In early February of 2001, a friend of mine sent me to a web site about making a knife with hand tools. Derek Melton and I have been friends since around 1989. We went to high school together, college together, and worked two jobs together. When he started talking about learning to make custom knives, he really got my interest up. Derek and I are what I would consider “Hobby Buddies.” It seems that we tend to move from one hobby to another together, so when he got interested in knives, I knew it was something I had to check into too. Our hobbies have included inline skating, rock climbing, motorcycles, RC airplanes, and now knife making.

I completed my first knife in mid February. It was a very basic skinner with oak scales. I used a piece of scrap steel that I had laying around for the blade. I used a hand drill and a hack saw to cut out the knife’s profile, and I used files to cut the bevels. It’s not that great of a knife, but I was very proud of it at the time. When I made this knife, I knew nothing about heat treating, different types of metal, or anything else important in knife making. The knife can be seen in the gallery under the “Straight Knives” category. It will be the last knife in the database, so you may have to click through a few screens to see it.

I knew after completing the first knife that I wanted to make another one. I went about rounding up tools to make the process easier. I started by searching a huge barn that belongs to my wife’s grandparents. They mainly use it for storage, so I figured I would be able to find some good stuff. I ended up finding a bench grinder and a bunch of files. I also found some old lawnmower blades that I thought I could use.

Derek had found someone to make us each a small propane forge. He also found some soft fire bricks so we could each make a Goddard “One Brick Forge”. I didn’t have any tongs, so I made them out of the old lawnmower blades that I had found in the barn. Now I felt like I was really ready to make some knives.

After making my second knife, I decided to seek out someone who was experienced in knife making to give me some pointers and help me refine my skills. I took my two crudely finished knives up to Boonville, Mississippi to see Bruce Evans. Bruce is a full time knife maker who makes great looking bowie knives as well as other types of knives. He is a very skilled damascus maker, and that is what he was working on the day I went to see him. He gladly welcomed me into his shop, showed me around, explained the tools he uses, and showed me how to forge a blade out of 5160 bar stock.

I later met Ted McMinn of Mooreville, Mississippi. Mr. McMinn has been making knives for around 30 years now. He mostly makes hunting knives and folding knives. I feel very fortunate that he has taken me on to teach me the skills involved in knife making. After he helped me make my first folding knife, I was hooked. I read all of the knife making books that I can get my hands on, but the value of having an experienced knife maker guiding you, showing you tips, and helpfully pointing out your knife making flaws, is more valuable than all the books I could read.

I fortunately have a wonderful wife that supports and puts up with my knife making. I want to say a special thanks to Derek Melton, Bruce Evans, and Ted McMinn for helping me get started in the wonderful craft of knife making.

Chris Crawford
September 2001