- Joined
- Jan 27, 2006
- Messages
- 497
I wanted to recommend a Damascus knife blank maker from the USA, who makes some reasonably priced Damascus blades in patterns that are VERY interesting!
He's Grand Leavitt out of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and sells under the name "snakeriverknives" on ebay. (I have no affiliation, just wanted to give kudos to a fine product and maker)
His very nice "Feather" pattern Bird and Trout sized knife blank arrived recently, and I added a really striking Prime Sambar Stag handle set! A fitting match I think. :thumbup:
This is just one of his MANY neat Damascus patterns. (he also makes replacement Damascus blades for the Buck 110, 112, 532 folder models, and a few other folders
Here is the listing description showing the Damascus makeup of my Bird & Trout blade:
QUOTE: "This is a Very Nice Feather Damascus Bird & Trout Style Blade - This blade is 3 1/2 inches long, 7 1/2 inches overall, and is 5/32 inch thick. Handle holes are 3/16 inch - - Blade is completely finished, sharpened and ready for a handle. This blade is crafted by knife Maker Grand Leavitt of Idaho. I strive to produce the Best Blades on the market and I personally grind and finish every blade I sell -. This blade is forged in the Snake River valley of Idaho and is made up of 200 layers of 1095 carbon steel and 15N20 Nickel steel. This steel in not an import! It is heat treated and tempered to a Rockwell 57 to 58."
I did reshaped the butt area of the blank a bit, to better fit my own hand and preferences. He does offer a Bird & Trout blade with a more rounded butt (like I arrived at), but he didn't have it in this particular pattern at the time. The reshaping wasn't really necessary and would have functioned fine as it was,......but I was used to a certain "feel". I got there with the changes, and in the pattern I wanted. I also deepened the index finger groove a bit, as I also prefer them deeper.
Here are his pics from the ebay listing. The central "feather" section also reminded me of what happens to ballistic jelly when a high powered bullet hits when shown in slow motion!
And here are some pics showing what a fabulous piece of Sambar Stag can do to a Knife, bought from Culpepper & Co at www.knifehandles.com What was nice about this material is that even after trimming away substantial portions away, there was still some very nice color remaining in those areas. The colors go deep, and on this set the slab details are VERY well matched to each side! At $42 for the 4" length material, this was a reasonable cost to complete the knife. (I noticed longer 4-1/2" long "Prime" Sambar stag often reaches $92 and above :-(
What can I say,.....I like a rounded butt!
I just happened to have a very nice sheath I picked up a few years ago on ebay,....and it's a very nice match in color and quality to the finished blade.
Anyway, not a bad way to spend a few hours, and have a part of "you" involved in the finished knife.
He's Grand Leavitt out of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and sells under the name "snakeriverknives" on ebay. (I have no affiliation, just wanted to give kudos to a fine product and maker)
His very nice "Feather" pattern Bird and Trout sized knife blank arrived recently, and I added a really striking Prime Sambar Stag handle set! A fitting match I think. :thumbup:
This is just one of his MANY neat Damascus patterns. (he also makes replacement Damascus blades for the Buck 110, 112, 532 folder models, and a few other folders
Here is the listing description showing the Damascus makeup of my Bird & Trout blade:
QUOTE: "This is a Very Nice Feather Damascus Bird & Trout Style Blade - This blade is 3 1/2 inches long, 7 1/2 inches overall, and is 5/32 inch thick. Handle holes are 3/16 inch - - Blade is completely finished, sharpened and ready for a handle. This blade is crafted by knife Maker Grand Leavitt of Idaho. I strive to produce the Best Blades on the market and I personally grind and finish every blade I sell -. This blade is forged in the Snake River valley of Idaho and is made up of 200 layers of 1095 carbon steel and 15N20 Nickel steel. This steel in not an import! It is heat treated and tempered to a Rockwell 57 to 58."
I did reshaped the butt area of the blank a bit, to better fit my own hand and preferences. He does offer a Bird & Trout blade with a more rounded butt (like I arrived at), but he didn't have it in this particular pattern at the time. The reshaping wasn't really necessary and would have functioned fine as it was,......but I was used to a certain "feel". I got there with the changes, and in the pattern I wanted. I also deepened the index finger groove a bit, as I also prefer them deeper.
Here are his pics from the ebay listing. The central "feather" section also reminded me of what happens to ballistic jelly when a high powered bullet hits when shown in slow motion!
And here are some pics showing what a fabulous piece of Sambar Stag can do to a Knife, bought from Culpepper & Co at www.knifehandles.com What was nice about this material is that even after trimming away substantial portions away, there was still some very nice color remaining in those areas. The colors go deep, and on this set the slab details are VERY well matched to each side! At $42 for the 4" length material, this was a reasonable cost to complete the knife. (I noticed longer 4-1/2" long "Prime" Sambar stag often reaches $92 and above :-(
What can I say,.....I like a rounded butt!
I just happened to have a very nice sheath I picked up a few years ago on ebay,....and it's a very nice match in color and quality to the finished blade.
Anyway, not a bad way to spend a few hours, and have a part of "you" involved in the finished knife.
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