An afternoon with Ray Laconico

[C Bryant]

I am on a vacation/road trip to Northern California for about two weeks (currently on day three), and while on my way up north I like to stop by and visit family in Visalia. Since I was going to be in Visalia overnight I contacted Ray Laconico, who too lives in Visalia, to see if he wouldn't mind some company and to show me a thing or two about making knives. He was kind enough to accept my inviting my self over

I have been interested in making knives for a while now and have a stack of books, convesations, and internet artilces on the subject but have not had any really good one on one time with a maker, so I could not pass this up.

We worked on a little EDC type blade. I was able to help out a bit, but I gained TON of knowledge. I can't thank Ray enough for taking the time to show me how he does it. I had a great time and to be honest and still a bit giddy over the whole thing.

Ray Grinding

Heat Treating

Sorry I don't have more making pics, I was too busy watching Ray's every move while he was working and taking mental notes.

Rays garage shop. I love how clean and simple Ray keeps things. Just my style.

 

[C Bryant]

The result of our (mostly Ray's) labor. :thumbup:

I did come back the next morning to finish up the handle with Ray, then continued on my road trip to Northern California.

Thanks again Ray!

 

[kgd]

Very cool - nice to see Ray's shop like that!

 

[tonym]

Very cool! I would love to chill with a maker one of these days...

 

[TheGame]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing the pics with us. Nice to see Rays shop.

 

[mtnfolk mike]

very cool Christian..:thumbup: you lucky dog... i have to make it over to Ray's one of these days... i like how simple his shop is too...

 

[j williams]

simplicity. Thats great, Id love to meet Ray sometime. His work is one of my personal favorites.

 

[bearthedog]

Cool post man looks fun. Ray is one of those makers that just has it all. Great designs, and attention to detail. The one you have pictured looks like a smaller version of the one I got to handle last weekend on our trip.

-RB

 

[tidefan]

I just bought a Kephart with butterscotch micarta and it is wonderful. I'm thinking of trying to find out the price for a HWK style knife as I would like to pick one up for my brother. Ray's knives are top tier for sure. A pleasure to use and an honor to own... Ray...If you read this...5 inch blade, 3/16th thick, flat ground, and green micarta scales....Thanks, Jim

 

[bindlestitch]

Great post. It drives me crazy to see a maker's shop that clean. I can barely find my steel in my shop for all the dust and tools.
Thanks for the cool post.
Later,
Iz

 

[trailside22]

Having one of Ray's knives I can truly appreciate his artistry. Thank you for the pictures of Ray's shop and him working. I would love to stop by and see him work one day. I have to say I really like that little blade. I may have to shoot Ray an email.

 

[MRpink]

sweet garage and great little knife!

 

[Snake Dr.]

That's Great C Bryant, Ray make's some "Real Nice Knive's" You can look at this Man's Work and tell It's Top Of The Line, I like all his Work/Knive's but his Rendition of the Kephart Knife Is one of the Best, Thank's for Sharing all the picture's of Ray's Shop and the Shop Working pic.'s are Awesome, Enjoy your Vacation !

 

[Don M]

As hot as it has been in Visalia, I'd bet it is fun to work in the garage.

And with all that cool gear, he still finds space for a little Harbor Freight belt grinder.

 

[James_Terrio]

Great post. It drives me crazy to see a maker's shop that clean. I can barely find my steel in my shop for all the dust and tools.

Glad I'm not the only one! I need about 20 more feet of bench space and peg-board to get things organized... of course I'd probably just fill it up with more stuff...

Anyway it's a cool thread and thanks for sharing, C Bryan! Ray has great designs and has answered many of my dumb questions patiently. :thumbup:

BTW I believe it's standard practice to bring a 12-pack or a sack of burgers and fries when visiting a maker's shop.

 

[C Bryant]

BTW I believe it's standard practice to bring a 12-pack or a sack of burgers and fries when visiting a maker's shop.

I bought him lunch

 

[bearthedog]

C,
Did you take home that little knife?

Sorry missed your call, have fun on your trip and with the Hiker.

-RB

 

[Big Mike]

Very cool my friend.

I love Ray’s knives, and it awesome to see his shop (and him in action).

Thanks to you, and Ray, for the tour.



PS – Man, …I need a toaster oven to heat treat my nacho’s.



Big Mike

”Scaring the tree huggers.”

Forest & Stream

 

[lambertiana]

BTW I believe it's standard practice to bring a 12-pack or a sack of burgers and fries when visiting a maker's shop.

Don't tell him that, I visit him regularly!

His shop is much neater and cleaner than it would be if I were running it. It also shows that you don't need a huge fancy setup to make high quality knives. I have purchased five knives from Ray, and handled at least 15-20 others that he had on hand during my visits, and none of them were a disappointment.

It has been rather warm lately, so yes, it would be hot working in that garage. Last Sunday it was 108 here in Visalia; it has cooled down and has been around 100-103 most of this week.

 

[raylaconico]

When Christian told me he wanted to watch me at work, I didn't think I would be able to show him the whole process from start to finish. Then I thought about it and figured it could be done if we did a simple little blade. The knife actually turned out better than what I was aiming for. We did that knife from scratch with only about 5 hrs of actual work time. We did the heat treat on the 1095 blade with a torch so it would be quick and so that I could show him a simple way that he can do himself (normally, I use my Paragon oven). I also didn't spend as much time on the finish as I normally would. The knife is not perfect but it still turned out quite nicely and I'm happy with it. It will be a good little user.

This was the first time I ever had anyone watch me make a knife and as I expected, my hands were shaky when I was grinding I had fun and it was great to spend an afternoon making a knife that I would not have to sell I get a lot of satisfaction giving a knife to someone who will appreciate it. It's like for a short time, making knives was not my job but just a hobby Unfortunately, I have to make a living so I can't do it all the time.