Tell me about Chris Peterson knives

Wulf

Wulf

Joined
May 10, 2000
Messages
3,351
Hi all,

I recently purchased this beautiful knife made by Chris Peterson of Salina Utah. It was an impulse buy (E-bay :o ) but I absolutely love this knife.

peterson_side.jpg


It's big, heavy, and in-your-face, but the dropped handle with palm swell makes it feel like part of me. I also find the temperline in the damascus particularly striking, and the filework adds a really nice touch.

peterson_blade.jpg


Anyway, now that I have this knife and another one on the way (a hunter, also purchased in the secondary market), I'd really like to learn more about this maker. If anyone might know what steels he likes to use in his damascus, if he still makes knives, and how I might be able to contact him, I'd really appreciate it.

Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks in advance! :)
 
Your knife appears to be one of Chris's metorite damascus hunters. I have sold several of these knives in my shop. They are of excellent quality. Chris generally uses O-1 tool steel and meteorite for his damascus. Chris has been a full-time bladesmith for about 15 years. He can be reached at:

P.O. Box 143
Salina, UT. 84654

Richard
 
Thanks Richard - that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

I'm also very intrigued by the meteorite damascus. Though I have no idea what might be in that meteorite (iron and nickel?), it definitely has a unique allure to it.
 
Hey Richard, Charles Marlowe, Wayne NE here. Saw your name figured i ought to say howdy. I know, ive been meaning to send you a couple folders, but they keep getting sold as soon as i get them made. Sometime here this spring i will get a couple down to ya. Hope all is well, talk soon-Charles
 
Hey Charles!! How are ya? Yep, I've been wonderin' why I haven't heard from ya... I guess it's good that you haven't had any knives to send me. Glad to hear that things are goin' well for ya. When you catch up, send me a few. I sure could have used them at Knife Expo 2002 in L.A. this past weekend. It was a pretty good show. Sold a bunch of folders. Anyway, it's good to hear from ya pal. Give me a jingle when ya get a chance.
 
I have about a half dozen of Chris' blades, including a couple like your knife. I also have a Persian style fighter that is the favorite of one of my knife instructors. However, the Peterson that gets the most use is a three-finger skinner with a simple Osage Orange handle. I've used it on deer, elk, and hogs. It's just a great little knife.

Chris is a really entertaining Mountain Man kind of guy. The little drop with the bar through it that is stamped on your blade is the symbol for his Mountain Man nickname "No Sweat".
 
Wulf,

I have only seen this knife style from him on eBay myself. It was striking enough that I also bid on one a while ago. I didn't pursue it till the closing, but like yourself I was quite intrigued with the whole design. Looks very ergonomic, aside from the quality.

Good pickin's!:D

Coop
 
I saw these posts and thought I might give you some insite to this extremely nice smith. I met him at a blade show near indiana back around 94' or so. I had been making knives for 6 years or so and wanted to see Daryl Meyer and some other famous makers. In one corner of this show was his small stand. I fell in love with his blades instantly. I know quality work when I see it and don't collect many knives. I think Randals are so so....would't own one though..Rudy Ruana's are great..."Yer payin fer th' edge th' rest of the knife is free"" Would't own a Loveless if it were given to me or any ground knife for that matter, but would give a toe to own a Moran ....maybe 2 toes. Went to Maryland to see Bill once...what an adventure that was ..made him a small gas forge told me no one ever did that before...I was proud of that too. I went to some of the top smiths around to learn from them directly. When I met Chris. I introduced myself and asked to inspect his knives I think we became instant friends. As I recall I had perhaps 2 or 3 hundred dollars on me. I was looking for handle material..the exotic stuff, and buffs rouge you know supply's..also to see what the other smiths were doing. I was impressed at that show..ok back to inspecting his knives..there wasn't a single one I didn't admire.
Now I'll tell you about this man I met...I explained to him I wanted about ten of his knives. I was only about a kazillion dollars short...I told Chris about my shop up in Wisconsin and how I had this spare anvil...about a 500 lb'er or so Peter Wright perfect face etc. {I never buy crap} and would he be interested in a trade.....without seeing this anvil he hands me all the knives I chose....my friend Joe a beginning smith dropped his jaw. When he seen Chris's knives well after the show a day later at home here comes Chris and Others that went with him to this show. His home is in the mountains in Salina Utah we talked a bit and he went to my basement shop and saw one very clean anvil. He wanted that anvil. The last time I talked to him about a year and a half ago he told me he was still making his blades on my old anvil...which I'm very proud to have traded to this nice gentile mountain man....and hopefully still my friend. I swear each time he strikes that thing I can feel the artistry flow...hey it's a good feeling!!! I would buy his blades any day of the week. And theres few smiths I'd buy from.....hey I have very high quality standards.....hope you like my input....bye
 
Mykeeka said:
I saw these posts and thought I might give you some insite to this extremely nice smith. I met him at a blade show near indiana back around 94' or so. ......hey it's a good feeling!!! I would buy his blades any day of the week. And theres few smiths I'd buy from.....hey I have very high quality standards.....hope you like my input....bye
Click to expand...

1. For a first post, you managed to insult half the custom knifemakers with your comment about "ground knives". All knives are ground at some point, generally speaking.

2. Chris Peterson made very affordable, attractive knives.....most of the ones that I had seen had flaws in the damascus in some shape or form.

3. Your posting style made it somewhat hard to read, and follow your thought process.....maybe read some other posts around here to get an idea how to form your thoughts in a more accessible format.

Welcome to BladeForums.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I have a couple Chris Peterson knives. One I bought at a show and one from ebay. The ergonomics are similar and they fit the hand well, and I like the shape and style of them.

It is interesting that STeven mentioned that they usually have flaws in the damascus as the one I bought off ebay has one.

Of course it didn't show in the sellers picture and was not described to have any defects, but the tip looks as if it was dropped and landed on a hard surface tip first. Upon closer inspection (under power) it is clear that the damascus layers separated some.

I meant to try and contact Chris and see if he could fix it, but I haven't done that yet.

Sounds from the input in this thread that I should contact him, as he sounds like a good guy.

Peter
 
Mykeeka said:
Would't own. . . any ground knife for that matter
Click to expand...

Jerry Fisk once made the comment to me that "they're all stock removal in the end". All those makers you mentioned in your post grind (or ground) their blades, including Moran. You still willing to give a toe or two for one of his knives now that you know he ground those blades?

I did use a billet of Peterson's damascus once, sent to me by my customer. It was okay with no visible flaws, but nothing special.

David Broadwell
 
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