Forged to Finished, Small Clip-Point Knife

Along with my first knife experience attendee (a custom experience his wife bought for him for Christmas), I made a knife just like his alongside him as I demonstrated what to do next.

This knife was the first knife I haven’t made for a special order in a long time. It was actually ownerless for about 24 hours after I finished the handle. I took it to my cigar night gathering with a bunch of businessmen I get together with regularly, and the superb balance of the knife sold it. Once he had it in his hand, he didn’t want to let go. 🙂

 

I didn’t bring it back home.  Glad I took some pictures.

 

Forged to finished clip-point blade with a curly maple handle, and multi-position leather scabbard

Special Order – Micarta Handle Utility Knife

This is the first knife I’ve used Micarta on and a sculpted handle where the spine’s profile is a Coke bottle with wide hips and a pinky groove. The blade is 1084, the hilt is 304 stainless steel, the handle is Micarta with a mosaic pin and a throng hole. Just like all my knives, I enjoyed making it and learned a lot about working the Micarta which is very much different than the other materials I’ve worked with.
IMG_2530IMG_2531 The scabbard is handmade as well. It’s my first pouch scabbard. I watched a tutorial from Ian Atkinson and thought it would work well with this knife.

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Special Order – Hunting and Skinning Knife

IMG_1146Special order hunting and skinning knife with an antler provided by the customer. This is the first knife I’ve used locator pins for the furniture and handle pieces. Wow, what a difference they make. The blade is 1084 with a gut hook and vine pattern filework on the spine, and I used a checkering file to provide the thumb grip on the spine. The hilt, pommel and subhilt are brass. Between the hilt and subhilt are stacked leather. At both ends of the antler are leather gaskets so that with heating and cooling and humidity changes the antler can expand and contract without cracking.

IMG_1138 IMG_1136  IMG_1140 IMG_1141 IMG_1145  The scabbard is unique. I saw on a cover of a magazine, but with no explanation as to why, the flap of leather underneath the snap caught my eye. That made me think I wanted to try it, to keep the snap from damaging the knife. Inside the pocket is a DMT diamond stone. I hope it skins many deer.

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Special Order – Pilot Survival Knife

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A dear friend who was a production test pilot wanted a knife reminiscent of the Kukri knife but capable of being strapped to his forearm so while he was in the crash position if he survived, he could access his knife. This is the closest I could come to marrying those two desires.This is one of few that I didn’t forge. The knife is made out of 1095 and cold blued.

The sheath is Kydex made to fit on a Ace Carpal Tunnel Bandage. 🙂
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Special Order – Seafarer’s Knife with Lignum Vitae Furniture

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My mom wanted me to make a knife for my dad’s birthday and to use this Lignum Vitae  he raised  from the bottom of the Panama Canal while Scuba Diving when we lived there. Being that my dad is a sailing instructor, I thought the only kind of knife he would actually use would be a seafaring knife. I used the lignum vitae for the furniture and cork for the handle in the hopes that it would float. It doesn’t. This is the first knife that I etched with ferric chloride. I think it turned out great.

The sheath is thrown away Kydex and designed to be worn either on the belt or as a neck knife.

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Special Order – Camp Survival Knife

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This is a 1095 High Carbon Steel, drop point, general purpose camp survival knife with a 550 cord-wrapped handle. Kydex Sheath made to be worn around the neck or on Molle Gear. Since everybody likes to use their knife as a pry bar or screwdriver, I designed a screwdriver bit at the butt of the handle so the user who wishes to use their knife in this manner won’t endanger the blade.

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Special Order Nessmuk Knife Osage Handle

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This knife is a Nessmuk design. The blade is multi-purpose use. It has a distal tapering which means it’s wider at the handle and tapers evenly down to the tip. The blade geometry, the secondary edge, is wider closer to the handle and thinner near the tip for the purpose of having a chopping surface near the rear of the handle for the purpose of batoning and shallower at the tip for being a good skinner or a utility knife. The point is very close to the centerline of the handle making it easier to use as a drilling instrument into wood for creating things like holes for a bow or hand drill for fire making. The handle of this knife is a little longer than most knives, and it is a sub-hilt design. I like the sub-hilt design because it offers the user more control in most of your cutting operations. It’s extra long so a person  can take a grip behind the sub-hilt finger groove to add more weight forward for chopping. This knife is a good, durable, extremely useful design that I have thoroughly enjoyed making. The small cut at the base of the blade is called a choil cut; it aids in ease of sharpening.

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