Finished this up last weekend for a graduation gift. The Father of the graduate was literally waiting for me to take it out of the engraving ball.

Nessmuk Knife

The Nessmuk knife was developed in the 1880's by George Washington Sears, an outdoor writer who wrote for FORREST AND STREAM, the predecessor of today's FIELD AND STREAM magazine. Sears wrote under the pen name of Nessmuk, a native american friend and outdoor mentor, specializing in canoeing and camping subjects. Sears was not very satisfied with the large Bowie and sword type knives of the era so he developed a shorter broad blade with a curved edge. This knife excelled at camp chores, skinning and field dressing game, and food preparation.

Although this knife is based on the Nessmuk knife Sears developed, I have taken advantage of modern materials to make it. I start out with a piece of 154 CM stainless steel. 154 CM is one of the premier knife steels made today. It does not tarnish or rust, it is tough and holds an edge very well. The handle, made from black linen Micarta, is one of the best handle materials made. It does not absorb water, crack, chip, swell or flake like many natural materials will. Plus the layers of linen in the Micarta gives it a nice appearance. This is just a tough, attractive, well balanced knife that is nearly maintenance free. I haven't been making these for very long but it has proved to be the most popular knife I've made.

 

I've been including a tooled pancake style leather sheath with this knife. This style of sheath holds the knife tight against the body so it does not flop around. With it being canted back 45 degrees, it holds the knife up out of the way while riding horses or driving but still gives good access to your pocket.

Pill Box

Feels good to get to spend more time out in the silver shop since I've finished up the kitchen remodel. Just finished up a little pill box.

This one is 1 inch in diameter and 1/2 inch tall. I hand engraved a flower and leaf motif on the lid. You could actually put pills in it I guess but the person I made this for will use it to put her children's teeth in while they wait for the tooth fairy to come. How many more uses are there for a little sterling box?

Kitchen

I've been really busy this last month- that's the reason I haven't been posting lately. We (my wife and I) have been remodeling our kitchen along with trying to keep up with work and the horses.

I did a lot of the work myself and think it has turned out pretty well. We bought new cabinets and I put in the new floor, poured a concrete countertop and set the travertine and slate backsplash. This was my first attempt at setting natural stone tile. I really like the concrete countertop. I poured it in place and embedded crushed black glass and pieces of abalone shell in the top layer. After it cured for a week or so I ground and polished the surface with diamond grinding pads.

What do you think? I like it but what really counts is that my wife loves it.