My Favourite Small Fixed Bladed Knife......

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,449
Here is one of my favourite knives that I have, got from David Boye, ordered it specifically with Desert Ironwood handle. The blade is very sharp, and ground thin so it is not a knife I go whacking into trees with but when I need to trim or cut out something or need a point that is low enough to work on a table top without raising the handle high in the air, this knife excels.

Blade is 2 3/4" and overall is 6 3/4".

What is your MOST Favourite small Fixed bladed knife?

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G2

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"The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions!"
Take the time to read your Bible Now, don't be left behind...

G2 LeatherWorks
 
I have two favorites at the moment. Listed in no particular order:
1. Neil Blackwood Small Game transformed into a great neck knife by Matt Draper's skill
2. A Lynn Dawson Scorpio http://www.knives.com/lynn.html

Two young, at least compared to my grizzled visage, knifemakers.
Great work from both of them. Knives which fit and fill the hand in an almost magical manner.
Check them out.
Davy
 
Gary,
I passed up a small Boye knife at the Orlando show. It was a good deal and I had Tactical on my mind at the time
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This is my latest favorite all around knife. I made two in Talonite, one for a forum member and am KEEPING this one for myself!!
It has a 3.5" blade and a look that doesn't draw much attention in it's brown Kydex, cross draw sheath.
The knife is a slightly drawn out version of my Small Hunter that is hollow ground but on a very large contact wheel. This gives almost a flat ground look to it.
So far, it's proven VERY usefull as an all around knife and it's finally giving me the chance to test out Talonite for myself!!
Neil
EDIT: THANKS DAVY!! I HAVE to get one of my American Ninjas to Matt!!
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Website just updated!
Blackwood Knives
http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Meeting/5520/index.html

[This message has been edited by Dr.Lathe (edited 05-19-2000).]
 
Davy that Scorpio is neat and
Doc, I've always admired that wharncliffish M2 blade you made, very cool and I believe you when you say it really cuts!
Ahh, Doc, I was wondering where that knife was, thought you were sort of talking about a pic you were going to post and now, here it is! How thick did you leave the Talonite? As I have heard tell it needs to be a little thicker than steel blades due to the properties of Talonite.

The Persona above is sort of neat as well, in that the top of the handle is rounded and the bottom including the integral bolster has a peak ground on it so it fits the hand nicely. I saw another Persona at the Blade Show last year and the bottom wasn't peaked on that one, don't know why, but I was glad mine has it.

David and Deborah Boye are both nice to talk with and deal with.

G2


[This message has been edited by Gary W. Graley (edited 05-19-2000).]
 
It's hard to pick one
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, but I guess right now it'd be my Cetan Hawkbill model, by Rpb Simonich. It has a 3" wharncliffe sort of shaped blade of D2 with blue G10 handle scales. It has a small choil with retention grooves and more at the top on the spine, no way you're gonna lose control with this. Rob drilled holes (3) thru the handle and tang, so it's pretty light too. The D2 just gets incredibly sharp and seems to hold the edge for quite awhile. This is my first D2 experience and I'm impressed.
Now, my other favorites are...
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Oh, you said just one...

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Buck Collectors Club Member # 572
Dedicated ELU
Talonite fan
Knifeknut(just ask my wife)
 
Would have posted a pic, but scanner won't work. Actually, I just noticed that I'm only 3 posts away from 1000 ! Wow, never noticed that I'd crept up there.
Yet another milestone (of sorts) in my life !
:O :O
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Buck Collectors Club Member # 572
Dedicated ELU
Talonite fan
Knifeknut(just ask my wife)
 
Gary--
I always like to see your threads pop up, because you typically post a nice scan to get things rolling. This is no exception, and I know what you mean about David's handles rounded on top and peaked on the bottom. Cliff Stamp has a couple of my Boye drop point hunters he's testing, and has told me he's grown very fond of that handle shape--simple, comfortable and secure.

Neil--I swear every new knife I've seen from you since the first of this year is just that much more impressive. Nice to see a pro with your talent evolving into a real artist. Congratulations. BTW, what is that Talonite hunter selling for these days?

Thanks, and Best to all--Will
 
I have two particularly treasured small fixed blade knives. In keeping with your 'small' criteria, Both are 7.25 inches long overall.

The first is a 'boot knife' with stag scales by Mastersmith Jim Crowell. Forged from 1084 steel, it has a drop/spear point blade (sharpened only on one side and assymetrical enough to have some belly on the edge). The knife has a very long blade for a knife this size. The flat ground and hand rubbed satin finished blade extends 4 inches in front of the stag scales. The handle seems a bit small at first, then you realize that it is short enough to place the butt of the knife In your palm, making this a Very useful and versatile tool. The spine in the ricasso has perfectly filed horizontal grooves. This helps index the knife in ones hand, a useful feature since it is easy to confuse the sharpened side of the blade in the dark. The knife is distally tapered, and also has a tapered tang. The scales are attached with two domed pins and a large steel lined thong hole. Grinds are perfect. Interestingly, the balance point is exactly on the front pin of the scales. This knife feels great in the hand and cuts everything well. Because there is no guard, it fits into a very small pouch sheath. This knife is almost unoticable when worn. And can be tucked in a pants pocket without any difficulty.

My second favorite knife is a Bird and trout knife made by John Perry. Unusual for me (I love forged carbon steel knives), this knife is a stock removal masterpiece in ATS-34. The satin finished hollow ground drop point blade is 3.25 inches long. The desert ironwood scales are attached by copper tube and steel rod mosaic pins. This knife really likes to go fishing with me. It is little handle heavy, but that feels right in a small knife. the handle fits my hand extremely well in several grip postioons. The best feature of this knife is amazing file work. The spine is worked from just behind the tip to the end of the knife is a perfectly shaped stacked vase sort of pattern. The curves are perfect, and symmetrical from side to side. After you look at it for awhile, you realize that the scales fit Flush with the file worked spine. To accomplish this, the scales would have to be machined in a exact opposite manner to the tang of the knife. There are no glues lines, gaps, or filler. This knife is perfect in every way. The knife is also guardless, and rides in a very compact tooled sheath.

I really wish I had a digital camera so I could post pics. Hope you can sort of see them from my descriptions.

Paracelsus

[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 05-20-2000).]
 
Gary,
I make my D2 bladed Hunters on the thin side for good cutting abilty and easy resharpening. I not only left the Talonite thicker at the edge, I also sharpen it on a slack belt for a slightly round profile. This seems to make it easier to remove the burr durring the initial sharpening. So far I've had no problems touching up the blade with diamond hones.
Will,
Thanks, that means a great deal to me!
YOU HAVE MAIL
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Neil

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Website just updated!
Blackwood Knives
http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Meeting/5520/index.html
 
Doc I'll bet that knife really cuts well then! The Talonite folder that Rob Simonich made has a fairly thick edge but it cuts surprisingly well, so a rolled edge with smoother shoulders on the bevel should really slice!

G2


------------------
"The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions!"
Take the time to read your Bible Now, don't be left behind...

G2 LeatherWorks
 
G2, that knife is stunning.

Para, at least get a scanner, I really want to see your collection.

I've got 3 Favorites:
Top-A gift from Michael L6 Cooper
Middle-My first handmade knife by Geno Denning, which I bought on Paracelsus and Senators recommendation.
Bottom-My first true custom, made by JA Lonewolf from my drawings.

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"Will work 4 Knives!"
Homepage: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=254126

[This message has been edited by PhilL (edited 05-20-2000).]
 
Sam--

Beautifully executed traditional style, and a very nice piece for unobtrusive carry. Especially like the sheath set up with the belt-loop clip to swivel easily out of the way.

If you ever get tired of that one, just put it in my sock and send it on home.

--Will
 
SammyB, Win was showing me a similar piece by Pease, with Stag handles, but I passed up on it due to the finger grooves, love that blade shape though, thought about getting it and grinding the grooves out? but hate messing with anothers design or work.

RockSpyder, thanks, a long time in the collection process!
I use both Carbon Fiber models every day now, and take one or two of the others for show, though they will do the work as well!

G2

------------------
"The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions!"
Take the time to read your Bible Now, don't be left behind...

G2 LeatherWorks
 
Here is a version of the knife I wear every day...

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This one is made by R.E. Barber with Ironwood scales. The one I wear sports ivory.

Take care,
Bob
 
Will-

That sock still cracks me up
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I need to get some better pics of the Pease's I have picked up. He does very nice work.

Gary,

Did it look like this really bad picture? It is a great little knife. The finger grooves are well enough done you don't even notice them when holding the knife. The stage is a very nice colour as well.
View


You might like this one better: Not the best pic but you get the idea.

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Nice knives, everyone! Of all the ones shown above, I really like the Barber and the Lynn Dawson.

My fav short blades include:

1. my Sean Perkins Kerver (sorry, no pic yet)

2. small Persian sheathed for neck carry made by Les Voorhies

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3. a damascus & stag by Chuck Hawes
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[This message has been edited by Summerland (edited 05-22-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Summerland (edited 05-22-2000).]
 
David,
where do you get those Mike Irie custom knives?

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Tea drinker and hellraiser from Northern Sweden, above the arctic circle.

 
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