Knifemaking is the building of a knife, which includes the blade, handle and other accouterments. Blades are made by either removing metal from a steel blank via a grinder – known as stock removal – and the forging to shape of hot steel into a blade in the process known as bladesmithing. Other parts, including bolsters, guards, pommels, etc., are needed to complete the finished knife.
Allan Reid of Allan Reid Cut Throat Custom Knives is a part-time knifemaker who is a nurse by trade. He served in the U.S. Army. as a combat medic, obtaining the rank of sergeant.
Allan Reid of ARctc Knives, which stands for Allan Reid of Cut Throat Custom Knives, is a part-time maker who currently works as a nurse. He served for six years as a U.S. Army combat medic, achieving the rank of sergeant. In 2005-2006 he deployed on Operation Iraqi Freedom. Most recently, he earned his registered nursing credentials.
Allan Reid of ARctc Knives parlayed his combat medic training into a nursing career. He has completed his schooling and is awaiting his state board certification.
Allan has been fascinated with blades and martial arts since childhood. “I was exposed to several custom knives while on deployment, which spurred my interest in knifemaking,” he noted. He learned about stock-removal methods by reading and asking questions on knife forums. He is now learning to forge blades under the mentorship of close friends James Helm and Tobin Nieto.
Allan is the father of four with another on the way. He and his family live in San Antonio, Texas.
Best-selling knife patterns: tactical, utility and bushcraft; Alpha-1, Nessmuk and Mini-muk models
Favorite blade steels: high-carbon and tool for edge retention; 1084 for ease of heat-treat and durability. “I also utilize 5160 spring steel for my larger blades, and often incorporate O1 and 1095.”
Blade grinds: full flat or saber
How he tests his knives: If Allan knows the intended use, those mediums will be cut, however, almost all of his blades are tested on 2-by-4s.
Favorite handle materials: G10 and Micarta for toughness, durability, color selection and low maintenance
Price range: $145-$400
Knife shows he attends: Texas shows, BLADE Show 2018
Forums he participates in: BladeForums.com when time allows
As a former soldier, knifemaker Allan Reid of ARctc Knives is a fan of easy-to-maintain and cost-effective handle materials.
The Alpha-1 above has a 5-inch blade made out of 1084 steel with a full flat grind and acid stonewashed finish. The scales are Camo Micarta fitted with Black Micarta pins. Overall length is 9 ¼ inches. Maker’s list price: $165.
The ARctc Knives kwaiken-design knife has a 4.5-inch combination-ground blade made out of O1 tool steel. It’s 9 inches overall. The handle features an epoxy-sealed red paracord base under a black Japanese lace wrap. Maker’s list price: $180 with Kydex sheath and belt attachment.
Contact Allan Reid at [email protected], on Facebook at Allan Reid and on Instagram @arctc_knives.
In BLADE®’s continuing series entitled Midweek Maker, we are in our third installment of Midweek Maker Military Style: Tracy LaRock of LaRock Knives.
Tracy LaRock grew up on a dairy farm and spent every spare moment hunting, trapping and fishing. He served as a mortarman in U.S. Marine Corps from 1990 to 1995, but he didn’t stay out for long. In 1997 he signed on with the Texas Army National Guard, in artillery and recruiting, and still serves today. “So knives have been a part of my daily life since the beginning,” he commented.
“In 2008 Atmar Lester was showing a knife he made to some folks at church. I asked him some questions and he pointed me in the direction I needed to go,” Tracy related. “To start off it was basic tools and head-scratching, then I discovered the forums and tutorials.” Thomas Rucker and Percy Richardson let Tracy visit their shops. In 2014 he started making slip joints. After completing a few he reached out for help and received helpful insights from knifemakers Luke Swenson, Jared Oser and Enrique Pena among others.
“I hope to become a full-time maker in a couple years when I hang this uniform up for the last time,” he noted. Tracy lives in Lufkin, Texas with his wife, Mia, and their three sons.
Best-selling knife patterns: TimberJack and TimberJack Jr., traditional slip joints
Favorite blade steels: W2, 1095, O1. “Most are W2 because I have long since fallen down the hamon hole,” Tracy quipped.
Blade grinds: flat
How he tests his knives: rope, cardboard
Favorite handle materials: green canvas Micarta and ironwood
Price range: $350-$850
Forums he participates in: Facebook Group like Making Slipjoints and Lockbacks
As Tracy LaRock retires from the military, he will be able to focus more time on making his TimberJack slip joints. His wife Mia LaRock does a terrific job running the Facebook Group at LaRock Knifes.
The above TimberJack has a 3-inch blade of W2 with hamon. The handle is fashioned from canvas Micarta scales. Overall length is 7.25 inches. Maker’s list price: $425.
This Tracy LaRock creation is also a TimberJack with a 3-inch blade of W2 steel with hamon. The handle is American flag Carv-X. Overall length is 7 3/4 inches. The screw construction is done with titanium screws from TiConnector. Maker’s list price: $750.
Contact Tracy or Mia LaRock at 936-238-9077, [email protected], on Facebook at LaRock Knives or on Instagram @tracylarock.
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In the second of BLADE’s Midweek Makers series we continue with our armed forces active-duty members and veterans. This week: Midweek Makers Military-Style: Chris Rowley of Nomad Customs.
Chris Rowley was a farrier for 12 years or more before he joined the Army at age 34. During his seven years of service he deployed six times to Afghanistan with 2nd Battalion, 75 Ranger Regiment, winding up his service this year as a weapons squad leader with the rank of staff sergeant.
He always loved blacksmithing and found time after work and on weekends to keep his hand in it by making knives. “Pretty soon half of 2nd battalion had one of my knives,” he said.
When Chris entered blacksmithing competitions, his horseshoes were hammer-finished, essentially going from the forge to horse. He tries to carry those shaping skills over to his knives, completing as much work in the forge as possible. Although not applicable with all steels or designs, many of his knives maintain a richly textured hammered finish.
Chris lives with his wife in Rainier, Washington.
Best-selling knife patterns: small everyday carry knives and 4- to 10-inch bowie-fighters
Favorite blade steels: 1084, 1075 and 15N20 for ease in forge-welding and the contrast with 1084 and 15N20; also W2
Blade grinds: hollow and flat
How he tests his knives: cardboard and random materials for everyday carry knives; chopping kindling and prepping game for camp-oriented knives
Favorite handle materials: resin-and-burl-wood combinations by Voodoo Resins and J Hue Customs. “Both finish really well,” he added.
Price range: $275 and up
Forums he participate in: BladeForums.com
The diamond hole you see in Nomad Custom knives is representative of the U.S. Army unit in which knifemaker Chris Rowley served, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
This knife has a 9-inch flat-ground forge-welded blade of 1084 and 15N20 steels. The handle is made of redwood burl with Voodoo Resins spacers and G10 liners. His maker’s mark is a diamond cutout to represent the Ranger Battalion emblem. Maker’s list price: $500 with sheath.
Watch Chris Rowley Cut Out His Maker’s Mark
The diamond-shaped insignia is used to represent the battalion within the Ranger Regiment. Often in comments, you will see it typed as < 2 > for 2nd Battalion, for example.
This sticker, offered by Scroll Factory, shows what the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment diamond looks like that bladesmith Chris Rowley of Nomad Custom Knives & Tools cuts out of his blades as his maker’s mark.
An annual U.S. subscription to BLADE is $21.98. You can get your 13 issues sent to Canada for $39.98 and internationally for $49.98. Or go green and get your issues sent digitally for $17.98.
A one year’s subscription to BLADE will ensure you’re the first to read all six Knifemaker Showcase stories. You’ll also get the latest knife news, knifemaking how-tos, knife reviews, plus knife history and articles that tap into the knowledge of both the legends and the up-and-comers. Don’t miss out. Subscribe.
We’re kicking off a new series at BLADEmag.com called Midweek Maker. Each Wednesday we’ll feature a different knifemaker. The first six installments feature active-duty military or veterans. This week: Midweek Maker Military-Style: Dustin Driver of Driver Defense Knives.
Dustin Driver of Guntersville, Alabama served in the U.S. Army from 2004 to 2010. He was a communications expert, deploying to Iraq, 2005-2006, and Kuwait, 2007-2009. He uses that training and experience in his current job as a system and network administrator for a government contractor.
In October 2015 he was looking for a hobby. “I have always been into knives and have always been creative and good at making things,” Dustin noted. Aside from some You Tube videos and Internet research, he is essentially self-taught. “I have a beautiful daughter who has cerebral palsy, so I try and do a few charity knives a year to benefit cerebral palsy and other special needs areas.”
Best-selling knife patterns: Belladonna, an EDC mini cleaver; Toxin, an everyday carry with several blade styles; Timber Rattler, a small neck knife
Favorite blade steels: 1095 for consistent heat-treat; S35VN as a good all-around steel; pattern-welded steel from Alabama Damascus Steel
Blade grinds: flat with plans to offer hollow. “I like thick blades with full or high flat grinds. The thick spine makes for a strong blade, and the high flat grinds make them nice slicers.”
How he tests his knives: chopping 2-by-4s, field use, slicing paper
Dustin Driver bought a mill and he’s experimenting with fullers. He likes the looks of them when they end in a bevel. His Toxin model comes in a variety of blade styles, including a drop-point with or without hamon.
The 7.5-inch Driver Defense Toxin is a tanto-bowie with fuller made out of S35VN steel. The flat-ground blade measures 3 inches. The scales are stabilized spalted maple with carbon fiber bolster and orange G10 liner and spacer. Maker’s list price: $350 with Kydex sheath.
Contact Dustin Driver, 256-975-9857, [email protected], on Facebook at Driver Defense and on Instagram @driverdefenseknives. His Facebook Group is Driver Defense EDC. You’ll want to ask to join that one. Dustin makes beef jerky, too, and he’s a big-hearted guy with frequently donates portions of proceeds to charity.
Subscribe To BLADE For More Stories Like This
An annual U.S. subscription to BLADE is $21.98. You can get your 13 issues sent to Canada for $39.98 and internationally for $49.98. Or go green and get your issues sent digitally for $17.98.
A one year’s subscription to BLADE will ensure you’re the first to read all six Knifemaker Showcase stories. You’ll also get the latest knife news, knifemaking how-tos, knife reviews, plus knife history and articles that tap into the knowledge of both the legends and the up-and-comers. Don’t miss out. Subscribe.
Brent Vaccaro of Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear left high school in his junior year. He already knew carpentry inside and out. But it was when he turned to knifemaking that he found a way to identify himself that had eluded him during his other business attempts. This dropout knifemaker is a master at marketing.
Brent Vaccaro of Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear attended high school in New Jersey where he was born and raised. He excelled in woodworking, banging out projects that those two years ahead of him struggled through. His teacher helped him, Brent said, but perhaps most by giving him the freedom to do his own thing. Brent grew up building houses. His family lived in the middle of an open subdivision field and every day after school Brent would work on the other eight houses that needed to be constructed. In his junior year, bullying got too much. He left school and became a carpenter. Over the course of 15 years he worked in construction, running his own business and working for others. He also started a tactical gear company, and he dabbled in beard accessories during the height of facial hair resurgence. He never could quite establish an identity for himself in any of his three businesses, he admitted, but when he started making knives, everything came together. Now, no matter how different Brent’s knives are from each other, when you see a Black Widow knife, you recognize it immediately. The dropout knifemaker is a master of marketing.
Model: H.E.R.L Blade Length: 4.25 inches Blade Steel: CPM-S30V Blade Finish: acid wash with spider web etch Scales: Voodoo Resin’s Purple Haze with KS Carbon bolster Overall Length: 8″ inches Maker’s list price: $250-$350 shipped with Kydex sheath and Tec-Lok Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear. (Additional contacts at end of article.)
Around the time that Brent was struggling with being in school, when he was 16, his father gave him a pocketknife. It was a now-discontinued Kershaw model. “I still have it. I loved that knife,” Brent said. But he never had the money to collect knives, and some days he gets a mock scolding from his wife, Megan for forgetting to carry a blade on him. He was getting disillusioned with the diminishing level of artistry within carpentry, the lack of appreciation from the customers and the sense that the industry was solely focused on money. Although the skill sets are similar in woodworking and metalworking, it took some time to transition. Now Brent loves metalworking. It’s not months or years to finish a project with barely a handshake and never a thank you. It’s the instant gratification of seeing a knife come to completion over a course of days, sending it out and having the customer write him that they have no words for how impressed they are with his knife.
Model: BW Tac Tanto Blade Steel: CPM S30V Blade length: 3.5 inches Blade Finish: dark acid wash and stonewash finish with aggressive gimping Scales: Voodoo Resins’ Bloody Hulk with KS Carbon Fiber bolsters. Overall length: 7 inches Maker’s list price: $230-$330 shipped with Kydex sheath and Tec-Lok Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear. (Additional contacts at end of article.)
And therein lies his mastery. Brent is fulfilled by that appreciation for his craft, and he knows exactly how to represent his knives to the world in the best possible light—literally—without ever crossing into exaggeration. It means a lot to him that he has created an identity for himself that is true to him, celebratory of his knifemaking and honoring to the client. “It’s an extension of self,” Brent said, adding that he wants his knives to be passed on as a part of his and his client’s heritage. You only have to look at a photo of a Black Widow knife to get the “feel” for the candied richness of the colors, the smoothness of the handle and the badassery of the blade itself.
“I don’t keep them,” Brent said. So each night he takes the time to shoot exceptional photos of each piece, a running catalog of his work, for him to remember by and for the client to share. He takes 10 to 15 photos of every knife and picks the best ones. And that’s because he’s found a system that works for him. At first, you’ll need to shoot far more to find the right lighting and angles. “You have to take the time to do it. It’s part of marketing,” he said.
If you want to take great photos of your knives, upgrade your cell phone, make yourself a lightbox, buy some handheld lights and take the time to learn how to make your knives look, not OK, but fantastic.
Building A Lightbox That Works
Brent invested $50 in his lightbox. At The Home Depot he bought 1-inch PVC and eight 90-degree T connections. With those he made his two squares for the box ends. He also got alligator clips. At Walmart he bought a king-sized white sheet and clipped it taught to the PVC frame. The whole thing is collapsible so that he can move it out of the way when he’s working. And, of course, the white sheet is no longer white.
The Backdrop
Normally, light boxes are made with white construction paper on the floor that bends up the back. Not Brent’s. He does a lot of Kydex. He was heating up a 2-by-4-foot sheet of carbon fiber one day and as it bent, it occurred to him to use it in the lightbox. He had to buy more Kydex, but he likes the look of it. That was probably anther $50, but wouldn’t be necessary for everyone since every knifemaker’s style is different. Brent strives to build tough knives that military and law enforcement can respect, while still appealing to the civilian population with his Candy-Crush-like handles. He mostly uses Matt Peterson’s Voodoo Resins scales, but he’s also using some of J Hue Customs’.
Model: Recluse Neck Knife Blade Steel: CPM-D2 Blade Length: 3.25 inches Blade Finish: acid wash with American flag etch on both sides Scales: Voodoo Resins’ Chameleon Overall length: 5.5 inches. Maker’s list price: Price range: $165-$200 with Kydex neck sheath Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear
Lights! Camera! Action—No Really, Move Around!
For lights he purchased round Utilitech LEDs that he can hold while he shoots. “The light is never stationary,” he explained. He waits until complete darkness because he has two windows in his shop and he wants total control of the lighting. Because the LEDs are very white lights, bluish even, he adds a 60-watt lightbulb to add a yellow hue to balance out the lighting. He moves around with his iPhone 7 Plus (“There is a difference with the Plus,” he notes.) and his light and gets exactly the angle and lighting he wants. Not only are the knives well lit, especially for mood-inducing vignettes, for which the majority of a knifemaker’s photos will be used, especially online, but they are in crystal clear focus. Brent does not use the focus feature on the phone. That will only cause the camera to focus on one point on the knife, when the objective is to show the entire knife in full focus, even if you have the point or butt stylistically in the background. He also does not use the flash, which only washes out colors and overexposes the image.
Model: The Carnage Blade length: 4 inches Blade Steel: CPM S30V Blade Finish: acid/stonewashed with American flag etch on both sides Scales: J Hue Customs’ hybrid red, white and blue resin with maple burl Overall length: 8 inches Maker’s list price: $320-$500 shipped with Kydex sheath and Tec-Lok Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear (Additional contacts at end of article.)
Props Never Steal The Scene
Brent uses all kinds of props in his still-lifes. Because he also produces tactical gear, like custom Kydex sheaths, you will often see pistols, ammunition and other gear as accessories in his pictures. Chain, motorcycle gloves, even Halloween webbing have been used in Black Widow images. His artistic eye is always at work, not only in the making of the knives, but in his ability to let the knives do the talking. They are always center stage. They are the first things you see in the picture and the props are there only to compliment the knives, never upstage them.
Editing
Brent uses two apps to edit his images: PicLab and Aviary. He bumps up the saturation until the image represents what you see in person. It’s important not to overdue saturation because then your customers will be disappointed that your knife doesn’t live up to how it was displayed online, all back-lit by the computer screen. It’s equally important, though, that the knife not appear duller than it is in real life.
Creating An Image
Brent is one of those men who is smart, learns quickly and follows directions. He is also a good man, turning away from an industry that couldn’t fulfill his creativity and abraded his integrity. He has been rewarded with great success. “I’m outgrowing my shop,” he said. Brent knows he’ll have to return to carpentry to build himself more space. He can’t believe it sometimes when he thinks how far he’s come in his year of knifemaking. Metal work comes easier to him. “I don’t get nearly as angry as I used to get doing carpentry,” he said. He’d be thinking artistically and make a little strip of wood for something and it would break. Sometimes he’ll find a scratch in a knife handle and he’ll have to go back and grind it out and re-sand—normally, he goes all the way from 150 to 2000 grit—but it’s not nearly as frustrating as woodworking had been.
Model: The Patella Recurve Blade length: 4 inches Blade Steel: CPM S30V Blade Finish: acid wash Scales: Voodoo Resins’ Red Honeycomb with KS Carbon bolsters Overall length: 7.75 inches Maker’s list price: $380-$500 with Kydex sheath and Tec-Lok Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear. (Additional contacts at bottom of article.)
Brent takes great pride when someone in the industry tells him they recognize his work right off. He has been an apt student of life. The years of entrepreneurship that didn’t work, prepared him for the one that would work. But no matter how much marketing you apply to your knifemaking, the knife must still cut. It must still hold up to wear and perform as expected upon arrival and for generations to come. Time will tell, but sometimes dues get paid behind the scenes and a meteoric rise is well-earned.
Meanwhile, Brent will have to break away for the birth of his first child, a son, Blake—due any day—and at some point, he’ll need to expand his shop, but he never closes his books for long. He doesn’t think it reflects well to just drop a knife. He refuses to do it. He respects reliability in the people he does business with, so he holds himself to that standard for his customers. Just get in touch, but be aware if you do, you’ll get caught up in the Black Widow web.
Contact: Brent E. Vaccaro by email at [email protected] or Message him on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear. He also has a website at www.blackwidowtac.com. If you need to call, Message first, otherwise he might not hear you over the machines, 908-328-2049.
It’s All In The Grind
Mastering this one skill will improve your craft immensely. For less than $5, you can add an essential to your knifemaking library.
Author R.J. Martin instructs on flat and double hollow grinds. He discusses chisel grinds, tip shaping, the two-hand pass and lots more in “Knife Grinding Secrets.” Most importantly the finesse of grinding will be covered so that you can master the skill. Downloadable version availabe for $4.99.
Travis Payne of T-Bone’s Custom Creations was hesitant at first, but when Kelly Pilcher asked, he made a knife with her rib. The overall length on this spey knife is 6.75 with a 2.5-inch cutting edge.
Kelly Pilcher of Collinsville, Texas, was 20 years old when doctors told her that hope of regaining feeling in her right side lay in having her first rib removed. She put the surgery off for as long as she could, but at 22 opted to go under the knife to alleviate her thoracic outlet syndrome. During surgery preparations Kelly asked, “‘What happens to body parts that come out of people?’” She was told that they were disposed of properly, but that if she wanted to take her rib home with her, she could. It was hers. She was adamant that she wanted to keep it. When she awoke from surgery, her dad was there and he had an idea of what to do with the bone. Shane Pilcher works at the New Gainesville Livestock Auction barn and when someone had mentioned making a knife with the rib, they knew just who to ask. Travis Payne, of T-Bones Custom Creations in Telephone, Texas, makes castration knives so all the cattlemen knew he could fashion a knife made from her rib. “Let’s do it!” Kelly remembers saying.
Travis Payne is renowned for his castration knife design. It is often copied by manufacturers using low-grade steel. Look for the T-Bone’s makers mark to ensure you’re getting the real thing.
TOS is a condition in which the surrounding soft tissue constricts nerves and blood vessels between the collar bone and first rib. Normally it is something diagnosed in people in their 40s to 60s, more commonly women, or perhaps mail carriers who consistently carry a heavy bag on their shoulder. Kelly was diagnosed when she was 14. It is believed in her case that years of catching slow-pitch softball as well as playing volleyball may have constituted the kind of overuse usually only seen in older patients.
By 17 Kelly had undergone a year of physical therapy. Although the therapy improved the symptoms of her TOS, it did not eliminate them. She went for an additional course of physical therapy a couple of years later, but the results were not as good. Her condition continued to worsen. “It’s different in each person,” she explained. She endured numbness that started in her arm, but then advanced to her whole side. Although she learned how to teach her body to move when numb, she was left with few options if she wanted to become fully functioning again. She decided to have her rib removed.
Shane Pilcher wasn’t sure about his daughter Kelly’s plan to keep her rib, but the cattlemen at the livestock sale barn convinced him that a knife might be the perfect solution. “I don’t leave home without it,” Kelly said of the knife Travis Payne fashioned from her first rib.
Shane had been at the livestock sale barn and was expressing some hesitation about Kelly’s decision to keep her rib. Someone pointed out that knives are made with animal bone and antler all the time, why not a human bone? “‘And doesn’t T-Bone make a knife?’” Travis said, recreating how the conversation may have gone at the barn. Since 1993 when Travis was still in high school he’d been making knives. His father and brother work the ranch where he lives in Telephone, Texas, but he makes knives full time. He is renowned for a style of castration knife that is frequently copied, most annoyingly by manufacturers using cheap steel. Since Travis’ father-in-law frequents the same sale barn where Shane works and the barn owner had purchased several of Travis’ knives and many of the cattlemen owned his knives, he was the first knifemaker that came to mind. Shane warmed to this idea and presented it to Kelly in the recovery room.
Travis Payne was nervous about slicing Kelly McGuire’s removed rib. What if it broke?
Like everyone involved in the project—except Kelly—Travis was hesitant, but he agreed to make the knife. He decided on his 3100T everyday carry model, a spey in cowboy parlance, usually the second blade on an old-school slipjoint trapper. Only this would be a fixed version. “It came to me in a hospital specimen jar,” Travis said, taking a drag on his cigarette and waiting for the laughter. “With the meat still on it.”
He approached the project like he would any deer skull. “Only I knew I wasn’t going to be using my wife’s cook pot,” Travis said, laughing. He bought a throw-away pot and boiled the bone to get off any connective tissue. Although bleaching a bone works, it also can break the bone down. Travis soaked the 3-inch bone in hydrogen peroxide for a week. The same whitening was achieved without compromising the strength of the bone. Then he let it dry for several months, providing a convenient delaying excuse. The bone was very thin, only an 1/8-inch at its widest point. Travis feared breaking it.
Once the rib was clean and dry, knifemaker Travis Payne was able to see its true size. It would need to be cast in resin if it was going to be used as a knife handle.
“I had to regroup and talk to Kelly,” he said. She remembers the call. He explained to her that the bone was too small and thin to make a handle out of, but that he could arrange for it to be cast in resin. Only he would need to slice it down the middle to have bone on each side of the handle. He could break it in the process. “I told him to go for it,” Kelly said.
“Anyone who knows me, will tell you that I procrastinate,” Travis said. He continued to analyze the problem. Meanwhile, he needed to find someone who would cast a human rib. Travis figured if anyone would do it, it would be Robert Belcher of Mental Co. Robert eschews phones and social contact, but his resins like Plantstone are innovative. “‘No, but hell no. I can’t be touching that,’” Travis recalled him saying. Travis moved on and got similar responses, but at least there was no point cutting the rib if he didn’t have someone lined up. Finally, he took the rib to a show and unwrapped it for Pat Ankrom, of Ankrom Exotics in Centerville, Iowa, specializing in natural and cast scale materials. “Pat was like, ‘I’m leery, but I also think it’s kind of cool,’” Travis said. The men discussed the casting, and Pat agreed to do the job. Pat did not want something to happen to the bone in the process of packing up from the show, so Travis said he would mail the rib to him.
Travis Payne, 41, started making knives in high school before everyone had access to the Internet. He’s been a knifemaker for 20 years.
Now Travis had no choice but to cut the bone, but it was a nerve-wracking proposition. Travis wasn’t about to charge a young woman who didn’t have a lot of money and who had a debilitating condition more than the $200 he normally charged for such a knife, but in hindsight the cost to attempt something like this again would be closer to $500, Travis said. Kelly, of course, was excited to both see the knife and to have her rib back in her possession, so periodically she’d call for a status update. Finally, Travis got his courage up and sat down with a jeweler’s saw. “Even with a jeweler’s saw it was a tedious process,” he said. The whole project was “intense,” he said, laughing.
The two halves were packaged up and shipped to Pat, an exercise in trust in itself. Meanwhile, the blade awaited. It was made out of PSF27, a powered version of D2 that allowed for a true mirror finish. The lack of a point on a spey design means it’s ideal for active cattlemen, ensuring nobody stabs themselves or punctures a sheath. It has a hollow grind, and a finger groove for more controlled cutting. The file work on the spine increases a sure grip in what can be wet or messy work.
The bone was cast in clear resin so you could see it, but so that you couldn’t see the full tang Travis consulted with Kelly about colors. She was open to a turquoise or blue. Travis added a blue liner, which casts the clear with a blue tone. The knife was then sent to Jack Andress, who made a sheath in a yellow leather, complimenting the blue perfectly.
How’d it come out? “I love it,” Kelly declared. Shane and Kelly came together to pick up the knife from Travis. Kelly said that she’d had that rib her whole life and she saw no reason why she shouldn’t have it with her for the rest of her life. She carries it everywhere, either on her person or in her vehicle. Although she does use it, she tries not to. Her surgery was a success, and feeling has mostly returned. There is no cure for the many variations of TOS and symptoms can return, however, Kelly’s pluck and resolve are ever-present. “I can’t complain,” she said.
Which Knife Designs Work?
Do you want some fresh inspiration for your knife designs? The best inspiration is to look at the designs that have lasted and learn why.
“101 Knife Designs” gives you 101 scaled patterns that you can use to design your own knives. Learn how to compare patterns and understand how some designs survive the test of time. If you’ve enjoyed Murray Carter’s other writings, you will be sure to enjoy this one. On sale now for $19.53.
Pete Sloan made two neck knives for the wife and son of his friend and fellow maker Spencer Aplin. He used his daughter’s hand to perfect mini knife’s design, ensuring it fit the tiny hands of Lisa Johnson Aplin and son Alexx who suffer from brittle bone disease.
“One thing that Spencer is very good at is knowing what I’d like,” Lisa Johnson Aplin said. Lisa is the co-founder and chief operating officer of STA Custom Knives out of Brazoria, Texas. She and knifemaker Spencer Aplin were married in 1993, and together they have a son Alexx who will be 24 in a couple of months, a journalist and sometimes quality controller in his father’s shop. Lisa had no idea that a Sloan Custom Knives creation she admired had already been custom-ordered for her by her husband. Lisa suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, so although she does not have dwarfism and is therefore not a “little person,” she is a very little person. The one thing that Pete Sloan has plenty of access to is little people in the form of children, 9 to be exact. So, he used one daughter’s hand to perfect the mini knife fit and design.
Erin Sloan is 9 now, but she was 5 when her dad, Pete, asked her to help him custom-fit a tiny neck knife. Erin is one of 9 Sloan children.
Lisa’s favorite color is green and Spencer had been admiring a green knife he saw on Facebook that his friend Pete had made. “He asked me if I could make one for his wife,” Pete said. Pete was surprised and honored that Spencer, a maker he greatly admires for his knifemaking in general and blade-carving in particular, would ask him for a knife. Pete told Spencer that he was welcome to make the knife if he wanted, but Spencer said, no, that Pete had a good command of the Wharncliffe design and he wanted Pete to make it.
Pete Sloan started out with an old 4-by-36-inch belt grinder–generally considered underpowered and not ideally configured for knifemaking–and some hand files. “I liked it,” he said.
Humbled, Pete was determined to get it right. But he lived in Medina, Tennessee, and had never met Lisa. He only had Spencer’s description of her size to go on. Lisa is 2 feet, 10 inches tall. Pete’s daughter Erin was 5 at the time. So, he roughed out the 440C stainless steel blades and then with a Sharpie marked the first finger groove using Erin’s grip as a guide, grinding until it was just right for her petite hand. Spencer requested the stainless steel because the Aplins live next to salt water, and he wanted to minimize corrosion. Pete said he mostly gets requests for pattern-welded steel.
Spencer Aplin of STA Custom Knives, standing, took his son, Alexx, and wife and business partner, Lisa, to the 2015 BLADE Show.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Unbreakable” starring Bruce Willis, you know what osteogenesis imperfecta entails. Mr. Glass’ character, played by Samuel L. Jackson, has a form of the condition that allowed him to grow to full height, but his lifestyle is still hampered by debilitating bone breaks. Lisa and subsequently her son Alexx have Type III OI. A genetic mutation causing a lack of collagen, subsequently prompting connective tissue issues. The result is that bones fracture easily and those with the affliction will be short in stature with a curved spine and barrel-shaped chest. Type I is the most mild form of the condition, Type II and Type VIII the most severe and most often fatal. Types III through VI vary in symptoms and genetic causes. OI has been traced through mummies back to 1000 BC Egypt. Even though the condition has been around a long time, there is still no cure.
Pete Sloan used green-dyed curly maple for the scales on Lisa Aplin’s knife and blue-dyed and natural sycamore for Alexx’s. You can contact Richard Beam on Facebook for such impregnated wood products.
Pete used stabilized curly maple dyed green from Richard Beam at Nicholas Impregnated Woods to make the handle for Lisa’s knife and a combination blue-dyed and natural sycamore for Alexx’s. Each came with a Kydex sheath and cording to wear around the neck. At the 2015 BLADE Show, Lisa finally met Pete in person and he presented her with the knife. She loved it! “Green is my favorite color,” she said. She uses the knife all the time, opening boxes that come to the shop and for everyday uses around the house. Although it can be used for food preparation, Lisa doesn’t cook, she said laughing. Spencer does the cooking. She treasures the knife. “It’s one of my favorite’s in my collection.” She continues to be impressed with the fit and with how Pete obtained it.
Push Kydex sheaths away with your thumb rather than struggling to pull the knife out. If they are too tight, contact the maker. He can heat and loosen the fit while still ensuring the knife does not fall out.
The only thing that Pete could not have accounted for was hand strength or lack thereof. Both Lisa and Alexx had a hard time drawing their knives. Spencer simply heated up the sheaths and worked the knives in them so that they released more easily without falling out. “It not something he could have known about,” Lisa said. “I think he did a great job.”
When asked how she adapts to daily activities in a full-size house at her stature and in a wheelchair, Lisa’s answer was immediate and delivered in as cheery a tone as everything else she talks about. “The great thing about being married to someone who works with his hands,” Lisa explained, “is that Spencer can make me anything I might need customized.” The Sloan Custom Knife was an unexpected surprise, but in hindsight typical of Spencer to have picked out exactly what she would have picked out for herself long beforehand.
It’s a challenge to get all the Sloans in one place. This is the whole family minus oldest daughter, Becca, who is in the U.S. Air Force.
Pete visited Spencer before the 2017 BLADE Show and the two slept little working hard to finish up knives to sell. Spencer and Pete make knives with similar styles as Spencer shares his knowledge with Pete. And if Pete ever needs another hand model, he can turn to one of his and his wife, Holly’s, nine children, some biological, some adopted, some that came by other means: Becca, 19; Carson, 18; Gage, 15; Brant, 14; Makenzie, 13; Leigha, 10; Erin, 9; Madeline, 8; and Grace, 7. The couple used to be foster parents. “There a story to just about all of them,” Pete noted with a laugh.
Contact Pete Sloan at [email protected] or on Facebook at Sloan Custom Knives.
These mini neckers are 4.25 inches overall. The 440C stainless steel blades are 2 inches. The full-tang construction allows for a lanyard through hole. These were designed for child-sized hands, but come in larger versions. Handle material is impregnated wood from Richard Beam. Maker’s list price: $200 shipped with Kydex sheath.
Are You Looking to Perfect Your Own Everyday Carry?
Another thing you’ll learn more about in Wayne Goddard’s “Making The Everyday Carry Knife” is selecting the right materials for a handle that lasts.
“Making the Everyday Carry Knife” by Wayne Goddard includes information on how to determine the best blade and handle length. You’ll also get tips on how to use your computer to assist you in designing your knife, plus lots more including grinding and tempering techniques and tool suggestions. At only $4.99 in digital format it’s a wealth of information at a steal.
