All About Pocket Knives

I picked this one up at a knife show today. Does anyone else have any knives made from files?

Nice find! Supposedly they hold an edge very well. I have one I made from half a horseshoe, but they had a blade forging from files class too, at the Knife Co-op.

From what I've read, the early Buck knives were made from files. Anza still sells knives made from files. I don't have any file knives but I do have a fixed blade knife made by Jason Fry that was the leaf spring of a 58' Ford pickup truck in its former life.

I don't have a knife made from a file, but I do have a Striker made from a file by MM.
It's really cool to use and strikes very hot. He even sent it to me ready to go with
tinder cloth and some flint....... . This thing is really fun to play around with
and has an antler tip from one of my Gramps racks!

IM

That's pretty cool!

IMBand wrote:..................... This thing is really fun to play around with
and has an antler tip from one of my Gramps racks!

IM

Your grandpa grew antlers ?!!!!! Dang you do live out in the wilderness! (hope that's a shed antler, for Grandpa's sake)

...........good one Phil.......

IM

I really like the box!!

And the Striker too!!

Not a file, but this one was made from "junk steel" - a commercial sawblade from an abandoned sawmill that had been rusting away for decades. A buddy made this knife and it's Kydex sheath for me several years ago.

Very nice knife. How does it feel in the hand?

If you prefer to skin game with your index finger resting on the spine of the blade it feels great in the hand; if you prefer to wrap your four fingers around the handle and place your thumb on the spine then the handle is a little too short and a little too thin. The knife was made as a gift with a request for feedback from the maker (this was the first knife he made for someone other than himself). I gave the feedback and another knife was going to be made with a slightly larger handle when he succumbed during heart surgery and never had the chance to build another knife.

I really like that knife. I'm very sorry to learn the maker passed away.

He was a real good buddy and fellow sales rep, I still miss him. He had really gotten into collecting Randall knives after he retired from work, then that got too expensive so he began making knives. He had bought a forge and was an avid student of Bob Loveless - he wanted to eventually make knives in the Loveless style. The one I own has just been packed into my turkey hunting gear - hope to clean a big tom turkey with it tomorrow or Tuesday!

Here is a picture of the opposite side of the knife and the Kydex neck sheath.

Hope it's OK to post here (don't want to hi-jack the thread) - here's a couple of skinners I've made from old Mill files:

OH....so sorry to hear about your friend. That sure is an awesome knife to remember him by.


Smokpole - Knice knives dude!

Thanks Scott, glad you like them!

Smokepole, that's the idea! I want to see knives made from files. Yours are really nice! Thanks for posting them, got any more?

Let em' rip Willem! Show em' your stuff! He is a very talented artist! I'm a big fan of his work!

ROCKY1122 wrote:Let em' rip Willem! Show em' your stuff! He is a very talented artist! I'm a big fan of his work!

I'm inclined to agree. Everything I've seen smokepole show that he's made has been top notch.



There's something about the concept of making a knife from previously used material that intrigues me.

philco wrote:
There's something about the concept of making a knife from previously used material that intrigues me.

Me too Phil, especially from something that was used up in one form going on to serve another purpose. I know people make knife blades out of old industrial saw blades too.

Thank you guys, I am truly flattered that you enjoy my work!!

Vikingdog, I have done a few more from files but I'd have to look for the pics, and they are much in the same vein as the ones I have shown before.
On the other hand, I have done some very different work from files, where I don't leave a part of the file like I did on the skinners. It is mostly more "rustic" stuff that I make for historical re-en-actors.

This one was made as a traditional American "Long hunter" - the type of knife a trapper may have used. I used a rather large file as if it was a piece of bar stock and did stock removal - this whole knife was built using a hand dril, two files and some sand paper. It was the 3rd knife I ever made:





The following one is a historically correct copy of a knife of the type used by our Pioneers in the 1800's. It was basically a pruning knife, built by inhabitants of a German Mission - the missionaries had taught the locals the art of knife making. I forged this one from an old Nicholson file - in the back ground on the computer screen is the picture of an original from a museum that I had to work from:



And then for Phil and Vikingdog - I do a lot of work from old circular saw blades too - normally excellent quality high carbon steels.
Let's start off with a little skinner, African Black wood handle and warthog tusk bolster:




Then a set of big hunter/skinners I did for two brothers, who are my neighbors, using the same materials:



A little utility with African Black Wood handle, brass trim and push tang:



Then a whole bunch of utility skinners, a hunting knife, a skinner and a couple of bird and trout knives all made for "traditional" hunters using muzzle loaders:



OK, here's a couple more from files - two long hunters I did for guys over here that like to re-enact the trapper era:




A puukko with an African flavor - black wood and warthog tusk, made from HSS 18 steel from an old table plane/thicknesser blade:






Large friction folder from an old circular saw blade:







And lastly, for now at least, a utility from circular saw blade, Paduak handle, in forge finish:





Thanks for asking and thanks for looking!

You are a true talent Willem!! I LOVE your work and await an opportunity to own a few! Thanks for showin' some of your knives my friend! We have some folks here in the U.S. and members of this site who also are great artist in their trade! Amazing beauty gentleman!!
Rocky

WOW! Beautiful knives, the ones with the saw blades are exceptional. That puukko is off the hook!

Thanks again Rocky and Mike, I really appreciate the kind comments. Rocky, I'd be honored to make you a knife or two...you just let me know!