Charlie Bell knives

aji1 said:
This just in from Charlie! He did a beautiful job on the hafting, with the surface of the stag extending from side to side and end to bolster with barely any sanded away. I love the sunken tang and integral bolsters and the action is really, really smooth. A perfect, pinchable pull and a flush spring at all three positions. I have become a huge sowbelly fan; it's just a great pattern that feels awesome in hand.

This one got stuck in a USPS blackhole for so long that both Charlie and I thought it was lost. In fact, he had already started the insurance process when it miraculously popped up in Dutch tracking. As a result of this, I had already dreamed up a new knife, which I imagined would be paid for in part by the insurance, and he got started on building it. The "replacement" has some extra features and differences, so I am going to get that one, too. I think I may have a problem...

It was headed toward dusk, and overcast to boot, so not a great photo, but here it is in the park between the pick-up point and my house:

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And here is Charlie's photo of the pile side, which also shows the sunken tang:

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aji1 said:
I'm pretty sure you are all bored by now of my burgeoning little collection of Charlie Bell sowbellies, but this one just arrived today and I had to share it with someone!

This one has two blades, Indonesian Sambar stag handles, sunken tangs, integral fluted bolsters, and CPM154 blades. Charlie did a great job matching the stag. Really smooth pulls (around 5) on both blades. A little detail that I like is that the spines of the two blades are perfectly lined up until the clipped portion of the clip blade; it is hard to get a picture of this, but you can kind of see it in the last shot. I hope to get a few better pictures of the stag before Stag Saturday!
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Stunner ya got there. Love that stag. Not bored in the slightest. :)
 
I got on Charlie’s list after seeing this post...
aji1 said:
I picked up my new Charlie Bell on the way home from work the other day! It was a hectic weekend, with lots of family obligations, so I didn't have a chance to post until now.

It's a shadow sowbelly in CPM154 and vintage Westinghouse paper micarta, a touch over 3.5" closed length. In all honesty, straight out of the box, this knife has the smoothest, best action of any I have purchased (with no flush or lubrication). Pinchable, with about a perfect 5 pull, and just smooth as silk. It has great fit and finish, with everything seamless and flush. It feels fantastic in hand and the grind is basically perfect. I am very happy with this knife.

Charlie was great to deal with as well. He told me about six weeks, plus shipping time. In reality, it was one month and one day from placing the order to picking up the box (and that includes trans-Atlantic shipping and customs processing). He didn't even ask for a deposit; he sent photos of the completed knife for my approval and I paid at that point.

The only thing that sucked was the €119.23 (~ $140) for import duties, VAT and processing fees, which, of course, is no fault of Charlie's (and which I expect when ordering anyway).

Here are a couple of Charlie's photos. I haven't had time to take any of my own yet (and I am not too good at it anyway), but I will try to take some over the next few days.

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...I was inspired. Got a pic of my ‘copycat’ knife. I was gonna go a tad larger but after reading aji1’s review I went with 3 5/8”. Same thing. Just a different shield. Here is a pic I got from Charlie this morning. Pretty happy with the pic and am betting I am gonna really like it. That black paper micarta looked too neat...and I always go for jigged bone. D313754F-A3E6-44EB-A34B-F7CE1E7EE710.jpeg
 
He's ok I guess...

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I generally like to wait until I have a knife in hand but I’m about as excited as a guy pushing 40 can get. Just happened to be on Instagram at the right time this morning and was able to snag a new slimline trapper made by Charlie. The jigging on the bone is just fantastic and I love the bare end.

Probably the most I’ll ever spend on a knife (I even felt the need to run that by my wife first).

I’ll put some more pictures up when I get in hand.

Still faithfully daily carrying my Charlie Bell swayback in my shirt pocket.



 
JustinR said:
I generally like to wait until I have a knife in hand but I’m about as excited as a guy pushing 40 can get. Just happened to be on Instagram at the right time this morning and was able to snag a new slimline trapper made by Charlie. The jigging on the bone is just fantastic and I love the bare end.

Probably the most I’ll ever spend on a knife (I even felt the need to run that by my wife first).

I’ll put some more pictures up when I get in hand.

Still faithfully daily carrying my Charlie Bell swayback in my shirt pocket.



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That’s a sweetheart of a knife. Saw that pop up on Instagram and love the bone too! Nice piece your gonna love it. Very nice score.
 
J JustinR that is a beautiful slimline. Congrats!

Am lucky Charlie and I live in the same town and we can get together and chat about knives. The latest he made for me, a clone of a GEC 38 in mammoth ivory. Charlie told me the catchbit was a new challenge for him, but he did a killer job. Charlie's version has slightly longer point, that's a good thing as that's were a pruner seems to wear first. Secondary is thin and wicked sharp. Blades sit tight with zero rub, pivots invisible, flutes perfect, domed pins, diamond shield, 154CM.


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that’s my favorite kind of mammoth…
Chief said:
Am lucky Charlie and I live in the same town and we can get together and chat about knives. The latest he made for me, a clone of a GEC 38 in mammoth ivory. Charlie told me the catchbit was a new challenge for him, but he did a killer job. Charlie's version has slightly longer point, that's a good thing as that's were a pruner seems to wear first. Secondary is thin and wicked sharp. Blades sit tight with zero rub, pivots invisible, flutes perfect, domed pins, diamond shield, 154CM.


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Bigfoot found! 3 5/8" mini zulu, etched A2 59-60 RC, old Westinghouse ivory micarta that I had been hoarding. Centered, pinchable, snappy, zero gaps held up to the light, bolster pins invisible even under the magnification of my macro / full frame DSLR. Not an easy shield, but look at the fit, wow. Flush all 3 positions, flutes are perfect, covers fit tight, photos do the talking. Charlie invited me to his shop and allowed me to use his pantograph to cut the mammoth ivory bigfoot, only broke one carbide bit. Still needs a little of the edge cleaned up, it's not easy! Going out in the woods to do some whoops and wood knocks, hope to hear a reply (even if it's just another human LOL). Hope you enjoy the pics of Charlie's latest work.

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wow ... really clean.

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That swedge!

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Charlie recently found some real deal old Westinghouse ivory micarta and was kind enough to make me this fine 3 5/8" trapper. Superb fit and finish, stamp perfectly centered (one of my pet peeves), filework, perfect walk and talk. Santa thought I must have been good ... HO! HO! HO!

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My, my, I'm not a fan of micarta, but John, that trapper is just so lovely. Art or tool . . . just WOW!
 
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