Q: Why do I make knives?
A:  When I heard someone say "do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life", I really took it to heart! You can ask anyone who knows me well and they will tell you I carry a knife everywhere I go and use it more often than any other tool. I have since I was a young kid. Do I shave with my knives? I make straight razors as well as use them. Do I cook with my knifes? Yes. Do I clean with my knives? Yes, if under my nails counts. Do I throw my knives? Ones that are intended for it, you bet you @$$ I do! I have a remarkable respect for knives and their countless uses and love the balance of functions and forms related to uses. I also love to sharpen them as I find it relaxing. so in short, I make them because I love them.

Q. Why do I make scrimshaw?
A: I love to draw. Often I sketch on pencil and paper and will often ink over top of my sketches. This lead me to search for a new medium that could serve as a more precious canvas for my work. The style I have developed over the years lends itself well to scrimshaw. As a medium, I fell in love with it quickly, I have found it to allow me to exercise my detail oriented nature while also providing me with a canvas on which I can create art.

Q: What kind of steel do you use in your knives?
A: This can vary depending on the style of knife and intended use. I try to use what ever steel is best suited for the intended purpose. Most often I will use 1095, 5160, W-2 or other high carbon forging steel. Though I will sometimes use O-1, A-2, D2 using the reductive method for specific purposes. I only use high quality steel made in america. Under certain circumstances including custom orders I make knives using repurposed tool steel such as the W-2 found in old files or the 5160 and 1095 used in some automotive leaf and coil springs.

Q: how long does it take to make a knife?
A: This is a question that is difficult to answer quickly. It can take months to make a proper blade with scrimshaw inlayed handles depending on the work involved, but even the simplest of bare bones no frills knifes with just a super basic, simple wrapped handle, will take me in no less than 3 full days to produce. Some steps in the process take a full 24 hours (normalizing and annealing for example), others just take seconds (quenching). The reality is some blades do not survive the quenching process at all and I would then start back from scratch. I work in small batches to maximize efficiency where I can. So to give a rough estimate on a single knife is difficult, but in a month on average I can produce anywhere from 3-30 knives depending on degrees of complexity and style of work and failure rate. contact me for a quote.

Q: What kind of materials do you use for your handles?
A: I use wood, bone and other organic materials. I will also use materials such as G10 when extreme wear or harsh conditions are involved. The application and purpose is the first determining factor, secondly I consider the look and feel.

Q: Can you make a sword?
A: Yes. I can work up to 32 inches long, but this goes back to me wanting the very best for my customers. If what you want a truly awesome katana I would most likely refer you to a friend of mine and master swordsmith. Making top notch demonstration grade swords is a highly specialized craft and Phil Hartsfield is the best man for that job. period.