Kevin, I couldn't Resist.........

[Darryl Young]

My brother visited this weekend and we went to AG Russell's so he could pick out a knife as a present for a friend. I found this handmade knife and just couldn't resist.....what do you think? Should be a great skinning knife.

The handle is Box Elder:

[tippie53]

pretty burl handle

[Kevin Sjostrand]

hey Darryl. That is a nice knife, a beaut! If it feels good in your hand then it is right, but I do have one question.
WHY DIDN'T YOU BUY ONE OF MINE? :>)
Just kidding of course. Stabilzed burl woods are so great on a knife.

Kevin

[Darryl Young]

Believe me, if you made one similar and it felt this good in my hand, I would buy it!

Have you ever heard of this maker, Hendrix? I hadn't. When we were there last Sat. morning AG Russel himself (an older gentlemen) was in the showroom and talked with us for a long time. He said that Hendrix was a guide (a friend of Bob Dozier) from the Carolinas and makes a very functional knife. Russell sells a lot of Dozier knives and Dozier talked him into trying to sell some knives from Hendrix. Russell said that Hendrix makes a good knife but that he takes feedback as criticism. He said finally they worked on his wife to get him to change a few things but overall, he was a very independent fellow. No matter, I like this knife just as it sits.

My brother bought a dozier knife as a gift for a friend that morning. It's a nice hunting knife with a desert ironwood handle.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I believe I have seen his name before, yes. Of course I know of Dozier but haven't met him. I use to go to the Las Vegas Custom Knife show back in the 90's. Of course I would make a knife that would feel 'just right" in your hand. So you like the lightness of a knife without a hilt, and a subtle place for your finger. It looks like the handle is slender too, with a nice brushed satin finish to the blade. Is the steel ATS-34?
I had one of my knives for sale in the AG Russell cataloge a few years ago. A fellow called me wanting to buy it and asked some questions about the knife. I couldn't remember who I sold it to originally. I use to build them under the Black Oak Blades logo. Now I just stamp my last name into the ricasso.
I use alot of stabilzed redwood burl and maple burl, and cocobolo. STag I love, but it is so expensive now only use it when someone requests it and wants to pay for it.
If you ever do want me to make you one, you can send a drawing and I can make it custom for you. I could trade you for one of your handmade guitars!!! :>)

Kevin

[Darryl Young]

This knife has a good balance. Steel not thick so blade isn't too heavy. Tang is tapered so only slightly handle heavy. Handle is roundish but a nice contour that fits my hand well.

I've dressed a lot of animals and this one feels perfect. Look forward to using it and see if its as nice as I suspect. Oh, I forgot the alloy but its not as hard as D2....about Rockwell 60-61 I think.

[Darryl Young]

Kevin, I can tell from your observations you are knowledgeable about designing knives. So here is my suggestion:

You need to move to Arkansas (knife making capital of the US). We'll make a few knives for ole Russell and work on making Arkansas the custom guitar building capital of the US.......deal?

[Darryl Young]

Kevin, do you know how they stabilize the burl?

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Yes I do. Most of the stabilizing in the US is done at Knife & Gun Finishing Supply in Arizona. I'm sure there are some others doing too, but they pretty much came up with the process. They put the wood in a pressure chamber and force the resins into the wood at high temperature. It impregnates it, almost plasticizing it, and makes it not only stable to humidity and temperature changes but also impervious to water, blood, etc. I like it also because when it is wet with water, blood or animal fat, it is not as slippery as you would think. Plus of course you shape it, sand it to a fine grit and polish it, and the finish is built in.
I've wanted to try it for a bridge. All my burl to be stabilized has been cut up into knife handle size pieces, but I want to get a block and cut it for bridges and have it stabilzed so I can try it out. Would be beautiful huh!

Kevin

[Darryl Young]

Yes it would.

How think a piece can be stabilized? Are you saying you would send them the wood and have a particular piece of wood stabilized? Is it expensive?

I'm curious if you could have a burl stabilized and then cut slices of it for a pick guard?