Ken Erickson: 6380 Pattern Whittler

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First off, thanks to Elliott and Ken for letting me tag along on this project. I'm blown away by my whittler from Ken. I've always loved his jigged bone, and I'm a big fan of whittlers.

This whittler is thinner than I thought it would be, and as Elliott and others have said it's a great size with a good combination of blades.

Ken said the whittlers pushed his knifemaking abilities, but I bet he banged these out while watching Oprah. :)
 
Unbelievable!!!These are just beautiful-Congrats to the new owners of these knives, and to Ken, who is building some incredible knives!!!:thumbup::eek:
 
I was lucky enough to be part of Ken's build of this great traditional pattern. I certainly had a great deal of fun and learned much from Ken's detailed description of the build of this knife.

As many of you recall Ken was critical of some of the imperfections of the proto knife. Gotta tell one and all, if i looked hard, i could see what Ken said about these minor issues but i also have to say that these were VERY minor and for me, only add to the character of my knife.

This particular pattern is just an absolute winner. Its very thin and rides great in the pocket. The 3 blades are a terrific feature, particularly the dual clips. The knife also fits in the hand perfectly. For those of us stuck wearing slacks or suits, this is the perfect knife. Large enough to be useful but also disappears in the pocket.

Each and every one of Ken's knives that i have been lucky enough to own has a special place in my collection. Ken just keeps challenging himself to build nicer and nicer knives. We are all lucky to have such a fine artist to feed our habits.

Also a nice thanks to Blues for dredging up this fine pattern.

Here are a couple of pics taken by Ken.

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I think the prototype is my favorite out of the bunch. You, sir, are a lucky man. :thumbup:
 
Fantastic! This whole series (the tutorial and now the final product) has been excellent, although I did severely dehydrate myself due to drool overload. It's interesting to see the progression from crescent pull to a long pull (I like 'em both!). Was this done to provide better access to the blade, since the long pull rides closer to the spine?

Congrats to all!!

Eric
 
Fantastic work. Congratulations to Ken and the lucky new owners.
 
ea42 said:
Fantastic! This whole series (the tutorial and now the final product) has been excellent, although I did severely dehydrate myself due to drool overload. It's interesting to see the progression from crescent pull to a long pull (I like 'em both!). Was this done to provide better access to the blade, since the long pull rides closer to the spine?

Congrats to all!!

Eric
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Thanks everyone that has commented , its very much appreciated. I am a fan of long pulls, thinking this pattern would look good with one. I changed the shape of the master clip from the proto and ran the long pull closer to the tip end of the blade. This does afford more leverage.

Ken
 
Couldn't resist adding a couple of images of the two ivory Erickson's alongside one another. You'll notice how the dogleg has mellowed in color in just a few months (which is how the whittler will look in just a short while).

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Thanks for all the nice comments. Mike and Rick, and especially Ken, this was entirely my pleasure. :cool::thumbup:
 
This is a great thread & what an awesome pair of knives there Elliott!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
-Vince
 
VCM3 said:
This is a great thread & what an awesome pair of knives there Elliott!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
-Vince
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Thank you, Vince. I'm looking forward to your thread on your new Erickson which is inbound. :thumbup:
 
Blues said:
Thank you, Vince. I'm looking forward to your thread on your new Erickson which is inbound. :thumbup:
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Tomorrow,it may show,& possibly the rain will end.I am backed up here,on picture taking.I have a few nice blades to show. I'll try my best.

Ken is making some really fine knives & I agree,his knives just feel so good in the pocket & in hand,great slicing blades,too !
-Vince
 
How did I miss this thread??

What superb knives........
Nothing more to add.........

Oh yes!

Enjoy them
 
Ken is doing a great job with these great old patterns -- I especially love that he gets the hafting right. So many custom makers make these patterns thick, heavy, and blocky -- the originals were thin, smooth, and curved everywhere - and weighed no more than they really had to. After handling the old originals, most customs just don't measure up. I'm glad to see that Ken understands. BTW, that is some awesome bone on that 6380 -- getting fairly close to some of the wonderful old picked bone jigging there.

The long pulls are a great touch -- very practical here - and they're done right! I've been seeing several makers use long pulls that just come off rather ugly and cheap looking. I had to figure out why -- to look right, it is very important to have the long pull placed very close to the top of the blade *and* it should be parallel to the back of the blade there *and* it shouldn't run past (or under) where the clip or swedge begins. When it's placed lower on the blade (and especially with no reference to the back of the blade), it looks like the cheap slapdash fake "long pulls" that Robeson used on many of its knives after WW2 - and that are seen on many modern German made knives (they use a fake long pull because it allows them to avoid having to precisely place a common nail pull and allows them to make the knife a little cheaper).
 
Ken,

Two Amazingly beautiful knives! :thumbup:

The New owners are pretty lucky to have...and to Hold these!:D

Congrats all the way around. :p

Kent
 
zerogee said:
Ken is doing a great job with these great old patterns -- I especially love that he gets the hafting right. So many custom makers make these patterns thick, heavy, and blocky -- the originals were thin, smooth, and curved everywhere - and weighed no more than they really had to. After handling the old originals, most customs just don't measure up. I'm glad to see that Ken understands. BTW, that is some awesome bone on that 6380 -- getting fairly close to some of the wonderful old picked bone jigging there.

The long pulls are a great touch -- very practical here - and they're done right!
Click to expand...


Well said.

Ken sent me one of his Roger's Half-Whittler's and it's amazing how he can pack such a wallop in a small punch. :D

Blues and Mike. . . . .ya lucky bastids. :thumbup:
 
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