Ken Erickson Knives: A Retrospective

Ken there are a few big old British Hawkbills around with a very worn down blade, but still excellent Stag. Would it be considered cheating to take the scales from such a knife and use them on yours ?
roland
 
ken erickson said:
I was pretty bummed when the stag did not work that I received today. I was having a cup of coffee when I remembered I had a few "large" pieces of stag put back in a box.

I am real happy with the look. I was shooting for what I thought could pass as a vintage looking piece of stag. Sorry about the grubby hands, Potassium Permanganate will do that. This piece of stag took it very well and matched the un-sanded areas. Course I have much finish work to go on the scales yet but I think I have achieved the over all affect I was looking for. (note: no pixels were harmed in photoshop :eek:,exposure and clarity correction only).

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That looks great Ken!

I have a quick question I don't know if its appropriate here, but I will ask and if its not Im sorry.

I have a GEC with stag and the dark areas are starting to wear away and turn light. Would Potassium Permanganate be the answer to this?

Thanks
 
rprocter said:
Ken there are a few big old British Hawkbills around with a very worn down blade, but still excellent Stag. Would it be considered cheating to take the scales from such a knife and use them on yours ?
roland
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Roland,
Not sure it would be cheating, but I would think that it would almost be impossible because of the pin holes. I made a few subtle changes, such as the location of the second most rear pin. On the Saynor you can look down and see the pin. I choose to have mine run through the backspring.

richstag said:
That looks great Ken!

I have a quick question I don't know if its appropriate here, but I will ask and if its not Im sorry.

I have a GEC with stag and the dark areas are starting to wear away and turn light. Would Potassium Permanganate be the answer to this?

Thanks
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Kevin,

PM sent.


Well I finished up my first knife with a sealed cap, and pretty happy with the results. I learned a lot and would incorporate some minor changes in my next sealed cap knife. I was asked by email if this pruner could stand on end closed, actually it will stand on end in all three positions.

Thanks everyone for the very kind comments and questions. I really enjoy making a knife such as this when I get feedback.
Hope you enjoy the pictures!

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Very nice on a lot of levels Ken. I see you even put the pins through the rat tail bolsters. Love that stag and the whole knife really sings.
 
Dyne-o-mite!
A time portal to the Past!!
I think Stag is what God intended for Hawkbill pruners, and you've paid tribute to all old pruners that have come before, Ken!
It's a beauty!!
 
Ken, Just a great looking new "old" Hawkbill Pruner! The
attention to detail is amazing! Congrats...

Jason
 
Mike Robuck said:
I see you even put the pins through the rat tail bolsters.
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This is the first one I have done with the really deep rat tail bolsters were the pin is in the rat tail. Required a bit of a modification to my peening station:eek:

Thanks everyone for the comments on this knife, it is very much appreciated.
 
Beautiful work, Ken. With the end cap, the pin through the rat tail, and the kink in the blade I'd imagine that was one really complicated knife to build. Of course, you made it look easy. :)

...please forgive me for asking a stupid question now. What is the purpose of the sealed end cap? I always though the end cap on a doctor's knife was for crushing pills. Was I wrong? Is the end cap on a hawkbill for striking... or is it a structural feature that might offer more resistant to wear than a bare head... or is for appearance, etc?
 
supratentorial said:
What is the purpose of the sealed end cap? I always though the end cap on a doctor's knife was for crushing pills. Was I wrong? Is the end cap on a hawkbill for striking... or is it a structural feature that might offer more resistant to wear than a bare head... or is for appearance, etc?
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Jake,

A great question, one which I do not know the answer to. Maybe someone knows and will share here? As far as doctors knives I believe the end cap was for crushing pills, with cross contamination between different drugs minimized because of the lack of gaps present in typical backspring construction. Is it possible the well stocked Gardener back in the day could have purchased crystallized pesticides,insecticides that needed to be crushed before mixing with water?

Jake,

I used the search function ;):D and also came up with this from an early post. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/764478-Old-Hawkbill-Pruner?p=8575426#post8575426

Quote Originally Posted by zerogee View Post
I think you're fine there -- I'd guess in the 1930s. The thick almost round butt with the flat cap is a very common shape for pruner handles, except that normally scales like this are usually stag. Makes for great grip on the pull stroke. I have wondered why a lot of the old pruners (Sheffield was more typical than American) had this sort of thick, flat capped butt -- and usually it appears to have been used. A quick way to hammer in marking stakes maybe?

Interesting observation. A metal end might well have been used to drive lead nails in. In those days(18th-early 20th century) a lot of fruit trees would have been fan or espalier tied on an old brick wall, the same for vines and figs. Lead headed nails were often used to hold down wires or parts of the branch to train it to a system. They would be driven in through the soft mortar and the knife itself could've been used. Another use may to have been to pulverize the end of cuttings prior to shaping them for rooting-they kept better that way.
 
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That's a great looking knife. Instant classic. Wonderful work Ken. And Charlie, I'm am really envious and I don't even like pruners all that much.

- Christian
 
ken erickson said:
Jake,

A great question, one which I do not know the answer to. Maybe someone knows and will share here? As far as doctors knives I believe the end cap was for crushing pills, with cross contamination between different drugs minimized because of the lack of gaps present in typical backspring construction. Is it possible the well stocked Gardener back in the day could have purchased crystallized pesticides,insecticides that needed to be crushed before mixing with water?

Jake,

I used the search function ;):D and also came up with this from an early post. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/764478-Old-Hawkbill-Pruner?p=8575426#post8575426

Quote Originally Posted by zerogee View Post
I think you're fine there -- I'd guess in the 1930s. The thick almost round butt with the flat cap is a very common shape for pruner handles, except that normally scales like this are usually stag. Makes for great grip on the pull stroke. I have wondered why a lot of the old pruners (Sheffield was more typical than American) had this sort of thick, flat capped butt -- and usually it appears to have been used. A quick way to hammer in marking stakes maybe?

Interesting observation. A metal end might well have been used to drive lead nails in. In those days(18th-early 20th century) a lot of fruit trees would have been fan or espalier tied on an old brick wall, the same for vines and figs. Lead headed nails were often used to hold down wires or parts of the branch to train it to a system. They would be driven in through the soft mortar and the knife itself could've been used. Another use may to have been to pulverize the end of cuttings prior to shaping them for rooting-they kept better that way.
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Awesome. (secret admission: I am even more impressed by the thinking than by the execution, which of course, was amazing.)
 
Ken, I don't even own a hawkbill; I guess I don't have a real use for one. But for some reason, this one you have created seems very, very special to me.

Truly, a masterful creation!
 
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