Roderick "Caribou" Chappel

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TAH said:
Interesting! Who made the Shadowfox and in what country? Assuming Rod was just the designer.
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They were made in Arlington, WA and Rod was actively involved in the production of them.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks. I wonder what manufacturer made them in Arlington, WA. Typically, contract knives like these are made by a known knife manufacturer. Not too many shops set up to make a complete knife without it costing a great deal.
 
TAH said:
Thanks. I wonder what manufacturer made them in Arlington, WA. Typically, contract knives like these are made by a known knife manufacturer. Not too many shops set up to make a complete knife without it costing a great deal.
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Rod set it up. He wrote a proposal and got some kind of grant money to set up a factory. He had a shop foreman and an employee or two. That is all I know about that. Output was minimal, it was something he wanted to do for years.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thanks Steven. Was the Shadowfox the only model offered? If yes, interesting he would start with a folder since he is mostly known for fixed blades.
 
TAH said:
Thanks Steven. Was the Shadowfox the only model offered? If yes, interesting he would start with a folder since he is mostly known for fixed blades.
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The Shadowfox was the only model offered. He made an ivory handled automatic(switchblade) that we referred to as the "Ivory Banana".

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I'm unavailable, but a VERY nice Chappel is up for grabs on some, *cough cough*, major auction site.

Just sayin'.... :)

Coop
 
Yep, saw it and it's being offered at a pretty good price. Not sure who made the sheath - typical Chappel style, but not made by Jesse Smith. Cool knife.
 
Found another interesting Chappel. I didn't know he made khukuri style. Wonder how many of these exist?


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Steven,

Strangely, this model is called the Shadowfox III and really gets away from Chappel's usual style.


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Congrats Rick! That's really a neat model. It looks like a variation of the Salmon River Utility Hunter. Good luck trying to put it down after you feel it in your hand. :p :D

Please post some pics when it arrives. :thumbup:
 
TAH said:
Steven,

Strangely, this model is called the Shadowfox III and really gets away from Chappel's usual style.
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Rod has a signature style, but not a "usual" style....he was/is interested in all aspects of bladeware.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Hello, regarding to the "shadowfox" folders. I did all the CAD work for them, from Rod's drawings. If anyone knows Rod's designing process. He is a trained "old school" line design engineer.
So all of his drawings are in a "blue print" format. Was easy to "turn" them into a CAD format for production. I did need some help with the handle checkering pattern though. It was done at the mold makers shop. It was a small run about 250ish. We sold like 5 or so at the Wallace Beinfeld antique arms show in Las Vegas about 10 years ago, "COLD" no one knew that we even had them. The reason for a folder and not a fixed blade was due to the fact a folder didn't need a sheath. One thing that we didn't have a easy way of producing.
The "specs" are:

Blade: 154CM .200 thick
Handle Material: Glass reinforced nylon (injected molded) similar to "zeytel"
Stop Pins/Standoffs: heat treated 440C stainless 1/4 dia. with a .200 dia. shoulder
Pivot Pin: (7/16 x 9/16) 303 stainless steel
Locking Liner: 6AL-4V titanium .080 thick
Thumb stud: Only on the first few were brass 1/4 dia. no steps (later ones had smaller brass pins)
Screws: Standard 4-40 black oxide hex drive
Washers: Nylatron
can update if needed

Hope this will help with some of your guys questions..
Thank you. M.Lee
 
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Thanks for sharing this information, Tonbo. What year were these knives made and do you know if there were any other models in the works that didn't make it to production?

BTW, welcome to the forum!
 
Early on in this thread Steven showed us a Chappel model 'Para Medic'. Well, STeven being who he naturally is gave me a call and we talked in depth for a while.

Now that knife came to my door. We're going for a trade. :D

Here she is again:

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And BOY, you guys weren't kidding about sharp! I have a little test for sharpness, and it's simply touching the edge so gently with your finger. We all do it.

When a knife is 'Surgical Sharp' it sticks to your finger no matter how gentle the pressure. (The damn thing is cutting in at a microscopic level!)

Better quality than I expected, and it fits into my thematic area of ivory Micarta w/red liners.

Steven, THANK YOU! :thumbup:

Jim
 
Hey Coop, very pleased to hear that you like it!

The knife has been sitting on my desk for 5 months, I couldn't decide to either use it or sell it....SOMEONE should enjoy it, and I am super glad that it works for you.

The brass pins and liners can be easily shined up with Flitz.

Your photo highlights how good Rod was with an electric pencil engraver....he is the only one I have ever seen that good with it for marking blades.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Coop, first of all, your photography always takes a knife to the next level. I kind of blew right by this knife when Steven posted his photo (no offense Steven), but this is a very cool knife. Congrats! Really like the contoured handle, deep thumb and finger grooves, and its overall practical size. Looks like a knife you would naturally grab to get a job done.

Steven, I agree with you on Rod's skill with the electric pencil engraver. His handwriting is artistic in itself and it makes his knives feel more personal. I remember when I received that Christmas card from him, it was written in the same "pretty" handwriting.
 
Hello TAH

The project was started about 2003ish. Rod and I had moved into the shop in Arlington WA earlier about Nov. 2002. The project took about 3 months of planning.
Rod did secure the funding for it. The parts were sourced locally in the USA. The first 25 were assembled in the shop at Arlington WA. Some friends and I did it.
Rod did all the sharpening. There were enough parts for about 250 ish. They were etched with xxx/500 serial numbers. The first run was to pay for the second.
There were no other models offered. The folders were to have a combo edge (flat ground tip with hollow belly) like the "shadowfox 111" fixed blade. This proved to be out of the capability of the grinding house at the time. A more conventional grind was chosen. I think one or two have a custom ground combo edge signed and polished.

Thank you..
 
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