Esnyx Custom Knives

[pmew]

I hope to see many more posts appearing in this thread in the future.

This particular venture had its genesis on the 4th of July 2014.

It will shortly be winging its way across the Atlantic, certain parts of it for the second time thus returning home. It is very special to me for more than one reason.

It has been dubbed by its maker - Mini Soddie.

- 1095 carbon steel
- 3.25 inches closed length
- brass furniture
- and unless I'm mistaken a world first with its covers too

As it hasn't left yet, Evan kindly allowed me to use his pictures.

















Evan was great to work with, I'm sure his business will grow and prosper.

Thanks my friend.

Paul

 

[glennbad]

Looks nice, Evan does great work!

 

[Parke1]

Very nice! Great work as always, Evan!

 

[esnyx]

Thanks for starting this thread Paul!

Here is my first completed custom. A reverse dogleg jack with dyed bone scales, bronze bolsters and shield, with stainless liners and scale pins. I cut and dyed the bone myself along with cutting the bronze shield and bolsters from a large bronze bar. The I used 1095 for the blade and spring and had them professionally heat treated. The blade is a rockwell hardness of 59-60 with the tang matching the spring temper at 49, and both had a cryo treatment. This is the same for Paul's "Minnie Soddie".

Well, here she is!

Esnyx No.1

A little soup on the backside:

Here are the scales in the sunlight:

Aaaand, the before pic:

 

[Ernie1980]

You are a lucky man to grab the first! I am sure there will be many, many more amazing knives by him coming

 

[paulhilborn]

AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL!!! outstanding Evan...

 

[Captain Howdy]

Really nice job both knives are high class.

 

[joker354]

Paul congrats, that Mini soddie looks like it is gonna be sweet.

Evan, that reverse dogleg is a great design and looks like you did a fantastic job on your first... Nice!

 

[Jack Black]

Great to see this thread started :thumbup: Two lovely knives, which have quite a different look to them I think. Good luck Evan, I look forward to seeing this thread grow over the months and years to come, just as the threads of our longer-established custom makers have

 

[glennbad]

I think we have the next great maker in-the-making here, folks. Great looking knife, Evan!

 

[Peregrin]

Good lookin' knife, Evan!

 

[5K Qs]

Amazing knives, Evan!
You've got a beauty, Paul; congrats!

- GT

 

[Primble]

You did a splendid job on the fit and finish on Evan # 1 - nice and tight fit to the bolsters and shield and I love the shape of the knife. :thumbup:

I was also amazed at the rich dark brownish-red color you got on the bone and it looks like the old Case redbone color to me - really really nice!

Now, my friend - rather than just swell your head with all positive comments - I want to add some constructive advice - not from a knife maker - but, from a knife buyer. :grumpy:

For me personally, I would prefer the blade finish to be a bit less polished, closer to the bolster finish. Others might like the polish better.

The indirect light pictures do the knife justice and show off your work very nicely !

I would suggest you drop the harsh direct sunlight photos - which attempt to show the bone color in sunlight. Let the viewer imagine that and those two pics do not do all of your hard work justice, IMO.

The direct sunlight pics are like putting your work under a microscope (with intense lighting) and I don't feel that fine knife deserves that.

I offered my opinion this way, as you have previously told me that you welcome constructive critiques.

I can only imagine how hard it is to make a knife that well.

Overall - I really like the knife and the soup, just really nicely done!

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Both knives turned out great. I suspect there will be more.

Mike

 

[esnyx]

Thank you all for the wonderful compliments. I am truly, very flattered...

Primble, thank you for your advice. It will be taken into consideration, and it is greatly appreciated, as always!:thumbup:

If you would have told me I would be making custom slipjoints a year ago, I would have laughed at you, then asked what the heck a custom slipjoint was... Since finding this community, and discovering my love for traditionals, I have had no choice but to fully immerse myself and drink up as much information as I could possibly handle. Even with everything I have learned about the historical and mechanical aspects of slipjoints, my knowledge doesn't amount to a snowball on an iceberg, let alone the entire tip! There is so much more to learn and explore, it seems that every time I turn a corner, I find an entire avenue I had no idea existed. I cannot help my fascination! And you are all partly to blame!! So... thank you.

 

[Markesharp]

You did a splendid job on the fit and finish on Evan # 1 - nice and tight fit to the bolsters and shield and I love the shape of the knife. :thumbup:

I was also amazed at the rich dark brownish-red color you got on the bone and it looks like the old Case redbone color to me - really really nice!

Now, my friend - rather than just swell your head with all positive comments - I want to add some constructive advice - not from a knife maker - but, from a knife buyer. :grumpy:

For me personally, I would prefer the blade finish to be a bit less polished, closer to the bolster finish. Others might like the polish better.

The indirect light pictures do the knife justice and show off your work very nicely !

I would suggest you drop the harsh direct sunlight photos - which attempt to show the bone color in sunlight. Let the viewer imagine that and those two pics do not do all of your hard work justice, IMO.

The direct sunlight pics are like putting your work under a microscope (with intense lighting) and I don't feel that fine knife deserves that.

I offered my opinion this way, as you have previously told me that you welcome constructive critiques.

I can only imagine how hard it is to make a knife that well.

Overall - I really like the knife and the soup, just really nicely done!

Well said Primble. Evan - It is a great looking knife and you have a bright future in your skills, looking forward to Esnyx 2. :thumbup:

 

[Jack Black]

In my opinion, the ability to do a good mirror polish is intrinsic to, and an indication of, a traditional cutler's skill :thumbup:

 

[Primble]

In my opinion, the ability to do a good mirror polish is intrinsic to, and an indication of, a traditional cutler's skill :thumbup:

In my opinion, a skilled cutler should be able to accomplish a nice satin finish or mirror polished blade and I think Evan could do either. Most of the top custom makers in the USA do not use mirror polished blades. In addition, if one chooses to use mirror polished blades, then the bolsters look better with high polish, as well. The non-mirror finished blades used by GEC are also very pleasing. Of course, this is my opinion, however, I notice most of the makers tend to be more in agreement with my opinion.

My suggestion was not meant in any way to slight Evan's work, if you read the complimentary part, just a suggestion for him to consider.

 

[Jack Black]

In my opinion, the ability to do a good mirror polish is intrinsic to, and an indication of, a traditional cutler's skill :thumbup:

In my opinion, a skilled cutler should be able to accomplish a nice satin finish or mirror polished blade and I think Evan could do either. Most of the top custom makers in the USA do not use mirror polished blades. In addition, if one chooses to use mirror polished blades, then the bolsters look better with high polish, as well. The non-mirror finished blades used by GEC are also very pleasing. Of course, this is my opinion, however, I notice most of the makers tend to be more in agreement with my opinion.

My suggestion was not meant in any way to slight Evan's work, if you read the complimentary part, just a suggestion for him to consider.

I wasn't intending to imply that you were criticizing Evan's work at all Primble, merely making a statement of fact as I see it. Satin finished blades can look very good indeed, but the skills required to produce a satin finish and those required to put on a first class mirror polish are entirely different in my experience. Traditionally, cutlers took great pride in the quality of their mirror polish. So far as I know, satin finishes are a relatively recent concept, and a great example of the consumer being led by the industry. Back in the 80's, satin finishes were sold to us on the basis that they were less reflective, and therefore supposedly more tactical. Of course they were also cheaper for the industry to produce. Now many customers, probably the vast majority of knife buyers overall, prefer a satin finish, which I'm sure is reflected in what custom knife makers produce. It's also possible that a few cutlers don't have the skills to produce a first class mirror polish anymore. In Sheffield, many of the old cutlers still don't understand any of this, continuing to mirror polish their blades, and taking pride in doing so. When I was producing knives in Sheffield back in the early 1990's, we had a request for a satin-finished blade, and the cutlers were horrified, unable to understand why someone would choose that as an option. The knife was produced with a satin finish, but only after it had first been mirror-polished (since it is not merely about finish). I imagine Evan knows much of this, and deliberately chose to put a mirror polish on his first knife. By doing so, he not only followed an age-long cutler's tradition, but he demonstrated that he has the skills to be counted among their number. I doubt if all his knives will be produced with that finish, but it's a good first step in my opinion, and one that deserves to be applauded :thumbup: Of course he may just like the look of a shiny blade

 

[Jack Black]

Hopefully, the pride GEC take in their mirror-polishing is evident in what they say about their prestige Northfield line :thumbup:

NORTHFIELD

The original Northfield Knife Company was incorporated and operated in Connecticut from 1858 to 1926. Their UN-X-LD Branded knives are highly collectable today. In 2006 Great Eastern Cutlery registered the unused Northfield UN-X-LD trademark, strictly to be used on only the most premium GEC traditional pocket knives. These new classic UN-X-LD knives have all the intricate cosmetic tooling and finishing you would expect to see on well made early 1900′s era pocket knives. The back springs and blades are strictly made with 1095 carbon steel, with all the blades stamp marked and finished to a mirror polish. The master blades are fitted with forged straight nail pulls and cut swaging. All the bolsters are coined and typically decorated with dimples, lines and angeled cuts. The handle covers are processed here at the GEC Bone Works and are of exotic materials such as India Stag Antler, Wooly Mammoth Ivory, Cocobolo Wood, Snake Wood, and North American Cattle Shin Bone with intricately cut textured surfaces. The new Northfield UN-X-LD knives rival the orginals in materials and craftsmanship. They are always made in limited quantities with a portion of each run being serialized. Because of their quality and value they have become the most collectable factory knife made today.

Compared to the Tidioute line:

After 90 years, we have brought back the Tidioute name with our Tidioute Cutlery branded classic reproduction pocket knives. Much like the original Tidioute Cutlery Co. of circa 1909 to 1916, our new knives have blades made with high quality American made 1095 carbon steel and handled with a variety of materials that include the traditional materials, North American cattle bone and Ebony wood. Also used is the unique and distinctly colored and figured Acrylic Acetate. A tough synthetic but not to be confused with the cellulose acetate very often used in the original Tidioute Cutlery. Like all Great Eastern Cutlery knives, the Tidioute Cutlery brand knives are classically styled and of exceptional craftsmanship and quality. They are good enough to collect, but our emphasis with this brand is with function and performance rather than cosmetic beauty. We have intentionally manufactured them for those individuals who need a tough and durable pocket knife to carry and use on a day to day basis. Ounce for ounce, we feel they are the best buy of any traditional pocket knife made in the USA today. When you pull out your pocket knife, it should say Tidioute Cutlery.