bradley skipper

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sammy the blade
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bradley skipper

Post by sammy the blade »

Does anyone know the Brad Skipper story? Doesn't look like he became the Donald Trump of Italian switchblades like he wanted. I was internetless shortly after this started and was wondering if someone shot him or if he's in jail. Or is he possibly a greeter at a WalMart somewhere.
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by ILikeStilettos »

Urban legend is that he went to prison on a homicide charge. I have a couple 11" Frank B. swingers with "WSB" etching. Also believe he died a few years ago.
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daddyloko
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by daddyloko »

I thought that person was "taboo subject" around here. Afterall, he and his crime partner (wife) ripped-off almost everyone in the knife collecting community.
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by sammy the blade »

I knew he made alot of enemies and had a forum and quite a few followers for awhile. I have one knife with the swb stamp but I just wondered how he hung his career in the knife business. Sorry if the sores came back!
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ILikeStilettos
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by ILikeStilettos »

daddyloko wrote:I thought that person was "taboo subject" around here. Afterall, he and his crime partner (wife) ripped-off almost everyone in the knife collecting community.
It was all before my time, and I hate to speak evil of the dead but ... supposedly he ripped-off Frank Beltrame and tried to corner the market on swingers. There are quite a few guys who tried to do something similar, some who are still around and avoided by anyone who knows the stories. With this hobby, as anything else (horses, dogs, Corvettes, probably Cabbage Patch dolls) there are good and bad folks. Sometimes whether a person is bad or good depends on who you ask and what dealings they have personally had.

Without mentioning any names, person A is a famous knifemaker, person B is a notorious knifemaker. Person B approaches a business that does castings and attempts to order bolsters. He maintains that he has A's permission to use tooling that A paid for and left with the caster. Caster calls A on the phone and asks if this true. He denies approving the use and the caster rejects the order. B categorically denies all of this and threatens to sue the casting company. From that alone, who has motivation to tell the truth and who has motivation to lie? So, depending on who you talk to, one or the other is either decent and honest and the other is pretty sleazy. Please do not ask me to be any more specific about identities.

If someone responds to this and tries to correct my misinformation, I won't reply. Draw your own conclusions from the severity of the response.
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tr4252
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by tr4252 »

I've wondered sometimes what happened to Swinguard, also. He caused such a controversy in the hobby that his followers and enemies wrecked at least one forum (Teddy's Place), and polarized the membership here, too. There was another guy, who I won't name but many here will remember him as one of Swinguard's most viciously outspoken critics. There was a lot of animosity back then (in 2006), and the thing I remember least fondly was that neither side would let a person stay out of the various arguments; they demanded that you take sides.

The frustrating thing is that after all the bull subsided, there never was a clearcut answer as to who was right or wrong, the thing just faded away.

I was a member of his forum for a while, but resigned my membership because the troubles were getting so unpleasant. I also have a WSB knife (not a swinguard), and it's a pretty good one in my opinion. I remember what finally made me realize how crazy things were getting was when Brad forwarded a note from Frank B. regarding my custom knives, saying flattering things in a kind of Chico Marx broken English. At first I was thrilled, then realized that the chances of its being true may have been questionable. Eventually I just quit caring.

Incidentally, the other guy I mentioned above has evidently disappeared as well. I searched for his old business websites and they don't seem to be there any more. It's almost as if the two guys existed just to oppose each other.

I hope nothing like those events ever happens again in the community, but I did learn some valuable lessons.

I hate valuable lessons.

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Bill DeShivs
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by Bill DeShivs »

He was arrested for attempted murder, I believe.
He is dead now.
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Straydog 5247
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by Straydog 5247 »

He "burnt" me once ! :x .....oh well , live and learn , that was a long time ago
One thing I did like that he offered was a unique blade design , it wasn't a bayonet or a dagger , but a combination of the two ! ..pretty cool ,I thought .....Oh yeah , I think it was called a "half-grind " blade
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omega
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by omega »

Bill DeShivs wrote:He was arrested for attempted murder, I believe.
He is dead now.
Hey Bill!

This obviously took place after his deal with Frank B went bad over his stopping payment on bank-issued cashier's checks. That was a while ago (I'm too lazy to look up the date or details, but I recall it was a huge pain in the ass for Frank at the time).

Any details on the alleged attempted-murder arrest or Skipper's death?
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daddyloko
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by daddyloko »

Yep, he burnt me for two swinguards as well :x We live and learn (some of us...)
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omega
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by omega »

daddyloko wrote:Yep, he burnt me for two swinguards as well :x We live and learn (some of us...)
Unfortunately, your experience seems to echo pretty much everybody's, or at least what has been published in the forums I read. I haven't heard of a single deal that Skipper was involved with that didn't have some sort of problem. The reports of issues with non-shipment by Skipper, et al are all over the net.

Funny how life has a way of coming back and biting people in the ass. Me thinks its a good thing that he's gone!
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by sammy the blade »

I joind his forum just to see what the conflict was about. He told me a forum member here that I had dealings with ripped him off which I definitely don't believe! I personally can't stand a rip off artist but we reap what we sow. All this was going on while I was off the net till I got this smart phone, just catching up on things. Hope I didn't drag up any bad memories but was wondering what happened with it all, just glad he's gone from the knife community.
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whippersnapper
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by whippersnapper »

His Obituary...
http://m.nwaonline.com/obituaries/2014/ ... 014-04-19/

I don't know anything about his alleged criminal history, but I do know he and his former wife, Susan, were both liars and con artists in the 3rd degree...

It was a bad time in the knife community and quite a few friendships were lost because of them. He was a pro at turning people against each other...Even today, I'm surprised by some of the folks in our community who got taken in for so long by the guy.
sammy the blade
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by sammy the blade »

I guess we can put this to rest. I just don't understand people sometimes, using people to get over. In the long run things will catch up and they always loose. Looks like we aren't out much.
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andy17
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Re: bradley skipper

Post by andy17 »

I don't want to prolong the discussion, but while refreshing my memory of the dispute I came across this complaint:

http://usacomplaints.com/internet-web/1 ... views.html

The author seems to have an obsession with the phrase "italian swinguard switchblade stiletto knives"!
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