- Joined
- Oct 2, 1998
- Messages
- 44,671
Several weeks back, Jared Oeser posted a thread which commemorated the first two blade slipjoint he had completed. To say that I sat up and took notice is an understatement.
I had been going through a dry spell since early June and couldn't decide if, or what, I wanted to add to my collection of custom knives. When I saw Jared's wharncliffe trapper I somehow sensed that my sojourn through the desert was nearing an end.
I reached out for Jared and asked him if he would consider building a wharncliffe trapper for me along the same lines as the one he had built as his prototype. I also mentioned that he should feel free to make changes as he felt necessary or inclined aesthetically.
I'd been wanting to add another two bladed shadow pattern to my arsenal and this appeared to be the perfect opportunity to pursue that goal.
Jared was kind enough to take the project on and even kinder to have devoted the time required to have it built in time for me to receive it from my lovely wife for my birthday.
When it arrived today I begged her indulgence to allow me to "inspect" the knife for any flaws so that I wouldn't be disappointed when she gives it to me in a few days.
Well, I spent several minutes looking the knife over from stem to stern and back again and for the life of me I truly had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this maker has only been building knives for a little over a year and this knife represented only his third two bladed slipjoint.
Grinds...check. Edges...check. Frame and symmetry...check. Half-stops crisp?...check Swedges...check. Springs/liners/tangs flush?...check. What the ???...
Okay, I did find one nit...one of the tiny embedded bronze wires in the "lightning strike" carbon fiber covers stuck up enough to be just noticeable.
So, yeah, I like this knife...a lot! And as someone who prides himself on having a pretty good eye for makers with that special something I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Jared Oeser is a name that is going to earn a little notoriety in the world of custom knife making. If he keeps the passion exhibited with the building of this knife, the sky is the limit.
I guess that's enough from me, now I'll let the knife images (kindly supplied by Jared) do the talking...but before I do, some brief stats:
Pattern: Wharncliffe Trappper
Length: 3.5"
Weight: 2 5/8 oz.
Covers: Lightning Strike Carbon Fiber with Natural Canvas Micarta / Orange G-10 liners
Steel: CPM-154 @ 59 Rc
And now a couple of shots alongside the prototype to show the change in both the frame and width displaying the tighter tolerances and thinner stock on the current knife:
In closing, let me reiterate my thanks to Jared and my recommendation to those of you so inclined to follow this maker's progress and get on his list while it's still manageable.
I had been going through a dry spell since early June and couldn't decide if, or what, I wanted to add to my collection of custom knives. When I saw Jared's wharncliffe trapper I somehow sensed that my sojourn through the desert was nearing an end.
I reached out for Jared and asked him if he would consider building a wharncliffe trapper for me along the same lines as the one he had built as his prototype. I also mentioned that he should feel free to make changes as he felt necessary or inclined aesthetically.
I'd been wanting to add another two bladed shadow pattern to my arsenal and this appeared to be the perfect opportunity to pursue that goal.
Jared was kind enough to take the project on and even kinder to have devoted the time required to have it built in time for me to receive it from my lovely wife for my birthday.
When it arrived today I begged her indulgence to allow me to "inspect" the knife for any flaws so that I wouldn't be disappointed when she gives it to me in a few days.
Well, I spent several minutes looking the knife over from stem to stern and back again and for the life of me I truly had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this maker has only been building knives for a little over a year and this knife represented only his third two bladed slipjoint.
Grinds...check. Edges...check. Frame and symmetry...check. Half-stops crisp?...check Swedges...check. Springs/liners/tangs flush?...check. What the ???...
Okay, I did find one nit...one of the tiny embedded bronze wires in the "lightning strike" carbon fiber covers stuck up enough to be just noticeable.
So, yeah, I like this knife...a lot! And as someone who prides himself on having a pretty good eye for makers with that special something I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Jared Oeser is a name that is going to earn a little notoriety in the world of custom knife making. If he keeps the passion exhibited with the building of this knife, the sky is the limit.
I guess that's enough from me, now I'll let the knife images (kindly supplied by Jared) do the talking...but before I do, some brief stats:
Pattern: Wharncliffe Trappper
Length: 3.5"
Weight: 2 5/8 oz.
Covers: Lightning Strike Carbon Fiber with Natural Canvas Micarta / Orange G-10 liners
Steel: CPM-154 @ 59 Rc
And now a couple of shots alongside the prototype to show the change in both the frame and width displaying the tighter tolerances and thinner stock on the current knife:
In closing, let me reiterate my thanks to Jared and my recommendation to those of you so inclined to follow this maker's progress and get on his list while it's still manageable.
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:thumbup:
