not have a knife that I will always be on the look out for but I'm glad I can stop thinking about the tanto and just enjoy it.

I won't go into much detail on the knife because it's all been said before. But the fit and finish is top notch. I had to clean the scales a little bit but they look great now. Unfortunately there is a little black mark in one spot on the G10 and I can't get it out. I'll just have to get over it. Unless..you can recommend something lol. I've already tried a magic eraser. Anyway, heres the pic I snapped last night. Thanks for looking.

[Clip]

Looks sweet and great story, maybe that guy should have acted sooner :) let me know if they ever find the other two and I'll pick one up!

[Dodge]

Congrats man. This is my favorite Spyderco offering. Nice picture by the way.

[twinboysdad]

Love it when someone gets a grail...nicely searched amigo.

[Liquid Cobra]

Thanks guys.

[Tdog]

Happy for you, the Lum is a beautiful knife and feels really great in the hand. Another classic collaboration by Spyderco. It is not the least bit surprising these designs and lines can become habit forming. Functional art. Enjoy. :spyder:

[LC Kid]

Hi Mr. Liquid Cobra!


Now that's a catch!

Every single design made by the late Bob Lum exudes magnificent simplicity. It was a real wise and assertive choice from Spyderco to made those collaborations, and who knows what would Lum be designing today if he were still with us. :) So good for your finding! :D

[bh49]

It is a very nice knife. A while back, probably 2007 or 2008 I was dieing who I wanted Lum Tanto. I found few of them in a local store @ $200 (plus tax) a piece. All black bladed PE and CE. I am not a CE fan, but in this model I love CE. Still $200 was a lot of money. I didn't have a knife even close to this price tag. A little later my wife and I went to the mall (the store was in the mall). She went shopping and I went to window shopping to the store. They had huge display of spydies. The knife broke my iron will and I get black bladed CE Lum Tanto. We were driving home. The knife was in my pocket and I couldn't beleive that I have it. I was so happy.
I almost passed on sprint because of gray scales. But Ilike pictures, which Mike Janich posted on Spyderco Forum and got it. Nice knife, still like it a lot.

[JD Spydo]

Until I got myself my first C-46 Lum Tanto folder I had never really liked Tanto blades much at all. Actually other than "eye appeal" I didn't see much too the Tanto blade at all. But Bob Lum's Tanto design was completely different than any other Tanto blade I had ever attempted to use. It is more of a streamlined functional design than any other Tanto I had owned up till that point.

In my "user arsenal" of folding blades I regard my C-46 Lum Tanto, black blade, combo edged, ATS-55 unit as being one of my favorite occasional users. The handle configuration on the C-46 model fits my hand almost perfectly.

Now sharpening the Lum Tanto with it's original "hamaguri" grind on the tipe of the blade is a bit of a challenge but not impossible either if you take your time with it. I had to do a little bit of modification on the point part of the tip of the blade to make it more functional but it's doing really well now after I did a little stock removal with some diamond files to get it a little more narrow than what it came from the factory.

The spine on that model is about as ridgid as any fixed blade I've ever owned and it can endure some very rough treatment as well.

[80cj5]

Cobra that is A beautiful folder. I love his work. My edc is actually A benchmade mini dejavu which is A Lum design.

[akapennypincher]

Your photo skills rock.

[gbelleh]

Congratulations. The Lum Tanto folder is one of my all-time favorites. A beautifully proportioned design.

[Per-Sev]

Congrats on your score, Bob Lum has designed and made some fine knives, I had the pleasure of owning quite a few of his customs his fixed bladed Tanto's were my favorite his grinds were exceptional.

[klug932000]

very cool, nice pic too!

[SpyderNut]

Congrats on the Lum, LC. That is a very fine design. Many years ago, I traded a Military CE (in CPM-440V) for a NIB Bob Lum Tanto with Titanium scales. Although I sometimes miss the Milie, I never regreted making the trade. :cool: Enjoy your new blade!