- Joined
- Dec 24, 2012
- Messages
- 2,659
Good afternoon knife fam,
Sitting in a park on a gorgeous day with the topic item in my pocket, it seemed like a good time to bang this out.
I recently acquired the knife above, sort of a grail for me; a Shobu zukuri tanto made by Gary Bradburn. Gary no longer makes knives and his pieces rarely change hands.
It came with the stock sheath, a simple taco style black kydex with a belt clip. I pocket carry so I wanted something different in regard to both form and function.
I don't like leather sheaths. I've never owned one that had the retention feel I was looking for. I love kydex, light, good retention and won't retain moisture. But, if you're trying to match a particular knife, it can be quite challenging as only certain colors are available. The solution? Leather covered kydex, a beautiful partnership indeed.
I immediately contacted Matt (Charlie Mike or affectionately, CM) through Facebook to start discussing the project. I had seen his leather wrapped examples in the past and they instantly came to mind for what I wanted. My goal was to create something that would bring out the gorgeous bamboo under plates on the knife, as well as the gold-accented cherry blossom menuki.
I purchased some dye within minutes of talking to CM and had it sent directly to him. The same evening, the knife was in the mail. Matt's communication is the best out of anyone I've ever worked with. He has his phone glued to him like most of us and usually answers within minutes, even if its just to shoot the breeze.
The details of the project were straightforward, but very specific. I wanted a taco style sheath with minimal material extending past the knife in any direction to minimize the footprint in the pocket. My only other request was to have a small lip at the top of the spine side to press my thumb against to disengage the sheath.
I was sent a number of pics detailing the process, which I'd like to mention took less than a week. Every step was detailed and I might as well have been in Fresno myself. Felt like I was right there with him and big kitty! He even took the time to make a 5 minute video of it after completion. I've commissioned a lot of custom work and that was a first.
At this point I'm sure anyone reading is begging me to shut up and get to the goods. So, here we go homes:
Now that you've got your keyboard cleaned up, let's continue.
I was completely blown away by the end result. The shape is perfect, retention is dialed in, thumb lip is very subtle so it doesn't take up a ton of space in the pocket and the overall fit and finish is spot on. The seams are nice and tight and the sheath has a very solid feel while still giving off a supple leather vibe.
The star of the show is the color, which came out absolutely stunning. It is Tandy's eco-flo in sunshine yellow and we weren't sure how it would work considering the starting hide was light brown. CM was able to throw down multiple coats and really get the dye to saturate, I couldn't be happier with how it came out. It was far better than expected and compliments the bamboo wonderfully.
Shout out time: matt was a hoot to work with. He's a good dude with serious skills and a talent for knowing what people are looking for. Its not easy to take someone's idea and execute it perfectly, but that's exactly what we have here. His shared enthusiasm with the project was energizing and he even thanked me for giving him the opportunity to dress this piece. That was very nice of him, but thank you, brotha. I really appreciate all the heart you put into this.
Here's the part where I tell you to hit up CM for your sheath needs, because you should. Aside from everything I've already mentioned, this project was unfairly affordable. I find it in bad taste to discuss price, I'll just say that you'd probably spend more if you took your lady out to a nice dinner. You should still do that too, though.
A huge part of custom work to me is the relationship with the maker. You're not just buying an item, but also a small part of the person who brought it to life. I am immensely proud to have this in my pocket right now and am honored to have become friends with Matt through the process.
So go have something made. Anything you're looking for from anybody offering services. Support the community, meet new people and build relationships. Don't forget to have a f*#king blast doing it.
Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by. Any questions and comments are encouraged, of course.
-Evan
Sitting in a park on a gorgeous day with the topic item in my pocket, it seemed like a good time to bang this out.
I recently acquired the knife above, sort of a grail for me; a Shobu zukuri tanto made by Gary Bradburn. Gary no longer makes knives and his pieces rarely change hands.
It came with the stock sheath, a simple taco style black kydex with a belt clip. I pocket carry so I wanted something different in regard to both form and function.
I don't like leather sheaths. I've never owned one that had the retention feel I was looking for. I love kydex, light, good retention and won't retain moisture. But, if you're trying to match a particular knife, it can be quite challenging as only certain colors are available. The solution? Leather covered kydex, a beautiful partnership indeed.
I immediately contacted Matt (Charlie Mike or affectionately, CM) through Facebook to start discussing the project. I had seen his leather wrapped examples in the past and they instantly came to mind for what I wanted. My goal was to create something that would bring out the gorgeous bamboo under plates on the knife, as well as the gold-accented cherry blossom menuki.
I purchased some dye within minutes of talking to CM and had it sent directly to him. The same evening, the knife was in the mail. Matt's communication is the best out of anyone I've ever worked with. He has his phone glued to him like most of us and usually answers within minutes, even if its just to shoot the breeze.
The details of the project were straightforward, but very specific. I wanted a taco style sheath with minimal material extending past the knife in any direction to minimize the footprint in the pocket. My only other request was to have a small lip at the top of the spine side to press my thumb against to disengage the sheath.
I was sent a number of pics detailing the process, which I'd like to mention took less than a week. Every step was detailed and I might as well have been in Fresno myself. Felt like I was right there with him and big kitty! He even took the time to make a 5 minute video of it after completion. I've commissioned a lot of custom work and that was a first.
At this point I'm sure anyone reading is begging me to shut up and get to the goods. So, here we go homes:
Now that you've got your keyboard cleaned up, let's continue.
I was completely blown away by the end result. The shape is perfect, retention is dialed in, thumb lip is very subtle so it doesn't take up a ton of space in the pocket and the overall fit and finish is spot on. The seams are nice and tight and the sheath has a very solid feel while still giving off a supple leather vibe.
The star of the show is the color, which came out absolutely stunning. It is Tandy's eco-flo in sunshine yellow and we weren't sure how it would work considering the starting hide was light brown. CM was able to throw down multiple coats and really get the dye to saturate, I couldn't be happier with how it came out. It was far better than expected and compliments the bamboo wonderfully.
Shout out time: matt was a hoot to work with. He's a good dude with serious skills and a talent for knowing what people are looking for. Its not easy to take someone's idea and execute it perfectly, but that's exactly what we have here. His shared enthusiasm with the project was energizing and he even thanked me for giving him the opportunity to dress this piece. That was very nice of him, but thank you, brotha. I really appreciate all the heart you put into this.
Here's the part where I tell you to hit up CM for your sheath needs, because you should. Aside from everything I've already mentioned, this project was unfairly affordable. I find it in bad taste to discuss price, I'll just say that you'd probably spend more if you took your lady out to a nice dinner. You should still do that too, though.
A huge part of custom work to me is the relationship with the maker. You're not just buying an item, but also a small part of the person who brought it to life. I am immensely proud to have this in my pocket right now and am honored to have become friends with Matt through the process.
So go have something made. Anything you're looking for from anybody offering services. Support the community, meet new people and build relationships. Don't forget to have a f*#king blast doing it.
Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by. Any questions and comments are encouraged, of course.
-Evan
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