New Scagel Machete

PhilL

PhilL

Joined
Oct 1, 1999
Messages
6,490
My friend P.J. Tomes sent me this photo of one of his new knives. Now I’ve known P.J. for some time and I’ve seen a lot of his knives, I probably own 7 or 8 of his, but i haven’t seen this piece before. P.J. is well known for his Scagel style knives, and if you like the style you should love this piece.

Here’s P.J.’s comments on the knife,
“The blade is 16" long, handle is 6" long, guard is N/S with leather and maple. The unique thing that makes this machete cut so well is the balance ( because of the extra long handle ) and the convexed grind. I can cut a 1 1/2" sapling with one swing.”

I had to ask him is Scagel actually made machetes or was it just inspired by Scagel, “Yes he did, most of them went to Africa. I have never seen one but have read a letter from a customer who was ordering them from Scagel.”

You can see mor of P.J.’s work at his website.
http://tomesknives.com/

I hope you like...

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PJ told me about his new machete on the phone recently...I am so glad you posted the pic Phil. Thank you. That's a keeper. I understand his price on them is quite reasonable as well.
 
Thanks for posting the picture Phil. I ordered this machete sight unseen when Mr Tomes first told me about it back in January. I like what I see and I like the dimensions. Knowing from experience how light Mr. Tomes blades are in comparison to others I'll bet it will be easy to carry in the field and easier on the arm when using than any other choice available be it axe, hatchet or machete.
I'm jealous of the number of Tomes knives that you own. At the moment I only own three as I discovered him only recently but I have more on order.
 
I should make it clear, this is not my machete, I don't own it, it's not even my photo. Most of the Tomes knives I own are kitchen knives, and they are wonderful. At the moment I don't own any of P.J.'s forged knives. I would love to get one of his Tah-Chee Bowies, forged and with stag.

Andy touched on it, P.J. Tomes is of course an ABS Mastersmith and probably one of the most affordable makers around. He's prolific and makes a wide range of knives; forged, stock removal, fixed blades, folders, slipjoints, and he makes them all exceptionally well.

There was a great P.J. thread a couple of weeks ago, if youhaven't seen it, it willl give you a good idea of what he can do.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=476121

David, you think I have a lot of Tomes knives, take a look at Mark Newcomer's collection.

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Here's a photo from Blade Show 2004.
Left to right, PJ, Mike, Robert, Tom, Me, Betsy & Mark Newcomer.
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I wish I had one of these when I was in Afrika. Nice machette!
 
Wow! Several months ago when we talked about an order, PJ mentioned that he had sent a machete to Texas for someone to test. I never envisioned that it was anything like this. Thanks for the picture, Phil.
 
Thanks Phil for the picture of Mr. Newcomers collection of Tomes knives, I am extremely envious. It is an incredible collection of Scagel blade shapes and 19th century Bowies. Mr Tomes work in stag is already known but that picture really highlights his mastery in choosing exceptional pieces and melding them with beautiful and functional blade shapes. I particularly like the stag "bark" (?) found on the slab sided knives.
I have a couple of the knives pictured in Mr. Newcomer's collection on order and I will probably add to it after seeing such a fantastic display.
Thank you as well for the link to the discussion "let's see your P J's" as it shows three exceptional picures of one of the knives I have on order, the Remington Bullet in stag.
I don't have a digital camera or a scanner to upload any pictures of my small collection but I am the proud owner of a forged Sheffield Bowie in stag, a Scagel model 2b in fossil walrus ivory and a utility hunter in jigged bone. They are my favorite knives in an eclectic collection of other custom makers. I am impressed with the lightness in the hand of all of his knives. I have not had the oppurtunity to see any of his knives at a show and thus pick one up and get a feel for his knives before buying but I have never been dissapointed in any of the purchases I have made to date. His knives have no unnecessary weight or thickness at the spine which is a lot more than I can say of other knives I have handled. He makes knives the way they did a century ago with more thought for the task at hand (cutting) and thought also given to carrying through the day.
I only wish I had found out about him a lot sooner.
Have a Happy Fourth of July.
 
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