The Apprentice Thread

Appalachian

Appalachian

Joined
Jun 13, 2017
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38
We (Cody and Kyle) are fortunate to be surrounded by such an amazing group of knife makers at the shop, such as; Andy, Allen (W.A. Surls Knives), Dylan (Fletcher Knives), and Chris (Osprey Knife and Tool) and we have a unique opportunity to see all their different styles come together as they make knives and also to hear their individual philosophies behind the many aspects of knife making. This is something that the two of us have greatly benefited from and have been able to experience a rapid learning curve not typically available to new makers.
It's for that reason that we wanted to start this thread to be able to show you all a different view behind the curtain here and to share our work and progress with the community. We hope to create a place to bounce ideas around with fellow knife lovers and to open up the door for discussion by making ourselves easily available for questions or thoughts if any arise.
We look forward to having lots of great discussions and sharing works in progress and finished works with everyone!
-The Apprentices
Cody Gibson and Kyle Mellino
 
Great idea guys!! To be surrounded by master craftsmen must be awesome indeed.
When will we see some of your knives Cody? Hopefully we have a chance to "shark" some soon.
Kyle your knives have been hot shark bait on FF!!! Been trying to add a few more to keep my Kiwi company.
You all work at a Great American company and can't think of a better place to spend my hard earned money‼️
 
Absolutly, as andy said, iv been a little intimidated on putting my work up here, i never quite felt they were ready to put up for comparison. I have become a little more confident in my work now. Here are a few knives i have completed.
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First one has a nice clean plunge and grind! Good work. Liner work is super nice on #2.
 
Tutone said:
Great idea guys!! To be surrounded by master craftsmen must be awesome indeed.
When will we see some of your knives Cody? Hopefully we have a chance to "shark" some soon.
Kyle your knives have been hot shark bait on FF!!! Been trying to add a few more to keep my Kiwi company.
You all work at a Great American company and can't think of a better place to spend my hard earned money‼️
Click to expand...

Lets be clear that I am not a master craftsman. But, I have seen that it is helpful even to learn from a journeyman such as me. And Thank You for buying American, and of course for buying Fiddlebacks!
 
Tutone said:
Great idea guys!! To be surrounded by master craftsmen must be awesome indeed.
When will we see some of your knives Cody? Hopefully we have a chance to "shark" some soon.
Kyle your knives have been hot shark bait on FF!!! Been trying to add a few more to keep my Kiwi company.
You all work at a Great American company and can't think of a better place to spend my hard earned money‼️
Click to expand...

I finished this one up today, it's a full size kiwi basically and I'm thinking about naming it something like the Ostrich or Cassowary lol big bird versions of the Kiwi
 

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Fiddleback said:
Lets be clear that I am not a master craftsman. But, I have seen that it is helpful even to learn from a journeyman such as me. And Thank You for buying American, and of course for buying Fiddlebacks!
Click to expand...
I've never been so proud to buy an American handmade product such as yours Andy! You have a great crew and I consider everyone masters of each stage of their craft.
When you offer a product that many many appreciate and want, that shows your doing it right. The first Fiddleback I held in my hand is when I "got it"!
 
I'll take 1&5 please, thank you!  :D Outstanding work though. Seeing stuff like this really gives me the mental push to try my hand at knife making. Hopefully one day I'll be in the right place to do so. Until then keep up the good work, and keep this thread going to let us live vicariously through you both!
 
It's great to see the progress of Kyle and Cody. They are headed the right direction. I too am no where near a master, I just get lucky a lot. I enjoy sharing the knowledge I can with them as it has always been shared with me. Keep up the good work fellows.
 
Cody, your work looks great! What's the story on the little guys (1&4)? OAL? Edge length? I dig those little guys!

Kyle your big Kiwi looks great! I get a kick out of my little Kiwi.
 
Wurrwulf said:
Cody, your work looks great! What's the story on the little guys (1&4)? OAL? Edge length? I dig those little guys!

Kyle your big Kiwi looks great! I get a kick out of my little Kiwi.
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Thanks Shawn! I always love to hear that people are enjoying my knives. I love my little kiwi, I use it all the time. Just for fun here's a picture of my Kiwi and the full size next to each other.
 

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allen456 said:
It's great to see the progress of Kyle and Cody. They are headed the right direction. I too am no where near a master, I just get lucky a lot. I enjoy sharing the knowledge I can with them as it has always been shared with me. Keep up the good work fellows.
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Thanks Allen!
 
I'm digging that little black and red blade, as well as the one sporting the tan micarta(?). Awesome looking blades. I sure as heck wouldn't complain adding either of those to my collection.
 
I recently was able to score my first Kyle knife on last Friday's sale thread. Completely impressed! I will be looking for more of both your work in the near future. I too wish I had the skills to perform this fine work. As of now, you guys keep it real for me and all others that regular these forums and shark your blades!! Keep cranking them out Andy, Allen, Kyle, Cody Chris and Dylan!!
 
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Wurrwulf said:
Cody, your work looks great! What's the story on the little guys (1&4)? OAL? Edge length? I dig those little guys!

Kyle your big Kiwi looks great! I get a kick out of my little Kiwi.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
do you mean 2 and 4?
Number 4 (still unnamed)
Blade length: 2 1/2"
OAL: 2 1/4
(number 2) was a spin off, similar specs as the other, just a little thicker.
 
Choppaman said:
I recently was able to score my first Kyle knife on last Friday's sale thread. Completely impressed! I will be looking for more of both your work in the near future. I too wish I had the skills to perform this fine work. As of now, you guys keep it real for me and all others that regular these forums and shark your blades!! Keep cranking them out Andy, Allen, Kyle, Cody Chris and Dylan!!
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That Caiman with spalted maple came out awesome! I'm glad to know it went to a good home. Spalted maple is one of my favorite woods, I think it's so good looking. You'll for sure see it on some more stuff in the future. I have two sets of scales ready to go soo....maybe really soon!
 
Fridays are usually pretty crazy for me, but i got alot of work done today, four more ground out and heat treated!
Also, im pretty sure i figured out a more permanent name for the bottom one of the first picture, The Carolina Reaper.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions!
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