Traditionally, boning knives have been used to butcher animals that were either hanging or on the ground or table. They generally had a bold sweep to their edge, which allowed one to make short slices with the curved tip, while allowing one to use the edge after this for prep work. The Bowie knife design, was similar to this shape. I have taken the best aspects of these traditional designs and included them in my Boning knives and the Japanese Hankotsu. I have mostly been asked for a long and short Boning knife, but can make one of any length that you want.
Above : 12" x 2" scimitar shaped Boning knife, standard Western style handle made with high carbon tool steel, brass bolsters and stabilized Redwood. Made for heavy slicing work and can also be used to chop all types of vegetables. It has a tapered, yet strong blade. Comes razor sharp with enough thickness to slice hanging meat. Made from 5/64 " thick steel, which is included in the price. I usually make a large and small boning knife, but if you want one that measures in between, write me a note and I can produce one. Let me know length you want and what you want to do with it and I will send you a quote. Click for Prices
Above : 12" x 2" scimitar shaped boning knife, with double brass bolsters and red liners and French polish. The handle is a western style handle ( as opposed to Asian ). If your interested in your knife having the add-ons shown, e-mail me for a quote. Click for Prices
Above: Close up of my custom 1/4" rivet that is placed in the butt of my handles. Square brass inside round brass, filled with brass and steel rods and red-dyed epoxy. It goes through the butt of the handle.
Above : a standard Western style handle with stabilized burl wood. Click for Prices
Below: 6" boning knife with stabilized burled Maple. Carbon steel, with brass bolster.
Fancy Handle, above - stabilized Box Elder Burl wood with two 1/8" black and white spacers ~ brass/white/black/handle wood. This is called a fancy handle, and costs $20 above cost of knife for spacers, and $47 for stabilized burl wood. E-mail me of your interests when ordering. Click for Prices
Above : 6 inch Boning Knife with extra fancy western style Rose Wood handle. I use strictly high carbon tool steel, that is 1/6" thick. Notice my company chop in the butt of the handle. It is composed of 1/4" tube filled with 4 - 1/16th" brass rods inside a square tube of brass, all is filled with red dyed epoxy that is injected. At the center in the middle of those roads at the center is a slice of lions hair piano wire. It is made in 12" sections and sliced. The other rivets are 1/8" brass road glued right through the full-tanged handle. The handle wood is Rose Wood, then brass sheet, next to ebony, a white/black spacer and lastly the brass bolster. The knife back, heel and front of bolster, are softened. The edge is razor sharp, and of course the steel, is as good a tool steel as there is on the market today. Each unit is personally hardened in shop and drawn to a straw yellow, in an electric oven. I use Macadamia Nut oil to harden. Handle is finished with a combo of Orange/Olive Oil. If you want a handle like this, e-mail me. Click for Prices
Above left : Double brass bolsters with French polish . If you want your knives to have double brass just order them as a normal order , and e-mail me of your wish . Cost for double brass is $35 extra per knife.
Properly heat treated carbon steel, allows for a knife that will keep a keen edge, yet is noticeably easy to re-hone for a new keen edge. All the sweeps of the edges of my knives have the classic French curve, for that nice rocking motion. For ease of use and re-sharpening. The carbon steel I use is 1/16th or .062 inch thick ( except for knives longer than 12” which are made from 5/64" steel whose cost is included in the price ) . The steel I use is 1075 cold rolled high carbon tool steel, which is heat treated one knife at a time, by me in my shop. I machine my knives, thereby saving the expense of forging a thick piece of steel down to the thickness of the steel I use. I use various woods for the handles, depending on your preferences. The first choice is called Myrtle Wood or Bay Laurel. It is generally light colored (lighter than the Rose Wood ) although some pieces can be tawny. Many pieces have tremendous chatoyance. Madrone is very hard and grows wild all over the west coast. It exhibits swirls and waves at it's best. I call it the Northwest's answer to Pink Ivory, because of it's pink overtones. It is much like Eucalyptus in that the skin of the tree sheds it's bark and some leaves in summer. It is ideal for kitchen knives. I also use Santos Rosewood, which is heavier and more oily than Myrtle, because of climatic conditions. It is harvested from a finca in southern Mexico one tree at a time, and is an abundant excellent substitute for Cocobolo ( which is rare and super expensive ) . It still has the brown base and can exhibit swirls and dark longitudinal lines. It is perfect for a kitchen knife handle. Madrone, Myrtle and Rosewood are the same price in the drop down menus. If I have Myrtle and you want it, great. If I am out, I may need to replace it with Madrone. Any questions about this, write me. The last choice of wood I offer, is stabilized burl wood. All species and handles can usually be highly figured with swirls and eyes. If you go to my F.A.Q. page ( & scroll down ) , there you will find two links to my suppliers. Simply cruise around their sites seeing if you can find the wood you want on your handle, then e-mail me. If your busy and you want me to look, let me know. Each wood choice is unique, with no two exactly alike. I charge $20 over the cost, plus shipping/handling to work with this wood. Part of the $20 is the cost to ship it to me. The stabilized wood, absorbs very little moisture and the color will not fade.
Below are two sources of stabilized wood. Cruise around their sites, and see if something hits your fancy. If it does,, simply e-mail me along with size of knife you want, and I will invoice you. Any problems with size match and I will get back to you promptly. Each side of the knife has a SCALE and each knife has a set of scales. Minimum size of each scale of wood should be : 4 3/4" long, 1.5" wide and 5/16th" to 3/8th" thick. Any questions about this process, please let me know. They carry many different woods (both local and exotic) and most are quite nice. Just noodle around and let me know, or tell me and I can send a few choices if you like. e-mail here
1- Burl Source - they are two valleys over from me.
2- Alpha Knife Supply - numerous choices. I prefer not to work with spalted wood.
The finish on my blades is finished to 600 grit . Over time the surface of carbon steel kitchen knives, will take on a patina. All handles come finished to 400 grit, with a coat of vegetable oil. Presently I use Orange/Olive Oil. The brass bolster is riveted and glued onto the full tang, and is in between the handle and the blade. It serves to protect the end grain of the handle wood and adds the perfect weight to the handle. Handles generally measure out to about 5 ¼ inches – ¼” leeway from the back of the blade to the bolster, 3/4" of brass and then 4 1/4" of wood. All blade lengths are close but not exact.
The handle is secured with 4 rivets, which are glued and pressed into place. There are three 1/8” brass pins, and a company chop in the handle ‘butt’. My chop goes through the handle and is functional. It is made in 12” lengths and is comprised of 4 - 1/16” brass pins, with a steel center, inside a 5/32nd square brass tube, which is inside a round brass tube. Red dyed epoxy is injected into the 12” tube, to hold all a-tanto. I then cut them down to about an inch and install. If you do not see exactly what your looking for on this page, e-mail me. (Back to the top)
