My First Custom

[ozzie marie]

About 6 months ago I had the privilege of visiting with Ken Coats at his shop in central Wisconsin. Besides being a highly skilled knife maker, Ken is genuinely a great person.

Even though Ken may be better known for making slip joints that he sells on another forum, I asked him to make me a fixed blade. I told him that I wanted a user for deer hunting that would last a lifetime and something that could be passed along when someone believed it was time. I then gave him a block of cherry, that my son had planed out of a branch, that he found on our hunting property years ago, hoping he could do something with it for the handle.

Here is what he came up with.

Blade: Ats-34 Rc62 cryo quenched
Bolster & Butt Cap: Nickel Silver
Handle: Stabilized Cherry Burl
Blade Lengh: 4" Overall Length: 8 5/8" Weight: 4.7oz

The second photo shows the knife on what is left of the cherry that was found.

My wife and I will be giving this knife to our son this Saturday shortly after he recieves his degree in Mechanical Engineering.

I love a knife with a story!

Keith

[mike miller]

Boy you have a lucky son. He is sure to be proud of it and congratulate him for us on his graduation. Mike