The Alan Davis custom knife picture thread

[wolfmann601]

Want to thank you all for the photos of beautiful knives. I was not that familiar with Alan's work but he now has my attention, wow!!!

 

[benchwarmer380]

Here is my second Alan Davis. Wish I still had the first but it was smaller than I like to carry. This one is perfect.
Thanks Dennis for starting this thread and sharing your beautiful collection. Oh to be a fly in your safe.
And thanks to everyone else that participates. Great knives from a fantastic maker!

 

[d.r.h.]

Sweet! Can't tell you how many times I looked at this one ... but, alas, want to stick with liner locks right now. Three of Alan's frame locks fit nicely in my collection right now. But do love the carved Ti (and anodizing) on this one. Congrats and thanks for posting.

 

[d.r.h.]

(This one has been gifted)

My 36th Alan Davis arrived today .... and like all the others, it is a beauty. The knife is fantastic! Alan used dyed box elder burl for the scales and a 3.25" CPM-D2 blade with antiqued flats. Really looks nice, as this dyed box elder really resembles a buckeye burl.

 

[d.r.h.]

(Update 3/11/2019: This beauty has a new home)

Can't believe it's been a whole month since I was able to post a new Alan Davis masterpiece! Actually, being a wood lover, was waiting for Alan to list another for sale with some stunning wood that would tickle my fancy. Boy did he ever put together a beautiful one! It went straight into my pocket the minute I was done taking pics of it! While it's a flipper (I am not so much into flipper's, though I have a few), and it is a hair larger than I normally like .... the wood is crazy insane. Alan used some Australian gimlet burl ... a wood that is a little on the rare side. The burl also has holes/voids and veins which are often filled with resin. This particular piece was filled with blue resin and is a real eye catcher. The blade is 3.6625" of CPM-4V. The blue anodizing complements the blue resin quite well. Needless to say .... I'm very happy to add this one to the collection!

 

[d.r.h.]

Update: 6/16/2016 This one, and a beauty it is, now has a new home and loving owner!!!

It's always a great day when a new Davis arrives! I really didn't think Alan could top the last one I got from him .... the one above with the Gimlet burl scales. I was wrong! I've been wanting to add one of these to the collection ever since I saw Alan use the material for scales. Finally was able to snag one .... a beautiful flipper featuring Norway spruce pine cone scales. I've seen pine cone cast in blue and reddish resin .... but these are cast in an amber resin and look outstanding coupled with the polished black carbon fiber bolsters and told anodized clip and liners. The blade is 3.375" of CPM-4V which has been antiqued. I was blown away when it arrived today! Hope you like the pics.

 

[Lhpanther]

Dennis, the pine cone flipper is easily one of my favotite knives Alan has posted. Very nice snag!

 

[d.r.h.]

Dennis, the pine cone flipper is easily one of my favorite knives Alan has posted. Very nice snag!

Thanks. It took me all of a nanosecond to know that I wanted it! Fortunately, noticed it very soon after Alan posted it. I am sure this one would not have lasted very long.

 

[d.r.h.]

(Update 3/2/2016: this one has a new owner )

I have really been liking the antiqued blade on the pine cone flipper I got from Alan, so when he listed another large flipper with a similarly antiqued blade, decided to add it to the collection. Besides, it has giraffe bone scales AND, giraffe bone is probably my second favorite handle material (right behind wood). this one is a hair larger than the pine cone flipper, but still quite manageable. Anyway, as I said, it has giraffe bone scales, silver shred carbon fiber bolsters and a 3.5" antiqued CPM-4V blade in a full flat grind.

 

[d.r.h.]

A new day, a new Davis! Actually, was not expecting this one to arrive until early next week .... but turned out to be a wonderful Saturday Surprise!!! I was so unjustly accused of lurking the knifemaker forum waiting for this one to be listed. Truth be told, was just unbelievably lucky. Came on to BF to send a PM to someone and anytime I am here, first stop I make is always the knifemaker exchange forum! Saw this beauty LESS THAN 1 MINUTE after Alan posted it. Absolutely zero hesitation claiming it before someone else did. This is a beauty of a gent's knife that is right up my alley! It sports creamy Mammoth ivory scales and a 2.625" Chad Nichols Damascus blade in his iguana pattern. Love it!

 

[d.r.h.]

(Update 11/23/2018: This one has been gifted)

Time to kick this thread back up with a new Davis! This giraffe bone beauty arrived today. I just happen to love giraffe bone ... durable and beautiful! This one sports a really nice 3.1875" basket weave Damascus blade by Rob Thomas and a low ride clip .... making it perfect for adding to my Davis EDC rotation!

 

[d.r.h.]

(Update 12/4/2017: This one has been gifted)

Got this very nice Mammoth bark gent's folder today. This is the 2nd in new design that Alan made. The first is two posts above (#110). The shape and dimensions are the same, though this one sports heavily textured Mammoth bark and a 2.625" Randy Haas Damascus blade in his Dragon's Tooth pattern. This one also differs from the first in some of the hardware. I really like this design. Quite useful and feels great in the hand.

 

[JR88FAN]

It's always a great day when a new Davis arrives! I really didn't think Alan could top the last one I got from him .... the one above with the Gimlet burl scales. I was wrong! I've been wanting to add one of these to the collection ever since I saw Alan use the material for scales. Finally was able to snag one .... a beautiful flipper featuring Norway spruce pine cone scales. I've seen pine cone cast in blue and reddish resin .... but these are cast in an amber resin and look outstanding coupled with the polished black carbon fiber bolsters and told anodized clip and liners. The blade is 3.375" of CPM-4V which has been antiqued. I was blown away when it arrived today! Hope you like the pics.

And here's a pic of it with a knife Alan made with the same polished carbon fiber bolsters. I think they go rather well together!!

Just catching up on what I've missed since my last visit to this amazing thread...

Dennis, I have seen a lot of knives, from a lot of makers, but this one is as close to perfect as it gets.
The detail, the finish....it's a work of art without looking over done.

I could go on and on, but I'll just take in the pictures for a while.

 

[d.r.h.]

Whoa baby .... another beauty arrived today. Admittedly, I bought this one because I liked the blade and backstrap. However, when it arrived today, I thought to myself .... everything about this one is amazing. It features Mammoth Bark Ivory scales with M3 bolsters (separated by a knurled brass spacer). The 3.4375" blade is some of Rob Calcinore's Damascus in his wave pattern. The carved, textured and file-worked backstrap is fantastic and is a variation on similar designs Alan has used on his knives. Love it .... just love it!

A lot of work went into this baby. I will treat her gently!!

 

[d.r.h.]

(This one has been gifted)

Time to move this picture thread back up to the top with another beautiful Alan Davis knife. This third I've acquired in one of Alan's newest designs. While other two are dressed up in Mammoth .... this one sports extremely beautiful wood scales. Actually, I can't quite decide what I like best about this one .... the wood (and I am a wood guy) or the blade .... or the knife shape (which I love). The scales on this one are Australian York Gum Burl with a beautiful color and grain. The tightly patterned Devin Thomas spirograph Damascus blade is 2.875". All in all, a great looking knife.

 

[wtlj]

These are some of the most incredible pieces I've ever seen!

 

[marcus52AR]

Here are the two that I bought from Alan. Sadly I sold the linerlock here on blade forums but to fund another project but that slipjoint isnt going anywhere! I love it!

 

[d.r.h.]

Here's the latest one I got from Alan .... with an interesting story. It's a slender gent's folder with a roughly 3" Alabama Damascus blade and Mammoth bark scales. The trailing point blade really suits this design well. So well, that when I saw it listed, I kept looking at it like it was a long lost friend. I quickly claimed it, as I thought it would be a good companion piece to a trailing point flipper I bought from Alan in early 2014. But, I couldn't quite figure what, in particular, about the knife had me going back and forth eye-balling it. A couple days later, it dawned on me. Alan made this knife around the same time he made the trailing point flipper I bought ... and he decided to keep it as one of his personal knives .... and I remember seeing it and wishing he would have put it up for sale at the same time as the flipper (as I would have tried to snatch both!). Anyway, Alan did a complete refurb on the knife (changing out the hardware and modifying the color of the liners). So, by a strange twist of fate, I managed to acquire the knife I wanted to get more than a year ago!!

 

[d.r.h.]

Time to move this tread up to the top a little!

So many knives, so few pockets! There's rarely a time with I don't have at least 4 pocket knives accessorizing my attire. One thing is for sure - at least two of them will ALWAYS be custom knives by Alan Davis. I discovered Alan in late 2012 and immediately fell in love with his work. People often ask me why I like his knives so much. Quite frankly, that's a very difficult question to answer. There is just something about his work. It has an almost rustic appeal to me. Each is a knife I can imagine my grandfather carrying. And, every single knife is unique in its own way. Just how well do I like Alan's work? This should give you an idea. I currently own 44 of his knives (I did own 48, but gave a few away to friends as gifts). I jokingly told Alan that I would like to own 100 of his folders before I die. He suggested that 200 would be a better number! I'm not sure I will live quite that long. Pictured is my current collection (minus a desk knife I forgot to include in the group!). I'm holding one of my larger Davis knives - a beautifully crafted linerlock with a 3.5 inch antiqued CPM 4V blade, giraffe bone scales and M3 composite bolsters.

 

[d.r.h.]

(Update 11/23/2021: This one has been gifted)

Back to the top with a new Davis! Was going to pass on this one, since I prefer liner locks over frame locks. However, two things attracted me to this knife. First, I have three of Alan's frame locks ... however, they all have Damascus blades. This one has an Elmax blade. Second, and probably more importantly, Alan chose to use a different handle shape than he normally uses on his frame locks. Actually, this is the first time he's used this shape on a frame lock (though he has used a variation of it on some of his liner locks and slip joints. So, figured it would be a great addition to the collection. As I said, the blade is Elmax (3.3125"). The frame is carved titanium. I tried to concentrate on eliminating glare on the blade when photographing the knife and, unfortunately, the results made the heat anodized titanium appear a little darker and blacker than it really is under normal lighting. It really is more of a combination of blue and copper colors. That said, these pics should give you a fairly good idea of what a great looking knife this is.