Keith Nelson custom

[snow and steel]

Probably the last knife ever made by Dr. Keith Nelson.

I’ve taken some pictures to illustrate the knife, though perhaps my photography skills are not the best. Dr. Nelson cut and shaped the knife using a stock removal method, tempered and heat treated the blade, polished and finished the blade, fitted the handle, gave it a final buff and polish, and then its final sharpening, all by hand himself. He explained some of the equipment he used for this process, much of it going over my head, though apparently it is quite an elaborate process to heat treat and temper this steel correctly, and rather time consuming to make the knife in whole by hand. The handle is one solid formed piece of linen micarta, and the pins and guard are nickel silver. The blade is made from ATS-34 steel.

The handle is one block of linen micarta, cut to shape and pinned to the stock. The pins are configured two on one side and one on the other. The pins are secured in a way that they cannot be pressed though, and since the micarta is one piece it should hold fast unless the entire handle breaks, which would seem rather unlikely. The tang can be seen through the top part of the handle, providing a unique top view. A lanyard hole is also present.

The blade has a top swedge cut that is sharpened. The swedge is sharpened and is as sharp as some knife edges come from the factory, but it is no where near as sharp as the actual edge, which is literally shaving sharp.

The logo is electrically etched into the blade, essentially “burning” the image into the steel so that it will not fade or wear off, but without distressing or displacing any of the steel as would be common if it were stamped into the blade.

ENJOY!

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

Nice.

You say it's probably his last knife. Do you know if he's sill around? (I'm hoping you meant that he just stopped making knives, not that he passed away.)

I have a cord wrapped fighter I got from him in the early '80s.

 

[snow and steel]

Nice.

You say it's probably his last knife. Do you know if he's sill around? (I'm hoping you meant that he just stopped making knives, not that he passed away.)

I have a cord wrapped fighter I got from him in the early '80s.

He's still around - I'm very fortunate to know the man personally - but he hasn't made knives for probably a decade or more and has no intention of making them again. I suppose he could get a wild hair and make one, but the outlook is doubtful and he is getting up in his years.

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

Thanks - glad to know he's still with us. The fighter I have is the first custom I ever ordered - I talked to Dr. Nelson on the phone to do so, and I was quite excited to be speaking to the man who would actually make my knife!

 

[snow and steel]

Thanks - glad to know he's still with us. The fighter I have is the first custom I ever ordered - I talked to Dr. Nelson on the phone to do so, and I was quite excited to be speaking to the man who would actually make my knife!

If you've never met the man, you would have really loved to sit and talk with him. He's a very interesting fellow.

Dr. Keith Nelson is a former member of the Army Special Forces, as well as being a Certified Firearms Instructor. Dr. Nelson has been shooting for over half a century with rifles, shotguns and handguns. He was a member of the US Army Special Forces from 1970 – 1977, and was eventually severely wounded by a land mine. As a NRA Certified Pistol Instructor he has taught the concealed carry course to over 3,000 citizens. Dr. Nelson is also the author of the military action adventure book “Shadow tracker”. Dr. Nelson made many knives in the 80’s, all one at a time and by hand, and sold them in a sporting gods store near Columbus GA, near the ranger battalion. Dr. Nelson hasn’t really made any knives in perhaps the last 10 to 15 years though, as others thing shave kept him very busy. You might call him a warrior poet - he’s certainly been a warrior, an artist, a writer, a teacher, and a mentor.

I’ve had the pleasure, privilege and honor to know Dr. Nelson for several years now and to call him a friend.

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

Here's a pic of the knife I was talking about. . . View attachment 636475

 

[snow and steel]

Here's a pic of the knife I was talking about. . . View attachment 636475

hmmm.... can't see it for some reason?

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

Well, let's try that again. . . . View attachment 636689

 

[snow and steel]

Keeps saying;
"Invalid Attachment specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator."

Have you tried just loading the image into tinypic?

 

[Craig Daniel]

First I have heard of Dr. Nelson , He is a skilled maker.

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

Well, shoot. I never used to have trouble posting pictures here. Let's try this - it's a direct link to the page I put the pic on. It's the one right on the top.

http://schallerknives.com/temppicturehosting.html

 

[snow and steel]

OK, now I can see it - it has to be the very top knife pictured. That was one of his "ranger" knives, he made quite a few of those and sold them to that hunting/sporting/outdoor store just off base near Benning, so you can guess where most of those knives ended up. That's a very cool score!

 

[lukus]

Wow, Snow, I really like that knife. Just an awesome old school fighter.

And Brett, yours is pretty cool too. There's a lot of work in that if Dr. Nelson used stock removal to profile out that blade. Off topic, is that a 240Z the skateboarder is jumping?

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

Off topic, is that a 240Z the skateboarder is jumping?

Yeah, it is. That skateboarder is me, in my younger days. That was taken in 1984 or so.

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

By the way, I still have Dr. Nelson's catalog that I ordered from him. Not a printed brochure, but a couple of typewritten pages and some Polaroids, as was common back then.

 

[snow and steel]

By the way, I still have Dr. Nelson's catalog that I ordered from him. Not a printed brochure, but a couple of typewritten pages and some Polaroids, as was common back then.

Wow! now that I don't think I've ever seen, lol! very cool!