Know of a company that will make a one-off knife based on my own design?

[NJBillK]

Try JK Handmade on this forum. He is a great guy and good to work with.

I have a few knives from JK Knives. Each one is a Fantastic work horse.
John worked with me to build me a version of a Canadian Belt Knife, exactly as I wanted it built. I flat out Beat on it and it didn't budge, I pounded this knife into stumps and through fatwood/pine knots, pried, pulled, levered and generally tried to beat this thing up.
...It just laughed at me.
I have two customs that are my "Go To" woods knives, and this one is my First Choice.
He works primarily in O1.

John is a stand-up guy that has earned My business for a lifetime.
-------
Dalibor (Daado is his name on here) would be my next suggestion.

He works in 52100 (60 hrc-ish)or WW2 tank turret bearings for his smaller, edc sized knives.
The custom he made for me was entirely from my drawings and dimensions. Built as a harder use woods bumming and hiking knife.

 

[theJman]

Alan Davis here on the forums is the man for the job. He has done a few for me and they were all Great!
Good Luck! Kevin 👍😊

I found his website and it shows some pretty spectacular knives! A quick check has me wondering if his target audience is somebody other than me though; he seems more Lamborghini Huracan, while I tend to go more for a Camaro or Mustang instead. Scalpel-level precision versus blunt force trauma, if you will. I'll definitely check out his knives a bit further, because he appears to be quite good at what he does.

 

[hhmoore]

That's the forum I mentioned previously were I didn't have a Post New Thread button, so that one is off limits for me it seems.

You can't post a thread in the Knifemakers Classifieds because you aren't a knifemaker. I suspect that link was for the purpose of looking...see if any of the offerings appeal to you, and contact the maker about your project.
The link to the Wanted section in the knifemaker forum was provided earlier, and the explanation that you won't be able to see other people's ads because only the people in that group can access them. In my own experience, posting there is a long shot - I've done so a couple of times, for fairly simple things that I wanted, and never got a response - you're better off contacting makers directly, and discussion the project with them.

 

[kda89508]

I found his website and it shows some pretty spectacular knives! A quick check has me wondering if his target audience is somebody other than me though; he seems more Lamborghini Huracan, while I tend to go more for a Camaro or Mustang instead. Scalpel-level precision versus blunt force trauma, if you will. I'll definitely check out his knives a bit further, because he appears to be quite good at what he does.

He is very good at what he does. Here is my edc that he made for me to my specs. He will do anything.
Kevin 😊👍

 

[Sticky]

If it's a fixed you want check out Eddie White. I sent him a sketch back in '09 and he made it reality. Beautifully made knives too at reasonable prices. Killer grinds. He's a good 'ol boy too and will follow up with you, very personable.

 

[greatscoot]

Try JK Handmade on this forum. He is a great guy and good to work with.

I will second this. His website says "your design or mine" and he makes some fantastic knives. Definitely check his sub forum.

 

[theJman]

Between the PM's I've been getting and the posts in this thread, it seems the consensus is that JK would be my best choice. Given that, he's probably the first inquiry I make.

 

[michaelm466]

I had Big Chris (has a subforum here) build a couple from my own drawings/designs that turned out excellent, just what I was looking for. He did it in a very timely fashion (especially for being a full custom one off) with frequent updates and great communication. He also works with difficult to work on steels.

 

[SCWillson]

I found his website and it shows some pretty spectacular knives! A quick check has me wondering if his target audience is somebody other than me though; he seems more Lamborghini Huracan, while I tend to go more for a Camaro or Mustang instead. Scalpel-level precision versus blunt force trauma, if you will. I'll definitely check out his knives a bit further, because he appears to be quite good at what he does.

Alan made me a small custom to my specs a couple years ago, and the price was quite reasonable considering I asked for Damascus steel and desert ironwood scales. Great workmanship, and still under $200. Took a couple months, but that's very quick for a custom maker.

I've been contemplating getting him to make me another, so obviously I'm very pleased with his work.

 

[NJBillK]

On the 22nd of this month, John is going to be having a sale in his subforum with a few knives. You might want to swing by and see if anything catches your eye.

Fyi, the knives often move pretty fast, and they start around 9:30am eastern or so.

 

[theJman]

I had Big Chris (has a subforum here) build a couple from my own drawings/designs that turned out excellent, just what I was looking for. He did it in a very timely fashion (especially for being a full custom one off) with frequent updates and great communication. He also works with difficult to work on steels.

Between this thread and PM's the names JK and Big Chris have been mentioned the most frequently, so they're at the top of my list.

 

[theJman]

On the 22nd of this month, John is going to be having a sale in his subforum with a few knives. You might want to swing by and see if anything catches your eye.

Fyi, the knives often move pretty fast, and they start around 9:30am eastern or so.

I definitely want to get my own design made, but I might check that out just to see his work.