Tiptop near-mint condition example of the very collectable David E. Steele Fer de Lance knife
I had wanted one of these Fer de Lance knives for years, since seeing them in the collections of several friends. The knife stands out as desirable and collectable, both in its original design as a practical fighting knife by a noted US expert and prolific writer on martial arts, the late David E. Steele (1944–2013); and in its high quality manufacture in Seki city, Japan, under the Pacific Cutlery/Bali-song/Benchmade brand lineage. I was very pleased to obtain through this listing in ePrague one of these knives in tiptop near-mint condition, although it is offered without the black ballistic nylon sheath originally supplied. I took the good advice offered in ePrague’s listing and in several online knife blogs and chat forums to pair the Fer de Lance with the 10.5” fixed blade slim sheath made by Hogue Inc. I endorse that advice, as well as highly recommending this knife. Now that I can compare them, in my opinion, the Hogue sheath is of far superior design and construction, and preferable for practical purposes to the original Pacific Cutlery sheath for the Fer de Lance, although the original sheath is nice to have with the knife as a collectable.