every week at my forge and workshop(updated)

[DIDO.1 20,831]

I would love to be your apprentice....I would sleep on the floor of the forge and work for my keep.

 

 

My dad was a blacksmith and I spent my childhood making 'swords' and 'knives' out of lead and copper on the anvil when he wasnt around! My dad once made me some awesome spear heads though...wish I had saved some but you dont think when your young.

[midnight 657]

you would hate it , im a right prick to work for ha ha .

 

iv forged one spear head , it was a winged flemish spear head , random as hell and took about 30 attempts to get right , the guy just said make it sharp and full size , so i did , went to deliver it and he took me stalikng for the evening , turns out it was for sticking boar , the guy had killed them all over earth as his hobby , its gets weird tho , he does in in full medievil clothing in teams of re-enactment types .

he never uesed it he said because it wasnt correct !! cheeky twat , its f***ing hand forged ??

anyway , a weird story there.

its not really workingh out for me at the forge , theres massive over heads and im forging less and less , its two busy there and i have become a bloody visitors atraction!!

so i find myself working closer to home in my snmaller workshop ....

i may just start visiting the forge rather than working out of there .

 

 

 

a few bits iv made this week .

lets give them an letter and number this time so i dont get confused with pms from the last lot .

 

A1 10" over all lenght 5.5" blade . blade is w2 from a quality file , handle is leather, buffalo horn. red stag and marlee burr.

1.5mm leather belt carry sheath with press stud fastening .

3/4 flat grind with micro bevel for easy sharpening .

£70 cover paypal fees and first class recoded postage uk only.

 

 

 

B2 this one the robots struggled with , it was a test to see if they where upto the job ....

its a little crazy , but sexy , useful but probably not made for really really hard work , i think the owner should name it "the wife"

9.5" over all lenght . 4.5" blade . marlee burr , buffalo horn and red stag handle with steel cross guard and W2 blade (its better than o1 tool steel you know ) with scandi grind . 1.5mm leather belt carry sheath .

£70 covers fee postage same as allways .

 

 

 

 

 

are you ready ???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

here goes .

 

 

C3 this one is a glimpse of a new production knife . the finnished version will not be this exact shape and there will be a few more like this one with a constant evolution of design and shaping over the following weeks .

its based on a bob loveless 4" drop point hunter , arguable the most succesful knife of modern times , its price now ,if made by the late bob loveless can be in the tens of thousands ...

anyway , its a great design and as long as us makers give credit to original designer and maker we are ok to use the design . loveless knives are the sumit of knife making mountine so i dont even attempt to copy that but , i want a working mans knife with the same design principals but my styling .

so its 3mm o1 tool steel blade , you guessed it 4" blade and 8 3/4" total length.

it has an experimental grind on it with no plunge line , its been blended from full 3mm thick to almost 0 . with almiost a flat grind it has a micro bevel for sharpening , this has been proffesionaly blackened for stain and corrosion resistance , this i may or may not keep for the finnished design (its expensive)

apple jack dymond wood handles (deffo not on production knife , it cought fire again !)

3.5mm leather belt carry sheath .

this one is redy to go and feel i should keep it but you know how it is !!

£90 covers firstclass recorded post and paypal fees

[richie1984 191]

Spot on them midnight . quality as usual mate.atb

[midnight 657]

the last damascus of 2014 . reshaped ready to go £65

[Gin 496]

A few friends of mine are using Matts knives and blades and always its quality and at bargain prices, but i personally think they are too cheap. Its a lot of work goes into any knife.

[midnight 657]

thanks dave when there not selling i think the same when they sell i allways think if i can keep selling like this il make a wage this week .

 

just want to graft my arse of and get by in life nothing more.

new year i will release the new designs , i decided to hold off until new year and just make custom stuff until then.

tailoring for taste is tough , hunting knives on here and outdoors bushcraft else where .

i want a couple of "tacticool" ones to on the inventory , new makers logo , busines name you name it .

 

 

the straighter handled file knife is on hold for someone . and i hope the little damascus will appeal to a forum member on here if i could remember who it was ha ha .

[Wullz 408]

Matt,

 

are any of the wee carbon blades left with the stag handles?

[Born Hunter 17,623]

I'm liking these bigger blades you're knocking out now matt. Not that that is going to put money in your pocket mind. My fieldcrafter is still doing the job too well for me to buy stuff just because I want it. But I am keeping an eye on this thread anyway for anything big that might just push me to part with cash.

 

Personally I don't see what a diddy 2" blade can do that a 6" blade can't. But that's my attitude to most things.

 

And I agree with the above, you always seem to try to justify the low prices you charge like you feel guilty charging even that much. If people want quality they should f***ing pay for it.

[midnight 657]

Thanks BTH , it's funny I think you hit the nail on the head with cost etc . The hunting life community has allways looked after me really well and seem to really like what I make and the process when I show it , flip side to that is we are all working men and women and budgets are tight.

I really f****d up with the fieldcrafter (commercially speaking ) the knife is just to good . Never going to break or wear away and pretty much always sharp !

I think I said I lost mine for a few months , found it the other day and not stopped using it since , it's a joy to use and I think the styling is good to .

As a business man I should have priced them

Like the big custom makers/designers as "the last knife you will buy" and charged accordingly ..

 

Oh well that's a lesson learned ..

Iv made 3 or 4 in the last week as custom orders and I enjoyed making them . I had forgotten how much thought I put into the construction . Even making sure the handle size fitted off the shelf scales and pins that can be bought from B&Q !!

 

Maybe I will relaunch it in the new year .

 

I have plenty of materials for bigger knives hear so a few Bowie types will be on offer in the next couple of weeks , plus some smaller bodies with a hunting theme .

The bush craft types are allwys looking for something to, so need to shift my efforts to Taylor to there tastes as well .

Big steel order to collect Monday after the orders are done I can get creative and makes some one offs ..

 

I'm back working in my Japanese sword blade , it's been in the works for over 2 years now ..

It will be 100% hand tools made and I hope quite beautiful ..

I would love to keep that one and probably will unless I can get its true value on the open market .

[midnight 657]

Wullz there's just one carbon antler left . I'm going to be honest it's pretty ugly !!

[ginga john 268]

A few friends of mine are using Matts knives and blades and always its quality and at bargain prices, but i personally think they are too cheap. Its a lot of work goes into any knife.

Absolutely correct, these pieces are at least half the price they should be, seems a bit mad but the last ones I had i insisted on paying what i thought they were worth

and i think its time for another one :-)

 

Matt how do fancy having a go at a Khukri ??

[midnight 657]

Thanks John !!!

Iv never made a khukri , a very good customer has asked for one in Damascus but that's a way off ...

All that forging worries me ha ha

I know the steel will be expensive for one the bits I bought last week and collect Monday cost a fortune each .

It's the heat treating on the longer biggy blades that my problem ..

But I hope I have that nailed now .

[ginga john 268]

Thanks John !!!

Iv never made a khukri , a very good customer has asked for one in Damascus but that's a way off ...

All that forging worries me ha ha

I know the steel will be expensive for one the bits I bought last week and collect Monday cost a fortune each .

It's the heat treating on the longer biggy blades that my problem ..

But I hope I have that nailed now .

Well thats two in the line, how many do we need to get it going ?

 

Oh and i may get you to re-shape the cable damascus blade, the top edge is a bit off :-)

[midnight 657]

Il order some more steel this week john and go from there ?

Until xmas im just going to work 14 hour days7 days a week and hope the Mrs (who just moved in yesterday ) understands ha ha .

Iv got a litter due in 5 days to ...

Good job in happiest when I'm busy !

[Wullz 408]

Which one is left Matt, give me a look at it?