The John P Metal Art Blog

Can you say “overkill”? This kitchen knife has a 4″ full-tang blade made from 1095 high carbon steel. This is the same steel used for the combat knife below, and happens to be the steel required by the US Government for all Marine issue combat blades. This knife should hold a sharp edge for a very long time. Certainly longer than any commercially available stainless steel knife.

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This custom knife has a hand forged blade of 5160 high-carbon steel. It was differentially clay heat treated, so if you look very closely at the photo you can see the quench line near the edge of the blade. The handle has been hand shaped from black linen micarta, and it incorporates two star-pattern damascus pins.

As with all of my other knives, it has been professionally sharpened to a “shaving sharp” state. If you have never used a knife that was professionally sharpened before the closest thing to compare it to would be the sharpness of a straight razor like you might have seen barbers shave people with in the old westerns. This is much sharper than a razor blade you’d purchase at the store.

These two are examples of pieces I made as holiday gifts for friends and family. Each is hand cut from sheet steel using the Plasma Torch and then either TIG or MIG welded together. Everything has been completely ground by hand to impart interesting and eye catching textures. As you can see, one is a free standing piece which has a base and the other is a wall hanging piece.

This hand forged custom knife has a blade, guard and buttcap all made from 1095 high-carbon steel. This knife was made for a Major in the US Army who is currently serving in Iraq. This knife is intended to be a daily carry tool / weapon. Since the knife has the potential of seeing life saving duty I built it with some unique features.

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This knife believed stolen. If found please notify me.

This isn’t really a knife for three reasons. First I haven’t hardened it. Second I haven’t sharpened it. Third, it doesn’t have a proper handle. But all that aside, I made this as a sample to show people what Damascus looks like. I can pass this around without worrying about someone losing a finger.