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

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

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

A Straight back custom knife beefed up

This is a custom I made not to long ago and found a

home from my website.

I figured you would like to see some additional pictures.

This knife if I am remembering right had about a 4 inch blade
with a beefed up 3/16" spine.  At the forward point of the blade
there is a tapered swedge clip.   The spine has also been
hand file worked with jimping.

The handle is aged black walnut and the sheath was hand stitched.
The face of the sheath was hand tooled with acorns, scrolls and vines.

 

 

 

Thank you

Matt

ML Knives

http://www.mlknives.com

 

 

Stag skinner with a nice blade shape..NEW Book Anouncement

Some recent completed work from my shop. 

A drop point custom with a blade about
3 3/4" long.  The spine has hand jimped file work.

Handle is stag with 3 brass pins.  Sheath was
hand stitched and has some custom hand tooling
along the side.

Also I am currently working on a new book that is in the mid stages.  This will

be a very nice photo journal with color photos of custom knives that I have done, 

Some pics never posted before.  This will be vol 1.

I don't know the release date or anything yet but  when I get it completed I will

post info here up on the blog, my website, facebook and more.

Thank you

Matt

ML Knives

http://www.mlknives.com/



Vintage style Antler Neck knife from Past work

This is a custom knife I made going back to 2004 I thought
would be a nice one to share.

This was done with traditional vintage styling, with a forged blade
about 3 1/2" long and a light forge pattern, light patina
finish.

The handle is aged crown Whitetail deer antler that the tang
was drifted back into.  The handle has 2 steel pins.

The sheath was done with aged leather and hand cross
stitching around the outside.

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

Vintage style hunting trail skinning knife...Past work

A mid week update..

The knife below is from my past work collection
of photos.
This piece has beautiful vintage style, with a patina aged
blade and file work on the spine. 
If I remember right the blade was about 4 inches long.
and perfect for many uses such as hunting and skinning,
general woods use.

Handle is dark curly maple, oiled by hand with steel pins.

The sheath was stitched by hand.

Thank you

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

Red Oak a Beautiful Hard grained Handle

Originally Posted on the April 24th, 2011

Red oak is often overlooked when it comes to a handle material
for knives in general. I can tell you this wood is very durable
and hard and has a coarse grain texture to it. This wood
has been used for many years for furniture, flooring, bar
tops and more. You can see from the picture below
I finished this one with a light antiqued finish and it complements
the knife blade very well.

I also have a new video that you may have missed you can watch it
right on my blog below.





Here is another one that is older you may have missed.


Thank you for reading.
Have a happy Easter.
Matt
ML Knives
http://www.mlknives.com