I currently purchase Damascus Steel knife blanks from several different sources that I trust and have had a lot of prior experience. Why Damascus Steel? All of the blanks I purchase are full tang blanks because I believe this makes for a superior knife with better balance. These blanks range in thickness from 1/8" to 5/32". The blanks purchased have had the blade portion heat treated and tempered to a Rockwell "C" hardness of 56-58. Most have also been Mar Quenched in a state-of-the-art heat treating system for 20% greater toughness and superior edge holding properties. The blanks I purchase have never been sharpened, which is the way I like it. It saves fingers! It also allows me to customize the sharpening angles. See the article on how I sharpen a knife on our Shop Talk web page.

A set of handle slabs (scales) are then selected for the Knife based on character of the knife. I fabricate the scales in my shop from a family of woods termed "Ironwoods". These are are some of the 4-5 hardest woods on the earth and are have a specific gravity greater than 1.0, which means they are so dense that the wood actually sinks in water. They include Desert Ironwood, Curly Black Mulga, Ceylon Ebony, and Lignum Vitae. We stick to this selection of woods for several reasons. These woods have beautiful grain and neglectable "Movement in Service". "Movement in Service" describes how a piece of wood changes dimensionally with time, temperature, and humidity. I have had less dense woods like Black Walnut, Cocobolo Rosewood, Maple, etc. actually swell as much as a 1/64" to 1/32" beyond the edges of the polished blank in the summer when temperatures and humidity is on the rise or shrink and equal amount past the edge of the polished blank in the dead of winter when temperatures are cool and the humidity is very dry.

The scales are fastened to the blank using an even and continuous coating of Devcon 2-Ton Epoxy, two or more 1/4" hidden bolt fasteners, and "Epoxy Rivets". The hidden bolt fasteners are either #303 Stainless Steel or Nickel/Silver. An "Epoxy Rivet" is a term I use to describe the process of drilling multiple 3/16" through holes in the blank handle portion with matching blind holes in the back side of each scale which are completely filled with Epoxy when the scales are fastened to the blank. The bolts are then cut off and flush-sanded with the scales. The scales are then contoured and then the scales (and fasteners) are finish sanded with and polished to an equivalent of #4000 grit using a combination of Garnet Sandpapers, Aluminum Oxide Sandpapers, 3M WetOrDry Paper, and finally 3M Polishing Papers starting with 9 Micron (#1200 Grit).

I finish the scales using a minimum of 8 coats of Tried & True™ Danish Oil Finish (a penetrating oil finish that cures in the wood consisting of a blend of partially polymerized Boiled Linseed Oil and Tung Oil), which are hand-rubbed between coats allowing a minimum of 72 hours between initial coats and one week between the final coats. Hand rubbing with a soft cotton cloth also creates heat that assists in the curing process of the finish. Years ago the old adage for an exquisite finish on furniture with Danish Oil was one coat per day for a week, one coat per week for a month, one coat per month for a year, and yearly then after. The unique thing about a hand-rubbed Danish Oil finish is that the Danish Oil is NOT a surface coating like varnish, but rather penetrates the wood pores, bonds with the wood, and becomes part of the wood.

In the case of a Damascus steel knife, an application of Renaissance Wax, which is a combination of a very mild abrasive polish and wax is applied to the entire knife (both wood and Damascus steel) and then buffed with a soft cotton cloth. This also greatly assists in preventing oxidation, which occurs to some degree with normal Damascus steel. Only knife blanks made from "Stainless Damascus Supersteel" are immune to this oxidation process. These blanks start at about $200.00 and go up from there.

The next step is the design and fabrication of a molded leather sheath, which is made from 100% premium Live Oak brand top quality USA tooling leather cowhide sides. This is another article all to itself.

The final step is to sharpen and polish the cutting edge. Each knife and each sheath is truly a one-of-a-kind custom knife crafted to last a lifetime with proper care. Check out our web site and see what I currently have to offer. You won't be disappointed.