Custom Handmade Knife

Custom Handmade Knife

Length: 10 3/8"
Blade Length: 5 1/2"
Material: CPM S30V
Scales PWCF - plain weave carbon fiber cloth. (This is the same material that is used to make the Boeing 787.)
Other Features: Jimping, Fuller & Multiple Striking Points
Laser Etching: Material Identification, Dave S. Face Logo & Dave S Designs(imaginary design company)

This was the artist's first attempt at designing and manufacturing a custom knife. And by the way that artist was ...me! Dave S Designs(my imaginary design company)

I am fortunate enough to be friends with master blade maker Mike Vellekamp. In 2014 he held a Custom Knife making class and I quickly joined in. There was only three or four of us on a Saturday afternoon for 4 weeks.

I was working for an aerospace carbon fiber manufacturing facility. At that time I had been there for 12 years. I was also involved with the environmental committee.

Every batch produced is sampled. Those samples are sent to a laboratory in another part of the facility. The carbon fiber sample is placed into an autoclave and cured. Then it is ran through several different tests. I was trying to convince the environmental committee to recycle the leftover material. This material is perfect for knife-making.

You can see from my drawing how the knife evolved as we transitioned from paper to metal & reality. The design that I envisioned was very complex. Although this was a hands on class, this was my first attempt and I wanted it to be just like I saw it in my head. Because of this Mike helped me finish the blending because it was a very challenging design.

Mike is a great guy and is always cracking jokes in between thinking about knives. He will take a break, walk over to his electric quitar and start jamming out at full volume. I'll add a couple of his YouTube videos in the comments. You will see him jamming out at the end of one or two of them. I cannot tell you the names(legally), but over the years Mike has designed and manufactured knives for some of the largest knife manufacturers. You know their names. You may have one in your pocket right now. Of course now he has his own knife
company V Nives. He also has several older knives with his name on them like the Bladetech I4NI(eye for an eye) and Fox Knives USA line he designed.

Mike Vellekamp is a knife industry veteran with over 24 years of knife making and designing experience. He spent 12 years as a factory manager for Spyderco, before moving on to design for Fox Knives and then founding his own knife company V Nives.

CPM S30V is a martensitic powder-made wear and corrosion resistant stainless steel developed by Dick Barber of Crucible Industries in collaboration with knifemaker Chris Reeve.