After retirement, I decided to combine my lifetime interest and love of knives with the joy of working with beautiful wood thus creating beautiful yet hard working cutlery tools. At first, I gave knives to friends and relatives (and still do). Then through donations to Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation and other outdoor oriented organizations, I observed a real interest in my affordable, handcrafted designs.
This website is my attempt to broaden this appreciation beyond my local area. I hope you enjoy viewing my knives. And, if you see one that “grabs” you, please place your order. Shipping will usually occur within 24 hours after order placement.
How I Make a Knife
First, to set the record straight, I do not make the metal itself. I leave that to the bladesmiths. Rather, I purchase high quality blades, mostly of Stainless Steel, select a piece of wood that will augment the beauty of the blade and then form it into a simple design, finished to near perfection. Each blade is hand sharpened to 1000 grit with the EdgePro system which maintains a correct angle on both sides of the edge. Every handle is hand sanded through 320, 400, 600 and finally 1500 grit sandpaper. Finally, most knives are treated with 8 – 12 coats of Tung Oil and completed with a coat of bowling alley wax (very hard) and two coats of Renaissance Wax. The result is a durable, very sharp and superbly beautiful custom knife.
This permits me to offer affordable, quality, handcrafted knives to a much wider spectrum of customers. After all, most of us cannot afford to spend $300 and up for a working tool, no matter how spectacular it looks.
MY SHOP consists of only a few simple tools; a drill press, two small belt sanders, a Dremel tool, Scroll saw, an EdgePro sharpener jig and lots of sandpaper. The final shaping, sanding, staining and finishing are done completely by hand. No knife leaves the shop until I am satisfied that it will make a customer proud to own it.
SHEATHS are formed, sewn, stained and oiled by hand. Each knife purchase includes a custom made, hand-fitted leather sheath. The vegetable tanned 7 – 8 ounce leather is cut to fit the completed knife, tooled and stitched by hand. After fitting, each sheath is hand rubbed with Neatsfoot oil or stained and coated with Super Shene to protect the leather from the elements.
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HANDLE MATERIAL is mostly interesting pieces of various species of wood. On hand are: WALNUT, MAPLE, QUARTER-SAWN OAK, RED CEDAR, ZEBRAWOOD, TIGERWOOD, CHERRY, TEAK, ROSEWOOD, BLACK WALNUT and MAHOGANY. Other materials are available upon request.
