A Quickie For the Engrave-In ....

[WVEngraver]

Local knife maker & blacksmith (Charleston, WV) Larry Withrow fixed blade knife.

Found this guy at a local gun show about a month ago. His knives were just crying out for engraving. 416 stainless bolsters and differentially heat treated blade. Birdseye maple handle and a hand tooled leather sheath all rolled into the price of $150 bucks ... can't beat that price for a hand made knife of above average quality. Just might engrave the pins if time permits ..... see ya'll there.

I'll have this at the engrave-in ... can't wait to cut into some bar-b-q with it.

[Steve Lindsay]

That came out a nice one Chris. Will you cut my engrave-in bar-b-q with it too please?

[Kirby B]

Very nice engraving Chris! Looks like a great knife for $150.00.

[ron]

hey Chris .. very good as always . thanks for posting .. how did you cut the blade ,, wasn't it heat treated .. ron p

[CStolz338]

Very nice. Looks like a fine knife also.

Colin

[WVEngraver]

I'll even let you borrow it Steve ... unless you really need me to cut your food into itty bitty bite sized pieces.

Hi Ron, the blade is differentially heat treated where the cutting edge is tough as granite but the area closer to the spine is really sweet to cut.

Hi Kirby ... definitely far from the quality of one of your knives. I'll make four to six revisions of the artwork before I even put a graver to yours. This one had only one refinement as well as a few scroll characteristics I incorporated from some previously drawn artwork .... "recycled" is a better word.

Glad you like it Colin. Many thanks.

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This knife is definitely a quick money maker. As it is a West Virginia made knife, I will be able to submit it to the jury of artisan buyers at the Tamarack Foundation in Beckly. Not only will it give them (and me) another item to offer for sale through their store, it will help get Mr. Withrow recognized and eventually accepted as a juried artisan himself.

Chris

[Peter]

I like that a lot Chris. I was also wondering how you were able to cut the blade.

Differentially heat treated...I wouldn't have that there was THAT much differential. Cool.

Peter

[FlatBrokeForge]

Are you sure that's the knife you bought at the gun show? 'Cause it surely looks better now!

Where's the hamon line at? You didn't buff it off, did ya?

Looks great, nice job again!

[Daniel Houwer]

Sweet

[WVEngraver]

Hi Daniel ... muchas gracias.

Hi Peter ... I didn't either. I was expecting something engraveable but requiring frequent sharpening. It's nice to meet the maker face to face and talk to him about his materials and processes.

Hi Vern, yep, the line is still there .... it better not sand off either Tried to get better photos today but no dice. I really want to capture the line along the edge of the blade.

btw - wait till the judge sees this. Maybe we can get him to blow those cobwebs out of his wallet.

Catch ya later guys ... time for a nap.

[Ddbltrbl]

Really nice Chris! Definitely worth more than $150 with all that stuff ya got growin on there!

[WVEngraver]

Hey Ddble ... glad you like it. It looks better in person and finally I'll be able to prove that my work is not a mirage of photo trickery. Haha!!

Just pulled the rear wheel off my bike to find that all of last year's fresh new wires were rubbed down to last strand by the tire. Pandora's box and par for the course. I just nailed the gremlin that did it with a wrench. All to easy.

When I stop and think that you are coming in all the way from Japan, everything that has and will go wrong before Saturday becomes so trivial. I may very well be hitch hiking a ride the last few miles but I'll be smiling.

See you there!!

[plat955]

Awsome man! I was wondering where this thread was...

[WVEngraver]

Hey Jay ... gotta thank-you for opening my eyes to some of things that need improvement.

You have risen from "cupper" to chief "cuppee" literally over-night (no-one will figure out that inside joke) . It is well deserved. Thanks again for all your help.

[Rich Hambrook]

Chris,
Fantastic work. I've been looking for a knife like this. Would it be possible to contact him to make an order?

Rich Hambrook

[WVEngraver]

Hi Rich, thank-you.

I spoke with Larry Withrow before I left for the Engrave-In. He's made some more knives and I plan on getting together with him in the next week or two to see what he has got.

He doesn't have a web site and just sells at local shows. There are different sizes and some with Damascus blades that he pattern welds himself. I plan on buying a few for a couple of other engravers and you are more than welcome to have one of the knives that I pick out. I'm not looking to make any money, just want to be sure that there's excellent consistency to all the knives I pass on. As engravers, we tend to look for things the average knife user doesn't.

I also want to talk to him about tapering his tangs as well bringing his bolster finish up to a consistent, smooth 400/600 grit finish. I'll be more than happy to pass on his phone number as soon as I have given him a better expectation of what us engravers expect.

As soon as I get a hold of a few, I'll send you a PM.

Chris

[ddushane]

Nice job Chris! That really dressed it up! Make sure Steve gives it back after the BBQ!

Dwayne

[WVEngraver]

Hi Dwayne, thank-you!!

[JRon]

Chris:
A beautiful "understated knife" simple and elegant at the same time!
JR

[WVEngraver]

Hi JR. I'm sorry I haven't replied to thank-you sooner than now.

Definitely simple ... Larry makes these knives for hunters with function in mind. I think he was a little surprised to see it engraved. He couldn't have chosen better "engraver friendly" materials.

I think for the next knife I will ask him to taper the tang (he said he can do that) and bring the polish up a 600 grit so I can inlay it with some gold.

[kuffler]

great knife and engraving, and thanks for all your help on engraving. Mike K