Collaboration Bob Loveless/Jim Merritt Custom Knife Dixon Fighter

Bob Loveless and Jim Merrit met at the knifemakers guild show in 1981 and became lifelong friends. Upon becoming aware of Jim's work, Bob quickly acknowledged and admired Jim's exceptional workmanship.

In 1982, Bob invited Jim to come to his shop in Riverside, California to show him a batch of knives that he was working on. This was the spark that ignited the partnership between Bob Loveless and Jim Merrit.

From 1982 until Bob's death on September 2, 2010, untold numbers of custom Loveless knives came from the shop. Some of these knives were made together, some were made only by Bob and some only by Jim. However, they all were stamped with the same "Loveless Maker" stamp.

In 1989 the shop introduced the Loveless-Merritt logo. This was Bob's way to show the world that he and Jim were partners in the shop and that they were on a level playing field. Jim Merritt held onto most of the "Loveless-Merritt" knives in his private collection. In 1995 Jim Merrit was diagnosed with Cancer and he sold many of his Loveless-Merritt logo knives.

Bob has always had a partner in his shop since 1971. Over the years, Steve Johnson and Kuzan Oda worked in the shop with Bob. The original NY Special knives were ground by Kuzan Oda.

Through the years there have been many different logos used on knives from the Loveless shop. "Loveless-Johnson" and "Loveless-Merritt" logo knives are among some of the rarest. Here is an opportunity to own a piece of Loveless history.