Spyderco Forums

Found out from Kyley Harris on the Cliff Stamp Forum.

http://www.cliffstamp.com/knives/forum/read.php?1,80732

He was often hated and misunderstood, but he was one of the strongest proponents for having deeper conversations about these silly little knives that are often thought of as trivial and undeserving of the complexity he liked to talk about with the steel, heat treatment and most importantly the sharpening and geometry.


Arguably the most influential figure in advanced knife knowledge, many of us remember him as being the first person we heard about edge stability, carbide tear out, burning edges on belts. A strong proponent of Roman Landes work

Cliff was best known as a avid sharpener and truth seeker.

He saw no barriers to knowledge and didn't care about social hierarchies and egos that most carefully navigate to share. He would often get himself in trouble because of this and had a infamous reputation that unfortunately closed peoples minds about the important things he had to share.

We have to remember, Cliff Stamp was sharing his knowledge when at the time the knife community was more like the wild west and bad information was everywhere. Passionate folks like myself that wanted to learn had a very difficult time sorting through all the bullshit on the internet. (Everybody today is spoiled)

Cliff Stamp took a lot of ****, but if you go back and read what he was saying you'll see that he knew his stuff and had the mind and persona of a true scientist. He spoke freely and without censorship or remorse.

It is unfortunate we have to remember we are mortal, sometimes we see people as ideas and ideas never die.

Thanks for all that you shared with us Cliff.

-Shawn



Posted by Cycletroll
https://necrocanada-com.cdn.ampproject. ... mp-2021%2F

I learned a lot from him early on. We butted heads once or twice but nothing important. He was always generous with his knowledge and gave in depth answers to my questions. (Boy he must have been able to type fast) I have always considered being generous with knowledge to be one of the greatest forms of generosity.

Sad news. He was a giant in the knife community. RIP Cliff. Geometry cuts. :)

RIP Cliff.

Very sad indeed. He was already missed, more so now.

I remember him from my early days of lurking here. Lots of wisdom indeed. Thanks for letting us know.

Sad news indeed. RIP Cliff. Your contributions here will be missed.

This is very sad news. Cliff was an extremely intelligent person the got me and countless others interested in steels, geometry, ergonomics etc. on a deeper level.

I had a few private conversations with him and will always remember him for his deep knowledge. I still reference his old reviews to this day.

He will be missed by all, even his opponents I would dare to say...
He taught knife junkies how to think, if they chose to.

Thoughts for his family and close friends, if they see this thread.

RIP Dr Stamp...

I understand carbide tear out because of Cliff and his loupes. Honestly a legend among edge junkies for years to come, his enthusiasm for the subject was contagious and inspired others. He’s already missed, RIP.

“Few will understand me, but I write for the connoisseurs, trusting that they will not be offended by the confidence of my opinions.” -Maurice Comte de Saxe

That quote to me exemplifies Cliff's writings on knife edge performance. He was a true pioneer of the science and theory of optimal knife performance, and will be truly missed by those who understood what he was pursuing.

Wow. I was not prepared for this. Love him or not, he gave a lot to this community...and he challenged us all, on a variety of levels.

R.I.P. Cliff.

We had a private PM once and I was pushing him to do a collab with Sal, and I jokingly called the un-designed and un-thought of model, " Quintessence"
He thought that was cool, but I do not believe that he ever found the time and even desire to design something that would be "enough" for him.

His new life was to help kids with problems, and his focus was like with anythng else that he did, intense...
He turned a few young lives around, and changed the future for some young adults.

They will remember him, for that...

The gentle Giant is sleeping...

learned a lot from Cliff's discussions here way back when I was just a lurker here and that other forum...the verbal back and forths between him and others tended to overshadow and hide a goldmine of knowledge in his discussions about knife edges and performance. He was blunt, yet admirable for his dogged persistence of sticking to his truth. One thing that stuck out from reading his posts through the years was that to never be influenced by any, but form your own conclusions from seeking the truth.

That's sad to hear as he inspired many people including myself.

That's sad to hear, I actually just thought about him yesterday. I learned a lot of information from him starting around a decade ago. I loved his passion for edges in a time when big bulky knives were dominating the market.

He will be missed, and I wish those who knew and loved him wellbeing in a time of loss.

Wow! Shocked and sorry to see this. I had some interaction with Cliff early in my forum days. I still appreciate the insights he shared.

Condolences to his friends and family.

RIP Cliff

I liked his testing and he was very knowledgeable.

R.I.P.

Sad. A loss to our community. I'm tired of this stuff. Ugh.

His sharing of information on knife steel and edge dynamics/ geometry is what led me here.
Sorry to hear of his passing.