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AKAT_MIKE

AKAT_MIKE

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 15, 2025
Messages
25
Hello! New to the forums, and forums in general. Primarily I joined to learn and converse with fellow knife makers about the craft.

A little about me; after 40 years in manufacturing, I’m now “working” full time to develop my new craft. I am fortunate to have gotten to know a few professional blacksmith/artists and knife makers here in Nebraska (there are more than a few well-known makers here), which has made my journey down this road less of a bushwhack.

I have forged and finished some blades and am actively working on a few batches now. From inception, I decided to approach this from the complete “beginners” perspective, building my own forge, tooling up on a budget and reading books written by blade smiths from back in the days before I ever imagined I would be where I am today.

I look forward to engaging the wealth of knowledge here, and of course sharing what I’m working on. Any and all feedback will be sincerely welcome. My skin is pretty thick too, so please be comfortable being yourself whenever I post.
 

Attachments

  • Finished Forged Knife No. 1_November 15, 2025 (3).JPG
    Finished Forged Knife No. 1_November 15, 2025 (3).JPG
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Hey thanks all! And thanks for the introductory info - there's much I can use already! I do take a lot of pics and video to help me remember what I did and why I did it, so I'll be posting that as time allows.
I'll be filming a destructive test today and taking pics (in case I can't figure out how to post the video).
 
AKAT_MIKE said:
By the way, what is a "Hoss"?
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He was a character from the old television show Bonanza, Hoss Cartwright played by Dan Blocker. Hoss is short for horse, he was a large man. In my younger days, I looked like him.

They recreated the show in the early’90’s for one episode. I actually had a guy that wanted to be my agent and get me on the show. But because I have no acting skills, I turned him down.

Hoss
 
Welcome! I learned alot from reading the shop talk section, can definitely recommend :D:thumbsup:
 
DevinT said:
He was a character from the old television show Bonanza, Hoss Cartwright played by Dan Blocker. Hoss is short for horse, he was a large man. In my younger days, I looked like him.

They recreated the show in the early’90’s for one episode. I actually had a guy that wanted to be my agent and get me on the show. But because I have no acting skills, I turned him down.

Hoss
Click to expand...
Hahahaha! Gotcha - it looked like it was part of the list
 
That knife looks fantastic! The design is unique compared to a lot of what I've seen but looks supremely practical and useful, and also looks very old-fashioned. The blade finish is great too! Could we have some more pictures of it?

I sure do get excited when I see knife makers stepping outside of the norm. :)
 
DeadPineKnives said:
That knife looks fantastic! The design is unique compared to a lot of what I've seen but looks supremely practical and useful, and also looks very old-fashioned. The blade finish is great too! Could we have some more pictures of it?

I sure do get excited when I see knife makers stepping outside of the norm. :)
Click to expand...
Here's a couple more pics of that knife. I'm just recently keeping a picture and video journal so I don't have as many pictures of my first completed blades. This one is from my first completed set.
 

Attachments

  • Finished Forged Knife No. 1_November 15, 2025 (1).JPG
    Finished Forged Knife No. 1_November 15, 2025 (1).JPG
    250.1 KB · Views: 5
  • F-SM-1 and Sheath pre-assembly.JPG
    F-SM-1 and Sheath pre-assembly.JPG
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I was able to do the destructive test yesterday and although I'm not able to post the video yet (my daughter is our video editor) I was able to grab some screen shots.

Should I create a new thread for that?
 
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