A Selection of blades we have on the table.
What we offer on this page is a selection of some of the knives we’ve made of late, one we’ve refurbished, and one we crafted a long time ago.
Hunting Knives
This is the knife that sparked my passion for custom knife making of that there is no question. Not the first knife I made but, the first from high carbon steel for sure.
Crafted from an old thrown away piece of 5160 spring steel, if my memory serves me right, and the simplest of tools this 12” hunter was made. Hardened with a hand held gas cutting torch and tempered in waist oil from the sump of a 1974 Datsun 1200. It features a better than average hollow grind and an edge holding ability that would impress a barber. A dirty old pine handle, nothing really too fancy about this blade, as it’s all about doing the business.
And it’s done the business over the last 30 years for sure. Everything from sticking pigs to filleting fish. Probably not as much style and finish as the knives I make today, well not really by a long shot, but this one is my favourite and always will be, that’s why it’s in the cabinet now where it shall stay.
Not for sale and any price.
4” blade Bush Craft type general purpose fixed blade knife.
This one was crafted from a recycled car spring off of an old Chev. The handle scales are Rimu, (a New Zealand native timber) that where recycled from house renovations.
To the right is the spring steel used to make this blade.
6” Drop Point Hunting knives
To the left is a hidden tang with brass finger guard and wood burl handle, (can’t remember exactly what kind)
On the right similar design but it’s full tang with two piece handle of wood burl and rimu.
Both sheaths are cross carry design, the one on the left is right handed, the one on the right is left handed.
I call this knife the “Tekapo Pig Sticker” but in truth it’s never been near a pig in it’s life. Mostly I use it for my canal fishing knife tucked away with the fishing tackle ready to stun any fish destine for the smoker.
But the true story behind this knife is that I made it some twenty years ago out of a piece of steel I should never have used. Sometimes in life though, you just have to work with what you’ve got to meet the need. The steel was riddled with cracks, and to add insult to injury, I quenched it in water which I knew I shouldn’t have done. But at the time I needed it, so I pushed on with what I had, welded up the cracks, (which is not a recommended practice for high carbon steel) and made the knife you see in the photo above. And in spite of all this for twenty years it’s served me well, been razor sharp for most of that time and faithfully held up through many a fishing mission.
However, when I looked at it a couple of months ago, I felt it was time for an upgrade, so I stripped it down and rebuilt it into the knife you see below. I refined the blade somewhat, gave it a hand sand and a polish. Etched in the makers mark, added a brass finger guard and a polished Rimu handle.
Of course, due to its flaws it’s not a blade I would ever sell, but I still have the need for it anyway and have no doubt it will outlast me.
Kitchen Knives
On the left is a knife I class as a “Mini Kitchen Knife”. It sports a four and a half inch blade, is a full tang construction, and has a simple wooden handle.
This knife was crafted from an old thrown away saw blade. Overall it’s a great blade and pretty much get used on a daily basis in my own kitchen.
However, on reflection I’m not a fan of the hollow pins in the handle, no particular reason just a personal thing. Of course what I use for handles generally depends on what I have at hand on the day, unless I’m making to order.
Bbq Knife (7” x 2” blade)
Made for those long summer nights by the outside grill. This is a knife I made out of 1084 steel with a subtle curve on the cutting edge, a two part handle, and a removable leather sheath.
For the handle on this blade I bonded Black Honeycomb C-Tek scales to hardwood liners and it all worked out better than I expected.
Two domes make the belt loop easily removable as is the sheath, which can be worn either left or right handed with ease.
Very similar in construction to the Bbq Knife above is the standard all purpose, seven and a half inch, Kitchen knife.
What’s shown on to the left is a very well used example made from 1084. As can be seen it’s developed a bit of a patina, which is quite a common thing with high carbon steel blades.
It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I quite like it, it reminds me of the knives my grandparents used to use in their kitchen.
The River find Project.
The dirty old river find project, a tail of three knives. What’s shown below, are the three knives that where created from a broken piece of leaf spring I stumbled over in a local river while in the pursuit of the elusive trout. It would have been there many a good year by the look of it and under normal circumstances it would have been left to just rot away. But I thought I could make some knives from it, and ultimately I did. I’d have to say the fishing on that day was less than ideal but the knives came out great.
