Well - I don't have one. I still have my "Belle Blue" from when you and I and Roger made those three. But she lives a life of luxury. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//biggrin.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> (Thinks she's a Queen, or something like that.)

I do have my own hunter, made just my way, but I do not have a SHTF/Zombie Slayer knife.

That said, I do have one in mind and it sort of fits the description you provided.

It will probably have a non-hand finish like a grey Scotch Brite - nice and clean.

It will have a guard and it will be take-down.

Some type of stabilized handle - possibly Bog Oak.

And it might be a CruV blade.

We'll see.

Thanks Karl. That is just what I mean. So your take on a personal knife is a no nonsense, rough and ready knife. Sure it looks good, although not dressed up like some of your others. Am I understanding you right?

I'm glad you still have Belle Blue. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

I want to make a real knock out with Damascus and Ivory and carry that but I know what will happen. Someone will want it and I'll have to make me another one. Decisions.

Lin, I do have a personal hunter I use. It is an older one, even marked JS. I also have a bowie, big spearpoint in 1095 and hard use. Even horse stall mat handles. It has seen a lot of use even chopping down some trees. I would like to have a really nice bowie for my own with a hamon and stag, but like you if I make one someone will probably want it. Maybe I will get around to it as I do have some ideas for one. As you said decisions. I will post pics later on of my two. Good question.

Brion

Hi guys,

For everyday carry, I do not carry a bowie or anything so big. I usually opt for a smaller hunter-sized knife for most of my farm tasks. I did make a large camp knife though, that I use for clearing brush whenever I am cutting firewood. It's definitely of the no-nonsense variety, and it's not very fancy.

The blade was forged from the bottom leaf spring of a pickup truck (mostly because it was cheaper than using new steel), and left as-forged except for rolling the edge. The fittings are mild steel with a black oil patina to match the blade's forge finish, and the knife can be taken down with a chainsaw wrench or a half-inch hex socket.

I made the handle from american elm for its toughness and resistance to splitting. I soaked it in raw linseed oil for about a week, so it also water resistant and durable.

The knife does its job well, but definitely is nothing so tricked out as damascus and ivory. I am not sure I could justify that for chopping briars!

Great question Lin, I will be eager to see other makers' responses.

Jordan

That's an interesting question. I have ended up selling most of the personal knives that I have carried to places where they are seen. That's just part of it and I don't mind having a different personal carry knife occasionally.

If you are wanting something to carry & show off at work then I would be tempted to style it after one that either is now or has been in the museum. This would lend itself to starting up conversations about traditional forging which is what you do so well there.

If you are wanting something for at home use then that's a whole new ball game. For home use mine would have to be both functional & comfortable with looks being secondary. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> Maybe that's why I keep an old competition knife with horse stall mat handle at home and not a fancy Bowie.

Gary

Great topic Lin.

I have to build me a new one as the last one I made for me to keep got sold. Almost instantly in fact. I never got to use it. It's hard to keep them when someone offers you good money for it.

I've been thinking about my new one and have a mix of ideas from some of the others that posted here.

I want carbon steel with hamon, probably damascus fittings with some accents and a nice wood handle. But not wild burl. My own will have blackwood or madagascar rosewood, my two favorite woods.

It's hard for me to make it too plain though it won't be completely decked out with every possible embellishment. But a few nice subtle touches above the base model. It will likely be a walking advertisement so I want it to have some embellishments. But like Karl said, I'd have mine be a takedown. A hamon blade (at least the way I usually etch and polish) with damascus fittings should be pretty easy to clean up again when necessary.

I think we makers should show off our skills a little with our own stuff so it doesn't look like the ordinary every day stuff.

Mine will probably be almost exactly like this, except with a blackwood or rosewood handle:

I did finally get around to making a hunting knife for me to use this deer season. And I will add a locking folder for my own carry soon.

Great question, I finally had one for myself for about a month before Christmas. By the first statement you can guess what happened to it. I gave it to my brother in law for Christmas. It was one of the knives that I intentionally broke during JS test prep and I had straightened the blade out, reheat treated it and put a new point on it with a micarta frame handle (hidden tang). It should serve him well. So I guess the answer is no for me also. I just forged a decent sized bowie yesterday and I don't have any real plans for it yet. Time will tell.

I don't have a Bowie carry yet. I have sold 4 drop points I made as my carry to date. The only knife made by me that I carry is the one I made in a class with Jason Knight. I've turned down several offers for it to date. My other carry was made by Burt Foster when he showed us how to make a knife at the first class I took. I want to make a small gentleman's Bowie with a Desert Ironwood handle, single quill SS guard, and a copper coin spacer. I will happen by summer hopefully.

Here are my two at the moment. Number one is a standard drop point with a five inch blade and mesquite burl handle. Good user. Steel is 1084.

This is my bowie. A spearpoint in 1095 from Aldo. I wanted to use this knife to make sure my heat treat for this steel was right where it needed to be. It is. This one has seen some hard use and come through fine. Horse stall mat handle, 416 spacer, and not high in the looks department.

I would like to make a nice one for myself, just have to decide what I want and find the time.

Brion

Hey, Lin. Got my password working. Gave my personal bowie away a while back and needed a

new one to keep in the truck so I made this...W2/micarta. We'll see if the pics work.

Can't seem to figure out how to change my ABS rating on here.

Tad

Note:

Tad - I fixed your ABS rating for you.

Dan Cassidy

Forum Administrator

Like many here, I've had a difficult time keeping knives for my own use. So many have been bought from my belt, or out of my pocket.

I've managed to keep a large bowie as a "truck knife" for many years. It is a variation of the Searles/Fowler bowie that I made while I was a JS. The blade is 9 inches long and it has an ebony handle. The knife is pretty uglied up from use now and it seldom leaves the console of my truck. Having largely been kept from public view, I've managed to hang onto it.

I have one of my drop point hunters that I have kept for a hunting knife. It has a 4 1/8" blade of 1084. The handle is black canvas micarta. The guard and handle bolts are stainless steel. I figured that if I saved for myself the most dirt simple knife that I could make, I may be able to keep it. I haven't had time to go hunting and actually use the knife. I've got some knife shows coming up soon and I'll have to decide whether this knife stays at home, or winds up on my table.

Folders have been by far the most difficult knives for me to keep. The last one that I had saved for myself, was in my gun safe waiting to be engraved. A customer came to my shop wanting to order a folder. He described a pattern that he had seen me make. Of course it was like the one in my safe. I showed him the knife to confirm what he wanted. "Can I just buy this one?" Sure…….

The folder that I am carrying right now is a small Microtech switchblade, that I bought at the Blade Show about 20 years ago. I think it was one of the first models that they made. I probably shouldn't be using it, as it may be valuable.

I managed to hang onto the first folder that I made for a number of years. I built the knife in a class that the ABS school in Arkansas used to have. The class was called Bladesmithing Lab. You could work on any project that you wanted, with a Master Smith there to help you. Jerry Fisk taught the class and he loaned me one of his folder patterns to make the knife. It was a small single blade knife and I put pearl handle slabs on it. I carried it for many years. I field dressed six deer with it. Cleaned many rabbits, turkeys, squirrels, fish, etc. Used it and abused it for everything. It got dropped on concrete and the handle slabs were chipped. I burnt the point off the blade when I accidentally short circuited some electrical wires with it and had to regrind the tip. I loaned the knife to a friend who was taking a class at the GRS school. It came back with some really ugly engraving on it……..

I put the folder away for a few years, then dropped it into my pocket as I was leaving the house to go to a knife show. One of the knives on my table was a nice little dagger with a damascus blade. I worked a deal to sell the dagger to a guy who came by my table. As he was writing the check for the dagger, he asked me if I had any folders. I told him no. He asked what I had in my pocket. I pulled out the beat up little folder, told him its history and informed him that it wasn't for sale. He said that he wanted the folder and if I didn't sell it to him, he wouldn't buy the dagger. He offered me an outrageous amount of money for the two knives, plus a document from me on the history of the folder. Bye, bye folder. The guy passed away a few years ago and I have no idea what happened to my little folder.

Great stories Steve!

|quoted:

.....no nonsense, rough and ready knife. Sure it looks good, although not dressed up like some of your others. Am I understanding you right?

I'm hoping to avoid anything "rough", but I'm not seeking refinement.

"not dressed up" is a good way of putting it.

I don't want to be afraid of using it.

This is my personal hunting knife, with machine finished fittings - no hand work whatsoever - and I stamped it in reverse to make it different from all the others:

Cool story, Steve.