Okay...I'm here to ammend the information in the post below this about "my personal carry knife". My lovely daughter in Utah, wanted one like it, and being staunchly committed to never make two knives exactly alike. I tried to make her a knife similar to the one I carried. I planned to use a file as blade material for her. Well, I ended up being unable to get the file knife to heat treat and temper to a finish I was pleased with. Many new files being made are not close to the steel of "older" ones, and can present an issue with heat treating. So, I sent the knife she liked to the mother of two of my fine grandsons. May she use it in good health and safely !! I did recently in answer to requests from clients, build a few "kitchen" knives. I've warned everyone that my "kitchen" knives could and will be made frm high carbon steel. I will make some stainless knives as well. So.......I'll soon (as soon as I get them edited and sorted out), be posting this new work.

For some time now, when I'm displaying my work in an effort to sell them, I get asked "How's come when you make knives, you're not wearing one?" I try to make the point that I'm in the business of SELLING KNIVES, not wearing them. At any rate, I figured maybe I'd make "Me" one. I did, and I like it, but if someone offered me enough I might part with it. HA !! The knife is a Scagel style Bowie, blade steel is 1/8 inch 1065, 6 3/4 inches, antiqued, hand forged and hand finished. Bolster and guard are textured nickel steel, antiqued. Handle is a large Arizona Mule deer crown piece, with stacked leather and a white spacer, 5 inches long. The sheath is top grain veg tanned 7oz. leather, riveted frontier style. Want one like it ? PM me, and let's talk.

I made this knife a while back, and built a plain pouch sheath for it. I figured it deserved a "classier" sheath, so I made this one for it.

The sheath is made from top grain veg tanned 12oz. leather. It is hand stitched with leather lacing, and riveted at stress points. The finish is antique stain. The insert is made from Arizona Diamondback Rattlesnake tailpiece. The knife is a "Heavy Hunter" style, blade steel is 440c stainless finished to mirror, with filework on the spine. The bolster is nickel steel, textured and finished to bright. The handle is Premium Arizona Ironwood with thong hole and stainless pins. The combo sells for $200 plus shpng, and is fully guaranteed for my life.

My uncle Walt played a very important and meaningful role in my life. He was a WW1 combat veteran, he was the point man for his platoon. He carried a modified Winchester 12 ga. shotgun, and his principal duty was to clear the trenches they jumped into of German soldiers. His job was the WW1 version of "Tunnel Rats", we had in Vietnam. A highly dangerous duty. Uncle Walt survived mustard gas attacks, and constant artillery bombardment. Not to mention the gazillion charges into German machine gun fire. And he shared many of the stories with me. I was in awe. My family lived only a mile away from the Mathewson farm in central eastern Illinois. Uncle Walt's farm was around 1200 acres, and in the middle of that there was a 500 acre hard wood timber. I think about half of the total number of standing trees in the entire state of Illinois were there in the Mathewson woods. Two rivers met in the center of the woods. Uncle Walt was a devoted supporter of the Boy Scouts, and allowed the area council to hold campouts and even Jamborees in his woods. In fact, the local council was named in honor of the woods, The Two River Council. My family lived near Mathewson Woods from the time I was 8 yrs. old till I was 14. I spent every minute I possibly could with Uncle Walt or out in the woods. There had been a Potowatomi Indian tribe who had called the woods home long before Uncle Walt acquired it. They had a large camp in the fork of where the two rivers came together. Uncle Walt had diligently collected artifacts from the area since he had bought the farm, and he had a marvelous collection. Fully intact spear heads, thousands of arrowheads, and......flintknapped knives. When he died, hiking in his woods at the age of 68, his wife donated his full collection to the State of Illinois. It was put up in the state capitol building, and might still be there. He had studied flintknapping, and was quite good at crafting arrowheads and even knives. He taught me the basics, and then set me loose and waited nearby, with a box of bandaids to keep me from bleeding out. He taught me to track everything from sparrows to fox, badgers, deer and the occasional stray sheep or dairy cow. He taught me to be still and watch. He taught me to move slowly but deliberately. He taught me to stand in the fork of a pawpaw tree, and to be able to touch deer ever so lightly as they walked by. He taught me how to overcome fear, and to function with confidence. He taught me to love and respect my elders and to listen to them......and learn. I could go on for pages about all that he imparted to me. I am a blessed man, to have had him, in my life. Here's a recent build, hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed building it. It IS for sale !!

The "Oryx Bowie" is an awesome piece !!! As with all of my knives, I field test each piece to assure I am selling a knife I would buy...ha !! This bowie cut a 2 1/2 inch dry Emory oak limb in two in only 1 minute and 34 seconds !!! Needless to say, it passed my test, the edge showed no rolling or chipping, it retained its sharpness and its structural integrity. Now.....it's for sale. Priced at $ 200 +shpng for the combo, knife and sheath. The blade is hand forged and hand finished to satin 1095 high carbon steel. It is differentially tempered to create a hamon, ( the cutting edge is harder than the spine, which enhances flexibility and edge retention). The guard is wrought iron. The handle is New Mexico Oryx antler piece. The sheath is hand tooled top grain veg tanned 10oz. leather. Antique "emphasis" stained, and double treated with leather conditioner. Sheath is glued and riveted. Once again, ONLY......$ 200 +shpng, to own this unique, "user" bowie. Email me @ indiancreektradegoods@gmail.com