- Joined
- Jun 15, 2003
- Messages
- 1,500
Hi Guys,
I originally posted this over in the Maker's section, but a few people emailed me and suggested I put it out here too, where there's more traffic.
My good friend and neighbor, Lamont Coombs Jr, http://coombshandmade.com/ and I http://www.tanguaycustomknives.com/ have been kicking around the idea of doing a project together for some time now. I guess the idea came to us about a year or two ago. We are both workaholics though, and we just didn't have the time to devote to it fully.
Last fall, just before Thanksgiving, I had an accident while putting my daughters ATV in the cellar for the winter. I ended up on crutches with a busted foot, and too much time on my hands. We finally went to work and firmed up some ideas and a business plan. Our new company is called Downeast Knife Company.
Downeast Maine http://www.downeastregion.com/ is the name given to the mid-coast region of our state, the area where we live, and where our company will be located. Like the people of this region, our knives will be simple, hardworking, tough, and practical. Gimmicks don't cut it around here where the majority of the people struggle to make their living on the water, in the woods, in the paper and lumber mills, or in the potato and blueberry fields. We are building knives that will feel equally at home on the belt of a lobsterman, a Registered Maine Guide, a woodcutter, a game warden, the kid next door who just got deployed to Iraq, or the average guy during deer or moose season. Since everyone is feeling the economic crunch these days, we know our knives MUST be a good value (here, its a combination of outrageous heating oil and fuel prices, coupled with MANY jobs heading to distant shores).
Lamont and I promise to put our combined experiences together to produce the very best knives we can. Our commitment is to quality, value, and customer satisfaction. We promise that these knives will cut like the dickens and Stay Sharp!
One more thing, as long as there is a Downeast Knife Company, our knives will ALWAYS be 100% MADE IN THE USA! This is of the utmost importance to us, as we have both had friends and family members lose their jobs due to local companies moving out of the country.
Our first offering is called the DK Companion. Its a very practical design. It has a hollow ground 3.5" drop point blade constructed of 1/8" D2 steel (various blade finishes and coatings available), interchangeable micarta grips, thumb ramp, and lanyard hole. Two sheath options will be available. I will make the kydex sheaths, and we are very fortunate to have another good friend and neighbor, Chris Kravitt, of Treestump Leather, http://www.treestumpleather.com doing our leather sheaths. Another friend and fellow engineer, Paul Rohaly, of Rohaly Cutlery http://www.rohalycutlery.com/ is helping us with the design, our insignia, and the many CAD drawings necessary.
Our first prototype is almost complete. We plan to have 5 prototypes completed and ready for your inspection by the end of the month. Each prototype will have a different blade finish/grip/sheath configuration, so you can get an idea of what our different options will look like. I'll post pics here as soon as they are ready. We will be at the Feb 3, 2008 NCCA show in East Windsor, Connecticut as well. Originally, there will be 100 DK Companions made. After that, we plan to introduce a new design to our line each year, until we have an assortment of knives to serve every need.
Another new friend, fellow Maine-iac, and forum member (Thanks Shawn!) is helping us with our new web page. We hope to have it up as soon as our prototypes are complete. I'll post some pics here of our progress later today, or in the next few days, as time allots.
We'd love to hear your ideas, and what you think. Fire away.
Thank you!
Scott
I originally posted this over in the Maker's section, but a few people emailed me and suggested I put it out here too, where there's more traffic.
My good friend and neighbor, Lamont Coombs Jr, http://coombshandmade.com/ and I http://www.tanguaycustomknives.com/ have been kicking around the idea of doing a project together for some time now. I guess the idea came to us about a year or two ago. We are both workaholics though, and we just didn't have the time to devote to it fully.
Last fall, just before Thanksgiving, I had an accident while putting my daughters ATV in the cellar for the winter. I ended up on crutches with a busted foot, and too much time on my hands. We finally went to work and firmed up some ideas and a business plan. Our new company is called Downeast Knife Company.
Downeast Maine http://www.downeastregion.com/ is the name given to the mid-coast region of our state, the area where we live, and where our company will be located. Like the people of this region, our knives will be simple, hardworking, tough, and practical. Gimmicks don't cut it around here where the majority of the people struggle to make their living on the water, in the woods, in the paper and lumber mills, or in the potato and blueberry fields. We are building knives that will feel equally at home on the belt of a lobsterman, a Registered Maine Guide, a woodcutter, a game warden, the kid next door who just got deployed to Iraq, or the average guy during deer or moose season. Since everyone is feeling the economic crunch these days, we know our knives MUST be a good value (here, its a combination of outrageous heating oil and fuel prices, coupled with MANY jobs heading to distant shores).
Lamont and I promise to put our combined experiences together to produce the very best knives we can. Our commitment is to quality, value, and customer satisfaction. We promise that these knives will cut like the dickens and Stay Sharp!
One more thing, as long as there is a Downeast Knife Company, our knives will ALWAYS be 100% MADE IN THE USA! This is of the utmost importance to us, as we have both had friends and family members lose their jobs due to local companies moving out of the country.
Our first offering is called the DK Companion. Its a very practical design. It has a hollow ground 3.5" drop point blade constructed of 1/8" D2 steel (various blade finishes and coatings available), interchangeable micarta grips, thumb ramp, and lanyard hole. Two sheath options will be available. I will make the kydex sheaths, and we are very fortunate to have another good friend and neighbor, Chris Kravitt, of Treestump Leather, http://www.treestumpleather.com doing our leather sheaths. Another friend and fellow engineer, Paul Rohaly, of Rohaly Cutlery http://www.rohalycutlery.com/ is helping us with the design, our insignia, and the many CAD drawings necessary.
Our first prototype is almost complete. We plan to have 5 prototypes completed and ready for your inspection by the end of the month. Each prototype will have a different blade finish/grip/sheath configuration, so you can get an idea of what our different options will look like. I'll post pics here as soon as they are ready. We will be at the Feb 3, 2008 NCCA show in East Windsor, Connecticut as well. Originally, there will be 100 DK Companions made. After that, we plan to introduce a new design to our line each year, until we have an assortment of knives to serve every need.
Another new friend, fellow Maine-iac, and forum member (Thanks Shawn!) is helping us with our new web page. We hope to have it up as soon as our prototypes are complete. I'll post some pics here of our progress later today, or in the next few days, as time allots.
We'd love to hear your ideas, and what you think. Fire away.
Thank you!
Scott
) and it is more of a hobby.