Christmas Gift for Dad

[Old Timer]

My son Samuel is a farrier and tool maker by trade but he also dabbles in knife making. Here is his Christmas gift to me this past year. My photography skills don't do it justice, but I just wanted to show it off and brag on him a bit. He not only made the knife itself but also the Damascus steel that it is made from. The HH is his business logo which stands for Hillbilly Handmade.

[another view]

Isn't Damascus Steel what Samurai swords are made of?

Beautiful piece of craftsmanship!

[paulnj]

No Damascus Steel is what this knife is made ;)

BTW.. what kind of knife is this... a skinner maybe?

[Old Timer]

This is my son's version of a skinner. Not meant to be as functional as it is artistic. Damascus steel was developed several centuries ago as strong sword steel that would also hold a good edge. The process involves the overlaping and hammering together of different hardness of steel into one very strong and beautiful metal. I am certainly no expert on metal but I understand that the process was lost for many years and has been rediscovered in recent years and is being widely used today for all sorts of ornamental and functional metal objects.

[paulnj]

You are correct . You didn't mention that hand made knives of this sort are sought after by collectors and fetch a pretty penny too ;) That is one sweet looking knife, tell your son he did an AMAZING job!

[natatbeach]

My son Samuel is a farrier and tool maker by trade but he also dabbles in knife making. Here is his Christmas gift to me this past year. My photography skills don't do it justice, but I just wanted to show it off and brag on him a bit. He not only made the knife itself but also the Damascus steel that it is made from. The HH is his business logo which stands for Hillbilly Handmade.

That is beautiful...does he make or dabble in jewelry at all? wondering---been looking for someone that can make a ring I saw a long time ago that had a swirled metal pattrn like that... good chice of color and antler for a set up...

[Old Timer]

That is beautiful...does he make or dabble in jewelry at all? wondering---been looking for someone that can make a ring I saw a long time ago that had a swirled metal pattrn like that... good chice of color and antler for a set up...

Not that I know of. His wife Kate (a full time farrier by trade also) does do some ornamental metal work. She made Joy a beautiful candle holder for Christmas and a candy dish holder with ornate brass leaves for her birthday. Last year them teamed up and made a wonderful fireplace set for us for Christmas. I think I have posted this picture or one similar before but here they are working together on a set of horseshoeing tongs.

[Trevor Ash]

The knife is very beautiful and interesting to look at. That's an awesome gift!!

[natatbeach]

so that's who the brawny but beautiful broad was
;)

I'm quite jealous of her shoulders...and her ability to work with this stuff. what a great wife and husband combo

[walterick]

Wow, that's a beautiful piece of art OT.

Rick

[Paul.S.]

Beautifull craftsmanship on your sons part and a lovely photo. I also like the picture of the two of them working together. Fantastic to know that they share the same passion..

cheers.

P.

[ACArmstrong]

That's awesome, OT - and I mean that from an educated perspective. I'm sure your son is familiar with my day job employer - I work for the world's largest retailer of cutlery, Smoky Mountain Knife Works. I sit in a little room and do special product design for them every day. If you all ever make it to Seveirville or Pigeon Forge, I'd be happy to personally take you on a tour of the store.

Tell him his craftsmanship is obvious and superb, and I bet if feels awesome in your hand.

Thanks for sharing.

[Chunk]

What a great gift, Larry. Also a terrific photo of it. I like the light reflected from the antler onto the knife.

Kate's pinky finger raised grip on that big hammer is kinda funny. I guess things like domestic squabbles get well settled before this kind of activity.

[Old Timer]

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments on my son's work. I am very proud of him and the extraordinary patience and skill that it took to make an object like this. I'm expecially pleased that he did it for me. He is attending and competing at the Americain Farriers Assc. convention later this month in Chattanooga TN. Joy and I will try to get down there to watch him compete. I think it is around a 6 or 7 hour drive from our home in Northern KY. And AC your offer would be great, one I and I'm sure Sam would both love to take you up on, however the convention schedule will be pretty tight I don't think it would allow for that long a side trip. It is something that might happen in the future however, thanks for the offer. We need to think about getting a PR gathering in that area, it is beautiful almost anytime of the year. Nikonians got togather in the Smokies a year or so ago I think.

[Lionheart]

This is my son's version of a skinner. Not meant to be as functional as it is artistic. Damascus steel was developed several centuries ago as strong sword steel that would also hold a good edge. The process involves the overlaping and hammering together of different hardness of steel into one very strong and beautiful metal. I am certainly no expert on metal but I understand that the process was lost for many years and has been rediscovered in recent years and is being widely used today for all sorts of ornamental and functional metal objects.

Similar process to the Japanese method for making Samurai swords. They sandwich a layer of steel between two layers of iron, hammered together and folded until there are roughly a million alternating layers. The combination gives the sword flexibility and strength while the steel allows the edges to be honed razor sharp. The spine and edge are heat treated differently to give both flexibility at the spine and extreme edge sharpness at the blade. They still make blades this way in Japan, but for a very elite brand of kitchen ware (the kind they use in IRON CHEF ). I almost wanted to buy a set, but the knives cost about 200 bucks a piece after I looked them up on the food network website.