Hi everyone,  under the direction of my wife I have decided to create a blog to feature my knives and ever growing/changing methodology I follow in creating them.  I plan to show many of the knives I make and highlight many of the techniques I use.  If there is anything anyone has a question about or would like to see please let me know and I will do my best to include it. 

A little info about myself and my knives.  I started making knives in 2011 after having far to many accidents with factory knives i was using.  Originally I made most all of my knives with stainless steel and while I still do produce many knives from stainless steel I prefer to use the high carbon steel's 52100 and 1095 over all others.  I prefer to use mostly natural materials in my handles such as horn, bone and ivory as well as stunningly beautiful varieties of wood.  I also use synthetic handle materials such as rubber, micarta and G10 though I no longer make as many handles from G10 due to the health risks.  I haven't received any formal training on knife making, the small amount I now know I learned through reading, experimentation and trial and error.  This knowledge adventure still continues today and I pray it never stops. 

For my first post i will highlight one of my favorite knife designs i currently produce.  This is my Huntsman Knife design, a 9" overall camp/utility knife with a 4" blade and 1" finger rest in front of the guard. 

The blade is high carbon 52100 steel which I have differentially heat treated and then hand sanded and buffed to a mirror finish and etched in ferric chloride to show the temper lines.  Differential hardening is a fairly elaborate heat treating process in which only the cutting edge of the blade is hardened and the spine is left soft.  This allows for a knife that is extremely tough and resistant to breaking while still being able achieve and hold a amazingly sharp edge.  By etching the blade in ferric chloride I am able to show the hardened versus soft areas of the blade and the transition zone between the two.  More to differential hardening in future posts that i will dedicate to that.  

The blade shape of the Huntsman knife is inspired by two different blades, a replaceable blade scalpel I used on a elk hunt and the knives of Ed Fowler who has inspired me in many of my knives.   There is a roughly 1" rounded edge finger rest in front of the guard to allow for a variety of hand holds.  The large belly of the blade allows for a variety of different cutting uses.  When skinning the farthest back portion of the cutting edge  near the finger rest allows for a "drag cut" with tissue resisting pushing down into the animal but being unable to roll up any farther on the blade due to the finger rest.  The lowest point on the belly also absolutely peels through meat when boning out a animal.  The spine and finger rest are fully rounded to increase user comfort and aid in the strength of the blade.   All of my blades are Convex Ground to increase overall blade strength, cutting edge life and cutting ability. 

The bolster on this knife is sheep horn followed by a mammoth ivory spacer then maple burl, another mammoth ivory spacer and finally Chechen wood ( black poison wood) handle.  Matching mosaic pins hold it all together and a stainless steel thong tube finishes it out.  This knife was made for a left handed user so it is heavily ground on the non viewable side to allow for a comfortable left handed hold. 

A knife isnt much good without a sheath and while I do not do any leather work myself I am blessed to have a great leather worker near by.  Larry Parsons of Parsons Saddle Shop does all my leather sheaths and here is a great example of his work, again this is for a left handed user.  

More to come soon and as always any questions and comments are welcome and appreciated