Ken Erickson Knives: A Retrospective

Well, Ken, you already know that I'm a huge fan of the pattern so all I can say is "I'm jealous!".

Congrats to you and the (%$#*&) lucky prospective owner. :p
 
Ken: When you say "hidden kick"...I do not quite understand. I can see that the pen blade needs a bit of something to stop it....but exactly where is it? Secondary blades often looks like this one and I never quite understood it well. Thanks

John
 
John L said:
Ken: When you say "hidden kick"...I do not quite understand. I can see that the pen blade needs a bit of something to stop it....but exactly where is it? Secondary blades often looks like this one and I never quite understood it well. Thanks

John
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John,

I am not even sure my coined term of "hidden kick" is proper. I call it this as the kick is contained within the profile of the frame when open. I will shoot a picture in the near future showing the relationship of the kick.

Elliott,

Thanks for the comment! I had not planned to show any pictures of the knife in progress , however my customer has asked if I would. Maybe he will add additional comments.
 
That Carrier looks very "full". And it is a great pattern - must be nice to work from such a wonderful example, Ken. Are you going to try to model the jigging? It is quite spectacular.
Nice project indeed! Simpler than the Horseman, yet subtley beautiful!!
 
The Carrier is a stunning vintage knife, good etch, full blades. Actually my customer asked for bone similar to what I put on this doctors knife.

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Very like Schrade's peachseed. Nicely to scale, and from a similar era. Good choice!
Why haven't I seen that Doctor before! Great one!!
 
Ken i want to say what an impressive individual you are. Rather than 'rest' on well deserved laurels and stick with 1 and 2 blade knives, you are brave, and challenge yourself with complex patterns new to you. This shows that you are a 'knifer' and an artist first, and a guy making a living second.
Thank you for your determination and adventurous spirit, because those of us fortunate enough to be here at BF and thus in part voyage with you, gain a depth of appreciation for Traditional folders that we might otherwise never see or know.
Some of us might even be thus inspired and gain the courage and determination to go beyond our own comfort zone and endeavor to excell at something new.
roland
 
Ken, first let me say that I am in awe, plain and simple. That is quite a piece of toolmaking right there, not to mention all the others you've done.

Regarding the stag color. I've been under the impression that raw sambar stag is naturally VERY dark, near black even. It's when the antler is buffed and hafted that the lighter colors come out. I'm wondering if perhaps Empire (and others of the day) didn't dye the stag, but rather just didn't polish it so much. Here's a 10" piece as an example. Note how it doesn't take much to get past that darker outer layer, pocket wear and use will lighten a stag handled knife up just as well as a buffer:

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Thanks for sharing all these WIPs, they're definitely an inspiration!

Eric
 
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Thanks Ken for posting the pics and getting me the link to the thread. I am the (%$#*&) lucky prospective owner. I like the way you put it BLUES!!!

I have always wanted to have some of my knives duplicated by some one as good as Ken and he has agreed to work with me. The Carrier is from a salesman's roll of knives and was the only one that had the etch. Charlie and Eric know how much I love the inked ones!!

Ken I am so looking forward to more pictures and of course to get the finished knife in my hands!!!

Thanks Mike
 
The stag is often burnt with a flame to darken it up. It can also be dyed (Culpepper is best known for this).
 
galvanic1882 said:
Thanks Ken for posting the pics and getting me the link to the thread. I am the (%$#*&) lucky prospective owner. I like the way you put it BLUES!!!

I have always wanted to have some of my knives duplicated by some one as good as Ken and he has agreed to work with me. The Carrier is from a salesman's roll of knives and was the only one that had the etch. Charlie and Eric know how much I love the inked ones!!

Ken I am so looking forward to more pictures and of course to get the finished knife in my hands!!!

Thanks Mike
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Congrats, Mike. Sounds like it couldn't be going to a better home. :thumbup:
 
As an addition to the above stag photos, I'm wondering if maybe there isn't some dye involved. After seeing a number of actual deer photos, the tips appear quite a bit lighter au natural.:confused:

Eric

PS - Congrats Mike!!!!
 
Eric: Natural sambar stag is very light once the dirt is cleaned off. Your piece of stag has been hit with potassium permanganate ...hard.. All..well almost all stag from India was sprayed with PP before getting out of the country for critter control. PP is an insecticide formost...it just hapens to color the stag also. After centuries of this color being taken for granted...all stag is now colored even more for the dark brown, reddish/black colors you see. Culpepper dyes amber and mahogany regularly on sambar stag.

John Lloyd
 
Thanks for all the good information on stag guys!

I did have a chance to work on the Eureka jack. I have the blades ground but not finished. The frames/bolsters are milled. I will be cutting out bone today and starting the dying process. Thanks for all the kind comments.

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oooh... that's a beauty. Looking forward to seeing the finished knife. Thanks for sharing your work in progress with us. It is very interesting.
 
That looks fantastic Ken, I think I'll have to find out the next show Mike's gonna be at cause I'm sure he'll be showing those babies off!

John, thanks for the VERY enlightening info!! Sure does answer a lot of questions. Got that piece from a Culpepper booth as a matter of fact.

Eric
 
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