*As of 1/8/2012, there is a 6-8 week wait for delivery. I am taking orders though, and will fill them. I am working for Gant Rugger, based in Sweden. We have designed a custom 2" x 8" kitchen knife, that they will give to their clients. This has been in the works for 6 months.
       I will fill all the orders off a wait list I have, when I am finished with the above commission. You do not have to pay for any orders sent to me during this time . Just send me a note letting me know your basic information and what you want. I will invoice closer to the time I make your items.
Thank You, from the good good folks at Wildfire.

Michael Moses Lishinsky
595 Faith Avenue
Ashland, Oregon 97520
info@wildfirecutlery.com

541 - 708 - 3138

     The knife is ordered by considering the size of the blade and then the handle shape and look.

The Blade
     The steel I use is 1075-1080 high carbon tool steel, that is 1/16th" thick. I can also work with 5/64th" O-1 tool steel (about double thick), also which I order in and is an extra charge. But the base standard thickness is for steel on hand of 1/16th" thickness.
    Find the style of knife you want. Paring, kitchen knife, Mezzaluna ? Do you want it for board use, or to pare? If it , a gift ? What function do you want it to serve - this will dictate it's size. Check out the 'currently available' page as there are always bargains to be had and all are for immediate sale.
    Next, to find cost - there are PayPal buttons at the bottom of every page, which shows sizes and prices. Once you decide which size you want then it is time to choose the handle
( see below ). 
If you cannot find exactly what you want, →e-mail← me and I can help.
 

 
The Handle  
Choose wood, form and style

 Wood - listed prices include either Rose, Madrone or Myrtle wood. Premium wood is stabilized woods. See bottom of any page, in drop down menus,  for prices. If you want more information on stabilized woods, scroll down this page.
     The Myrtle or Rose Wood is eco-harvested and really beautiful. Only the Rosewood will take a French polish. French polish is free with double brass, on non-stabilized woods. Rose is dark with brown stripes, Myrtle is light to light with brown highlights and my Madrone is a local very old. It looks like Pink Ivory and is very hard .
     Stabilized wood costs more, as it is a premium product. Whole process usually takes a week, from order time to shipping. I charge $20 over the cost of ordering the wood and getting it to me. Each wood choice is priced differently and unique.
     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 Style of the Handle - Western or Asian
 Western style handles →

or Asian style handles → Your choice.
 

The Form of the Handle
click underlined links for a photo to illustrate style choices. One can choose Rose , Myrtle or stabilized burl wood as basic woods for any handle. All handles have bolsters.
 

Standard handles have the wood/brass bolster set up and come with prices as marked on each page.

Fancy Handles have a combination of black/white spacers installed along with handle wood and a bolster. Cost is $20 extra.

Extra Fancy Handles comes with black/white spacers as well as a fancy wood insert and brass. I use various wood inserts picked for their richness and depth. Cost is $55 extra.

Double brass bolsters are another choice for a handle. It costs $35.

    So one can order a western style standard handle with Myrtle or Rose or stabilized wood.
    Or the same handle as an Asian style with those choice woods, etc.
 

How to pay

**If you want help or to talk, or you want add-ons such as a fancy handle, e-mail me and I will invoice you once we have worked out your particulars. I simply cannot put up all the buttons to
fit each choice. All buttons on each page are for standard handles with wood and bolster and the blade size shown.

    If you want to pay with Pay Pal, then find your choices and click 'add to cart'. You will automatically be taken to a Pay Pal invoice for my company. Plug in your zip code and you can pay with or without an account. E-checks are accepted but they takes 5-6 days to clear, and we cannot ship until funds have cleared.
    One does not need a Pay Pal account to pay with Pay Pal. You just pay with your credit card through Pay Pal. There are no fees and I have been told they just want your mailing address.
     If for whatever reason, you do not have a Pay Pal account nor do you wish to use your credit card to pay without a Pay Pal account, you can →e-mail me← , and I will write you back a total with a breakdown and if it is then appropriate, send an invoice. Then to pay, you can send a check via USPS for the full amount, made to Michael Lishinsky. You can also send a postal money order made to Michael Lishinsky or cash (USD)  if your like to do business that way. Make sure to write me a note first, telling me you sent the letter with payment so I can look for it and let you know when it arrives. Mailing address is 595 Faith Avenue, Ashland, Oregon  97520. Skype is  541-708-3138
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 F.A.Q.'s (Back to the top)
 If you have any additional questions-e-mail me at
info@wildfirecutlery.com  and we will try to reply A.S.A.P.

I have an old carbon steel kitchen knife which I wish to clean up . How to do this ?

a.- see here or video above.

Also see here for reconstructive work on your older knives click HERE. 
 

How can I resharpen my knives?

You can read my Google KNOL here, also.

See here also
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Do you take on commissions for custom pieces ?
a- yes, of course. I charge a reasonable price, but this gives me an opportunity to expand my techniques and designs. We can recondition older knives, or make a copy of your favorite knife also. I would suggest to anyone who may be interested in getting their favorite shaped knife made into carbon steel, to trace the shape and handle thickness, and fax me a cover letter with this tracing. I will e-mail you back a quote, and we can move from there.  (Back to the top)

I dropped my knife on a cement floor and the tip bent. What to do?

a.- Bent tips is normal behavior for a well heat treated knife. It should have bent when given that sort of stress. You can knock it back again like a blacksmith would, with a hammer hitting lightly. Then re-sharpen with stones or emery board. Or send back to me with a check for return shipping, and I will re-point. Takes just a few minutes. By the way- if the knife was not well heat treated, it would have broken off. Having said that, if the bent point is waggled back and forth, guess what ...??? (Back to the top)
 

 Do you have a full tang on your knives?

a.- yes we do. It is the strongest way to make a handle which will last. We put a slab of wood on either side and then glue and rivet it in place. It would be very hard to hurt the handle. One could burn it off or the easiest way to hurt it would be to leave it in water. Then it would dry, and probably pull away from the steel in the middle. Then rust can enter, and somewhere down the line it will corrode. Better to treat these knives like a fine tool, which is what they are. Have a special place to put it when not being used. We do guarantee all our work for workmanship for life, and if the problem is due to anything we should have done or did not do correctly-we will stand by it.   (Back to the top)

Timing for delivery  
    Most of the time I can have the piece in your hands within a week. USPS priority delivery can be as fast as 2-3 days. Exceptions, see headline on top of pages.

Contacting Wildfire (Back to the top)

**I live on the West Coast , so please do not call first thing in the morning East Coast time ( or die ! ) - as that is 5 AM here and my phone is in my home . If you live on east coast, call after lunch.

   If you call me at 541- 708-3138  and you leave a message ,  I would be happy to call you right back right away . 
    The very best way to contact me is via e-mail . I will respond promptly , almost always the same day .
 

Stabilized Wood - knife finishing
     This is  burl wood and it is getting harder and harder to find due to it's popularity .
   It has all the moisture removed [ sucked or vacuumed out ] and replaced with a special blend of monomers and acrylics to stabilize the wood. Then it is processed further with two dyes. This wood , once stabilized , results in material that is resistant to temperature changes, humidity extremes, UV rays and saltwater as well as many acids and solvents commonly encountered in day-in-day-out use. There is no more expensive wood product for a kitchen knife.
     I sand the handles of my knives, with aluminum oxide belts and take it up to 380 grit. This is not considered a high polish , which could be all the up to 600 grit and then ( with some woods ) high buffed.
 

Lastly -
    I used to make my knives with a mirror finish on the blade. I would take them to a crafts show after putting lots of time and effort into making them look like jewelry. At a show, people handled my work. All weekend I had to stnad there polishing knives.
    Then when I got home, they were all scratched up with fine lines from repeated wiping, and needed re-finishing all over again. Remember, for those that read my bio, I did these shows for 20 years full time and met a lot of people. This was very tiring and long term, unworkable.
     I kept this pattern up for 5 years, and when I needed to raise prices due to increases in costs, decided to simply keep the price the same but not polish them to a mirror anymore. This was in the 80's and I kept the same style of finishing after that.
     I am always trying to improve the finish of my handles and blades and I have to honestly say I have, over the years. I still learn something new every time I work, and from feedback from clients.

    I have tried to make affordable kitchen knives that work really well.
    The feedback I get from 97 % of my clients is that it is a good balance I have found, a right price for the product, and people respond with re-orders .  The average person wants a knife that looks unique and hand made, that they do not want to wait two years for, that works well and is affordable. Meaning that they can sharpen them easily and the blade holds a decent edge. Where these parameters meet, is where I try to have my work.
 

Who the heck is that drawing of the fat guy ?

That is Bodhidharma , my main man. See here