Ken Erickson Knives: A Retrospective

A fresh picture of one of Ken's great knives; this serpentine Jack with recycled Westinghouse micarta handles - exquisitely made knife, shown here with
Old, whiteheart trade beads from the early American Fur trade, or possibly traded into Africa!!
The micarta darkens with age!!Westinghouse A.jpg
 
Wow! Thank you fellows for posting up some pictures of some of my knives and the very kind comments.

Just a few words. I can not express how much it means to me when I think back on the folks here on BladeForums that I consider friends and those that commented and or acquired my work. Life has a funny way of changing courses and these last years have been a ride for me. I got heavily involved in land restoration on a parcel of land I purchased in early 2017 which I was laser focused on.

I thought I would explain a bit, without beating the subject to death, one of the reasons I pulled back from building knives. With all that was going on at that time I felt I was not able to keep progressing , or even maintain , the level of build quality of my knives. I did not want to start sending out knives under those circumstances.

My interest in tradition pocket knives has not wained and with things at a point with my land project etc, I will be popping in to Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades more often to catch up on what's new and check out the new to me, talented makers :).
 
ken erickson said:
Wow! Thank you fellows for posting up some pictures of some of my knives and the very kind comments.

Just a few words. I can not express how much it means to me when I think back on the folks here on BladeForums that I consider friends and those that commented and or acquired my work. Life has a funny way of changing courses and these last years have been a ride for me. I got heavily involved in land restoration on a parcel of land I purchased in early 2017 which I was laser focused on.

I thought I would explain a bit, without beating the subject to death, one of the reasons I pulled back from building knives. With all that was going on at that time I felt I was not able to keep progressing , or even maintain , the level of build quality of my knives. I did not want to start sending out knives under those circumstances.

My interest in tradition pocket knives has not wained and with things at a point with my land project etc, I will be popping in to Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades more often to catch up on what's new and check out the new to me, talented makers :).
Click to expand...

Thanks for checking in Ken! I was lucky enough to score one of your customs and it is the only one to remain in my collection. hope to see you back at it some day
 
ken erickson said:
Wow! Thank you fellows for posting up some pictures of some of my knives and the very kind comments.

Just a few words. I can not express how much it means to me when I think back on the folks here on BladeForums that I consider friends and those that commented and or acquired my work. Life has a funny way of changing courses and these last years have been a ride for me. I got heavily involved in land restoration on a parcel of land I purchased in early 2017 which I was laser focused on.

I thought I would explain a bit, without beating the subject to death, one of the reasons I pulled back from building knives. With all that was going on at that time I felt I was not able to keep progressing , or even maintain , the level of build quality of my knives. I did not want to start sending out knives under those circumstances.

My interest in tradition pocket knives has not wained and with things at a point with my land project etc, I will be popping in to Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades more often to catch up on what's new and check out the new to me, talented makers :).
Click to expand...
Ken it is awesome to hear from you again. We have all missed you greatly. Your knives are still some of the absolute jewels of my collection. I treasure every one and I have managed to find a few more here and there in the aftermarket.

That split back whittler that you made Elliot I still consider one of the finest custom knives it has ever been my privilege to handle.
I know I speak for many when I say that should you ever start making knives again you would quickly find a popularity and following the likes of which you could not imagine.

I'm not sure where in the U.S. you are but I hope that at some time in the future we can meet up again. It would be fabulous to catch up after all these years.

My best wishes to you..........Steven
 
ken erickson said:
Wow! Thank you fellows for posting up some pictures of some of my knives and the very kind comments.

Just a few words. I can not express how much it means to me when I think back on the folks here on BladeForums that I consider friends and those that commented and or acquired my work. Life has a funny way of changing courses and these last years have been a ride for me. I got heavily involved in land restoration on a parcel of land I purchased in early 2017 which I was laser focused on.

I thought I would explain a bit, without beating the subject to death, one of the reasons I pulled back from building knives. With all that was going on at that time I felt I was not able to keep progressing , or even maintain , the level of build quality of my knives. I did not want to start sending out knives under those circumstances.

My interest in tradition pocket knives has not wained and with things at a point with my land project etc, I will be popping in to Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades more often to catch up on what's new and check out the new to me, talented makers :).
Click to expand...
Good to see you here Ken. Thanks for the update.
 
ken erickson said:
Wow! Thank you fellows for posting up some pictures of some of my knives and the very kind comments.

Just a few words. I can not express how much it means to me when I think back on the folks here on BladeForums that I consider friends and those that commented and or acquired my work. Life has a funny way of changing courses and these last years have been a ride for me. I got heavily involved in land restoration on a parcel of land I purchased in early 2017 which I was laser focused on.

I thought I would explain a bit, without beating the subject to death, one of the reasons I pulled back from building knives. With all that was going on at that time I felt I was not able to keep progressing , or even maintain , the level of build quality of my knives. I did not want to start sending out knives under those circumstances.

My interest in tradition pocket knives has not wained and with things at a point with my land project etc, I will be popping in to Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades more often to catch up on what's new and check out the new to me, talented makers :).
Click to expand...
Thanks for saying Hi Ken!
You've been missed.

Dave
PS, Your photo of your hand is still my avatar!
 
Thank you all for the kind welcome back posts!
It is fun for me to see some of the knives and glad that they are being enjoyed, carried, used and traded.

Funny that my gunsmithing was brought up. When I was in gunsmithing school , Co School of trades circa 1981 I was required to stock from a blank a minimum of 3 rifles. I stocked a Mk 10 barreled action in 243 for myself and like most beginning knife makers I left way too much wood on the stock. Fast forward to a month ago and I finally cleaned up the knife shop and went about remodeling that rifle. First checkering I have done in 23 years.

Long story short, and not sure myself but cleaning up the knife shop, I had pretty much just put it in mothballs, sold off no machines or tools etc, made me ponder if I still have the skill to put together a decent quality slip joint. Winters can be long in Wi which also keeps me from my habitat project as frequently as it does durning warmer months.

(mods, if the pictures are not appropriate for this thread I will delete. I just signed up for Imgur so wanted to try inserting a image)
TdboSWo.jpeg

NYSeCtn.jpeg

cb5c3vL.jpeg
 
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ken erickson said:
Wow! Thank you fellows for posting up some pictures of some of my knives and the very kind comments.

Just a few words. I can not express how much it means to me when I think back on the folks here on BladeForums that I consider friends and those that commented and or acquired my work. Life has a funny way of changing courses and these last years have been a ride for me. I got heavily involved in land restoration on a parcel of land I purchased in early 2017 which I was laser focused on.

I thought I would explain a bit, without beating the subject to death, one of the reasons I pulled back from building knives. With all that was going on at that time I felt I was not able to keep progressing , or even maintain , the level of build quality of my knives. I did not want to start sending out knives under those circumstances.

My interest in tradition pocket knives has not wained and with things at a point with my land project etc, I will be popping in to Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades more often to catch up on what's new and check out the new to me, talented makers :).
Click to expand...
Nice to hear from you Ken! I hope to see you around, and I hope you enjoy the new generation of makers that are around!!
Joy and Health to you old friend!!
 
ken erickson said:
Wow! Thank you fellows for posting up some pictures of some of my knives and the very kind comments.

Just a few words. I can not express how much it means to me when I think back on the folks here on BladeForums that I consider friends and those that commented and or acquired my work. Life has a funny way of changing courses and these last years have been a ride for me. I got heavily involved in land restoration on a parcel of land I purchased in early 2017 which I was laser focused on.

I thought I would explain a bit, without beating the subject to death, one of the reasons I pulled back from building knives. With all that was going on at that time I felt I was not able to keep progressing , or even maintain , the level of build quality of my knives. I did not want to start sending out knives under those circumstances.

My interest in tradition pocket knives has not wained and with things at a point with my land project etc, I will be popping in to Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades more often to catch up on what's new and check out the new to me, talented makers :).
Click to expand...
Hi Ken it's great to meet you on here if not in person yet. I'm one of the new generation of traditional makers that has been inspired by your amazing knives. I'm a good friend of Charlie's and live near him so I've seen a lot of your work first hand and it has taught me what perfect fit and finish looks like. You are a legend, sir.
Rhidian
 
Rhidian said:
Hi Ken it's great to meet you on here if not in person yet. I'm one of the new generation of traditional makers that has been inspired by your amazing knives. I'm a good friend of Charlie's and live near him so I've seen a lot of your work first hand and it has taught me what perfect fit and finish looks like. You are a legend, sir.
Rhidian
Click to expand...
Thank you sir! I just checked out your thread and wow! Great work and good selection of traditional patterns and patterns of your own with your spin.
 
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