Examples of Our Work

Every knife we make is one of a kind in the sense that they are all hand-made and no two will have exactly the same dimensions or finished appearance. We don't use a bunch of exact patterns or designs because we're not interested in making a bunch of identical knives. That would be really boring and after all, if you wanted a "production knife" you could go to your local knife shop for that and wouldn't even be looking at our website. Most of the knives that we make are made for a specific customer's needs. You can have a knife similar to any of the knives shown below with almost any of a wide variety of handle materials. We'll also make the knife with handle and blade dimensions to suit your needs.

All knives are forged with distal taper on blade and tang unless otherwise noted.

These are a few representative examples of knives that we have made. The prices listed are for a knife similar to the knife shown and are intended to give you a general idea of our pricing.

We normally make a sheath for each knife we make. All of them are hand-saddle-stitched with a welt, using good quality leather and with the knife itself as the pattern. There is more information about them in Sheaths.

A brief note about the images on this page:

The examples below are a representative sample of knives we have made. The images are sized to minimize the amount of time needed to load this page. You can "click" the images to see a larger version and then just use your browser's "back" button to return to where you were.

We encourage you to take a look at Custom Work and contact us concerning your needs

example-001
Overall Length: 10in
Blade Material: H5160, Length: 5in
Blade Finish: 2500-grit, hand-stoned and sanded
Handle Material: Arizona Ironwood, Finish: tung-oil
Handle Construction: through-tang
Fittings: forged mild-steel guard and pommel
Price for a similar knife: $365

The blade cross-section is diamond-shaped, rather like that of a double-edged dagger but with the spine rounded and approximately 1/16 inch wide. The blade thickness is barely over 1/8 inch tapering to nothing at the point. We'll make a similar knife sized, both handle and blade, to your requirements in blade lengths from 3.5 to 6 inches for the price shown above.

example-002
Overall Length: 12in
Blade Material: H5160, Length: 7in
Blade Finish: as-forged
Handle Material: Maple, Finish: tung oil
Handle Construction: hidden (almost full-length) tang, copper spacer
Price for a similar knife: $160

This double-edged "dagger" is patterned after historical "Trade Dags" from the fur-trade period. The blades were typically traded bare. The buyer then either fitted a handle to the blade for use as a knife or used it in a war club. You can have it with a through tang and steel or copper fittings for the same price. You can have a fully heat-treated bare blade like this one (without a sheath) for $80.

example-003
Overall Length: 9.25in
Blade Material: H5160, Length: 5in
Blade Finish: 400-grit
Handle Material: Black Acacia, Finish: tung oil
Handle Construction: full-tang
Price for a similar knife: $120

We have a friend who says that the proper name for this blade profile is "perch-belly". Anyhow, it's a useful shape for some things. It's small enough to make a pretty good hunting knife. The blade is quite thin and it's very much a "slicer". The depth of the blade makes it possible to hold it confidently with two fingers and thumb on the blade. That makes for good blade control when you are forced to cut by the "Braille method" inside some dark slimy place.

You can have one similar to this one with a through tang and steel, brass, copper or nickel-silver fittings for an additional $50.

example-004
Overall Length: 10in
Blade Material: H5160, Length: 5.5in
Blade Finish: 400-grit, light hammer-marking, moderate vinegar etch
Handle Material: black acacia, Finish: tung oil
Handle Construction: full-tang
Price for a similar knife: $150

This is just your basic utility knife. It is, in fact, the first knife that "left home". The style and look of our knives has changed some since then and it's here mostly for sentimental reasons.

The knife and sheath are small and light enough to carry around all day without the weight or size being noticeable. The blade is 3/16 inch thick at the transition tapering to nothing at the point and approximately 1/16 inch at the rear of the tang. The choil is a bit of scroll work with an arrowhead at the point. The finish on this one is intentionally rough-looking but the surface of the blade is quite smooth. There is no fire scale on the blade; the color and rough appearance of the blade are the result of a vinegar etch. The etch was done prior to normalization to achieve a very rough-looking surface.

page last modified Sat, 19 Jul 2003 17:57:58 -0700 (MST);