C. Kelly Customs (partial Gallery of my work)

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

Recently I developed a new fixed EDC size knife that I intend to use while backpacking. However, the overall design is intended to be an EDC size knife that can handle whatever the day may bring while being especially well suited for those playing or working in or around water. The acute piercing point is for making the initial puncture of a fish belly (for fish cleaning) easier. Easier also means safer and that's important in the wilderness. The piercing tip is also especially good for dispatching (brain stabbing) ocean fish when needed. The blade-handle orientation allows for the entire blade edge to be used fully in all types of cuts, including cutting on a horizontal surface (like a cutting board). This makes it convenient for cutting bait and eating dinner as well. The steel is stain-proof LC200N and I will offer future models in Vanax. The handle materials are all water stable materials and the pinned bolster is nickel silver.
I first made a prototype to work out the last few details. This is the prototype.. I use AEB-L for most of my protypes because it's cheap and easy and still results in a knife worth keeping. For anyone that doesn't know..AEB-L is extremely good quality steel for the price.

After using the prototype for about 2 weeks I decided on the final refinements. I was looking at things like spine thickness, and ergonomics mostly. Most of the changes were very small and had to do with handle shaping. I decide to go with a gently rounded forward section and increased the "hook on the bird's beak" holding the pinky finger among a few other things.

Here is the prototype next to the final design.

The Heron

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

The person who purchased the first Heron runs a fishing boat in Florida and spends time in the Bahamas during the Summer. He wanted to be able to use the Heron while diving as well as while exploring island shallows on foot. Also, his preference was to attach it to his lower leg while diving. He asked if I would make an extra sheath that would accommodate these activities. Although the Heron is definitely not designed to be a dive knife, I did my best to design a sheath/rig that would perform well in the scenarios that he suggested.
My goals were to keep the knife held securely, to keep his leg safe while re-sheathing the knife in dark water, and to make it comfortable to walk with it on his leg.
After 3 attempts I had the design working the way I wanted.

I made the support structure out of nylon webbing and used neoprene to make it comfortable. The holstex sheath sits in a neoprene pocket and is anchored to an anodized titanium triangle. The hook and loop leg straps use custom made anodized titanium rings as well. After testing in the surf I was very pleased with the overall functionality and very pleasantly surprised that it was so comfortable I could jog with it and just walking around I could easily forget it was there.

 

[Jeff the Millwright]

My friend Lance commissioned me to make him a large filet of his own design. I don't make knives for people who want me to make their design, Lance is the one exception. He gave me free-reign to do whatever I wanted with the handle so since he's a big-shot kayak fishing guy I decided to try to emulate an ocean wave between the bolster and the handle body.
The knife is CMP20CV.

Excellent fitting work on the wave.

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

Heron #002 finally complete!
This one is Vanax with a handle made from jade G10, white G10 and marbled carbon fiber. The bolster is nickel silver. There is one small refinement on this one. The bolster is moved forward about 2.5mm. This one also has an alternate jimping pattern that I will use on occasion.

 

[AlongTheRazorsEdge]

Absolutely beautiful craftsmanship!

 

[FOG2]

Wow i, m so glad I checked this thread.
Amazing designs and finished products. Sir !

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

Absolutely beautiful craftsmanship!

Wow i, m so glad I checked this thread.
Amazing designs and finished products. Sir !

Thank you very much!!

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

I took a 2 hour break away from working on the current knife in my shop and made a couple scraps into something useful (hopefully). This weekend I'll be headed to the John Muir Wilderness to spend a few days in the back-country and even though I typically fish with flies 95% of the time in high mountain areas, I made myself a pair of lures to bring along just in case windy or rainy conditions require me to put the flies away.

One is 6/4 Ti, the other is white timascus.

Hopefully they make it back with me at the end of the trip...but we'll see...

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

Coop #005

This one is the first Coop I've made in Vanax. The handle is G10 and C-Tek with G10 liners. The hardware is nickel.

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

This is a new model I call the Osprey.

This first one is Z-Wear with nickel bolsters, nickel corbys, nickel lanyard tube and G-Carta handle.

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

This one is just a learning experiment for me really. I had not yet made a Puukko and the design concept gave me an opportunity to try some things I don't usually do. I don't generally make narrowing tang knives. As a result, I don't usually make stacked handles. Also, since it's acceptable to make a small Puukko I used an off-cut piece of S35VN that was otherwise too small to make anything else. I stayed with the off-cut/scrap idea for the handle as well. I pulled some stabilized Claro Walnut off-cuts and some G-carta off-cuts out of the scrap drawer and added a little G10 and Titanium to the mix. For a pommel nut, I just tapped some 6/4 Titanium rod and shaped it into a simple "glass breaker" shape.

The blade is hollow ground with a hollow swedge. I know it's not the traditional scandi grind that is expected on a Puukko, but I felt that the steel I was using was a bit too thick for a scandi grind so I went hollow. This is the first of a set of 3 I'm doing right now. I am doing them in 3 different grinds and planning 3 different pommel attachment methods. All of 3 are just for the sake of learning.

The sheath is the traditional Finnish style with a wood inner sheath wrapped in leather and stitched up one side. With this particular handle shape, this sheath style works shockingly well.

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

Continuing my learning about Puukkos... At some point I will build a proper Puukko and get all the details right, but for now I'm using the Puukko concept to try a few various details for myself and form my own views of some of the subtle variations that might be considered in designing a Puukko.

So far I've tried 3 different methods for securing the pommel to the handle. I have used multiple bevel grinds and spine treatments. I have used 3 different steel thicknesses. I have also experimented with the location of the plunge line, thickness of the handle and a few different measurements between the top of the guard and the blade spine. I am also experimenting with sheath configurations. All three so far have a hard inner-scabbard as is traditional for Finnish sheaths. I have tried both wood and resin for the scabbard material and I have wrapped 2 in leather the traditional Finnish way while one is wrapped more like a western or American sheath.

Here's the next 2 I've completed..

This one is Vanax steel. The guard is CF. The tang is threaded and the handle is secured using a hidden nut that bolts it all together. The nut is hidden in a recess under the CF pommel and the CF pommel is also threaded onto the tang. All of it is locked together with epoxy as well of course.

On this one I went with a flat primary bevel and a flat swedge. I took both the swedge and the bevel all the way up to the guard. I wanted to see what I thought of this both from a maker's perspective and from a user's perspective.

The handle materials are CF/copper/jade G10 and black G10.

This time I used Kirinite for the scabbard material.

The next one I made in Z-Wear. The guard and pommel are brass and the other handle materials are G10, C-Tek and Rosewood burl.

This time I used thicker steel and gave the blade significant distal taper. I used a low hollow grind and no swedge. I brought the plunge line very close to the guard but not all the way up to it.

For this pommel, I rounded and tapered the tang and ground both sides flat. The brass pommel has a hole slightly smaller than the max radius of the tang. As I finished stacking the handle materials with epoxy I pounded the pommel into place, forcing the steel to re-shape the pommel hole as it wedges together. Epoxy fills the two small gaps created by the fact that the tang had been ground flat on both sides to allow the other parts to slide into place. Although I see lots of Puukkos built this way, I have to test this method myself in order to be convinced that it's going to prove life-time durable as I require. Time and testing will tell me what I need to know about this construction method.

The inner scabbard is bamboo..

This sheath was wrapped in leather with the seam down the sharpened edge of the knife instead of the side of the blade.

After I have a chance to do a little more testing I will be able to make decisions about which details I like best and why. At that point I can begin to design a Puukko or multiple Puukkos (various sizes) that have all the little details ironed out. Even though Puukkos are usually made with a carbon steels or low allow steel, I intend to use high-allow tool steels (like Z-Wear) and some high-toughness stainless steels as well (like S35VN and Magna-Cut). I already have a piece of Magna-Cut set to be the first of my "proper" Puukkos. Coming soon...

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

Here's a couple side by side shots of the 3 "test" puukkos.

 

[eric brinkerhoff]

Well done,sir!
P.S. Keep up the good work!

 

[Rose and Thistle Custom]

After using the prototype for about 2 weeks I decided on the final refinements. I was looking at things like spine thickness, and ergonomics mostly. Most of the changes were very small and had to do with handle shaping. I decide to go with a gently rounded forward section and increased the "hook on the bird's beak" holding the pinky finger among a few other things.

The Heron

Really like this.

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

Here's my latest small EDC design. Somewhat inspired by the Loveless City Knife, this one is a compact knife with pinned bolsters and a tapered tang. The blade is full height hollow ground S35VN. For this first one I decided to use green micarta with cherry red liners. Bolsters and corbys are nickel.

I call it the Kestrel

 

[BaadMan121]

Cool! Every knives that you made looks great

 

[d762nato]

Good looking knives!

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

Here's another Coop recently completed.

This one is LC200N as requested by the new owner. The handle is Fatcarbon Green Dark Matter CF with white G10 accents and nickel hardware.

 

[C.Kelly Custom Knives]

I just recently completed another Loveless style project. This one is my version of a Nessmuk hunter in the style of a Loveless knife. The blade is S35VN. The guard is stainless steel. The handle bolts and lanyard tube are nickel. The scales are made from vintage aged Westinghouse Micarta rod salvaged from an abandoned factory. Liners are ruby red G10.