"Homemade Knife"

[kootenay joe]

When i have a lot of jobs to do in the evening, i often defer to looking at "folding knives" on ebay. Used to be way more interesting. Now some businesses list their entire inventory of mall ninja knives."Mall ninja" is not derogatory, but it sums up a genre of low end often poorly built but wild looking & often assisted folding knives. There are few vintage USA German or British folders that show up but it takes a lot of looking/searching. So that's why i looked at "Homemade Knife", a listing with dark unrevealing pictures and no text. Price was low shipping was low, knife looked lonely, so i bought it.
When it arrived and i opened it up my very first thought was "homemade knife". So i opened it up, a nice "5" for pull, smooth to half stop and smooth with snap to fully open. and, No Blade Play ! And dovetail bolsters. And, spring flush in all 3 positions !

Nice walk/talk for closing with a definite half stop. Almost centered when closed.

If you've been following GEC threads (who hasn't !) then you know about those pesky liners and springs gapping and letting in light. So i went outside. It's a hot sunny day today. Full blasting June sun and i opened up the blade and held the knife up to the sun, moved it around some to make sure i was lining up right, and, no light, not even 1 speck.
O.K. so here's a picture of my "Homemade knife":

Here's the backside. It's 3 5/8" closed but i put another homemade knife in the picture just for scale:

I do think this was homemade by someone who was not a knifemaker but who knew how to use tools and make or build things. It's homey looking but it's reasonably sharp and everything about it works just as it should.
Does anyone else have a "homemade knife" to post. I'm meaning ones not made by a knifemaker.
I have another very different one to post sometime later.
kj

 

[Macchina]

This is great! What a cool knife. This knife has seen A LOT of use!

 

[trey999]

I like it, cool knife.

 

[r8shell]

It has a rustic charm, I like it!

 

[Jack Black]

Very nice find Joe, heaps of character. I occasionally find a homemade knife, the fixed blades can be OK, but the folders are generally re-blades and not very good.

 

[stezann]

Nice score...also the other white homemade knife is not so bad

 

[Pipeman]

I think that's a great old knife Joe, with some interesting details considering the rather crude homemade look of the knife. The dovetailed bolsters are pretty clean and the nail nick looks really well done. The handle has subtle shaping like the maker knew how it should feel in the hand. A Neat score IMO.

Best regards

Robin

 

[kootenay joe]

Thanks for the comments. I often buy a knife just out of curiosity, wanting to know first hand what it is like. This one really surprised me with it's natural in hand feel and better than expected construction details. I think the handle is bone rather than interior Stag.
I hope some more homemade knives get posted here,
kj

 

[screened porch]

I have a couple apparently hoe-made folders from estate sales.
Caqn't

 

[brownshoe]

Nice rustic knife. The nail nick appears to be professionally made to my eye, maybe a re-purposed blade.

 

[AreBeeBee]

Nice rustic knife. The nail nick appears to be professionally made to my eye, maybe a re-purposed blade.

That was my first thought. Also, the point of the blade doesn't reach as far forward as you'd expect, given the size of the liners/scales. Which also suggests a marriage of a blade with an unrelated frame.

I say unrelated because I think a blade with a worn-down or reshaped point (as this appears to be) would have seen enough wear from opening and closing that the backspring would no longer be level in all three positions.

But let's be clear: this is one fine piece of cutlering (?), carried out by someone who took time and effort to get the pieces to fit and work together very nicely. I think any of us who isn't an experienced knife-maker would be pleased to have made this. I sure would.

 

[kootenay joe]

" I think any of us who isn't an experienced knife-maker would be pleased to have made this. I sure would. "
Yes, my feelings exactly, and because the person who made it put in time and much effort to get it just right, i thought it deserves to be posted in Bladeforums.
kj

 

[screened porch]

Yes, I have a couple home-made knives I'd like to post. Friction folder:

No idea why it's in two colors.

This one reminds me of the Frankenstein principle: use huge parts to make the connections easier. The blade is 3.25 " long. The nail nick is suspiciously well done, but rather oversized as well.

 

[AreBeeBee]

" I think any of us who isn't an experienced knife-maker would be pleased to have made this. I sure would. "
Yes, my feelings exactly, and because the person who made it put in time and much effort to get it just right, i thought it deserves to be posted in Bladeforums.
kj

Indeed, kj, indeed! And thank you.

I am in no sense a knife-maker. My "project knives" consist of things I can get the rust off and make the opening and closing smooth(er), and lastly put on a usable edge — most of the time. That's it. No taking apart, no minor surgery even. I'm a real heller with the Flitz and a rag, I am.

Homemade knives, hmmm? Think I'll have to check those out. Thanks again —

 

[smiling-knife]

I've made three knives from parts; two folders and a stacked leather handle fixed blade. Clearly I am not a knife maker, but they were fun projects.


This sleeve board penknife has spalted beech and ebony wood.

 

[Jack Black]

Very nice S-K, that wood is incredible, great job :thumbup:

 

[Markesharp]

I've made three knives from parts; two folders and a stacked leather handle fixed blade. Clearly I am not a knife maker, but they were fun projects.


This sleeve board penknife has spalted beech and ebony wood.

That looks great s-k! Love the wood combinations. Great job. :thumbup:

 

[AreBeeBee]

I've made three knives from parts; two folders and a stacked leather handle fixed blade. Clearly I am not a knife maker, but they were fun projects.

This sleeve board penknife has spalted beech and ebony wood.

Ebony bolsters! That pick up the black veins threading through the wood! Great piece of design.

Now a technical question. Will the ebony bolsters hold the blade pin firmly enough that you can exert a normal amount of cutting force, as for example in making a fuzz stick?

 

[smiling-knife]

Thank you for the comments. Good question AreBeeBee. It has brass liners so I think will be ok. I need to sharpen the blade and give it a try.

 

[kootenay joe]

Here is a neat old Barehead Jack, 4 1/4" that is a Custom but fits "homemade" as well. This knife was sold through the Sears catalogue circa 1911 for only 1 or maybe 2 years. Somewhere i have a copy of the catalogue page for this knife. The artist's sketch is accurate and the knife is described as all hand made by Chris Wolf and the toughest knife you will ever own. (or something like that). It would be interesting to learn how many of these knives Mr. Wolf made. I doubt many were sold as the price was 2-3x the next most expensive folding knife.

I will post a picture of the Sears catalogue page showing this knife when i find it. Many things are still 'hidden' from moving 9 months ago.
kj