Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Some of my recent work

Been forever since I posted here. Been hard at work grinding on blades, chasing deer or helping grandkids in the woods. I'm still alive and hard at it.

Here's my rendition of a Randall model 23. I've always absolutely loved this design. CPM154 stainless, 62.0 Rc. Elk shed I found three years ago on one of my NM hunts. I let em dry down before using them for handles.



My Canadian Skinner model. CPM154, 62.0 Rc. Exhibition grade desert ironwood. I may have sold more of this model than any other blade.



I named this model after the lake that covered up our family farm in the mountains of South Carolina. Lake Keowee. This is my Keowee Kutter. Pretty ol girl. Same CPM154. Also 62.0 Rc. Handle is probably the prettiest piece of Siam Rosewood I've ever seen. The wood cost me a sizable chunk of pocket change . Love this blade. Offside pic. Logo on other side.



Love love love working with vintage files. Love resurrecting a pretty blade from a 50-70 year old rusted up, banged up file. Here's two made with old Nicholson files and stabilized mango handles:



My plain ol Hunter model. I ran out of imaginative names whenever I named it back 25 years ago. CPM154. 61.5 Rc. Exhibition grade desert ironwood. Sold a pile others over the years. Sheath made after I snapped the pic.

Gorgeous work.

Very clean, nice work.

Are these for sale? Interested in a couple

All those are very well done. I hope you are making some money for your time my friend.

Those are all sold in the past six months or so. My order book is pretty stuffed at this time. Hit me up in the near future if interested.



Getting harder to make a dollar or three now. Blade steel has shot up tremendously over the past two or so years. I charge a fair price though…trying not to shaft anyone, but the days of a $125 custom knife are gone.

beautiful work as always Hank.

Very nice work Hank!

Are we at the point where 1095 and 5160 just aren't popular? My experience is only forging steel, not in grinding super steels. I suppose everybody wants the latest and greatest.

Even years ago when I was messing around with it, a popular saying was the fastest way to make a million was to start knifemaking with 2 million.

Thanks, sent a pm

I've got two bars of W2 just sitting there in my shop. Nobody wants a knife made from that. Made a couple of 1095's two-three years ago. I thought I was going to like 5160. Easy heat treat profile. It made a good but not fantastic blade for me. And it rusted f-a-s-t. Yep it's carbon steel so it's supposed to rust! I get it. But it rusted if you looked at it hard. O-1 is a good steel, which I like, but it has a reputation for rusting easy as well. 5160 rusted way faster.

If someone orders a carbon steel blade now, I steer them to PSF-27. It's a "CPM" processed D2 and it's the cat's behind.

5160....got a bar of that too. No orders. Might be a tomato stake soon.

Well, you do fantastic work. But yes things are always in a state of change.

May be speeding up lately. More and more want new stuff and cheap. When we
lose about one more generation of custom makers and buyers we will be getting down
to a much smaller crowd in this set.

I am going to ride out the future with the CPM S35VN I have been using for a few
years. I still have a few blanks/blades in M4, S30V and CPM 154CM to eventually
finish and move on also.

Keep up the good work. I always enjoy looking at high end work.

Thanks so much for the kind words friend! S35VN is great steel as well. I've hesitated in incorporating the super high end steels because all they do is run up the price. Folks are only going to pay so much for a knife to hunt with. Jack it up too much and they go with Havalon instead. 🤣

In my little world CPM154 is about as good as it gets, while maintaining "sharpen-ability" by the owner. I am experimenting with Magnacut, but its edge holding about the same as 154 but you have to cryo the Magnacut to get it as good as my 154. Who knows?

Good looking knives!

Thanks Harry! See you at Blade.

Man those are beautiful knives. I have absolutely no need for a nice custom, but when I see one like that it makes me drool for one. I am going to give in one day. I'll hit you up when I do.

Those are beautifully executed knives Hank !

I've got 5 bars of 5160 1.5" wide 1/4" thick and 5' long. It's my preferred steel for choppers and bowies. I can forge a 10" bladed 2" wide hidden tang bowie with about 5" of that steel. I doubt I will ever use all of it.

Nice work. I'd like to have one. I'm from SC. Did you ever now the knife maker Marvin Poole here?

Marvin was my first mentor back in the day. Taught me a lot. Wonderful man! My roots are in SC…where’s home for you?