I'm a part time knifemaker. I have been attracted to knives as far back as I can remember. From watching my Grandfather sit for hours sharpening his knives, to the first good knife my uncle gave me - knives have always been special to me.
Several years ago, I met a local knifemaker named Robert (Bob) Barber at a nearby show. I bought a few of his knives, and started hanging out in his shop. He took me under his wing, and gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get started making my own knives.
I have been making knives part-time and going to a couple of shows a year, going on 3 years now. I have also recently joined the North Carolina Custom Knifemakers Guild.
I use ATS-34 for most of my knives, plus a few made from D-2 and I have just started using some of the CPM steels, but I will use almost any material the customer wants. I also have to admit to being a natural handle material kind of guy! Nicely figured woods, ivory and stag are what you will find on most of my knives, with micarta being used on the rest.
I mostly make hunter, fighter and utility pattern straight knives (no folders yet).
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Alley Cat 9 1/2" O.A.L. 5/32" ATS-34 Desert Ironwood handle with nickel/silver pins |
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The "Special" 3/16" D-2 Rosewood Burl handle with brass guard and pins |
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Ranger Bowie 3/16" 154-CM Ivory handle with red liners and star pins. Nickel/Silver guard engraved by Ken Burklow. |
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Rainbow Trout 1/8" ATS-34 Abalone handle with stainless steel bolster. Engraved by Ken Burklow. |
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Mailing Address:
R.J. Schmidt
5984 Buffalo River Road
Earlysville, VA. 22936
Web:
http://kukri.itc.virginia.edu
E-mail:
redbeard@virginia.edu