Eric Dobratz

Hi, I'm Eric Dobratz of Scarab Forge, and I hammered my first knife out of a old railroad spike back in 1995.  Like most makers, I've been interested in knives and swords since I was little.  I started putting handles on kit knives back in high school, and after seeing a local blacksmith at work at a farming fair in Davis, CA, made the world's worst forge out of an acetone can and some rain gutter pipe.  Things have changed quite a bit in the last 9 years, no small thanks to the patience and sharing of some great makers I've been lucky enough to know.  Bob Egnath, Scott Slobodian, Scott Taylor, and many others from the knife-list have helped me along the path to making some knives that I can be proud of.

     I prefer to hand forge high carbon steels for fixed blade knives, but do stock removal work in stainless as well.  Brass, bone, corian, silver, and my own shibuichi (Japanese alloy of copper and silver), are my preferences for fittings.  Fancy natural woods (burls, curls etc...) and micarta are my preferred handle materials.  One constant quest of mine is the pursuit of the hamon, or Japanese style temper line that is acquired by differentially quenching a blade with a clay coat.  The temper line can be really flashy on my blades of 1050 steel, and is more subdued on the blades of 1080 and 1095 steel.

     Please look at the following pictures, and e-mail or call me if you have any questions or requests.  By profession, I am a full time Veterinarian, so it can take me a few months to get a custom knife out to you, but I guarantee you'll be happy with the final product.

Knives 

(click the pictures for high resolution pictures)

	This knife has a blade of ATS-34 (heat treated by Paul Bos) with a buffed finish.  The handle is stabilized curly black walnut, and the fittings are of stainless Damascus.   If you look closely at the picture, you can see the filework on the guard. This blade is still available.
	The upper knife in the picture was made first, and I liked it so much that I made the more "stealth" version seen underneath it.  Both have blades of 1087 steel with temper lines.  The upper knife has a handle of stabilized maple burl and white corian, and has a etched blade.  The lower knife has a handle of black canvas micarta, and a gun blued blade.  Both of these blades are still available as a set or individually. Available only through the Scott Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund
	This version of a Japanese tanto has a blade of 1050, hand polished to bring out the hamon.  The habaki (collar) is shibuichi with a sterling silver overlay.  The handle and saya (scabbard) are Amboyna Burl.  Like a true Japanese blade, this piece comes apart by removing the pin in the handle.
	This is my version of a Japanese vegetable knife.  The blade on this one is 440C stainless steel mirror polished, but I also make this style with a blade of 1087 with a wavy temper line in a more traditional Japanese look.   This particular one has a desert ironwood handle with a brass guard.  I like this pattern so much that I've been using it in my own kitchen for the last 6 years.

Contact Information

Phone: (310) 515-5309

Email: knifesmith@gmail.com