Get A Load Of That Delaware Maid!

If you’re a fan of Bob Loveless knife designs, you likely have a soft spot for at least one of the Delaware Maids … no, not the logo, although that etched “Delaware Maid” is part of it … but perhaps a hunter such as the below. From 1954 to 1960 Loveless made over one thousand knives called “Delaware Maids” and they became Abercrombie & Fitch’s best-selling handmade items, outselling the Randall blades.

An ultra-rare (only three of seven survive) Loveless “Delaware Maid” hunter with the VL&A (Von Lengerke and Antoine) logo, the knife has a trailing-point blade and a slender double-pinned hardwood handle. The photo is by Hiro Soga, and the knife comes from the John Denton collection. It appeared on pages 114 and 115 of the book Knifemaking With Bob Loveless.