Oddball Knives?

O

Omega Leather Works

Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
7,743
In looking at the weathermans thread about making a leather cutting knife it occurred to me that I have ideas for all kinds of knives/tools that (perhaps loosely) fall under the category of knifemaking, but aren't typical woods/utility/kitchen knives.

For instance, a pizza wheel would be a super cool project. Or maybe a cheese grater. Some carving tools would be sweet, as would forged eating utensils.

Anyone ever made any of this stuff? I may just be starting out grinding steel, but the imagination runs wild with all of the stuff that could be done.
 
Strig! I say make whatever comes to mind.. Do what feels right. Screw rules and conventions. =)
 
I think quiet a few guys make the forged eating sets for there reenacting getup. The pizza wheel sounds cool but the cheese grater heck no.
 
An example of a high end handmade pizza cutter by Frankie Flood
shapeimage_1_270x184.png


Obviously I won't be attempting something like that any time soon, but it's freakin cool right? Lucky pizza I say. :D
 
Strigamort said:
An example of a high end handmade pizza cutter by Frankie Flood
shapeimage_1_270x184.png


Obviously I won't be attempting something like that any time soon, but it's freakin cool right? Lucky pizza I say. :D
Click to expand...


Is that thing dishwasher safe? ;)
 
Stacy has mentioned making and selling lots of oyster shucking "knives" among other interesting things; perhaps he will chime in.

My wife and my wedding bands (stainless damascus) were custom-made for us by a cat who used to make knives, but now just focuses on jewelry... so you never know where this thing might take you.

quint said:
I think quiet a few guys make the forged eating sets for there reenacting getup.
Click to expand...

Yeah, those are cool :thumbup: I've often wondered why so few high-end kitchen knife guys (at least that I know of) make a serving fork and/or honing steel to go with their awesome chef knives and slicers...
 
I'll admit to creepy stalker googling of the occasional maker when they don't post a lot of pictures of their work. Stacy fits that profile. I know he makes the oyster knives as I've seen him mention them too, but I have yet to find evidence. Mostly what I found was jewelry which is awesome because I'm really interested in that as well.

I like what Nick had to say about JT (I think?) in another thread, pointing out his observation that those interested in making knives tend to be easily distracted. I fall into that category 100%, although as hobbies go, knives have been my longest standing love.

Woah, I'm way off track. Good thing it's my thread. :D

I'd love to see some forged utensils. I've carved a few pieces from wood, but hammering them out sounds like a fantastic way to spend an evening.

Let's see some pics guys. ;)
 
You don't find my stuff on the internet besides BF because I don't sell there. I regularly post photos of tables full of oyster and fillet knives at my store and private shows, as well as at Harrisonburg and Ashokan.
I'll try and post some photos later.
Ideas:
Ice cream scoops
bottle openers
letter openers
oyster knives
cheese knives
spatulas and cake servers
Cake knives
Finger nail cleaners in damascus ( great use for scraps)
 

Attachments

  • DSCF1049.jpg
    DSCF1049.jpg
    98 KB · Views: 178
  • DSCF1051.jpg
    DSCF1051.jpg
    97.8 KB · Views: 146
Last edited:
Let's see what we could come up with. Those little scraps of damascus in the drawer could become key chain bottle openers, screw drivers, ect.
Who is up for a chalange ?
 
The pizza cutter design opens itself to several varieties. Vary the spacing of the teeth and you can having a marking device to transfer pattern to wood, or as a stitch spacing placement for leather sheaths, etc.

OT
 
That's what I'm talking about Stacy. Love the idea for an ice cream scoop. I can't remember the last time I used a bottle cap lifter, so I wouldn't make one, but a scoop gets plenty of use in my house!

Jim, I've got a super old key chain screwdriver that my dad carried all his life. Pre-dates multi-tools. Very cool little tool. :)

Any ideas for a 2mm thick sheet of commercially pure titanium? Too thin for rings or key chain tools.
 
Titanium icing spatula, cheese knife, butter knife, pie/cake knife, or pie/cake server. None of these need a sharp edge.
 
It doesn't even have to be metal... a client once sent me a nice piece of carbon fiber he got for a good price and had me make a letter opener out of it. It was roughly cut to shape; I just ground bevels on it, rounded off the edges of the handle and sanded it smooth. He was very pleased with it. I've heard of people doing that with G10, as well.

I use little scraps of micarta and cocobolo with shaped/rounded edges for wet-forming sheaths, and burnishing the edges nice and smooth. I don't know if there's a market for that, but they're handy to have in the leather room. A smith I met at a BLADE show told me that the natural oils in the cocobolo help seal and protect the leather, but I don't really know since I use gum tragacanth with them.
 
james terrio said:
It doesn't even have to be metal... a client once sent me a nice piece of carbon fiber he got for a good price and had me make a letter opener out of it.
Click to expand...

LOL.... "letter opener" or he just got you to make him a blade that can not be detected by the TSA scanners :)
 
AVigil said:
LOL.... "letter opener" or he just got you to make him a blade that can not be detected by the TSA scanners :)
Click to expand...

Other people do advertise them as that... I happen to know this dude reasonably well and I'm 99.9% sure he isn't a terrorist :) Anyway I suppose it would go through a metal detector, but not through an X-ray.
 
There's a law (in California anyway) regarding knives that can pass undetected. I've got a couple of knives made from grivory that fit the description, but presumably made legal(ish) by a steel ring that passes through the lanyard holes.

I imagine the klo's would be fine unless someone did something stupid with it, but might be something for everyone to keep in mind.
 
Hey.... sometimes people need to open letters on a flight :)
 
Keyring bottle opener/knuckle duster I make. This one's aluminum, but have done them out of other stuff... I am bad about taking photos of this kinda stuff as I tend to whip something out of scrap and either sell it or give it away to a buddy as soon as its done.
e4f61bb869ff763631470662e1d910db.jpg


I just finished little utility knives that fold into their sheaths, a large Blind Horse snap knapp. Posted in the gallery. Some spur knives and utility blades... Have done a few like that.
Working on a spearhead/multi-tool bit-driver thing for a customer that may turn out cool. If it does I'll post it :) If not, he can post it... hah.

I rememeber Stacy posting a similar picture last Spring. Made me want to try to beat out an ice cream scoop. Damascus ice cream scoop... with spalted Maple handle (like fudge ripple ice cream!) Need to get on that.

Cool thread.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top