Vintage dirk style knife from Past Work

A mid week Look at a custom knife from my past work
collection of pictures.

This piece was made awhile back, maybe 2007 or so.

Piece represents the style of early vintage dirk type knives.

A knife similar in design is shown in Swords & Blades of
the American Revolution by: George C. Neumann on page 236
Titled EUROPEAN KNIFE

The blade if I remember right was about 6 to 7 inches in length
with deep grooved file work.  The handle was aged stag
with steel pins and the forward collar was aged raw steel.

Sheath was hand stitched and set up to wear high on a belt
with some tooling and carved line work on the face.

Thank you

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

Crown Stag Antler Knife Custom and Woods and Bush Knife Video

The knife posted below is a custom I did awhile ago.  The Antler
was a special piece to the gentleman that wanted the knife made.

I aged the antler and made him a special custom knife.

A blade of this style and shape has been around for many years
and can handle many tasks from hunting and skinning large
game to a use full tool around the cook pot!

The blade is over 4 inches long and forged 1095 high carbon
steel.

The handle is whitetail antler and the transition piece between
the handle and blade is hard sealed leather.

The sheath was hand stitched and aged a darker brown.

I also had been wanting to make a small video for awhile now of the woods and bush
knife I make in hand so It's posted below.  You are seeing it before the sheath and
custom hand braided leather lanyard.

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

Set of custom Knives Hudson bay, Kephart and a Nessmuk

Below is a custom order set of knives.

All three were handled with some really nice
Cocobolo.

The Hudson bay is my H2 style, with large brass pins
and a clean finish blade.

The  kephart has an extended handle and clean
finish blade.  Last is the Nessmuk with a pattern aged finish.
A lanyard hole was set on the back end of the kephart.

All three were set up with hand stitched dark brown sheaths
and the kephart sheath has one large loop that goes all the
way around, this style could be worn on either side
of the belt horizontally.

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

Long Knife with Stag

I Recently completed a custom order Long
knife with a 10" blade and Stag handle.
I posted a new video to show a closer look
at this knife.

Here is a close up photo of the tooling
and carved line work done on the sheath.

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

The 1 Wicked Way to dull a Knife in the kitchen

If you love your knives and you work at keeping
your edge at its finest then you want to keep reading
this.

I will have to also  say  in this post I am NOT
a professional chef in the kitchen, but I do know from
making knives for a living and using knives in many different
ways for years that if you want to dull your blade real quick
the number one edge killer is to use your fine tool improperly.

By this I mean if your cutting meat or vegetables
use a decent cutting board.

I worked with butcher's years ago and I don't
think I ever saw one of them using a Steel
top cutting surface directly with the blades of there
knives.

DO NOT Use glass or marble for a cutting area.
This will dull your fine blade up very quickly.

If you ask my opinion the best thing to use in the kitchen
is a solid wood cutting board.

Wood has been used for years and if you clean it
and oil it properly it should last a very long time.

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

What Everybody Ought to Know About Carbon Steel Knives

If you love carbon steel already, or you have followed or own my work
then you just plain love the steel.

To those that are new to my work or the world of carbon steel knives
I decided to re-post some brief info or quick tips on carbon steel.

Especially 1095 high carbon, the steel I use.

Carbon steel fact's or what you should know about it.

Can I use carbon steel cutlery in the kitchen? 

Yes. Carbon steel is sought after for its edge holding capabilities

and ease of re-sharpening.

Not only does it make an excellent knife in the kitchen but this is
a great steel for just about any purpose.

Many a good hunting, survival knife and butcher

blade (just to name a few) has been forged and made from

carbon steel.

For many years carbon steel has been used and has
worked well, and it still remains an outstanding steel.

What kind of oil should I use on my blade or how do I care for it?

Mineral oil.  You can use other oils as well but mineral oil is my number 

one choice.

How do I clean my blades?

Hand washing is what I recommend on any custom knife

I offer.  Never a dish washer. 

Will my high carbon steel blade turn a different color?

Yes.  This is called patina. An array of grays and dark black 

color can build up on your blade and those who know of carbon

steel love this effect.

This also will help protect your blade. A decent post on the subject
of patina.  
Patina, a beautiful thing

A beautiful carbon steel kitchen blade that has served well.
Patina is very nice on this wide blade.

How often do I sharpen my knife? 

Simple, if it starts feeling dull sharpen it.

Many chef's sharpen there knives once a day.
This is a tool and proper edge maintenance

is important.  

I have posted on my blog about sharpening stones, have a book
on the topic and several videos on youtube on sharpening
and knife care.

until next time.

Thank you

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