I am Cal Harkins. I live in Madill Ok where I own and operate Corner Drug LLC. I have been a pharmacist for 39 years and a knifemaker for about 5 years. I am a Baptist deacon and a licensed Baptist minister. I have been married to my lovely wife Jan for over 23 years. I love to hunt, fish, and make knives in my spare time. I load all my own ammunition and make all of my bass and striper lures including jigs, spinnerbaits, and soft plastic baits.
I have played with forging blades some but didn't get real serious about it till after I was at Batson's this spring. Brion Tomberlin has helped me understand forging and heat treating. Greg Shahan taught me a lot about flat grinding a blade and several other things. Billy Helton taught me to hollow grind and gave me instruction on fitting handles and guards. We are all members of the Oklahoma KGA knife group. I love to go to the shop tours and learn from all the guys there. I bought a press and have started trying to make damascus steel without any success. Not sure what I am doing wrong but I plan to start another billet soon.
Why would a pharmacist want to become a bladesmith? Well I like to work with my hands and it gets me away from the responsibilities and problems of the drug store. I love to learn new things even at my age of 61.
I look forward to learning from you guys and hope that some day I might be able to contribute a little to someone's learning.
Cal
Welcome to the American Bladesmith Society and the ABS Forum! I am constantly amazed by the talented and diverse backgrounds of our members.
If I can assist you in any way please let me know.
Dan Cassidy
Journeyman Smith
Send an email to Dan
Cal, good to see you here and welcome. There is a wealth of information on this forum. Let us know how we can help.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
Cal,
Good to see you here brother!
Greg
Cal,
Welcome to the ABS and forum!Can't wait to see some pics of your work.
About the damascus...have you ever tried welding up a billet by hand (hammer, sweat, etc.)? You'd be amazed what you can learn from doing it by hand. Maybe post some pics of what you ended up with in the "Damascus" thread...I'm sure some of the smiths here could give you the info you need <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//cool.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />
Welcome...guess you would have a well stocked first aid kit! <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> What kind of knives do you like and like to make?
Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I don't know why I didn't do this before now.
Yep Phil I have a first aid kit. I even keep some kwik clot handy just in case. I have only had to have stitches one time. I have used the super glue a few times though.
Most of my knives have been stock removal but I have been playing with forging off and on. I do a lot of hunting knives. The antler handled knives have sold the best for me. My wife had a couple of nephews in the army so I made them a couple of knives. I have 4 soldiers in the Special forces using those knives now. A lot of the policemen and highway patrolmen are friends of mine. They wanted some small backup knives so that started another project. Again, most of them have been stock removal.
Ed, I haven't tried to weld a damascus billet by hand. I am going to set the weld on the next billet on the anvil. I am hoping that will help.
Thanks again for the warm welcome and the offer of help. I am sure that I will need a bunch of it.
