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VINCE O'BRIEN'S

PAUL STRANDE DAMASCUS SCANDI

This nice knife is based on a Paul Strande 90mm long stick-tang Damascus blade. It's basically made up of Red Deer Antler and Black Buffalo Horn with red fibre liners and a 3mm brass spacer. For extra security I put a brass pin on the side and another one at the pommel end. As can be seen, the leather work is minimal and yet functional - it's meant to be worn on the belt or as a 'necker'.  This what Vince had to say after he got this little knife:

DAMASCUS SCANDI IN BLACK BUFFALO HORN, ANTLER AND CAMEL BONE.

Sometimes I act and turn out something a bit unusual if someone asks me to.  Vince O'Brien has similar tastes to me and likes this sort of thing, so I made it at his request on a 'see it before you take it' sort of deal.

The quality of these Damascus blades has to be seen to be truly appreciated.

The 'Eagle' head is from the tip of a Black Buffalo horn, with mother of pearl inlayed eyes. The rest is made up of Camel bone inserts and Red Deer antler, finished with a 3mm thick brass guard.

It so happened that Vince liked this knife and it's now in his possession. I love making knives for Vince as he's enthusiastic and is all for originality and is therefore happy to allow me free reign to exercise my ingenutity.

Jasper B Nielson Hunter Knife

in RWL-34 (#02)

The second of the three JBN Hunter blades made up with Sambar Stag handle and a bolster made of nickel steel and red liners spacers. Acquired by Vince O'Brien and this is what he said in response..

 

"Hi Paul,           Knife arrived today safe and sound, you said you thought i would like the knife that is a big under statement i think it is an absolutely superb looking knife and the sheath is equally as good, the quality of the workmanship is amazing so thanks again for your hard work the only problem is how do you top such a great knife. Thanks again i am over the moon with knife Vince"

David's threesome in Damascus Steel

Black Buffalo horn with Camel bone inserts and finished with silvered plate pommel and spacers.

Camel bone over 3mm brass liners together with solid brass bolster and pommel.

Well seasoned Red deer antler over red fibre liners.

The two Dagger sheaths are well worked, but the Bowie sheath was left fairly plain and well oiled/waxed.

Poul Strande Damascus Antler knife

A pal of mine gave me a book on Scandinavian Antler knives a while back and although found it very interesting, I never did get around to having a go at making something similar - until now that is...

The 85mm Damascus blade from Poul Strande looked like it would be ideal for such a knife, and I dare say it worked out fine in practice.

The proper traditional Scandinavian Antler knives' sheaths extend further at an angle at the bottom end, looking very much like a fancy scrimshawed sock.  As usual, I had to be different though!

I really like the knife and it fits my hand perfectly.  As for the sheath, I would have been better off using thinner Belly leather rather than thick shoulder leather.

I wasn't quite happy with my first attempt at this type of knife/sheath combination. So, I decided to rework it and the above is now the result, which I'm very pleased with.

This a Poul Strande Damascus blade made up in the Nordic style; although the sheath is my interpretation as it's meant to show off the contrast.

What I like about the sheath is that it holds the knife just right and whether drawing or inserting the knife it makes a faint 'plop'.  I've made the sheath so it can be worn on the belt or around the neck.

My scrimshaw work is nothing to shout about, but as it was my first attempt I'm not unhappy about it and will try and do better next time.

Same knife - reworked!

When the knife is sheathed, the top and bottom spiral file work matches and also helps to put the knife the right way in!

Peter Lomas Scandi Skinner

The hand forged blade was sent to me by Peter to make up into a knife for him. Being a stick tang I can always do a bit more and used Black Buffalo horn and Red Deer antler for the handle.

The little Rabbiter

The blade for this knife was acquired for me by my mate Dave who had already bought one for himself. It made up into a very nice little knife ideal for small game based on an 01 tool steel blade. Handle is Red Deer antler and Black Buffalo horn.

Custom Poul Strande Damascus Knife in Coronet Antler handle & matching Firesteel

Unique Custom Damascus Scandi Bushcraft Knife with Crown Antler.

Blade:  Scandinavian Damascus steel hand forged by Poul Strande, of Denmark.  He represents the epitome of Scandinavian blade steel forgers.  Poul Strande is one of the top professional blacksmith blade makers in Europe who has has been forging knife blades for more than 20 years and his familiar initials - 'PS' - stamped on the blades. are renowned worldwide.  He's best known for his Damascus steel blades...

Blade Dimensions: 95mm x 24mm x 4mm.  The blade type is Scandi type stick tang with a flat grind on both sides.

Handle:  Select Crown Antler contoured for a comfortable safe grip.  The crown is left plain, which can be scrimshawed or embellished with a personal piece of jewellery.  The bolster is heavily embossed/filed solid brass.  The handle is epoxied inside the antler handle and further secured by a 5mm brass pin.

Overall the knife is 240mm long.  The actual hand grip part is 105mm long.

Firesteel:  Quality 8mm x 9mm from Bearclaw Bushcraft Ltd., complete with antler handle, a good sized piece of flat natural Leather thonging and, the original Striker steel and chain.

Sheath:  Made from natural colour Veg Tanned 3.5mm leather, with firesteel holder. Sheath is embossed with and fancily stitched.  The sheath is fully treated with with oils and waxes for a satin smooth finish, hence the darker colouring..

About this knife:  I normally source my Damascus steel blades from the USA, but I long wanted to have a go at making up a real proper Scandi blade - hence choosing this blade from Poul Strande.  I don't mind admitting that the cost of Damascus blades from Scandinavian countries has always put me off.  This blade wasn't cheap, but once I got the blade in my hands I realised that in this case, you get what you pay for.  The quality and feel of this blade amazed me, so in reality I got excellent value for money - it certainly won't be the last Scandinavian Damascus steel blade I'll be working with!

This little beauty oozes quality and classic functional styling and, best of all, it's a real tough working knife... 

Jasper B Nielson Hunter Knife

in RWL-34 (#01)

This one of three RWL-34 blades that were made by Jasper B. Nielson of Denmark.  The handle is Black Buffalo Horn and Red Deer Antler with a solid brass Bolster and end cap.  I have two more of these to make up sometime in the future!

JEAN'S ETCHED KNIFE

This is an Enzo 01 steel bladed knife that I made for my Jean.  The handle is made up of Camel bone over Tulip wood.

The blade has been deeply etched with various shapes of Roses - as one would expect for a gift of this sort to a rather special lady.

The contrasting Sheath is made from 3.5mm Veg Tanned leather dyed in Red and Brown Mahogany and finished to a medium gloss.

Above is our friend's Bruce little Scandi in Antler and Horn.

Damascus Straight edge Utility Knife

in Black buffalo horn over White American Holly

Damascus Laplander type Knife

in Red Deer Antler Coronet

Robert Mattsson Scandi

Mini Damascus Talisman

Last of the small Damascus talismans. Handle is White Deer Antler over black liners.

Damascus knife with Buffalo horn Eagle Head handle & matching Firesteel holder

Full hidden tang 200 Layers Damascus 5/32" steel, 7 3/4" Over all length.  Blade is 3 1/2" long, 1" at its widest. Original wooden handle knife purchased from the USA.

Handle is 4 1/4" long made from Black and cream/brown buffalo horn.  Three horn pieces with brass inserts make the first part of the handle, with the Eagle head part of the horn (3" long) making up the rest of the handle.   Handle is well seasoned and sealed with oils and waxes.

Bolster is in solid brass and flush with horn and unsharpened part of knife blade.

Sheath is hand double stitched 2.5mm leather designed specifically for this knife for a tight fit.  Belt loop will accommodate belts up to 2" wide.  Whole Sheath is thoroughly oiled and waxed for durability...

This is a very nice knife and it really feels good in the hand with all the contoured bits fitting comfortably, whether you're a left or right hander.  Yet another one of my fiddly experiment and I can't even remember what made me do it in the first place!

It turned out OK although instead of an angry mean looking Eagle, I ended up with one having a slight sarcastic look about it!  I just couldn't make it to look mean and angry!!! I could have turned it into something else, but I liked it so left it as is as I'm sure someone else will too.

Anyway, it's a really nice knife and perhaps far more suitable for the collector than the hard nosed outdoors person who needs a general purpose knife.  Having said that, it's as good and tough as any knife it's size - albeit much prettier...  

I ended up making a Firesteel Holder to match this knife and as luck would have it the same person who got this knife has also got the matching holder.

Damascus Knife with Antler and Horn

200 Layer Damascus Blade 90mm long by 25mm wide and 3mm thick.  1085/15N25 mix. Original wooden handled Knife purchased from the USA.

Hidden full tang internal handle made up of Red Deer antler and buffalo horn within brass spacers (handle is 24mm thick).  Brass Bolster and end cap.  Handle parts are epoxied and also secured by threaded 7mm end cap.  Knife feels good in the hand.  Blade takes and holds a good edge.  Over all length of knife is 190mm.

Workman like Leather pouch sheath fully treated with linseed oil and also bees wax and carnuba wax combo polish.  The Antler/Horn handle is treated with Linseed oil and similarly prodigiously waxed.

I made a couple of close variations of this knife using the basic Damascus blade.

I originally got these as complete knives, but they weren't put together at all well and the wood for the handles was cheap and nasty.  I could see the potential to make them into really nice knives as the blade is pretty good.

Unfortunately I could only get a few and I'm not sure whether I can get anymore to work with.  They make a nice light to medium work Bushcraft type knife which should please many who appreciate the uniqueness of customised Damascus knives.

Same blade but with Buffalo Horn Handle

 I was very pleased when I got this knife and a similar one.  The build quality on these knives was poor so although I didn't need to do much to get them up to scratch, I did have to take them apart and rebuild them. I then gave them my full oil/wax/polish treatment.

Frosts of Mora Laminated Blade Knife

I got the original knife looking like it had been through the wars directly from Sweden.  The handle was all chewed up as was the sheath.  The blade was well abused too, but the 'Frosts Mora - Made in Sweden - Laminated Steel' was still clearly visible.

I like Frosts blades (as well as many other Scandinavian blades) and with this one being 130mm long I was determined to salvage it.  I wanted the handle to have a gentle curve and also wanted it a bit longer than the original, but still in balance with the blade. 

I used a section of the original handle and sandwiched it between pieces of ebony and antler.  I made an extended bolster to make sure my fingers don't slip onto the blade.  The end cap was finished with an ornate yet functional piece of brass that would act to secure the knife in the sheath.

My next challenge was to make a new Sheath - but I wasn't in the mood to do any stitching!  I came across a 'stitch-less' type sheath on the net and based my design on that because the original design was a bit wasteful leather-wise.  Anyway, the sheath turned out better than expected and it's truly stitch-less, rivet-less and glue-less!  The knife is held secure by the small flap cut out from the belt loop part.  I also made another more traditional sheath for it as I felt the Stitch-less sheath  not as safe as a full lined stitched pouch sheath.

This knife didn't last long in my collection as it appealed to a fishing pal of mine so I let him have it so he won't keep asking to borrow my knife when we're out fishing! 

Damascus Bushcraft Hunting knife with Stag Antler and ebony handle.

Full tang 200 Layers Damascus 5/32" steel, 7 3/4" Over all length.

Not the prettiest of knives in my collection, but it's as tough as they come...    

Damascus Blade Skinner Knife

200 Layer Damascus Blade 100mm long by 35mm wide and 4mm thick.  1085/15N25 mix. Original green coloured plain bone handle knife purchased from the USA.

Full tang handle with Red Deer slabs (handle is 25mm thick) fronted by S/S grooved Bolster.  The whole lot secured with 4 pins (2 on bolster and two on handle) and epoxied onto the tang.  Lanyard hole (6mm) included.

Very solid feel to knife.  Blade takes and holds a good edge.  Over all length of knife is 200mm.

Workman like Leather sheath with snap holder, fully treated with linseed oil and bees/carnuba wax.  The Antler handle is also treated with Linseed oil and prodigiously waxed.

A really nice chunky skinner type knife - it just feels right and looks the part too.     

Damascus Skinner with Cocobolo and Ebony handle

Same steel composition as the Skinner opposite with a broader and flat ground blade.

The handle is Cocobolo with Ebony inserts forming main part of the bolster.

The shape of the handle lent itself admirably to incorporate a 'blood' channel on the underside of the handle.

TFK LLC Damascus Falcon Hunter

with Black Buffalo handle

Blade:  Damascus Steel - 95mm x 25mm x 3.96mm made in the USA from 1095 and 15N20 (1075 with 2% nickel with an RC of 56-57.  The blade type is a classic hollow ground type with a full visible tang.

Handle:  Made up from solid Black Buffalo Horn over red fibre liners.  It's 90mm long and lightly contoured for a comfortable safe grip.   The whole is epoxied and pinned with brass pins.  The lanyard hole is brass lined.

Overall the knife is 185mm long.

Sheath:  Made from natural colour Veg Tanned 3mm leather, double row stitched and wholly treated with oils and waxes hence the darker natural colour.  Belt loop suitable for up to 50mm belts.

What a fantastic Damascus blade!  Looks good, feels good, cuts good and is as tough as they come.  Nothing more to say about this knife - what you see is what you get...   

A problem I find with Buffalo horn is that if polished too much it looks like plastic, hence I don't go the whole hog as if I'm preparing a knife or stick for show purposes.  It's easy enough to get a super full gloss finish with a bit of extended elbow grease... But then what will one do - not handle it for fear of marking it?  Knives and Stick are meant to be handled and used as long as they're properly cared for afterwards...

TFK LLC Damascus Timberline Hunter

with Purpleheart and Black buffalo horn Handle

Blade:  Damascus Steel - 90mm x 27mm x 3.96mm made in the USA from 1095 and 15N20 (1075 with 2% nickel with an RC of 56-57.  The blade type is of a classic hollow ground type with a full visible tang.

Handle:  Made up from approximately 80% Purpleheart wood and 20% Black Buffalo Horn over red fibre liners.  It's 105mm long and well contoured for a comfortable safe grip.   The whole is epoxied and pinned with brass pins.  The lanyard hole is brass lined.

Overall the knife is 195mm long.

Sheath:  Made from natural colour Veg Tanned 3.5mm leather, double stitched and wholly treated with oils and waxes hence the darker natural colour.  Belt loop suitable for up to 65mm belts.

Another fantastic Damascus blade.  I envisaged this as a true working knife, hence the rather contoured handle from Purpleheart.  This hardwood is beautiful and although if not treated right the original purplish colour will turn darker.  But, so what?  As it does so it becomes even richer and deeper in colour.  It's a fairly dense wood, so I don't know why it's not used more in knife making.

I suppose one of the skills needed when customising knives is to be able to match the handle material to the knife and intended use.  I have my preferences, but even antler or horn won't go with everything.  I love the look and feel of wood, especially the likes of Amboyna, Ebony, Afzelia, Cocobolo, Purpleheart, Pau Rosa and Bubinga.  These finish very well and really stand out from woods used in commercial production.

Chris's 3 S/S Knives

I bought these three the original blade blanks - in Surgical Stainless steel - to experiment with.  But once I got them, along with the big S/S Bowie, I was very pleasantly surprised that the quality was pretty good.

I made the big Bowie up first and that turned out nice. During a telephone conversation with a mate of mine, an avid knife collector, I mentioned that as I didn't have any Damascus blades to play with I was about to start on three stainless steel ones, intending to keep one for myself.  He asked me to let him see them first and he'll most probably take the the other two.

 I sent him some photos of the knives at the 90% finished stage and he asked me if he could have all three of them!  Now Chris is so enthusiastic and appreciative that it's nigh on impossible to say no to him - so I let him have them.     

Ebony and Horn Handle Helle Knife

A Special knife for Chris

A triple laminated steel blade from Helle, the 'Turman'.  What a fine blade!

Handle is chunky and made from a solid piece of Ebony flanked with horn.  The thumb rest is faced with mother-of-pearl with another matching piece adorning the leg ties.

I went a bit fancy for the Sheath, after all, it was specially for Chris...

Little Black Number

I was given this mini Tanto in a Kydex neck sheath, which I played with and messed up!  As Big Kev had given me some rather strong small magnets I thought I could use them to do a Necker where the knife is held in place by magnets - 7 to be exact. The result is as you see above.

The knife handle and the sheath are in Black Buffalo Horn, decorated with some shallow file work and topped with a piece of recon. Turquoise.

Rabbit Knife

This little Rabbit knife is from 01 tool steel, which I got off Bernie in return of a favour I did him.

This little knife has Two tone Amboyna handle scales.  It has a Scandi grind on both sides and is 2.5mm thick.

Three Utility knives

Top knife is in Seki Damascus with Black Palm handle.

Middle knife is US Damascus with Black buffalo handle.

Bottom Knife is from an R.R. Middleton of Sheffield that I re-handled in Camphor, which smells very nice when being worked on.

Hunter & Scandi Damascus bladed knives in antler handle

The blades are the usual 200 layer like I used before, but these came with a useless handle made from cheap bent goat horn.

I got three knives originally and as is my want, I decided to put on some sturdy Antler and make them safe and functional.  I even made one of them for a left handed person.

Well, someone liked them as they went as fast as I finished them   I did state however, that they're only suitable for light to medium work... 

Allan's GL Damascus Talon

A nice little number that was sent to me to put a handle on by a fellow enthusiast from Wales.

I recognised the blade maker straightaway as he's a favourite USA based bladesmith of mine.  It was only a small blade of about six inches total length and as Allan likes a bit of fancy work, I had to think hard as to what handle configuration I'll end up putting on it.

I decided on a seasoned red Deer antler and black Buffalo horn combination over red fibre liners.

I wanted to retain the natural characteristics of the antler and horn so I didn't go all the way with reducing and finishing, leaving just enough 'roughness' for antler to look and feel like antler and for the horn to look and feel like horn.  It's all too easy to go mad and end up with a 'plasticized' look and feel which would detract from the knife's quality.

Allan was very happy with the result and so was I ...

NB: As these knives are individually hand made, all sizes are approximate and some minor variations from blade to blade and knife to knife are to be expected...

Also... Handles made from natural materials may have some very minor faults which add to the character of the finished piece.  If you want as near to a blemish free perfect finished handle, please do not order a handle made from natural material.  With Burl wood especially, minor voids and other irregularities are inherent.