Large Game Hunting Skinner. More Pictures

This week I am posting an additional picture of a knife
that was posted for sale on available knives gallery 1
that was sold.

When a knife is sold from the site there isn't a way to
see pictures of it any long, so this is a way I can post
pics if you want to see more of the knife.

I also have more pictures I will posting on Flickr.
and below you can see a slide show by clicking the
play button or you can go directly to my flickr
page by clicking the link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27144420@N07/



This knife's blade is about 4 1/8" long and has a wide
belly at about 1 1/2".   The top spine/tapered swedge of
the blade is about 2 1/4" long.  File worked spine and some
very nice Tiger maple.  Sheath was hand stitched
and has some very nice carving and tooling on the face.

Thank you very much for following my work,
posts and website.

You all have a great New Year.

Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Custom Bowie Knife

This week I am posting a custom bowie I recently completed. Some of the info on this bowie. Blade is about 6 inches long with pattern and patina aging. File worked thumb stops on the spine. Handle is tiger maple with 7 brass pins and a lanyard hole. The guard I made and shaped by hand from brass. Sheath was antiqued and hand stitched.

I would also like to thank you all for everything, Following my work and website, me an my family appreciate everything. You and your family's all have a great Christmas and New Year.

Matt ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Vintage Custom Knife years Later

This knife you may have seen posted before,  This is one
of my wife's personal knives.  Most of the work this knife
sees is in the kitchen, with once in awhile a fresh water fish.

At this point I cant remember exactly how old this knife and
sheath is, but it's older than ten years.  Closer to eleven.

This knife has seen many years of service and wanted to
show you how well it has aged, including the hand stitched sheath.

The blade on this is about 4 1/2" long.  Handle a bit shorter
than that.  The handle material is bird's eye maple and it
has aged very nice.  The pins are rustic steel pinned.

The sheath on this piece was hand stitched with very old
bark tanned leather that came from the old Muir and Macdonald
Tannery that is no longer in operation.

Also I have started uploading knife pictures  up to Flickr.  I will keep this updated.
Some of these pics are pictures not seen anywhere else, so If you want to
have a look here is the link.
ML Knives on Flickr

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Custom Drop point with stag, Horizontal Carry Sheath

Recently completed work from my shop is this drop point style
knife.  The blade is about 4 1/4" long and has been file worked.

The handle is hand cut beautiful antiqued white tail stag with
brass pins.

Sheath was hand stitched and set up to be worn as a
horizontal carry.  I attached a video to show the knife
and sheath.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Hudson bay and a man in the moon

This weeks blog post I have a custom order Hudson bay camp
knife to show you.   This is similar in design to the one I have
carried for years that you have seen pictures and videos of.

The blade is 8 inches long patina aged, with an aged blade walnut
handle, 2 brass pins over brass washers.  The sheath is hand stitched
and made to wear high and cross drawn.

Also posting some pictures of a recent leather piece I did that was posted
on  my Available Leather Pieces Page.  This page is updated weekly.

This as all my leather work was carved, tooled and done free hand, including
the stitching and layout of the leather.   This is one of my custom credit card
license keepers.  This style also will hold business cards and some cash.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Vintage belt knife with aged Bone handle.

This is a recent custom that I completed in my shop.

Here are some specs on this knife.  The blade measured in
at about 6 inches long with a file worked spine.

The guard is hand forged, and handle was a hair under 5" with
some really nice aged bone.

Sheath was hand stitched and antiqued.

I have a couple new videos posted as well.
This one I made for fun, nice shot of the moon.

This is a continuing of the "ways to carry a knife part 2"

Thank you

Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Woods and bush knife custom

Posted below is a recent custom order woods and bush knife
set.  This woods and bush knife was made with a scandi grind
and iron wood handle.  The pins as well as rear lined lanyard hole
are steel.  There is also a hand leather braided piece through the
lanyard.
Sheath is hand stitched and has a ferro loop for the custom made rod.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Deep Belly Spear Point More Pictures and Tooled leather work

Posted below are a some additional pictures of the
Deep belly Spear point recently sold from
my available  knives gallery 1

If you jumping here from an Internet search here is a
a little info on the knife.  This piece was forged from
1095 high carbon steel.  The pattern aged blade was
about 4.25 with a tiger maple handle.   The spine
has been beefed up at 3/16" thick and also was hand
(jimped) file worked.   If you click the above link and
scroll down to letter G you will see more info until a
new knife is posted in its place.  The sheath was
antiqued and hand stitched.

I also have a new page up an running on the website.  I posted the link below
the photo.

This page will be for any available leather work I have done.  Keep checking
as I will be adding new tooled and carved leather works.

Available Leather Pieces


Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Vintage looking trail knife with aged Bone Handle..Leather work

First I want to Send my thoughts and prayers to all that were effected
by Hurricane Sandy.  I also want to thank all of you who sent me
emails and called with concerns and best wishes for me and my family
it is greatly appreciated.  We are all fine. The worse we had here upstate
in my area was high winds that knocked over a couple face cord
of wood.  Other than that we are fine.  Thank you again.

This week I wanted to post this beautiful custom order knife.
A design like this can handle many tasks and has a vintage
look and feel to it.

The blade is about 5 inches long with pattern and patina aging.
The handle is aged bone with plenty of character and has 3
larger sized brass pine.  The spine was beefed up at 3/16"
thick and has been hand file worked.

Sheath was antiqued and hand stitched and the custom ferro rod
was made from a piece of elk antler that was also aged.

If you have been following my work for some time you know I also hand stitch all of
my sheath's and all the tooling and line work is done by hand as well.

I will soon be adding a new page to the site with other leather items I make
as well.  I will post the info here when that is added.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Straight back Bush and Hunting knife ....Ways to carry a knife part 1

This week I have this custom set I recently completed minus a mini
strop I am working on.

The knife has a blade a little under 4 inches with pattern and patina
aging, handle is tiger maple with brass pins and lanyard hole
and is about 4 1/2" long.

Sheath is hand stitched and high aged.  You can see there is no
loop on the sheath for the ferro rod.  This steel and matching ferro
rod will be carried separate.

A new video has been posted as well.  I made this video to give some ideas for neck
knife carry.   Neck knives can be carried many more ways other than around the
neck.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Stag Hunting and field Knife More pictures

The knife posted below was available on my website
in available knives gallery 2.

Here are some more pictures of the knife.  Also some
details on size and description in case you haven't read them.
Blade was about 3 3/4" with a very nice patina.
Handle being antiqued elk stag with 3 brass pins at about
3 15/16" long.  Spine was about 1/8" and blade width
about 1 7/16"

`Belt Sheath was antiqued and  hand stitched with free hand
tooled scrolls, vines and leaves.

In one of my wood piles I had been admiring the way this log has aged.
thought I would share a picture.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

A Custom Frontier Belt knife with leather and rawhide

This frontier style knife was custom a custom.

The spear point style blade is about 6 inches long that has

been patina aged.

The handle is aged elk bone that has been hafted in elk

leather toward the forward portion of the handle and also

has tight stitched portion of leather.

The sheath has a hard core leather liner and has been wrapped

and cross stitched with aged rawhide and brain tan leather.

the brain tan lace has vintage trade beads and a antiqued tin cone

with horse hair.  This style sheath is made to be worn placed 

behind  or simply tucked behind your pants.

Also thought you would like to see a photo of some of the colors here  in
upstate NY.

Thank you
Matt
ML knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Vintage looking straight back knife

This blog post is a mid week look at one of may past works.

This knife has a vintage look to it and very similar is style to
my straight back kephart.

Blades was  about 4 inches and handle about the same
with black walnut and five brass pin configuration.

Sheath is hand stitched and was set up to wear on the belt.

A design such as this one is handy for hunting, survival and wilderness
work and well as all around use.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Fighter Style knife with Horizontal Belt Sheath

Recent custom work below is a shorter style Fighter.

The design of this this blade would also be well suited for
many things such as hunting, and wilderness work.

Some info on this custom.

Blade is about 4 1/4" with pattern and patina aging, the
beefed up 3/16" spine has file worked thumb stops.

The blade also has a tapered forward swedge that is about
2" in length.

The handle is carved black horn with brass pins and lanyard
hole.  The tang is also exposed at the back end about .25
you have seen this on some of my other knives.  The handle
length on this is about 4 1/2"

The sheath is distressed, black, hand stitched and set to
wear horizontal.

A recent trip into the wilderness I found what I thought was a unique
looking tree.  Attached a video.



Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

A Great Knife handle

Something that makes for a very nice knife handle material is
this vintage maple I have been using.

This is very hard traditional old growth maple that has a unique
look and feel to it.  The texture from the rough cut is left on both
sides of the handle smoothed down just enough to not hurt your
hand but to provide a very nice grip.

If you watch the video below you will see on both knives the
handles are a little squarer in shape as the edges are smoothed
down just enough to fill the hand.

This can be used on a select group of knives. So if your thinking
about it in the future for a custom order ask me.

The larger of the 2 knives in this video will be posted up for
sale on the website on Available knives gallery 1 
sometime Monday 10/01/12

Thank you

Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

A Decent Pack Basket..With the Hudson bay Camp Knife

Wandering through the woods, hiking and the like I love bringing

my side bag that you have all seen in my posts and on my website.

Nothing will replace it, as a matter of fact allot of time I wear 2

bags criss cross.

This being said I have been using a pack basket lately and I figured

I would give a shout out to the folks that made one for me and my wife.
(Also know as the Trapper's Basket)

The 2 pack baskets I had made were purchased from Ridgerunner's

Adirondack Pack Baskets. I will post the link to the website at the
end of this.

These baskets are hand woven from reed, not from pounded ash.  They
are decently made and stout enough to handle a trip through the thick back
country.  I have used mine as well as my wife without any trouble at all.

I have mine packed with everything I think I may need for a day (or
longer in the woods).

My pack basket is on the right and is the Medium sized basket 18" tall.  My
Hudson bay camp knife is shown by the basket and should give
you a good idea of the size as the blade is 8" long on my camp knife.
One of my personal knives next to the Hudson has about a 4" blade.

The Basket on the left is my wife's the youth basket 15" tall.  I would say
either sized basket would work well for a full grown man, just depends
on what you want to pack in it and what your needs are.

Both Baskets have cotton webbing straps and are fully adjustable.
These baskets can be ordered natural or stained.  I picked the natural
and I will let nature age it and get all kinds of good patina going on it.

My Hudson Bay Camp knife inside the pack basket should give you a good idea of the opening size

Now for how the pack basket works out in the wild.  I have found that wearing this
pack basket is very comfortable.  The reed kinda forms to your back when you put
it on and get trudging through the thick brush, and I didn't seem to have much of an
issue with this hanging up on thick brush as I thought it might.  These are also very
stout and durable like I mentioned above, don't get me wrong I don't think you could
do a dance on the basket without destroying it, but for what I put it through it seems
to hold up fine.

I also find it very easy to get to things I have packed in the basket, no need to unzip
zippers or fumble around with pockets and if you find something in the woods like a
neat old stone just throw it in the back and your good to go. Also with the weight I
had in it at one point I didn't find this basket breaking down in any way. I would say
I have a good 25 pounds in it or even more.

You might be thinking, that sounds great but what about a down pour?   I have found
a simple answer to this.  Although plastic zip bags aren't traditional, they work good
to store everything that could get damaged or ruined in rain.   Another solution that
I will probably make in the future is a well oiled leather top.

Nothing more needs to be added here.  I just thought a decent made item needed to
be shared.  If you love traditional gear you may want to give a pack basket a try.

Bottom side of the pack basket.

The website for
Ridgerunner's Adirondack Pack Baskets


Thank you

Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Photos of a Woods Hike

If you follow my work or posts you know besides
forging and making knives I also love to get in the
woods as much as possible.

Below I would like to share some photos I took on a recent
hike.  These are some of the woods I wander around in.
When I can in the future I will post more pictures from
areas I hunt, hike or fish.

Enjoy.

Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

A Bowie Knife Jim Bowie Would love

Bowie knives are a special knife if you ask me,  Just some kind of
special goodness when you hold a blade like this.  I would list
a bowie amongst my favorite's to make as far as large knives go.

This being said I also love forging and making the large butcher
or camp knife.  If you have read my book you know how I feel about
an old school butcher knife.  This post originally wasn't meant to be
a list of knives I enjoy making because I could list a bunch here.
So let me go on to this bowie.

This bowie knife  has a blade just about 9 inches long, and has a nice
patina on it.  The spine has been file worked  and the width on this
is about 1 3/4" after the guard give or take.

The handle is aged crown elk stag and is well over 5 inches long with
2 old school style steel penned pins.  The guard is forged and is thick and
stout at about 3/16"

The sheath was hand stitched and antiqued and all the tooling vine work
was done free hand.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

A method for Knife sharpening video posted

I posted a new video that shows another
method for sharpening your knives.
Knife sharpening with a creek stone.

Thank you

Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Beautiful Tiger maple on a Short Hunter Caper Knife

This post I just wanted to show a close up picture of
one of my custom order short hunter caper knives.

This knife has been handled with some really nice tiger
maple, seems like every time you turn the handle
in the light the contrast and grain looks a bit different.

A creek I live close to has always had beaver in it as you can see below  by the
fresh chew.

 

Thank you for reading

Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Kephart custom and fisher knife set.

A mid week update.

This is a custom order set of knives.

A custom kephart and kephart fisher.
both knives were handled with antiqued black walnut.

The kephart standard size has a pattern and patina
aged blade with extra deep grooved file worked
thumb stops on the spine.  Sheath being hand
stitched and set up to wear on the belt with
a ferro rod loop.

The kephart fisher has a  pattern aged blade
and this was set up to wear as a neck knife.
This sheath also has a high ride belt carry loop
on the backside.

Thank you
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com

Custom Straight back frontier hunter

Recently completed below is a custom straight back

frontier hunter with a slight drop point tip of the blade.

The handle is antiqued stag with brass pins at about
4 inches long.  The blade is about 3 1/2" long and
has a pattern and patina aged blade.

The sheath is hand stitched and dark brown, this
was set up to wear high on the belt and cross drawn.

I also had a chance to get out and do a little woods roaming with a new pack basket.

Thank you

Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com 

Hudson bay Camp Knife Custom

This knife was a custom order Hudson bay camp knife.

Blade is at around 8 inches with a 5 inch aged black walnut
handle.  Brass pins and brass washers.  

This one was ordered with a tapered or sharpened style
clip. 

Hand stitched Sheath was set up wear high and cross draw.

If you have followed my blog posts long enough you know as well as making
knives, and leather work,  I am also a woods walker, hunter and outdoors man.

For years I have been admiring this tree in one of my hunting spots.  thought
you would all like to see it.



I also didn't get a chance to post any veg garden pics this year.
This picture was taken when things were already growing well
I think it was mid July.   This year all the tomatoes were planted
in buckets.  The year before we had so much rain and water this
idea worked out real well.

 

Thank you

Matt

ML Knives

http://www.mlknives.com