JW225
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2021
- Messages
- 2,672
Thought it would be nice to have a place to share and discuss the early Northwoods Knives, specifically from the Dave Shirley era (early 2000’s to 2010) – fixed blades, slipjoints, Scagel repros, you name it. I know that there are a number of folks here who have some great examples of these knives, as well as a good bit of knowledge in this area – so I hope folks will share their related knives and knowledge here.
To kick things off, I thought I’d share a project that started by complete chance. A while back, I came across a Northwoods Scagel repro – a combo fixed blade/slipjoint that was a copy of one of William Scagel’s original creations. That knife really ignited my interest in William Scagel, as well as the whole Michigan knife scene, much of it centered in Gladstone – Marble’s and Northwoods – in addition to Scagel’s home base of Fruitport. The knife came with a couple of surprises – the first, one of Dave Shirley’s business cards, with a personal note on the back:
It also included a Northwoods brochure, circa 2005, detailing a number of available knives, as well as some upcoming offerings. I thought it was an amazing treasure trove! Over time, I have been able to find an example of each one of the knives featured in the brochure, so, thought I’d share them here:
Looking forward to seeing some more early Northwoods knives!
To kick things off, I thought I’d share a project that started by complete chance. A while back, I came across a Northwoods Scagel repro – a combo fixed blade/slipjoint that was a copy of one of William Scagel’s original creations. That knife really ignited my interest in William Scagel, as well as the whole Michigan knife scene, much of it centered in Gladstone – Marble’s and Northwoods – in addition to Scagel’s home base of Fruitport. The knife came with a couple of surprises – the first, one of Dave Shirley’s business cards, with a personal note on the back:
It also included a Northwoods brochure, circa 2005, detailing a number of available knives, as well as some upcoming offerings. I thought it was an amazing treasure trove! Over time, I have been able to find an example of each one of the knives featured in the brochure, so, thought I’d share them here:
Looking forward to seeing some more early Northwoods knives!
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In all of this time, I have only ever come across one other example. The photo with the brochure above doesn't really do it justice, so here is a better pic that captures the beautiful Cocobolo handle...
