All,
I want to give everyone a chance to see how a knifemaker takes a knife from a conception through the many stages of production. I contacted knifemaker Brian Johnson to produce a knife I designed (when I say designed, I obviously got influences from other knives but could not find one that looked and felt the way I wanted so I tweaked some designs I have seen in the past)and sent him the schematic of what I had in mind. It was a design for a Combat/Survival/Camp type knife. He stated that he saw no problem with the build and we went back and forth with a few adjustments (for instance, he recognized that the finger contours were too deep and would lock the hand in too tightly for what I had in mind).
He kept me posted througout the build and forwarded pictures at various stages. There are alot of photo's so I will provide the link to the tutorial on his site and you can see it from begining to end, rather than post them all here. That is my knife in the tutorial and you can see my design that I sent to him in the first photo that he used as a template to sketch it onto the steel:
http://www.bkjohnsonknives.com/tutorial.htm
The knife came out better than I could have imagined and is very light and lively in the hand and can shave the hair from your face. The handle is extremely comfortable and is contoured as perfectly as I had envisioned it. Everyone that holds the knife cannot believe how well she is balanced and how great the handle feels.
His tutorial shows the photo's very clearly and has descriptions as to what he is doing and why at every step. If you ever wondered how things are done to get plunge lines and contours done on knives, take a look at the tutorial.
Dealing with Brain from the begining of this project to the knives arrival at my door was a textbook example of professionalism and a genuine pleasure. His fit and finish is outstanding, I could not find a wave or a dip on this blade (a full 9") and that is one of my pet peaves with custom knives but this blade is straight!!! His quoted delivery time was within a week or two of his original quote and we are talking a few short months from the time I sent him the schematic to the time I had it in my hot little hands. His prices are an absolute steal (no pun intended) compared to what you will get in the final product. I have referred several friends who have commisioned him with their own designs and they are thrilled with their builds as well.
I simply cannot recommend this maker enough, if you are even remotely considering having a knife of your own design (or just getting one of his standard hunting/camping/survival knives)..you owe it to yourself to reach out to Brian and work with him. Whatever knife you decide on (yours or his) will so outweigh in quality what you paid, that you simply will not believe it. I expected some sort of compromise during the build, waves or dips in the blade or a different contour to the handle BUT it was exactly what I had envisioned, EXACTLY. What a feeling to have a simple idea turned into reality by a talented craftsman.
This maker is going to have a growing waiting list once folks get a taste of what he is capable of, so I would not sit idle by if you have an idea for that one-of-a-kind blade. I am sure as hell glad I got in early with this great maker.
Bpman
I want to give everyone a chance to see how a knifemaker takes a knife from a conception through the many stages of production. I contacted knifemaker Brian Johnson to produce a knife I designed (when I say designed, I obviously got influences from other knives but could not find one that looked and felt the way I wanted so I tweaked some designs I have seen in the past)and sent him the schematic of what I had in mind. It was a design for a Combat/Survival/Camp type knife. He stated that he saw no problem with the build and we went back and forth with a few adjustments (for instance, he recognized that the finger contours were too deep and would lock the hand in too tightly for what I had in mind).
He kept me posted througout the build and forwarded pictures at various stages. There are alot of photo's so I will provide the link to the tutorial on his site and you can see it from begining to end, rather than post them all here. That is my knife in the tutorial and you can see my design that I sent to him in the first photo that he used as a template to sketch it onto the steel:
http://www.bkjohnsonknives.com/tutorial.htm
The knife came out better than I could have imagined and is very light and lively in the hand and can shave the hair from your face. The handle is extremely comfortable and is contoured as perfectly as I had envisioned it. Everyone that holds the knife cannot believe how well she is balanced and how great the handle feels.
His tutorial shows the photo's very clearly and has descriptions as to what he is doing and why at every step. If you ever wondered how things are done to get plunge lines and contours done on knives, take a look at the tutorial.
Dealing with Brain from the begining of this project to the knives arrival at my door was a textbook example of professionalism and a genuine pleasure. His fit and finish is outstanding, I could not find a wave or a dip on this blade (a full 9") and that is one of my pet peaves with custom knives but this blade is straight!!! His quoted delivery time was within a week or two of his original quote and we are talking a few short months from the time I sent him the schematic to the time I had it in my hot little hands. His prices are an absolute steal (no pun intended) compared to what you will get in the final product. I have referred several friends who have commisioned him with their own designs and they are thrilled with their builds as well.
I simply cannot recommend this maker enough, if you are even remotely considering having a knife of your own design (or just getting one of his standard hunting/camping/survival knives)..you owe it to yourself to reach out to Brian and work with him. Whatever knife you decide on (yours or his) will so outweigh in quality what you paid, that you simply will not believe it. I expected some sort of compromise during the build, waves or dips in the blade or a different contour to the handle BUT it was exactly what I had envisioned, EXACTLY. What a feeling to have a simple idea turned into reality by a talented craftsman.
This maker is going to have a growing waiting list once folks get a taste of what he is capable of, so I would not sit idle by if you have an idea for that one-of-a-kind blade. I am sure as hell glad I got in early with this great maker.
Bpman
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