- Joined
- Oct 2, 1998
- Messages
- 45,192
Dan Farr (our own Sabre) is a driven man. In the past year he's:
" been to ABS school, taken welding at night school, taken machine shop at night school, spent $15,000 on equipment, learned digital photography, gotten knives on a brokers site, got my web site up, won an award at my first show, won an ABS cutting contest, taken my journeyman cutting and bending test, and I'm turning away business now. It's been an extremely busy year! I honestly don't know what more I could ask for as a beginner knife maker. I guess I've been working hard but it doesn't seem like it "
For those who haven't heard, Dan won the prestigious Best New Maker Award at the 2002 Blade Show. On top of that, Dan just won the ABS sponsored cutting competition at the recent Hammer-In held in Nassau, NY. That's quite a bit of success for a newcomer in a very short time, yet despite being confident in his abilities, Dan remains very modest and down to earth.
As a fan of the forged blade (and 52100 in particular) I've been following Dan's development over the past year and finally couldn't resist reaching out for him after seeing a knife I very much liked on Les Robertson's site, http://www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com/
Dan and I struck up an immediate friendship via email and progressed to telephone calls shortly thereafter. Dan's enthusiasm for his craft was infectious and we have since spent a good deal of time discussing knives and their various qualities. Dan is obviously a good student and has paid attention to the makers and smiths that have helped him along the way.
One of the things that made dealing with Dan special was the communication throughout the entire venture. Dan would routinely email me and attach a picture of where he was in the process of making the knife. (Dan is going to set up a link on his web site to pictures demonstrating the construction of this knife from beginning to end in order to illustrate what goes into the making of the forged blade. We will post that link in this thread as soon as it's available.)
I also want to make note of the fact that Dan went above and beyond in his busy schedule by working overtime to get this knife to me in time for my birthday. I had told him to take his time and that I didn't mind waiting, yet he still went ahead and made the effort to have the knife and sheath done and overnighted to me in time for the event. Just another indication of the type of maker he is. Of course he also has an evil side since the only picture he sent me before shipping was a picture of the knife sheathed with only the butt sticking out so I'd have to wait to see the finished product.
Before shipping the knife Dan took it up to his cabin in upstate NY where he fine tuned the knife a bit further:
"I used it extensively this weekend at camp. Didn't like the balance and ground a little more distal taper into it tonight. I cut a 2x4 in half, cut hanging rope, copper wire, pizza, a little brush, anything that would hold still. It didn't seem heavy to carry on my belt. I put a fine edge on it but it also seems to work good with a red diamond hone, more toothy."
And so finally, we come to the knife. Dan calls this a drop point "hunter" (which it is) but I think of it more as a "wilderness knife" due to its characteristics. This is one stout knife that can be called upon under virtually any condition and which will not be found wanting be it for slicing, chopping or prying.
Specifications:
Overall Length:
9.5"
Blade:
Forged, differentially tempered 52100
4.75" to guard
4" of edge (linear)
1.25" wide from spine to edge
Spine is .246" thick at the guard and is distally tapered to .079 about 1/4" from the tip.
Guard:
Stainless Steel (416)
Handle:
Sheep Horn (mortise fit)
In some preliminary testing of the knife on hardwood dowels, basswood and cardboard I found that the knife slices through cardboard and paper like nobody's business and has the heft to chop through wood as well. (The balance point is a bit forward to assist with chopping and the use of the lanyard makes doing so even more effective.) The convex edge is restored easily with some stropping on green chrome charged leather followed by bare leather.
The knife is not a great whittler compared to a Mora or my Dozier convex prototype but that wasn't a huge surprise due to the geometry of the knife. Though it tapers down to a fairly fine edge, it just doesn't shave curls off the wood like a thinner bladed knife would. That's a compromise I'm willing to live with as a knife this size wouldn't be my first choice for a whittler in any case.
The pictures of the knife don't do it justice. Fit and finish are very clean, including the guard. The mortised sheep horn handle is pure poetry with the seams being nearly imperceptible. Dan's handles are truly amazing. The handle fit at the guard, the seams and the overall shape are not only pleasing to the eye and the hand, but are truly indicative of a craftsman with exceptional skill. I can only imagine what his knives will be like in the future. (I am fortunate to have a couple other knives with exceptionally well fit handles, also both knives of forged 52100. One is by our own Ray Kirk, and the other by Rick Dunkerley, so I know of what I speak.)
I'm sure Dan will jump in here to answer any questions or fill in gaps I may have missed in this review but I must say in closing that Dan is not only a maker to watch in the future but a maker to contact right now while his work is both very reasonable and affordable. As Les likes to say, "bang for the buck".
Dan Farr can be contacted via his website: www.farrknives.com and may also be ordered through Les Robertson as mentioned above.
" been to ABS school, taken welding at night school, taken machine shop at night school, spent $15,000 on equipment, learned digital photography, gotten knives on a brokers site, got my web site up, won an award at my first show, won an ABS cutting contest, taken my journeyman cutting and bending test, and I'm turning away business now. It's been an extremely busy year! I honestly don't know what more I could ask for as a beginner knife maker. I guess I've been working hard but it doesn't seem like it "
For those who haven't heard, Dan won the prestigious Best New Maker Award at the 2002 Blade Show. On top of that, Dan just won the ABS sponsored cutting competition at the recent Hammer-In held in Nassau, NY. That's quite a bit of success for a newcomer in a very short time, yet despite being confident in his abilities, Dan remains very modest and down to earth.
As a fan of the forged blade (and 52100 in particular) I've been following Dan's development over the past year and finally couldn't resist reaching out for him after seeing a knife I very much liked on Les Robertson's site, http://www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com/
Dan and I struck up an immediate friendship via email and progressed to telephone calls shortly thereafter. Dan's enthusiasm for his craft was infectious and we have since spent a good deal of time discussing knives and their various qualities. Dan is obviously a good student and has paid attention to the makers and smiths that have helped him along the way.
One of the things that made dealing with Dan special was the communication throughout the entire venture. Dan would routinely email me and attach a picture of where he was in the process of making the knife. (Dan is going to set up a link on his web site to pictures demonstrating the construction of this knife from beginning to end in order to illustrate what goes into the making of the forged blade. We will post that link in this thread as soon as it's available.)
I also want to make note of the fact that Dan went above and beyond in his busy schedule by working overtime to get this knife to me in time for my birthday. I had told him to take his time and that I didn't mind waiting, yet he still went ahead and made the effort to have the knife and sheath done and overnighted to me in time for the event. Just another indication of the type of maker he is. Of course he also has an evil side since the only picture he sent me before shipping was a picture of the knife sheathed with only the butt sticking out so I'd have to wait to see the finished product.
Before shipping the knife Dan took it up to his cabin in upstate NY where he fine tuned the knife a bit further:
"I used it extensively this weekend at camp. Didn't like the balance and ground a little more distal taper into it tonight. I cut a 2x4 in half, cut hanging rope, copper wire, pizza, a little brush, anything that would hold still. It didn't seem heavy to carry on my belt. I put a fine edge on it but it also seems to work good with a red diamond hone, more toothy."
And so finally, we come to the knife. Dan calls this a drop point "hunter" (which it is) but I think of it more as a "wilderness knife" due to its characteristics. This is one stout knife that can be called upon under virtually any condition and which will not be found wanting be it for slicing, chopping or prying.
Specifications:
Overall Length:
9.5"
Blade:
Forged, differentially tempered 52100
4.75" to guard
4" of edge (linear)
1.25" wide from spine to edge
Spine is .246" thick at the guard and is distally tapered to .079 about 1/4" from the tip.
Guard:
Stainless Steel (416)
Handle:
Sheep Horn (mortise fit)
In some preliminary testing of the knife on hardwood dowels, basswood and cardboard I found that the knife slices through cardboard and paper like nobody's business and has the heft to chop through wood as well. (The balance point is a bit forward to assist with chopping and the use of the lanyard makes doing so even more effective.) The convex edge is restored easily with some stropping on green chrome charged leather followed by bare leather.
The knife is not a great whittler compared to a Mora or my Dozier convex prototype but that wasn't a huge surprise due to the geometry of the knife. Though it tapers down to a fairly fine edge, it just doesn't shave curls off the wood like a thinner bladed knife would. That's a compromise I'm willing to live with as a knife this size wouldn't be my first choice for a whittler in any case.
The pictures of the knife don't do it justice. Fit and finish are very clean, including the guard. The mortised sheep horn handle is pure poetry with the seams being nearly imperceptible. Dan's handles are truly amazing. The handle fit at the guard, the seams and the overall shape are not only pleasing to the eye and the hand, but are truly indicative of a craftsman with exceptional skill. I can only imagine what his knives will be like in the future. (I am fortunate to have a couple other knives with exceptionally well fit handles, also both knives of forged 52100. One is by our own Ray Kirk, and the other by Rick Dunkerley, so I know of what I speak.)
I'm sure Dan will jump in here to answer any questions or fill in gaps I may have missed in this review but I must say in closing that Dan is not only a maker to watch in the future but a maker to contact right now while his work is both very reasonable and affordable. As Les likes to say, "bang for the buck".
Dan Farr can be contacted via his website: www.farrknives.com and may also be ordered through Les Robertson as mentioned above.
. Dan is a good guy too 
.
