Page 9 – BLADE Magazine

Automatic Knives: American-Made Quick Cutters

Dexter Ewing

January 28, 2026

Automatic Knives: American-Made Quick Cutters

We gather up a bevvy of top stateside-manufactured automatic knives, certain to give you an edge on fast deployment.

Automatics long have been a popular knife category for the tactical/serve-and-save professions, as well as the military. In recent years, they have shifted from tactical only to include EDC, too. Autos continue to be like other tactical and EDC lines in that they also leverage the advantage of hi-tech materials for blades and handles, thus creating stronger and harder-working knives that anyone can use.

Bear Ops KATAKT

The tactical division of Bear & Son Cutlery, Bear Ops, offers the KATAKT series of tactical/EDC knives with the latest in blade and handle materials. At 4.5 inches closed, the KATAKT II sports a 3.25-inch blade of Bohler M390 high-performance blade steel. M390 provides the ultimate in edge-holding power, is designed to go the distance and eliminates frequent sharpening. Simply put, it is one of the best high-performance blade steels going.

The drop point blade shape is very utility-friendly and able to handle multiple cutting tasks, large and small. It comes in both plain and partly serrated edge formats. The review sample has the latter, giving the best of both worlds in one blade, including the ability to tackle tough cutting jobs—though with the serrations, rope especially. The belly provides an ample amount of plain edge for finer cutting. A swedge gives an edgy look that isn’t threatening at all. A notched thumb rest enables thumb placement where downward pressure can be applied to power the blade through tougher cutting tasks. The black blade coat is low-glare.

Anodized black, the aluminum handle incorporates multiple features for a comfortable, safe using experience. A large finger recess at the pivot helps secure your grip on the handle and index it as well. The chamfer along the grip side bevels the handle material back some so you can wrap your fingers around it easily without hotspots forming.

The version of the crossbar lock Bear Ops calls the Slide Lock serves as both the blade lock and firing mechanism of the KATAKT II. To fire the blade, pull back on either side of the lockbar. As the author opined, this truly is an ambidextrous automatic.

A deep carry, fold-over steel pocket clip carries the closed knife blade tip up and is reversible to accommodate southpaws—simply back out two T6 Torx screws and reposition the clip on the other side. A filler tab covers the machined recess for the clip, providing a more streamlined overall appearance. The copper-colored pivot rings and backspacer inject a subtle contrast of color on the otherwise all-black knife.

The blade is secured using the Slide Lock mechanism, Bear’s version of the crosslock. It’s ambidextrous, easy and safe, removing the fingers from the radial path of the closing blade to eliminate accidental nicks. The lock is very strong and can withstand a high degree of abuse. To unlock the knife, pull one of the exposed lockbar ends back to move the lockbar away, allowing the blade to rotate closed.

With most autos, blade deployment is initiated by simply pressing a button. From the closed position, the KATAKT II uses the Slide Lock as both the blade lock and release. To open the knife, pull back on the exposed lockbar with your thumb until the blade fires.

Medford Knife & Tool’s Smooth Criminal

Thanks to its ergonomic handle and drop point blade, the Medford Smooth Criminal is a compact auto very easy to carry and use. Tasks like wire stripping that require extra control are a snap.

At just 4 inches closed, Medford Knife & Tool’s Smooth Criminal is a compact powerhouse auto. Don’t expect anything less than a heavy-duty folder with this one. An anodized aluminum handle, CPM S35VN stainless blade and a titanium pocket clip round out the overall package that’s easy to carry yet works as hard as the day is long.

The drop point blade is a good general-use one that offers a belly for slicing tasks and a decent point for puncturing and scoring. The 3-inch blade is an ideal length for EDC purposes—short enough to carry comfortably and not get in the way but long enough to tackle most reasonable cutting tasks. The polished finish looks great and helps keep the blade cleaner and rust-free by not allowing much to stick to it, nor liquids to bead on it. S35VN has proven itself time and again as one of the ultimate steels for high-end knives. It’s a bit tougher than S30V though not nearly as hard to resharpen. It is a top user and will go the distance for edge holding. All my experiences with this blade steel have been nothing but very positive.

The ergonomic grip is a lightweight yet tough aluminum alloy available in a range of hard anodized colors, though you cannot go wrong with standard black anodizing, which looks striking with the tumbled (stonewashed) blade. The black and silver look is just timeless; it’s used a lot with motorcycles and vehicles for a reason.

The lock release/firing button of the Medford Knife & Tool Smooth Criminal is domed and sports holes reminiscent of a car hubcap. It’s a nice styling addition to an area most manufacturers ignore.

The handle sports a few features that enhance user comfort and safety, such as the finger recess to help index your grip. Stepped chamfering provides a comfortable place for your fingers to wrap around. A utilitarian lanyard hold is incorporated into the handle spacer. A titanium pocket clip carries the knife tip up.

The blade is actuated by a typical push button, tapered/plug locking system, which secures it in both the closed and open positions. The button sports decorative holes that resemble a car hubcap, a nice visual touch and a great alternative to a plain button.

Action-wise, the Smooth Criminal is also a smooth operator. The blade rides on a pair of caged bearings that promote silky smooth rotation. You can feel that when you fire the blade and it rotates out with precision and locks securely. Performance-wise, the knife is perfect for folks who need a good, solid, tough working folder without the bulk and length of a larger model. As a result, the Smooth Criminal rides comfortably in a pocket. The entire knife gets in and out of tasks easily. MSRP: $375.

Heretic Knives Wraith

The V.4 features improvements to the blade and handle that make the knife sleeker and better ergonomically than previous Wraiths. It’s an efficient cutting tool for tactical or general use.

The Wraith is the flagship side-opening automatic from Heretic Knives. It’s a large tactical folder with a bold design and advanced ergonomics. In 2025, Heretic unveiled the Wraith V.4, a highly updated version of its signature folder that incorporates quite a few changes that could result in this model being the cornerstone of the company’s tactical knife line.

The blade is available in a choice of bowie or tanto shapes, the latter reviewed here. Steel has been upgraded to CPM MagnaCut stainless to offer the best in edge holding and corrosion resistance. The blade has a recessed cavity machined into the flats, done purely for aesthetics. The tanto shape is ideal for maximum penetration as the tip shears simultaneously as it pierces. It’s an optical illusion, but the blade seems too tall for the handle. However, when you close it, the blade nestles inside the handle just so. As an added touch, the thumb rest portion of the spine sports notches for sure grip traction.

The handle is hard-anodized T6 6061 aluminum alloy. It’s also thinner than the previous Wraith version and thus carries better in the pocket. The handle edges are chamfered nicely to allow the knife to sit in your grip with high comfort. Two inlays per side of rubber tape enhance purchase. The firing/lock button is round as opposed to rectangular as with the older Wraith model.

The Heretic Wraith V.4 comes standard with a steel pocket clip that works very well. For $49 extra, you can upgrade to a milled titanium clip with a carbide ball.

A steel pocket clip carries the knife tip up and is reversible for ambidextrous use. A milled titanium clip with a silicon carbide ball is $49 extra. It looks very upscale and is great at keeping the closed knife in your pocket. The carbide ball provides the right amount of tension and slides nicely when removing the knife from or returning it to your pocket.

While the V.4 is sleeker and more refined than previous Wraiths, it still packs a punch as a large, using folder. The tanto’s straight edge is a great slicer and cuts through most anything you need to with no struggle. The 3.7-inch blade affords enough real estate to facilitate this. The angled tip is great for more precise cuts as well as light-duty scraping.

The handle is quite comfortable with no hotspots and provides excellent blade control at all times. The rubber grip tape inlays are inset enough to be out of the way, so as to not affect removing or inserting the knife into a pocket. The knife sits low in the pocket but with some handle sticking out for purchase. The V.4 is extremely well-made and looks spectacular with the all-black finish. Very stealthy! MSRP: $300.

Chavez Knives/Pro-Tech Redencion

According to the author, the modified tanto blade of the Pro-Tech/Chaves Knives Redencion 229 has a top that isn’t styled like typical tantos. The secondary edge has a bit of belly that makes it a more efficient cutter by accentuating penetration power.

The Redencion 229 auto is a collaboration between Pro-Tech and Ramon Chavez of Chaves Knives. Based on the Chaves Knives Redencion folder, the 229 brings an exciting automatic to the market that incorporates Pro-Tech’s manufacturing excellence and strong spring action with Chaves’ bold styling highlights.

The 3.3-inch modified tanto blade is S35VN. A swedge enhances penetration power, along with multiple large traction notches on the spine to provide a comfortable place to rest the thumb when placing downward pressure to the blade. Available in stonewash or DLC finishes, the blade is stout as it is sharp. The test sample is a dark stonewash, which contrasts nicely with the handle anodized a beautiful battle-worn purple.

The grip is T6 6061 aluminum alloy available in multiple anodized colors. It is treated to appear as though the knife has seen considerable pocket time and use by wearing away the anodizing at the very edges. It looks worn-in even when brand new! While the design itself is rather boxy, the chamfered handle edges make the knife comfortable to hold—no hotspots in-hand, no nothing.

Function and durability are built into the skull pocket clip of the Pro-Tech/Chaves Knives 229. The skull is a trademark of the Chaves Knives brand, and the design and titanium material beef up the clip, making it more difficult to spring out of shape if it accidentally catches on something.

The auto carries tip up via a distinctive Chaves pocket clip design in the shape of a skull. All Chaves folders have the clip design, sort of a trademark of the brand. While the skull clip may be too much for some, it is more than just for appearance. Its width means more of the tough titanium material is used, which prevents it from being bent out in case you snag it on something. Also, screws attach the clip to the handle from the inside. This means no visible clip screws. Very trick! Few folder clips on the market attach in such a way. On the downside, the clip isn’t reversible and thus not southpaw-friendly.

At 4.5 inches closed, the Redencion 229 makes a great working folder. Out of the box, it’s sharp and ready to cut. Hit the button and the blade rockets out with authority, as all Pro-Tech autos do. The straight-line primary edge tackles general tasks nicely, and the secondary edge at top is great for scoring work or cuts requiring extra control. The secondary edge has a bit of a belly, something most tantos are without. This helps accentuate penetration power. S35VN steel holds an edge really well, so you need not resharpen frequently. The knife cuts with abandon and is easy to carry. What’s not to like? MSRP: $300 and up, depending on options.

More On Autos:

New Auto Knives: Three Standouts Of The Boom
Cool Custom: Matt Aaron’s Blacksmith’s Automatic Folder
Benchmade Infidel Review: Breaking The Mold For OTF Autos
Kershaw Launch 13 Review: This Auto Makes Its Own Luck

Growing Up Loveless: Reflections On The Master From His Daughter

Featured

Knife History

Mike Haskew
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January 16, 2026
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Robin Askew reflects on being the daughter of Bob Loveless.

It was intimate and distant. It was warm and aloof. It was youth, adulthood, hope and memory—all at the same time.

Robin Askew is 70 years old now. She lives a quiet life in Sacramento, California, and her recollections of growing up as the daughter of a legend offer insights into years of experiences that few could imagine. Her father, BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bob Loveless, was and remains one of the titans of the custom knife industry. He has been gone more than 15 years, but his imprint on the past, present and future of custom knives is unmistakable and not about to wane.

Bob Loveless (center) talks with David Crosby (right) of Crosby, Stills and Nash at the 1989 California Custom Knife Show. The two were good friends, with Loveless an inveterate harmonica player who at times would play with CSN at a local bar or night club. At left is a young, mustachioed Steve D’Lack, coordinator today of the New York and Nashville Custom Knife Shows. (John Denton image)

Likewise, those who knew him remember his unforgettable, often larger-than-life persona. Creative genius, irascibility, generosity and unique perspective came together in Loveless, the man who shaped custom knives and literally changed the landscape in tangible ways, including steel and its components, and in intangible ways such as the sweep of the blade, its flow and form, and the aesthetic qualities that characterized his legacy.

Robin experienced the evolution, both in the life of Loveless and in the industry that he forever altered. From her earliest memories, her father was a busy man building a future one knife at a time, crafting a legend—whether he knew it or not—one innovation after another from a basement in Delaware to his shops in California. In the midst of it all, growing up Loveless was a complex, frustrating, fallible, forgiving and ultimately joyous journey.

David Crosby owned this ivory-handled Loveless utility knife fully engraved by H.H. Frank. According to John Denton, it sold for $22,000 a few years ago. (Cory Martin image)

“Some people were actually frightened of him,” Robin smiled. “They might have been put off. But his bark was so much worse than his bite. Over the years, my father was so amazed by the fact that others regarded him with such a high standard. He didn’t embrace that at all. One time he said to me, ‘They still think I’m the greatest.’ That was something that he had never imagined and never really came to terms with.”

Bob Loveless made contributions to the knife industry on multiple levels. He was instrumental in the formation of The Knifemakers’ Guild and in establishing the custom knife market in concert with other great men like the incomparable Cutlery Hall-of-Famer A.G. Russell. Loveless reached across the globe and developed relationships in Japan that eventually brought ATS-34 stainless steel, a staple in blade construction, to other markets. He was a metallurgist who concocted his own steel composition and made Micarta® a handle material of choice. The curve and the sweep of the drop-point hunter and other Loveless creations touch the senses and influence generations of admirers even now.

Robin Askew is alive and living well today at 70.

For Robin, more than half a century of a legend in the making is remembered in light and shadow, the image of her father at work tirelessly building and brainstorming and striving to make his way, and in turn taking care of those close to him. It was, at times, both turbulent and tender, but always something new.

“Daddy was super, super busy,” Robin recalled. “I never made a knife, just swept the shop floor. He would do things in batches and stages, and one of the most fascinating things I remember was when he would cut the leather and make the sheaths on a big stitching machine. He did everything with the knives, from drawing out the patterns to grinding the blades down and shaping them and putting the Micarta, stag or ivory handles on them. After he ground batches of blades, he would test them, pointing them down and dropping them onto the concrete floor of the shop. If the tip cracked, the whole batch of blades would be thrown away—but that never happened.”

Through the years, there were times when the family fractured, quite probably due at least in part to the stress and strain of a one-man enterprise that was on the rise, moving through uncharted territory and challenges. While something incredible was eventually gained, there was a cost to be counted. But such is true in life, true for everyone and in every relationship.

Lawndale & Riverside

For much of her young life in Lawndale, California, Robin lived in a small house with her mother and sister while her father lived in a studio apartment just down the road and worked in his basic shop.

“At the time I grew up with my dad, Allison and I were the oldest, and then Mary came along nine years later,” Robin commented. “Dad was getting to be known while the shop was in Lawndale, and when I was a senior in high school in 1973, the shop in Riverside, California, was not quite ready.

Taken on Christmas 1982, Loveless’s three daughters appear together, in back from left, Robin, Alison and Mary. Bob has his arm around Alison’s daughter Anna, the first Loveless grandchild.

“Still, he was getting telephone calls all the time. We would answer them in the house when he was working, and finally he put a phone in the shop because we had been taking all the calls,” she laughed. “He hired me to be his little secretary, and I would send out the catalogs and address them and seal them and take messages. It was a little weekend job, nice and fun.”

The relocation to Riverside occurred about 1974, and Robin remembers the dramatic change from Lawndale in terms of shop sophistication. “I had moved away,” she said, “and when I came to the shop in Riverside, it was so much more advanced than the little Lawndale shop with so many machines and things to look at. I was fascinated by everything he did, and it was fun to sit in his office.”

Along For The Ride

“Some people were actually frightened of him,” Robin said of her father. “They might have been put off. But his bark was so much worse than his bite.”

By that time, though, the Loveless mystique was already established. Bob was well on his way to custom knife stardom. And those around him? Well, they were along for the ride.

“People had started to come over and meet my dad,” Robin smiled. “There were so many people, different people, ordering knives. He would hang up the phone and say, ‘OK, John Wayne just ordered a knife.’”

Bob Loveless became a friend to the prominent, the eclectic and a diverse spectrum of admirers. Although they may have shared little else, they were each drawn, like moths to a flame, to the world and work of a master. Loveless met David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, stars of the pop music scene with their fame growing exponentially in the late 1960s. Crosby was a frequent visitor.

“When Dad first met them, the three were playing the circuit,” Robin remarked. “They were performing in bars and night clubs, and Dad would sit in with them on stage and play his harmonica. He loved to play the harmonica and had a lot of fun with them. Crosby would come to where Dad lived in the studio apartment about a quarter mile down the street from the house in Lawndale and just hang out. One time, he came to the door and said, ‘Is your dad here?’ and I yelled, ‘Dad, David Crosby is at the front door!’ They would just talk and enjoy themselves and do their thing.

“One time Crosby came into the kitchen and said, ‘Robin, can you make me a cup of coffee? You’re the only one who knows how I like it.’ This is 1973. These guys are really hot. And I’m a senior in high school!”

Vietnam

Robin visited her dad after he set up shop in Riverside, California, where this shot was taken in the backyard. She was 18.

During the 1960s and ’70s, Bob made many knives for military personnel, but Robin says he was sensitive to the situation when it came to his children. “My war was Vietnam,” she reflected, “and Dad made a lot of combat knives for Marines and Special Operations people who went overseas. I never knew that until I was an adult, and I don’t think Dad wanted us to know that. The war was so horrific in my eyes, but I supported everyone who ever went there. Some of them were my schoolmates.

“Dad was not a part of the California culture of that time,” she continued, “because he was always making knives. He had a lot of them on back order, and he would tell me the wait time was five years or six years, and later it got up to 10 years. He didn’t ever really have time to leave the shop, and he never discussed political things unless I called and asked his opinion about something. I do know that he made fighting knives—and these were like ‘killer knives.’ They were unbelievable. Then, his mother and stepfather were murdered in Ohio in 1985. They were stabbed to death in a robbery while he was in Japan.

According to John Denton, Loveless made this fighter in tulip wood with skull-cracker in Lawndale, California, for CIA operative Harry Archer. (Hiro Soga image)

“The decision was made not to tell him about it until he came home. He had already had a heart attack. So, after he was given the terrible news, I believe he felt bad about making knives because sometimes knives took people’s lives. Afterward, he no longer made combat knives.”

The life and times of Bob Loveless were surreal, energized and unequalled in excitement. “I remember once when a gentleman from Japan visited us in California,” Robin added. “My dad was instrumental in helping the Japanese Guild get started, and they would send makers over to work with him. I had no idea who this gentleman was, and you’ve got to remember that the Lawndale shop was just a tiny square box, not fancy but where he had put everything he had into it. This Japanese gentleman bowed to me. I was 16 at the time—and honored that he would bow to me. I didn’t really understand, but Dad said, ‘That’s what they do. They respect us, and they copy us because they respect our work.’”

Bob’s Beehive

Bob also cultivated a relationship with his one-time landlord, Dr. Dixon. He rented a house from Dixon and subsequently bought it. He made knives that Dixon collected, even naming a fighter style after his friend, this one with the Loveless signature logo. (John Denton image)

The Loveless shop, in Lawndale and then Riverside, was a beehive of activity. First, Bob was a solo act, and then great partnerships and friendships emerged. “In the morning, I would go to school, and he was busy all day,” Robin said. “Steve Johnson came in and was his partner. Steve was like an older brother to me. He was a very good boy, very shy and dedicated to learning the craft from my dad. He is maybe five years older than I am, and he grew into a wonderful man.

“Steve had a Camaro, and he would let me drive it,” she continued. “It had a manual shift, not an automatic. I went for the test to get my driver’s license in that car, and it didn’t go too well. The instructor said, ‘Are you all right? You turned too much!’ When we got back to the DMV, I told Steve I had flunked. But he still let me drive his car back home.”

The most famous Loveless knife of all, the drop-point hunter or, as he called it, the dropped hunter.(Dave Ellis/Exquisiteknives.com image)

Bob also cultivated a relationship with his one-time landlord, Dr. Dixon. He rented a house from Dixon and subsequently bought it. He made knives that Dixon collected, even naming a fighter style after his friend. Bob’s buddy Ray Randall was a frequent visitor as well. Robin recalled, “Ray was a sales representative, and he would bring us girls all kinds of shampoos and cream rinses for our hair when he came out to visit Dad.”

Read More On Bob Loveless:

Bob Loveless: The Icon’s Indelible Mark On The Knife Industry

PHOTOS: 15 Greatest Bob Loveless Knives of All-Time

The Legacy of Bob Loveless’s Dropped Hunter

Merritt-Loveless Knives Do Indeed Hold Merit

Dagger Design: Getting A Handle On Crafting The Handle

Knifemaking

Travis Fry
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January 13, 2026
0

Tips on handle materials, shaping/layout, grooves and flutes.

A good knife requires a handle that not only feels right in the hand but also complements the blade’s intent. For daggers especially, few embellishments capture both technical skill and aesthetic elegance like a spiral-fluted handle paired with inlaid twisted wire.

Fluted, wire-inlaid handles trace their lineage to medieval Europe, where 9th-to-12th-century knives were often bound with spirals of wire for both decoration and basic grip enhancement. By the Renaissance, Italian and French artisans had refined this into a sophisticated embellishment. They carved shallow, evenly spaced flutes into hardwoods, stone, ivory or other materials, then inlaid twisted wire into the channels in a demonstration of their mastery of contrasting textures and precise tool control. The grooves not only trimmed handle weight for better balance but also improved the gripping surface so that daggers felt responsive and secure in the hand.

In modern times, this technique remains a key hurdle in the path to attaining the level of master smith from the American Bladesmith Society. Flawless execution of fluting and wire inlay is essential—each flute must be crisply defined and identical in depth and spacing. Each wire strand must be uniformly twisted and fitted without gaps.

When choosing your material for a fluted, wire-wrapped dagger handle, think beyond mere function. You’re going to put in a lot of time on this project, so use something nice.

In the following paragraphs, we’ll walk through choosing handle material, laying out the spirals precisely, and cutting the wire grooves and flutes.

Handle Material

When choosing your material for a fluted, wire-wrapped dagger handle, think beyond mere function. You’re going to put in a lot of time on this project, so use something nice. G-10 and Micarta® are outstanding materials from a purely functional perspective, but they lack the organic warmth and storytelling power found in natural materials. On the other hand, black Richlite and black or ivory-colored paper Micarta can be appealing and affordable substitutes to African blackwood or natural ivories.

Most hardwoods should be stabilized but the various rosewoods, desert ironwood, African blackwood and other similarly hard and dense woods can be used as they are. For collectors seeking rarities, ancient mammoth and walrus ivories are beautiful and carve cleanly, though they can crack if too much heat is allowed during shaping and can expand, contract or crack with changes in humidity. Mammoth ivory can also be difficult to find in large enough sizes without cracks.

Both layout and shaping are made easier if the drilled handle is held between nuts on a long bolt or piece of threaded rod as a fixture.

Consider in advance what type of wire you’ll be using and choose the handle material accordingly. Silver and gold both look great against dark and light materials but consider matching the warmth of the color of gold with warmer-colored materials, and the cooler color of silver with lighter or cooler-colored materials. Think about chatoyance and orient your flutes to highlight the patterns under various types of light. The wires will be the visually dominant part of your completed handle, so the drama and color variation of certain burls and mammoth tooth will be outshone at best and visually distracting at worst.

Costs vary dramatically. Rare hardwoods and ancient ivories carry premium prices and should be ethically sourced. In contrast, G-10 or Micarta balance performance and cost-effectiveness but lack the luxury you’ll want in a signature piece. It’s a good idea to order materials for practice, especially if you’re planning to work with expensive ones. Antler, bone and paper Micarta all work similarly enough to ivory and the harder woods to be valuable for practice. Time spent in practice will not be wasted.

Layout & Shaping

You have carefully chosen the perfect material that fits your well-thought-out, cohesive vision for what impression or statement you want your knife to make, and now it’s time to lay the groundwork for some precision carving. While not strictly essential, it can be helpful to begin by squaring your blank on all faces—accurate squaring guarantees precise drilling and layout alignment for every step. The ends must be square to the tang slot and perfectly parallel to each other to ensure tight fit-up at the end. It will be harder to do this after you’ve shaped the handle, so do it before you start.

Gold and silver are the colors of choice for dagger handle wire wraps. ABS master smith J.W. Randall opts for the gold on the fluted handle of the warmer-colored mammoth ivory core of his art dagger. Overall length: 16 inches. (SharpByCoop image)

First, drill the tang hole. You can use a drill press but a lathe equipped with a four-jaw chuck to hold the squared blank makes it easier to ensure that the hole is dead-center and straight. Both layout and shaping are made easier if the drilled handle is held between nuts on a long bolt or piece of threaded rod as a fixture. With this in mind, it’s useful to drill a clean quarter-inch hole all the way through and save the broaching for the tang until later.

Shaping the handle profile requires some forethought into how it will mate up to the guard and pommel. The simplest transition is to make the ends of the handle and the fittings it meets round, but there are limitless options here. The handle itself doesn’t have to be round, and an oval cross-section makes it easier to index and orient the finished dagger in your hand. Assuming you’ve planned the design thoroughly before starting, shape your handle and sand it up to an even 200-to-300 grit. You’ll have some slips and scratches during the fluting process that you’ll have to sand out later, and your layout lines will be more durable on a rougher surface; there’s no need at this point to polish your handle to its final finish.

The next step is cutting the grooves for your wire, and the most important part of this process is accurate layout. There are a lot of ways to do this, but after trying most of them there is only one that has proven adequate. Luckily, it’s the easiest and the fastest method as well.

The most important part of cutting the grooves for your wire is accurate layout. Though it need not be fancy, a jig of some sort is essential here.

A jig of some sort is essential here, but it doesn’t have to be fancy. Fundamentally, all that is necessary is some means of indexing so that longitudinal lines are evenly spaced, some sort of rest or tool holder allowing the lines to be drawn perfectly straight down the length of your handle, and the ability to rotate your handle to draw evenly spaced lines around the circumference. The number of longitudinal lines is the same as your planned wire count. The number and spacing of circumferential lines around the handle determine your twist rate, and the number of resulting spaces should divide evenly into the wire count.

Once these lines are drawn, connect the corners of your resulting rectangles. Tracing each intersection gives you repeatable spiral guidelines for groove cutting and wire placement. Using a pencil is a good idea, but you can use ink if you’ve verified that it won’t permanently discolor your handle. This is the time for experimentation—you can draw new lines to test new twist rates, but once you start cutting, you’re committed.

Grooves & Flutes

When you’re satisfied with the layout you can begin cutting the wire grooves. With your handle anchored by tightened nuts on a piece of threaded rod, clamp the rod in a vise and start by precisely scoring each guideline with a fine blade in a jeweler’s saw. If you leave the handle slightly loose, you can turn it with one hand while cutting with the other. A blade size of 1/0 is good for this step. Deeper cuts will make the next step easier, so go to the full depth of the blade or slightly beyond. Alternatively, use the corner of a fine triangle file to mark and deepen the lines precisely. In either case, if you have an OptiVisor or, even better, a microscope, this is the time to use it.

With your handle anchored by tightened nuts on a piece of threaded rod, clamp the rod in a vise and start by precisely scoring each guideline with a fine blade in a jeweler’s saw.

Once the line is scored, shape each scored wire groove line with an Olson #4 36 TPI spiral scroll saw blade in a jeweler’s saw. It doesn’t have to be this brand, but since I like my inlaid wire to be made up of two twisted 24g wires, this specific saw blade’s .041-inch diameter is a perfect match for the .040-inch diameter of the combined wire. The resulting half-round groove ensures a very snug fit. Cut carefully until the depth of your grooves reach about half the combined diameter of your twisted wire, in this case approximately 0.020 inch. A single untwisted scrap of your wire can serve as an impromptu depth gauge.

Once all the wire grooves are clean and complete, it’s time to carve the flutes themselves. Lay out flute edges with dividers. Adjust the dividers to the width you need, place one leg in the wire groove, and scribe marks with the other leg to keep the spacing even. Bulk material can be removed with a coarse round file before refining with finer round files to uniform depth and width. It simplifies matters greatly if you plan your groove size to correspond to the diameter of a standard-sized file, though this is not strictly necessary. Ensure all flutes stop at an identical distance from each end of the handle. Each groove ending should be shaped so that every ending is identical—this is the trickiest part.

When filing and finishing flutes, keep the ends identical in length and shape. Any variation will stand out.

If achieving consistent flute endings is the most difficult part, sanding and finishing the grooves is the most tedious. You can start with 220- or 320-grit paper wrapped around a file or rod of the right size. Progress through all the grits until you reach the desired level of finish, ensuring that you remove all scratches from the previous grit before moving to finer paper. Eight-hundred grit leaves a nice matte finish. If you plan to buff your handle to a high gloss, keep sanding up to 1500 or 2000. You can buff out 800-grit scratches, but not without compromising the crispness of the edges of your channels. When the grooves are done, sand the flats between them as well, using a hard backing block to keep the transition between lands and grooves nice and crisp. A lathe makes this last step very fast, but it can be done by hand as well.

With these steps complete, now is the time to broach the handle to fit the tang of your knife.

Read More On Daggers:

Dagger Design: Fundamentals Of Dagger Construction

Dagger Design: Point For Perfecting Blade Performance

Dagger Design: The Geometry of Penetration

Best Daggers: Top Options That Get To The Point

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