The Hudson Bay Camp Knife Custom with Osage

This is a recently completed Hudson bay camp knife
from my shop.

This camp knife has a high aged pattern and patina
finish blade and is about 8 inches long.

The handle is antiqued Osage orange and you can
see from the photo the sheath was customized as well.

This was made with a pancake style set up for a left
hand draw.  The blade only goes into the sheath
deep enough where the handle ends.

I wish you all a Happy New Year.

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

Starry Night Neck Knife Companion

Back in August 2013 I posted a custom order semi spear
point on this blog.
The post can be seen here.
Semi Spear Point Custom knife and tooled starry night
Sheath

Recently I completed a smaller companion style neck
knife for the piece with a 2 plus inch blade minus
the bird beak grip.

Also there is a great article on the Kephart knife written by Thomas Ray
in the current issue of American Frontiersman.  My custom Kepharts
are in the article.  Thank you!

I wish all of you and your families a Great Christmas.

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

A custom kephart knife with stag handle and tooled Bear Sheath

This week's post is one of y custom kephart knives with
a beautiful antiqued elk stag handle.

As you can see from the photo this kephart has brass pins
and rear lined lanyard hole.

The spine on this one is 3/32" thick.

The sheath has been customized as well with some of my
original artwork.  It has a bear and mountains scene.
This is one of my paddle style sheaths that was chosen.

Thank you

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

A Custom vintage style Trail Knife with Finger Grooved Handle

Posted below is a recent custom piece with a beautiful
vintage look and feel.

This is a drop point style knife with pattern and patina aged
blade at about 4 1/2" long.

Handle is antiqued bone with large brass pins and also has
finger grooves.

Belt Sheath has been hand stitched and antiqued the tooling
and carving on the lower portion has been worked by hand.

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

Belt Knife custom

Below is a custom order belt knife made with a frontier look and feel.

The blade on this knife is about 6 inches long with a patina aged
finish.  The forward clip/Swedge has been tapered a bit as well.
The spine has been file worked.

The handle is aged black walnut with custom hatching on the
forward haft.

Belt sheath has been antiqued and hand stitched.  This has been
set up to wear high on the belt and cross draw the knife.

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

Vintage style hunting and field knife

Recently completed custom work below.

This is one of my Vintage style hunting and field knives.
The blade on this is about 3 3/4" long that has been patina
aged.

The handle is antiqued elk stag with brass pins.

Sheath was hand stitched with and has an antiqued darker
brown color.

Also something else you may enjoy reading is some of my writing.  You may have
seen some of my knife articles.  But I also invite you to have a look at some of
my short story work.  A link to one below to segment of one.

Wilderness Survival Short Story: 
The Back Country Journey

I want to wish you all and your Family's a great Thanksgiving.

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

Custom Leather Belt Bag. A Vintage looking bag.

A mid week blog update.

The custom leather belt bag below was made for a custom order.

This bag was made with a very traditional style in mind and was aged

and antiqued.  As all of my leather work everything was completed

hand stitched, all leather was hand cut and hand oiled.

The button was hand made as well and was made of a piece of

antiqued antler.

You can also see from the photos a small gusset was stitched into

the side for opening and fitting some larger sized objects

such as a fire kit tin.

This bag is about 5 1/2" tall.

Also if you want a kindle addition of my blog this can be subscribed to here.

ML Knives Knife Talk [Kindle Edition]

Thank you

Matt

ML Knives

http://www.mlknives.com

File work on Your Knife

Currently I offer "generally" three different styles of  "My style"
of File work.

This doesn't mean something cant be customized
and I have done some very involved file work before
extending through the entire length tang behind the
handle.

But for the most part the three types of file work shown
below is what I offer.

Yes.. if you aren't aware of it. All the file work
is done free hand.  I use no machinery, jigs or and other
fancy gadgets to do this.  All by hand.

My standard file work

My "Jimped" File worked Spine

and this is what I call "File worked Thumb Stops" 

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

A Set of Custom Nessmuk Knives and Leather work.

Posted Below is a set of my custom Nessmuk knives.

These are a hair bit different in style to my standard looking
Nessie.  These are more like the design  Nessmuk  I run
in the Ad for  Backwoodsman Magazine.

Both have black walnut handles with 5 pins. Hand stitched
and antiqued in Dark brown.

Also posted below is some custom leather work I have completed. A very nice
glass bottle and cork top flask/Canteen.  The entire piece has been wrapped with
a veg tan and tight cross stitched.  This piece has also been antiqued and oiled
to a dark brown color.  This piece also has a strap that is adjustable.

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

Bird Trout Game knife and Custom Kephart Fisher

Recent custom work posted below.  One of custom Bird Trout
game knives and a custom kephart fisher.

Both knives were handled with a brown canvas micarta and have green
liners behind the handle and tang.

These knives also have my pattern and patina aged finish.

Sheath are Hand Stitched and antiqued dark brown.

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

Straight Back Custom with Stag

Recent custom work from my shop posted below.

This is a straight back design that is very traditional with a blade
about 5 inches long.

The handle on this is stag with three copper pins that have been
left with a vintage look.

The hand stitched sheath is a special order as well with a custom
brass snap flap.

A New Video has been posted as well.

Thank you

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

Hudson Bay Camp Knife with Antiqued Hickory

Posted below is a recently completed Hudson Bay Camp knife
My H1 Design in a straighter version.

This custom has an antiqued hickory handle with barss pins
and washers.  The spine has been file worked as well.

Sheath has been hand stitched, antiqued  and made to wear high
on the belt for a right hand cross draw.

Also if you have been wondering what number Trail Fighter I am
working on.  #31 is my most recent forged custom order
work in progress with black dymonwood handle.

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

Cross Forged Stag Hunting and Field Knife

This weeks custom is a really nice Stag hunting and field knife
with a cross forged pattern aged blade that is about 4" long.

The sheath was hand stitched and you can see the hand tooled
and carved with a buck deer.

A New video has been posted of one of my coffin shaped fire steels.

Also a New update.   The website will be updated with "Add to Cart" options on
more of my Special order knives just like the AA2 Camp and field.  The
Order Form option will be left as well as I know many prefer using the mail in
method as well.

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

Drop Point Woods set in Bone

The set posted below was custom ordered.

This is one of my Drop Point Woods set with forged fire
steel and custom ferro rod.  The ferro rod  end was made
from an antler tine.

The blade on this custom have a pattern and patina aged
finish, at about 4 inches long.  Handle is lightly antiqued bone
with brass pins.

All of my sheaths are custom cut, fit and hand stitched and this
one has duel side loops for the steel and ferro rod.

I have also posted a recent video below of one of my custom Cross forged large
game knives with a custom rawhide sheath.

Thank you.

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

A set of custom Belt Knives with forged guards

This weeks post is a set of custom belt knives.  Both of these knives
were custom ordered and have beautiful tiger maple handles
with steel pins.

The guards were forged from steel and hand fit to the beefed up
3/16" tang.

The blades are about 8 inches in length, with pattern aging.

The sheaths were both antiqued and hand stitched with a
loop for the belt.

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

Early style Belt Knife with Aged bone.

This weeks post is a custom order belt or long knife

with a blade that is over 9 inches long.

The spine is 3/16" thick and the handle is aged bone

with steel pins.

The sheath was hand stitched and made to wear high

on the belt and cross drawn.

Knives similar to this not to long ago in American history

were worn on many belt, or tucked behind a sash

and i am sure swung through a sheath on many a saddle

horn. 

A piece like this can be used hard in the woods or 

around camp but still provide a fine cutting tool 

in the kitchen.

Last trip into the foothills of the woods, I took some decent
photos.  Some were of a hawk.  Hope you enjoy them.

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

Kephart Fisher custom and tooled Eagle Sheath

The Custom order Kephart fisher below was completed recently

with a very nice antiqued Osage handle. 

A lanyard hole was added to the rear of the handle, and the 

hand stitched sheath was set up to wear high on the belt.

Also, some recent leather tooling and carved eagle custom sheath detail pic below.

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

A customized Short Survivalist

This weeks post I have a custom order short survivalist.

This survivalist has been special ordered with mammoth
ivory scales and mosaic pins.

The leather at the rear lanyard hole was hand braided.

Sheath is my multi carry high ride/neck carry set up
in dark brown that has been hand stitched.

File worked thumb stops have also been worked
into the spine of the knife.

Thank you all for everything.

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

A Kephart Knife set. A Short and a mini.

Below is a custom order set of kephart knives.

These are both the short and mini version's.
Left hand knife is the short and right the mini.

Both of these knives have black walnut handles.

The short is set up with a hand stitched belt sheath
and the mini set up with a hand stitched Neck Sheath.

The leather through the rear of the short kephart has
been hand braided.

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

Custom Neck knife with tooled Arrow Head Design

This neck knife is part of a set of knives I am working on.

Knife has a smaller sized blade at about 2 3/8" long.
Great handy size.

Handle is black walnut with brass pins, the spine
has been file worked and that is a small amount
of forge pattern on the blade.

Sheath has been hand stitched and set up for neck carry
but this could also be carried in a pocket/pack or bag
without the leather neck thong.

The neck sheath has also been hand tooled and carved
with one of my original designs.  This is a very
neat looking arrow head design.

Also if  you are newer to my work site and blog, some info.

New Knives are posted in Available Knives Gallery 1
And Available Knives gallery 2   weekly.  Keep checking
the pages and refreshing to see the new updates. Knives that
are available for purchase will have a Buy Now Button.

I also post new Leather work  on my  available leather pieces page 
often as well.  Anything available will have a Buy now button.

Close up detail of some leather tooling/carving.

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

Semi Spear point custom knife and tooled Starry Night Sheath

This week I am posting a custom order knife that has a
a 6 inch semi spear pointed blade.  The blade also has
pattern and patina aging with a file worked spine.

The spine is 3/16" thick with a solid heft.

Handle was shaped in a bird beak shape with old
growth rough cut maple.  Pinned with brass pins
over brass washers.

The sheath was hand stitched and hand tooled
and carved with a representation of
Vincent Van Gogh's starry night.

Another image of the sheath has been posted on flickr

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

A Custom Frontier Bowie Knife

The Bowie knife below was custom ordered and has the look and feel

of a bowie knife from the 1800's 

The blade on the knife is about 7 inches with patina and some

pattern aging.  The width is just under 2" and the forward

clip has been tapered.

The steel guard was forged, aged and hand fitted to the tang 

and meets up with an antiqued bone handle that has 5 steel

pins.

The sheath was antiqued and hand stitched.

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

A Set of Belt Knives

This set was recently completed for a custom order.

All three knives have a blade designs that are early in style
and will handle a good deal of work in the back country.

The blades on these are about 8 inches long with pattern
and patina aging.

The handles are beautiful tiger maple with larger sized
brass pins.

All three knives were also made with beefed up 3/16 " spines.

All three sheath were hand stitched and made to wear high
to be cross drawn.  The sheath's also have custom tooling
on the face.

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

Beavertail Hunting and Skinning knife....Sheath work Info

This is one of my custom order Beavertail Hunting and skinning
Knives.

This one was ordered with a custom ferro rod to go with
the sheath.

The blade on these have a cross forged pattern as well as
the rear steel but end of the knife.  The spine is also file
worked (jimped).

Handle is Tiger maple with large brass pins and the
sheath was hand stitched with free hand tooled and carved
work on the face.

Sheath work Information.
As most of you know I  make knives for a living and also do a
deal of leather work.   All of my sheaths are hand worked and hand stitched by me.

I also stitch sheaths for other knives when I am asked.  I get a fair amount of
requests for sheath and custom leather tooling work.  Keep in mind if you
want me make a sheath for any knife I do need the knife shipped to me so I
can wet form the leather to the knife.  Nothing else will work, cardboard
cut outs, tracings wont make for a decent sheath.
A link to my sheaths page 
A link to my Available leather work page (Updated often)

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

Bowie Knives... Bone Handled Vintage Style.

This is one of my recently completed custom order Bowie Knives.

The blade on this Bowie is about 8 inches long with a nickel silver
guard and pins.  The handle is antiqued bone that has been hand
carved and hatched.

The sheath was hand stitched and made to be worn on the belt, all the
carving and tooling was done by hand.

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

Cross Forged Large Game knife by ML Knives

I have made a number of Cross forged pattern Knives
starting back maybe in 2003 and this design I started
offering in a Sporting Classics Magazine Ad a few
years ago if I remember right.

Called the Cross forged Large Game knife.

This knife is an excellent design and has a blade about
4 1/2" long with a file worked spine with tiger maple handle.
The blade also has 4 brass pins and brass lined rear
lanyard hole.

Sheath is hand stitched as all my sheaths.

Also the final video for the Country Bag is posted.

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

Woods and Bush knife with Beautiful Ironwood

Recently I completed this custom woods and bush knife for
a custom order.

This Woods and bush has some very nice ironwood with
a beautiful burl grain.  Also requested was a thinner 3/32"
spine and a pattern and Patina aged blade.

The sheath is one of my hand stitched custom dangler sheaths.

Also Part 2 of the Country Bag video.  This bag is almost completed and I will have a final video
posted when It's all set.

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

A Mini Neck knife

The mini kephart I make is a knife that can be set up to wear
on your belt, pocket or neck carry.

This custom order was set up to wear as a neck knife.
The handle is Tiger maple with brass pins.

A video has been posted of the start of one my country bags.
I will post another soon to show the progress.

Thank you    Matt

Trail Fighter #24

Recent completed work from my shop is this custom made
Trail Fighter #24.

This trail Fighter has been handled in Black canvas micarta
instead of my standard black dymonwood.

If you are unfamiliar with the Trail Fighter the blade ranges in at about
6 1/4" and comes with pattern and patina aging.

If you would like more info you can go to this
page on my website.
Special Order Page 3

I am also in the process of trying to get video done on one of my country bags so
you can see some of the process.  I will have more info posted when things are set
with that.

Thank you

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

A Set of Custom Knives

Posted below is a set of custom knives recently completed in my shop.

The Top knife is a large kitchen/chefs style knife with a full
handle and large 8 inch blade.

Second knife was made as a carver but a blade of this shape and
style has been around forever and could easily be used for many
tasks besides kitchen and meat slicing.

Third knife down is my last chance carry with a patina aged blade
and double pinned lanyard holes.

Last knife is a deep belly drop point design I make with a blade
about 3 plus inches.

All the knives were handled in a very hard and dense Australian eucalyptus
wood.

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

Wilderness Neck Knife and a set of Fire Steels

This custom order Neck knife will make a great companion
in the wilderness.

Overall this is about a 7 inch knife with a really nice patina
aged blade.  Handle is some really beautiful Tiger maple
with large brass pins.

I custom made a slimmer ferro rod for the neck carry option
and it fits right next to the knife on the sheath.

Both of the Fire steels were forged from stout steel in my shop
and are tempered to throw some nice sparks.

Some of you have asked me in the past about some of the leather tools and knives
I use in making sheaths and some of the leather work I do.

Below is one of my custom leather cutting tools I use everyday.  I forged this in my
shop and it works great.

I guess you could say this is a cross between a head knife and a mini ulu, without
a handle.  I have more control with it the way it is shaped and the size I find I can
use for most leather cutting.  The blade is about

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

Large Frontier Knife..

The Frontier style knife below was a custom order knife with a blade
about 8 inches long.  The knife will be used to butcher large game
and I am sure for many more tasks as well.

The blade also has plenty of forge pattern and patina with a hand
file worked spine.

The guard was forged and hand fitted right after the antiqued bone
handle.  The pins are of steel.

All my sheaths are hand stitched just as this one and was antiqued
to fit the piece.

When Possible I like to share some of the photos I take in back country and trails I
hike.  Below are a couple pics I took you might like.

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